Blog
How a Shortage of IT Professionals Can Hinder Your Business
May 09, 2013
Despite the situation of the United States job market in the past few years, there are still certain niche areas, with positions that remain unfilled. Information technology is among them. According to this New York Times article, even though unemployment remains sky high in this country, many companies are having trouble filling open IT positions.
Okay, so there’s clearly an issue here. Carroll Technology Service is a leading IT recruiter that has been going strong for over 12 years, placing top-notch professionals in IT job positions for employers seeking to recruit such people. Our more than a decade of experience has proven to us that businesses of all sizes need their IT positions filled. There are a number of reasons why:
Letting positions go unfilled leads to lower morale in the workplace among current employees. We know how hard it can be for an understaffed business to keep current employees happy and satisfied in their jobs, because all of them have to work harder and often in a reduced amount of time, than they normally would if all the IT positions were filled from the get-go.
With a lower level of general job satisfaction, your business will inevitably experience a higher turnover rate. This means that you will need to continue hiring and training more people, which lowers productivity. And in the meantime, the IT professionals who are still on staff have to pick up the slack for those who have resigned.
Even though your current employees are working hard to keep on top of all the necessary tasks, productivity is inevitably lowered when each person has to do the work of two. As a result of lowered productivity overall, a decrease in the revenue for your business is inevitable.
Fortunately, the experts are here to help. Carroll Technology Service specializes in recruiting only the best IT professionals, so that your business can think about filling those vacant positions before they even become open.
.Net Jobs Are in High Demand
February 19, 2013
What's Your Network Know-How?
ASP and .Net development jobs are booming in the Maryland, DC, and VA areas. Government contractors, technology firms, and others in the private sector are snatching up as many .Net programmers as they can to fill their ever-increasing demand, and we at Carroll Technology Services are here to help match the best .Net talent with the hottest .Net careers on the horizon.
If you’re looking for a .Net position, check out our job descriptions in our listings, or call our team today. You’ll need a deep understanding of the .Net framework and be comfortable with computers and the technical side of things. With our wide variety of positions and mixture of different employers, you may find a broad spectrum of .Net variations having to do with web programming, online interfaces, mobile applications, software development, information architecture, and more.
A background in computer science, programming languages, or information systems, or other IT area may give you a headstart on a successful new career as a .Net professional. Get in touch with CTS for more information on what you can do to get the edge, present yourself, and nab just the high-demand, well-paying .Net job you want. We’re here to help, and have successfully matched hundreds of people just like you with tons of permanent and contract jobs in the area.
Don’t wait! Your future could be only a phone call away! Contact us today at 1-877-885-5899 and get started!
Contact Carroll Technology Services today or call 1-877-885-5899 right now.
10 Mutual Benefits of Hiring on a Contract Basis
December 7, 2012
1. Flexibility. Both parties can simply write into the contract whatever specifications they’d like. Everything can be entirely up for grabs or remain similar in most respects to full-timers.
2. Insurance Packages. The most common proponent from a hiring standpoint is saving on insurance costs. This can be a moot point for the contractor, who may not prefer the company’s carrier, with a more affordable plan of their own.
3. Retirement Plans. Employers can also save on this; contractors may find it a pain to rollover anyhow.
4. Savings on the Clock. Employers don’t have to pay for idle salaried Facebook-trolling hours. From the contractor’s perspective, they can arrive later or leave earlier if their work gets done, saving them money in the form of time.
5. WYSIWYG. You get what you pay for and you get what you put into it. Paying as you go helps accommodate tight or unreliable company budgets. And the hourly contractor is immune to the unpaid overtime that makes full-time employees cringe. Rather, he/she has a more direct line to the fruits of their labor.
6. Time Commitment. Single parents, workers with multiple jobs, and businesses with oddball hours or seasons can make things as full-time or part-time as necessary.
7. Tenure & Office Politics. The renewability of contracts makes performance trump tenure and ensures those workers take their annual reviews seriously.
8. Perks. Contractors may enjoy reasonable perks like working from home, taking control of lunches and off-the-clock time, and enjoying greater leniency in vacation scheduling.
9. Productivity. Salaries often cause laziness and complacency. Contracts can still be structured with incentives. Depending on the worker, flat rate contracts may increase efficiency, while hourly rates can increase output.
10. Turnover. Corollary to time commitment, contracts are great for high turnover industries and situations where the worker wants a stepping stone or a clear heads up on the next job or upcoming long sabbatical.
More and more employers are offering jobs on a contract basis. Ask CTS how we can help you with our contract staffing services by contacting us at carrolltech.net.
10 Ways How Hiring The Wrong Candidate Could Spell Disaster
October 26, 2012
With the high unemployment rate, and poor economy today, many Americans are falling into one of two traps: desperately clinging to a job that they hate, or desperately finding a job that they’re not cut out for, in order to just have a job. In fact, according to a recent poll mentioned in Forbes, less than 1 in 5 employed Americans are happy with their jobs. And that’s not even counting the unemployed. Add to this situation any urgency, ignorance, or lack of dedicated recruiting resources, and you have a major minefield of problems for recruiters, causing a vicious cycle if the wrong candidate is hired.
1. Loss of Performance
Overstatement of skillset makes for sub-par performance; misunderstandings can cause huge steps backwards in terms of company progress. And while it’s the problem that gets the most attention, losses on under-qualified performance is only the tip of the iceberg of troubles associated with hiring the wrong candidate.
