Richmond Code Camp 3 was an incredible success. I just wanted to take two minutes to talk about the value of Code Camp from a recruiter's perspective. From my perspective - if you are a junior, mid level or senior developer; you want to attend Code Camp. First of all, there were 25 different seminars to choose from throughout the day. From morning until late afternoon, there were five different time slots with 5 seminars during each time slot. So, there is tons of learning to be had at Code Camp. Second reason would be the opportunity to network with other .NET professionals. There were some senior architects with other companies and managers that gave the different presentations. Excellent opportunity to increase your skills, but also to make career inroads with some high level technical people. As a way to learn more about the technology that we specialize in we require all of our recruiters to attend all .NET user group meetings as well as all Code Camps and try to take in as much infomation as possible. One of the seminars that I attended was .NET 3.0 where I had the opportunity to learn all about WCF (Windows Communications Foundation) and the ABC's of WCF. I have already had the opportunity to talk about address, binding and contracts in WCF and was able to get a better understanding of a candidate's abilities in regards to WCF. Plus, I think he was impressed with our level of knowledge in the .NET world. The one thing I can say about Richmond Code Camp( http://richmondcodecamp.org/default.aspx) is that it truly is all about the code. Aside from LTL Consulting, I don't think I saw one other recruiting firm there. This was also LTL Consulting's first step into the marketing and branding area. We are really trying to connect and develop relationships with all the .NET professionals in the Richmond/Charlottesville area. As one of the sponsors for Richmond Code Camp 3 we gave away a full copy of Vista Ultimate. Please look for us sponsoring other .NET related events this year. |
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The second area I wanted to touch on was the current market and permanent placement. Right now the market for .NET resources is surging ahead and making it very difficult for companies to find top .NET talent. Generally, the talent that companies are seeking are working for other companies in the metro Richmond area. Sometimes the talent is at a direct competitor, and sometimes it is at a company in a completely different industry. Nevertheless, other companies are employing the desired .NET talent in a full time capacity.
Just as I indicated what was not popular in the Contract to Hire model; is exactly what is attractive in a permanent opportunity. The hirng company is asking you to leave your full time role at your current company and come work, in a full time role, with the hiring company. As a candidate you are able to continue working without an interuption in pay (often an increase), no lapse in benefits and complete security with being an FTE in the new company. The perceived risk is vey small.
In a tight candidate market, this is one of the most affordable and quickest way to finding good candidates. Recruiting firms will generally charge a placement fee (to be paid by the hiring company) of approximately 25% of the candidates first year salary. This fee also has a guarantee for the client of X number of days to ensure that the candidate(new employee) works out. The great thing for companies is that this is done on a contingency basis; so that companies get to see multiple candidates and can conduct multiple interviews at no cost. The only time a placement fee is charged is when an employer makes an acceptable offer to one of our candidates.
Candidates enjoy the permanent placement model because they can continue to work at an old job until they find the right match at a new company. And, if their criteria is never met by a perspective employer; they get to continue working at their current employer.
During a tight market, I encourage companies to hire new employees through the Permanent Placement model because I can ensure them that they are getting the best talent available. We can guarantee them that we are only working with motivated candidates with a sincere reason for leaving. And if they don't like our candidates, then the client does not have to pay our company one dime.
Next up is straight contract/consulting work. |
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The market continues to improve for both IT personnel and the recruiters that help them find jobs. Now, I'll agree we may never see the glory days of the late 90's or Y2K again. But things are still going pretty well.
I want to talk about the three most popular hiring practices for clients. They are, in no particular order, Contract to Hire, Permanent Placement, and straight Contract work. Each one has its own benefits to both the employer and perspective employee. But they also have pitfalls. Some companies have one strategy that they use all the time. If you are looking to get the best talent available to work for your organization, then the employer needs to be flexible and choose the hiring practice that best fits the current market conditions.
One of the trends from the last couple of years that seems to be a favorite of employers is the Contract to Hire Model. When the IT field is in a recession period or there is a great amount of local layoffs, the Contract to Hire Model is a great option. The reasoning is that there is a lot of talent out on the street. If there is a high amount of talent available, people aren't getting a paycheck, and there aren't a lot of jobs available; candidates usually jump on opportunities even if they are Contract to Hire. The problem for the Contract to Hire model starts when the market is strong. There are still people out on the street, but they are generally lower skilled and less desirable to many companies. And employers generally don't want that type of person. Employers clammor for higher quality candidates. Well, the problem is that the higher quality candidates are either contractors (who want to stay contracting) or they are full time, permanent employees with another company. And I pose this question to hiring managers all the time - If you were a full time employee at XYZ company and a main provider for your household; would you risk taking a 3 month or 6 month contract to hire opportunity? Most managers understand the problem when it is presented to them in that manner. A Contract to Hire situation is just that - its a contract for X amount of months and there are NO guarantees that you will be hired besides the managers good faith gesture. It's a scary proposition because of the risk involved.
The point I am trying to make is that if employers want higher level talent/employees in their organization, then they need to adjust to market conditions in their hiring practices. Contract to Hire can be a good model at the right time. Unfortunately, that time is not now. |
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| Posted by LTL Consulting at | | | |
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Good morning! First entry into the new LTL Consulting Blog. This blog will be a place that all contacts (clients and candidates) can come and learn more about The Richmond IT Landscape, The .NET market in Central Virginia, exclusive openings to LTL Consulting, interview tips and techniques, sample interview questions, etc... It will cover all things .NET related and recruiting and consulting related.
Today I just briefly want to talk about the Richmond IT landscape, what's hot and what's not from a recruiting perspective and what I think is driving these changes.
Richmond has a robust IT community with a ton of corporations calling Richmond home. Often I find that certain geographic areas utilize one technology more than others. It may be due to the type of industries that an area emcompasses or it may be historical. Richmond is hands down a Microsoft area. That doesn't mean that there aren't Java or Mainframe or Open Source technologies; because there obviously are and a lot of companies use them. But, the overall picture suggests that most companies use Microsoft on both the infrastructure side as well as the application development areas. For Richmond, it's both historical and its also the type of industries that are here. The local companies are very user focused companies - retail, financial, healthcare, etc.. And because Microsoft has such user friendly hardware and software; it is a natural fit.
Currently .NET development is white hot. Specifically, ASP.NET / C# web services are the skills most in demand right now. There are ... |
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| Posted by LTL Consulting at | | | |
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