Employment Agency – Planning a career in an IT environment
Whether you are only a college student, or a successful CEO of a growing company, there is a very important thing that you have to do planning of your own career. It is not an easy task; the times when you could get a job just because you knew a bit more about computers than just how to turn it on are long gone. It is also not enough to send your resume to an employment agency and wait for a contact not if you want to find a job that will suit your financial needs and give you space for growth. Planning your career in advance is the only way to ensure your success.
If you are still a college student, the whole process of your career planning is much easier. First of all, your specialization is a marker for your future jobs; it is easier to plan your career if it is in the same direction as your education. It is also good to contact an employment agency as soon as it is possible for you to handle a job. Experience is a very valuable thing, as well as finding friends and acquaintances. Oftentimes you may get more interesting job only because the recruitment specialist issuing the offer was your roommate in a college.
But what if you are long after college? You have already found a job, either through some employment agency or all by yourself. Even if this is not your dream job, you still can make it help you in your career. The sole purpose of a career is to hone your skills and abilities and to gain more experience.
Even if you don’t like your present job, you don~t have to run away immediately. Why? Because more and more companies are acting according to the employees~ improvement policy. It is often cheaper and safer for a company to organize a set of courses for its workers then to contact employment agency to hire some fresh specialists. For all thinking seriously about their career, such opportunities are very valuable ones and is an asset all by itself. When the time to change your place of work comes and you are about to contact employment agency, it is good to add something more to the resume than just educational level and former employment information.
Of course, you must not rely only on your present job for providing you with all necessary education. Finding and finishing the right courses independently of your current employee is a very important thing that may change career planning, into career pursuing, second only to the higher education. Because of those courses, even if you have no degree in the computer science or any IT-related topics, your resume might be interesting for employment agency.
Why Hiring IT Consultants is Good for Business
Business consultants of all varieties are becoming increasingly important in today’s business climate. Offering years of experience and high-impact advice for businesses of all sizes, highly skilled IT consultants will offer a cost-effective solution to having a full staff of pricey experts.
While an IT department or on-site IT professional is necessary for many types of large corporations, the truth is that all businesses – even small start-ups – are able to access the kind of skills and advice offered by information technology experts. IT consultants, which can take the form of a single professional offering independent contractor services or a business that handles all your information technology needs, step in to fill your technology gaps at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee.
Save Money with IT Consultants
Most IT consultants offer their services on an hourly or contractual basis. Depending on what your needs are – whether you need regular backup services or one-time network security setup – you might find yourself tapping into a consultant regularly or for short-term projects. Both of these options allow you to control the cost of your IT solutions.
Because you’re hiring outside your company, you also avoid paying the taxes and fees associated with having a staff member solely for your technical needs.
Save Time with IT Consultants
IT consultants are also able to streamline the way your company does business. For example, if you’re working on an overloaded server, your employees may not be able to communicate and work online as quickly as they should. The same is true if you lose important data or experience downtime with a server or network. Redoing work or simply waiting for a solution to a problem can really cut into any business’s bottom line.
Good IT consultants are on hand at all times. They can access your network and backed up data to get you and your employees back on track. They come up with solutions before a disaster occurs so that you are prepared for any eventuality.
Increase Productivity with IT Consultants
Perhaps the most important thing IT consultants do is allow you and your employees get back to what you do best. For many businesses, repairing a server or backing up data is something they could do themselves. After all, the Internet is awash with how-to articles and advice on being technologically up-to-date.
However, savvy businesses know that specialization is what makes good business. You hire plumbers to do the plumbing, marketers to do the marketing, and managers to do the managing. While some cross skills are helpful, it’s rarely cost-effective or a good use of time to have a customer service specialist try his or her hand at getting the server up and running again. Having IT consultants you trust means that you always have access to a way to streamline business without overtaxing your employees or your finances.
