June 8, 2015 at 4:04 pm
So the contract I'm on is going to be coming up in a little over a year, and I'm looking to cover some bases just in case either my employer doesn't get the contract again, or my position either "goes away" or goes to someone new.
To that end, I'm contemplating going the recruiter route but have no idea where to start. I've had a couple get in touch with me on LinkedIn and have "linked" with them, but seeing as at the time I wasn't looking, I've not stayed in touch with them. Some information that may help:
* I'm located in south-east Michigan, near Detroit.
* I want to stay in this area.
* Up to a two hour commute is acceptable, obviously less is preferable (which means I can go as far as Toledo, OH)
Any suggestions on where / how to get in touch with a recruiter would be appreciated.
Thanks all,
Jason
June 8, 2015 at 4:58 pm
Jason,
If you have a local SQL Server User Group, I would definitely talk to people there - both recruiters and other developers/DBAs. What usually happens to the groups i go to is that jobs get announced at the beginning of every meeting. Get to know some people there who will understand what you're looking for and keep in touch with them.
June 8, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Recruiters that you previously connected to generally have no problem hearing from folks on inquiring about new opportunities. I have recruiters that keep in touch with me at least 1 or two times a year, they have been doing that for going on 5 or 6 years now. [Those are the good ones.]
You will have two categories of recruiters with some that are dedicated to a company and then the companies that handle recruitment. In the U.S. the best one I have worked with is TekSystems, not sure if they have recruiters in Michigan area or not.
As already mentioned go to a user group or SQL Saturday and start networking. I have heard of a few folks that have gone to better employment through PASS events.
I also am with my current employer because of DBA forums (although not this one :hehe: ). Networking does not require an in-person contact all the time.
Shawn Melton
Twitter: @wsmelton
Blog: wsmelton.github.com
Github: wsmelton
June 9, 2015 at 12:58 pm
Good advice thus far. Also, I've yet to meet a recruiter who isn't happy to help a talented person. It is how they make their money, and the better talent they provide the more likely a company is to go back to them.
I'd be TekSystems has an office in your area, they are pretty much everywhere. Another big one is Robert Half. How good they are really depends on the recruiter.
I definitely recommend the user group/SQLSaturday route. You can go here, http://www.sqlpass.org/PASSChapters/LocalChapters.aspx and look for chapters in the Detroit area (US North Central). The chapters will normally have a contact us page where you can get in touch with leadership and ask them about local recruiters and often they have a list of sponsors on their web site. I'd definitely contact a recruiter that has sponsored community events before one that doesn't. You can also do the same thing at the SQLSaturday website and find the sponsors for the events closest to you.
I believe Jeff Moden is in the Detroit area. You might want to ping him.
Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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June 9, 2015 at 1:11 pm
If you're on LinkedIn, then I'm surprised you're only been contacted by "a couple" of recruiters. You must have neglected to mention "SQL Server" somewhere in your profile.
But personally I wouldn't commute two hours, especially not one way. From what I've seen, contracting gigs are easy to come by. If you lost your job today, you could be working on a 1090 by the end of the week, even if it's just to pay the bills in between.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 9, 2015 at 1:19 pm
I'm with Eric. You should seriously look at the value of your time. It might be worth it to commute to get experience or start the move to a new area, but over time that drive will seriously take away from life. If you do look there, I'd be sure to ask about telecommuting 3 days a week.
I'd search LinkedIn, maybe change my profile to say looking for SQL Server work. However I'd also search IT recruiter in the area where I want to work. You'll get lots of firms. Don't be exclusive; work with them all.
June 9, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Regarding your LinkedIn, be sure to join the SQL Server Central and other database related group affiliations and have the affiliations visible in your profile. Also, add "SQL Server", "database administration", or whatever you're currently doing to your skills list. Those are all things that recruiters and employers search on and impact how you get ranked in search results.
It's so much easier to market yourself today than it was 20 years ago. The problem is that recruiters have a difficult time separating the wheat from the chaff; anyone can add "SQL Server" to their profile. Also, job seekers have to separate the spam from worthwhile leads; it seems there are more "IT recruiters" out there than there are IT jobs. I'll get calls from three different recruiters pitching the same job, and they all claim to be exclusively representing the client.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 9, 2015 at 2:11 pm
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (6/9/2015)
I'm with Eric. You should seriously look at the value of your time. It might be worth it to commute to get experience or start the move to a new area, but over time that drive will seriously take away from life. If you do look there, I'd be sure to ask about telecommuting 3 days a week.I'd search LinkedIn, maybe change my profile to say looking for SQL Server work. However I'd also search IT recruiter in the area where I want to work. You'll get lots of firms. Don't be exclusive; work with them all.