Staffing Services and Internet employment agencies
There are moments in everyone’s life when you feel that you need to change something. Not surprisingly, this something is usually a place of work. What can you do to make the unemployment period as short as possible? And what should you do if you need a fresh face in your company or if you are looking for someone with specific skills? One of many ways to deal with those problems is to contact a staffing services company. Lately, Internet employment agencies have become the most popular ones, so the web is the most logical place to start looking for staffing services there.
What makes Internet employment agencies different from other staffing services? First of all, the usual staffing services cover only some region – a country, or even a single city. Internet agencies know no boundaries. You might live on the other side of the world and look for a job in a country that you haven’t even seen before. But it is only one thing, and not the most important one. Looking for a job, or looking for an employee is less time-consuming if you use some help from Internet staffing services. All you need is to fill a very simple form on their website and wait for the results. It’s much less stressful and a lot less time-consuming.
As with everything, there are also some major setbacks. First of all, there are so many companies that offer Internet staffing services that choosing the best one for you is nearly impossible. When you are looking for a job, it’s not a problem you just have to spend a little more time filling forms and sending resumes. When you are an employer and your time is precious you don’t have enough time to look through countless websites offering almost the same; it is much simpler to contact some local staffing services agency and ask them for help.
Many people that are looking for a job find themselves trapped by some major myths concerning internet staffing services. What was true several years before has already become fiction. It is no longer true that internet is Mecca for finding a job nowadays, the Internet is something as normal as everyday newspaper, and your resume is just one out of the many. It is also not true that it is enough to simply send your resume and wait. Internet staffing services are slowly becoming a new Bermuda Triangle, except this time it is your resume that gets lost.
Finding the right candidates for your environment by using a Staffing Agency
If your business is looking for new employees, there are many ways of finding them. You have to remember, that even in the most technical industries – your company is still only as good as the people who work there. Technical staffing demands are increasingly challenging and time consuming. You can of course recruit them directly by a representative of your company, but you can also rely on a staffing agency to find you the right candidates. This is a more effective way to find the right person. Staffing agencies specialized professional business line is finding people for all kinds of jobs.
That’s why more and more companies are relying completely on staffing agencies services. They usually have recruitment professionals who locate, select, screen and mobilize the talents you need – wherever and whenever you need it. A staffing agency can work on their own acting as an independent contact between their client companies and the candidates they recruit for a position. They can specialize in client relationships only (sales or business development), in finding candidates (recruiting or sourcing), or in both areas. Most staffing agencies tend to specialize according to jobs their offer.
Another specialization is temporary agency. It is usually distinct from a standard staffing agency, which usually seeks to place full-time employees. There is often a large overlap: temporary workers may go on to become full-time employees; or workers a company intends to hire as a full-time employee may start out as trial temporary worker.
Sometimes however, things are a little different. Sometimes you don’t only need a right candidate, sometimes even this specific one and only person. That is when a completely different staffing agency comes handy. Such an agency usually doesn’t have a personnel database, but rely solemnly on its recruiting agents: so-called headhunters. Typically a headhunter is associated with a higher degree of industry knowledge and a more specialized, less blanket approach than his colleagues. Whereas a recruiter may place an advert or place calls with no prior knowledge of the individual they are contacting, a headhunter will attempt to learn about the subject’s previous employment history, education, financial situation. He will make contact on the premise that on paper the candidate is suitable for the role, whatever their current employment situation. Poaching employees away from their current employment in this manner gives headhunters their name. Headhunting staffing agencies operates on a verge of being accused of industrial espionage, but they prove to be very effective.
Finding the right IT Recruiter for your business – IT Jobs
There are moments when every IT company starts looking for new employees. In the IT industry you march or die and if you want your company to grow, you need new employees – fast. And then you are facing a very serious problem you need people for several IT jobs, but you don’t know where to look for them.
The answer to your problems might be using the help of an IT recruiting company. Without any big effort you can get a complete list of currently available recruits for different IT jobs. All you have to do is contact a staffing agency, tell them about your needs and wait for an e-mail (or fax) with their propositions. The problem is, that there are too many IT recruiting companies on the market nowadays. They all claim to have the biggest available database of IT jobs orientated candidates. They also claim that their candidates are the best on the market. How can you know if they’re telling you the truth?
There are two main categories of outside staffing companies. The first collects data from future employees that are currently looking for job their financial needs, employment history, education level etc. The second category comes to the problem from another angle. You send them information about IT jobs that are currently vacant in your company, salary propositions for candidates, and they provides you with candidates that have already passed all necessary tests and are known to be able to handle the job.
Those two categories of agencies use two different methods of gathering data. The first one is general in this case personnel is judged by their skills and employment history in short, through their CV and portfolio. The second method is more specific. Every year, educated personnel leave colleges. They usually look for the first job in their life their salary needs are lower, they do not have any bad habits and they are full of enthusiasm. There are many recruiting companies that offer their services exclusively for graduate and final year students.
However, both types of agencies are generally meant to provide you reasonably good employers. And in the IT industry reasonably good is often not enough, especially when you have to fill the key posts. That’s why there is also another way of looking for right candidates for the IT jobs. It is the staffing agencies that are also called headhunting companies.
While a typical recruiter looks for personnel among people that are currently unemployed, headhunters take under consideration people with right skills; their employment state being of no interest. When your company is looking for a specific specialist, headhunters can go as far as making an offer to the employee currently working for the rival company; if (and usually it is so) your offer outbids your competitor then, you usually gain a new, highly trained top-class employee.
Top Five Mistakes Made when Hiring IT Consultants
Hiring outside experts can be a smart business move, but you should be aware of the top five mistakes made when hiring IT consultants. No matter what services these professionals can offer you, you can maximize the consultant’s benefit to your company by taking the time to protect your needs and make a smooth transition. After all, the IT consultant’s job is to help you, and getting off on the right foot can make this happen.
- The top mistake made when hiring IT consultants is not checking the industry standards for compensation. If you offer too little, you are at risk of hiring a substandard contractor. As the same time, if you don’t know the going rate, you may pay too much for the service, which isn’t good for your bottom line. By familiarizing yourself with compensation rates for your area, you can make sure you are hiring an ethical, experienced specialist.
- Even though the consultant is not on staff, you need to conduct a formal interview. It’s important to verify the consultant’s expertise, as well as to experience his or her people skills first hand. This professional will be working closely with your staff, and it’s important that he or she not only has IT skills, but the ability to work with others, as well.
- Failing to have the professional sign a letter of confidentiality is another top mistake made when hiring an IT consultant. Even though a reputable consultant would never share your data, it’s always better to protect yourself. After all, this person could be working for your competition next, and confidentiality agreements are a standard of good business practices. No consultant worth hiring will balk at this request.
- Be sure to check the consultant’s availability. Whether you need the consultant immediately or not for three weeks, you need to make sure that he or she has the days open to work with you. Remember, consultants work with a variety of companies, and they need to schedule their time. If you plan ahead, you can ensure that they are available when you need them.
- The final top mistake made when hiring IT consultants is not introducing them to your staff. It seems so simple, and not even that important, but working together is critical. By making introductions, you foster good will, understanding, and comfort levels. When people understand the dynamic, they work better and are able to collaborate more effectively.
While these are the top five mistakes you can make when hiring IT consultants, you should know that there are consulting firms who strive to serve and educate you, as well as to seek fair contract terms. By using a reliable firm, you can be sure that your data and needs will be of the utmost priority. All the same, by understanding the top five mistakes made when hiring IT consultants, you can avoid many hassles. The consultant is there to help you, so help him or her to do it by following these tips.
Health IT – technology staffing for the healthcare industry
Health IT is changing the way our health-care system works. With the right information technology, most health-care facilities are looking to one day eliminate long waits for lab results, forms, and test results. The information can be relayed electronically, saving time and money – and possibly saving lives.
However, in order to make this new system work, most facilities recognize that health IT staffing procedures need to be followed. And, of course, it will be increasingly more important to have the right professionals for the job.