... just keeping in mind that your own company representatives might also be scanning LinkedIn. Depending on how much discretion you want (or how worried are you if your existing company sees this new status), you may consider NOT doing this on LinkedIn. You still can do it the old fashioned way and post to Monster or to any of the larger consulting firms without necessarily blaring it from the treetops (i.e. LinkedIn).
In the organization I am in, that would actually be a "shot across the bow", which in some cases has precipitated a conclusion when the person was really just shopping it around.
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
June 9, 2015 at 2:12 pm
I'm with everyone else - SQL Saturday and Local User Groups are great resources.
I would add - I have working in the past with Tek Systems. I think they are excellent and would use them if I needed a recruiter. They are National.
That said, whatever recruiter you talk to, try to go into their office and meet with them. Get a feel for what kind of organization it is. There are a lot of resume chuckers out there. If you see a bunch of desks with a dozens of people cold calling candidates then that's not the recruiter for you.
-- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001
June 9, 2015 at 2:34 pm
Aren't you right here in SE Michigan? If so, I have several great recruiters that I can put you in touch with.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
June 9, 2015 at 2:42 pm
Starting from the bottom:
Jeff: Yes, I'm currently up in Clinton Township.
As for the commute, Toledo would be a last-ditch resort, unless the telecommute option was on the table (I work with a guy currently who lives out in Jackson, telecommutes 2 days a week, and another guy from in Ohio somewhere who comes in once a week.)
I do need to get in and update my LinkedIN profile, it's been a while.
I've currently got about a year-and-a-half before the end of the contract, so I'm not quite actively looking at the moment, just planting the seeds as a just-in-case.
June 9, 2015 at 2:49 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (6/9/2015)
Steve Jones - SSC Editor (6/9/2015)
I'm with Eric. You should seriously look at the value of your time. It might be worth it to commute to get experience or start the move to a new area, but over time that drive will seriously take away from life. If you do look there, I'd be sure to ask about telecommuting 3 days a week.I'd search LinkedIn, maybe change my profile to say looking for SQL Server work. However I'd also search IT recruiter in the area where I want to work. You'll get lots of firms. Don't be exclusive; work with them all.
... just keeping in mind that your own company representatives might also be scanning LinkedIn. Depending on how much discretion you want (or how worried are you if your existing company sees this new status), you may consider NOT doing this on LinkedIn. You still can do it the old fashioned way and post to Monster or to any of the larger consulting firms without necessarily blaring it from the treetops (i.e. LinkedIn).
In the organization I am in, that would actually be a "shot across the bow", which in some cases has precipitated a conclusion when the person was really just shopping it around.
Just because someone has a profile on LinkedIn, that doesn't necessarily mean they're in the market for a new job. Practically everyone who I work with has a LinkedIn profile, even the executive management. I don't someone should explicitly state on their profile they're actively looking for a job.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 9, 2015 at 3:05 pm
Yes - agreed Eric.
Clearly have a profile on LinkedIn, but making massive changes and/or listing yourself as looking for work in this scenario might cause relatively nasty side effects (like limiting what you work on, or worse since you are now a flight risk). That's what I was cautioning against (Steve mentioned possibly adding that to the OP's LinkedIn profile).
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Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?
June 9, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (6/9/2015)
Yes - agreed Eric.Clearly have a profile on LinkedIn, but making massive changes and/or listing yourself as looking for work in this scenario might cause relatively nasty side effects (like limiting what you work on, or worse since you are now a flight risk). That's what I was cautioning against (Steve mentioned possibly adding that to the OP's LinkedIn profile).
It is possible to do things like disabling profile update notifications and restricting visibility of connections (so no one sees how many recruiters you're hooking up with lately).
How do I control the updates I broadcast about myself?
https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/78
Of course, "going dark" will also look suspicious to someone who's keeping close tabs on your profile. 😎
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
June 9, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Matt Miller (#4) (6/9/2015)
Yes - agreed Eric.Clearly have a profile on LinkedIn, but making massive changes and/or listing yourself as looking for work in this scenario might cause relatively nasty side effects (like limiting what you work on, or worse since you are now a flight risk). That's what I was cautioning against (Steve mentioned possibly adding that to the OP's LinkedIn profile).
I remember someone saying you should update your profile every month. That way any changes you make when you start looking for another position will not be as obvious.
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