Steps in the IT Hiring Process
The first step in hiring good IT health staff is to decide which IT staffing solution to use. You can try finding the right person on your own – by sending out notices and putting up ads – but this can be time intensive, requiring background checks to be performed, as well as speaking with the previous employers of each potential candidate. Additionally, many hospitals have online databases and job search functions, but like other traditional methods, the reach only extends so far – typically attracting a pool of IT professionals that may not be of the highest caliber for hospital staffing.
On the other hand, the use of a staffing agency or an IT recruiting consultant is an option in finding and helping IT professionals apply for these positions. An agency or recruiting consultant can save time by doing the checks and hand-selecting candidates for you. The consultant can also become your headhunter, which will go and find the appropriate person, as needed. It remains one of the best ways to find the best of the best in the IT field.
Once the method of finding an IT professional has been established, it’s important to decide just what is needed for the position. For example, will the IT professional be required to contact customers or set up networks? Make sure the agency or consultant understands what the job entails so they can recommend the best person for the job. An agency’s job is to look for someone who fits the requirements, and all you need to do is wait.
IT Interviewing Tips
Regardless of the chosen recruiting method, the next step is interviewing potential candidates. In the case of supplying your own applicants, you will also need to do background and reference checks on candidates that interest you the most. There are several things to keep in mind when looking to hire an IT professional to work in the health industry.
– Do they have any experience, in health care or another IT industry?
– Are they pleasant to speak with and appear to be easy going?
– Do they have people skills?
– Are they certified in any specific areas of IT?
These questions will help you decide whether or not the person you are interviewing is a good match for your company. Of course, knowing what you need in an IT professional ahead of time will make the entire process much easier.
Thoroughness is the best way to go with health IT. Staffing can be done in several different ways, but the best results will always come from being mindful and checking each possible applicant carefully.
Hard drive data recovery – Protect your investment with System Monitoring
You and your coworkers have been working hard for some time to ensure business continuity of your company in case of some disaster. You also have made plans and prepared some hard drive data recovery methods. And then you probably found out that the best way to protect your data (and to protect your data is to protect your investment) is to minimize human involvement in protecting your files. This is the main reason for existence of system monitoring tools. They help minimize probability of human error during preparations for disaster recovery, thus making hard drive data recovery more secure.
There are many things hiding under the name “system monitoring. Tools that improve speed and accuracy of hard drive data recovery are just one option among many others. System monitoring may come in form of some pure software solution and it’s the most common form (sometimes very primitive versions are even implemented into operating systems). The bigger your expectations are, however, the bigger and more complicated system monitoring solution is needed.
Software monitoring system, as it was mentioned before, is the most common among its kind. It’s constantly running on the target computer, monitoring different operations and the current state of hardware. Such system can automatically perform backup of files that will be eventually needed during hard disk data recovery. It also can monitor using of universal power supply modules, warning user of incoming power failure. They can also show current temperature of processor, amount of memory being used, as well as free space and speed of hard drives.
Making hard drive data recovery process more reliable, warning users of incoming hardware problem’s sometimes it is not enough. More complex system monitoring solutions come in form of independent units. Such unit may perform more complicated tasks than software-based system monitoring solution. They can watch over traffic in your local area network as well as monitor over traffic coming in from the Internet, ensuring that no unauthorized access to your data occur. They also have built-in mechanisms that can alert the network administrator by email or cell phone before problems get completely out of hand and hard drive data recovery becomes a necessity. And there is also anti-virus protection that is often included in system monitoring units.
Constant protection of hardware, preparing hard drive data recovery, protection from hackers and viruses those are main benefits from using system monitoring solutions. All of those in addition to disaster recovery plan ensure continuity of your business, thus protecting your investment and your time.
Why a Good Incident Response Time Will Save Your Company
A good incident response time can save you more than just hassle. After all, your business isn’t just the goods and services you offer. It’s also your reputation for keeping data safe, for how quickly you respond to your clients and customers needs, and for having your records in proper order. In the event of an IT disaster, how ready will your company be to protect itself and get back up and running? Having a recovery plan in place is a good start, but having a comprehensive plan built and implemented by IT security and recovery experts is vital to save your company time and reputation.
The majority of work done by businesses runs on computers these days. Websites, data management, marketing, and even payroll are largely paperless. This is great for quickly accessing and utilizing data, but what happens if the data itself is compromised? Outside attackers, insider hacking, and viruses are all realities of the modern business world. Your company specializes in its particular business. Your IT staff, if you have it, manages the broad use of your technological needs. But what about up-to-date security and response times? Having someone trained to assess your system, implement changes, and to constantly revise and reassess your business needs is simply outside the scope of most IT employees. Finding an outside consultant who specializes in preventing IT disasters can ensure that you have a good incident response time, which can save your company if your system is attacked.
Disaster Recovery Plan Steps
One important step to make sure you have a good incident response time is to have a disaster recovery plan that is updated and on-hand. This plan will prioritize your applications and business needs to ensure that in the event of an IT disaster, you can get your most critical systems back up as quickly as possible. Getting up and running in fifteen minutes versus being back in business hours or days later will save your company resources and customers, both of which directly affect your bottom line.
A comprehensive plan of action is also preemptive. In order to make sure that your system is as safe as it can be and that your incident response time is quick, you should have your security, as well as your plan, reviewed and updated by a seasoned IT security professional. A consultant who does nothing but assist in security measures and in helping businesses get back up and running in the quickest time possible is one of the most valuable assets you can have. Without having to pay for a full- or even part-time employee, you can have access to a person with experience and up-to-date training who can limit your loss in the event of a successful attack or virus.
Your company can’t take the risk of being shut down due to poor incident response time. An experienced consultant can review your procedures and systems to ensure that your business is as safe as possible and has the best disaster plan available.
Monitoring Your IT Infrastructure with Vulnerability Severity Ratings
Monitoring your IT infrastructure with vulnerability severity ratings sounds complicated, but once you understand the process, it’s easy to implement into your business. By utilizing a rating system that helps determine where the gaps are in your infrastructure, you can find them, close them, and get on with business.
Your IT infrastructure is the hardware used to connect computers and users in your company. Cables, servers, routers, etc. are all part of the infrastructure. There’s often a large focus on securing the software end of a system, but overlooking the hardware infrastructure can leave your company at risk. Imagine what would happen if your network slowed to a crawl or crashed due to a spike in volume. Your company may not have access to vital systems and resources, and business could all but shut down. Not only is this bad for your reputation and customers, but it’s bad for your bottom line.
Benefits of Vulnerability Ratings
The first step in monitoring your IT infrastructure is to assess which pieces are the most vital to your operations. The vulnerability severity ratings can help you to determine which aspect of your hardware to address first. If you have a hardware failure that is affecting the performance of your firewall, is this more or less important than network issues causing data loss? How do you store your data, and are there ways to store it more securely and that allow for quicker access to it? What if some data is lost, how easily can it be recovered? All of these are questions that can be addressed with vulnerability severity ratings.
Another way that vulnerability severity ratings can help you monitor your IT infrastructure is through helping you find potential gaps that could cause cascading failures. The risk of one piece of your infrastructure failing may, in itself, not be critical, but if it causes a domino effect of network failures that crash your operations, your business will come to a halt along with your network. Using these ratings to determine which pieces of your infrastructure need additional space, or which ones have simply become obsolete, can help reduce the likelihood of a critical system failure due to a cascade.
Assessing and monitoring your IT infrastructure with vulnerability severity ratings is an important step toward ensuring that your network will run smoothly and securely. Finding gaps and closing them can reduce downtime, speed up your network, and keep your data safe all of which impact your bottom line. By knowing what pieces are the most vulnerable and how to address them, you are in a better position to keep your systems stable and get down to business.