2. Loss of Morale
If someone’s the wrong candidate, they can immediately start—and continue—causing friction with their peers and superiors and can put a strain on morale for the whole team.
3. Loss of Other Solid Team Members
Friction can lead to fallout, regardless of how the situation is handled. A solid employee may be dumbfounded on principle that the hire happened in the first place, even if immediately fired. Another may just run out of patience if the exit takes too long. Some bad eggs may not adhere to non-competes, and take long-time employees with them.
4. Loss of Face
A side effect of a bad new hire is distrust in the managerial decision-making process. This kind of distrust takes a while to earn back and can get in the way of operations.
5. Loss of Company Image
Especially in this instantaneous, digital age, PR nightmares can happen, and hit the company as a whole. Subtle embarrassments, too, can come from moody, unstable, or otherwise unfit candidates.
6. Loss of Company Property
Whether it’s physical property like a desk chair or intellectual property like trade secrets and proprietary processes, planned theft happens without being thorough in the recruitment process, even if the candidate is only briefly employed.
7. Loss of Key Differentiators
Weakened brand positioning doesn’t always happen from competitors or market changes. Sometimes the edge is lost as a result of settling for the status quo by recruiting average Joes.
8, 9 & 10. Time Cost, Dollar Cost and Client Cost
It costs time and money to not only allocate resources for hiring the candidate in the first place, but then to rehire a new one if the first goes wrong. Plus, you need to account for lost time on project work, and if things are really bad, clients may notice and waver from contracts.
Hence, the need to find better employees through a recruiting firm! Contact Carroll Technology Services to find the right employees while avoiding a minefield of recruiting missteps.
IT Recruiter Bob Small Speaks at Fall Top Echelon Network Conference
Small discusses how easy it is for direct hire recruiters to add contract staffing to their business models.October 18, 2012
Bob Small, Partner of the recruiting firm Carroll Technology Services, Inc., spoke on a panel at the 2012 Chicago Fall Conference Two Day Workshop: A Years Worth of Talent Source Solutions held by Top Echelon Network, an elite network of highly specialized search firms. The conference was held Thursday, October 11, and Friday, October 12, at the Sheraton Chicago O'Hare.
Small and his team at Carroll Technology Services, Inc., have extensive experience recruiting in the internetworking and software development arenas. Their particular areas of depth include: Storage Area Networking (SAN), Carrier Class WAN Infrastructure design and deployment, Enterprise and Network Security, PKI, Directory Services, Enterprise and Network Management, Software Development (Java, C/C++, XML), Oracle, CRM and Project Management. Their team maintains a broad pool of Senior Staff, Management and Executive level Technical, Sales, Marketing and Business Development candidates.
Small spoke on a panel during the Top Echelon Network conference titled "Make Money with Top Echelon Tools." Specifically, he talked about the contract staffing back-office services of Top Echelon Network's sister company, Top Echelon Contracting (TEC). He discussed how easy it is for direct hire recruiters to add contract staffing to their business models.
Small speaks from experience. He began recruiting in 1988 and initially worked direct hire job orders exclusively. He turned down several contract staffing job orders because it was out of his comfort zone. In 2009, he made his first contract placement with the help of TEC. He earned $13.15 for every hour the contractor worked, which calculated to $2,274.95 a month, on that first placement.
A comprehensive knowledge of contract staffing is not required for recruiters to provide the service to client companies, Small said. Recruiting knowledge is the only prerequisite. As the legal Employer of Record for contractors, TEC handles all of the administrative, legal, and financial details of the contract placement, including contracts with the employee and client company, employee paperwork, timesheet collection, payroll funding and processing, tax withholding, benefits administration, Workers' Compensation coverage, invoicing, collection of accounts receivables, background checks, etc.
"It is a no brainer," Small said. "In the beginning I didn't know anything about rates, and markups, but Top Echelon Contracting helped with the quote and they handled ALL the details. When they communicated with my client . . .which is always a sensitive issue . . .they did a great job. Clients felt that the customer service and professionalism were great. I have all the confidence in the world that everything is going to get handled correctly by Top Echelon. It is so EASY that my sixth-grade daughter could do it if she used Top Echelon Contracting."
Small said he knows there are recruiters just like him who work a direct hire desk and have never done contracting before. If they are thinking about contract staffing, he said that they should do what he did – just jump in.
Debbie Fledderjohann, President of TEC, shared that there is a "fear-factor" on the part of many direct hire recruiters when it comes to accepting contract job orders.
"Bob was a primary example of that," Fledderjohann said. "But once he made his first placement, he realized how easy it is. Today, he is recognized as an industry expert in his niche for direct hire, contract staffing, and contract-to-direct hire. Essentially, he can meet whatever staffing needs his clients have, and that is critical in today's business environment."
Java Jobs Tips for Java Developers
September 26, 2012
High Demand Java Jobs
The unflinching pace of IT has collided with the explosive markets for mobile devices and new media to form a mountain of demand for programming jobs, most notably Java Developers. In fact, according to Dice’s recent survey earlier this year, Java is the most wanted software skill out there. But what does this mean?
Brush Up. Seize this opportunity to deepen your skill set in Java. It's also smart to broaden it throughout as many fancy new mediums as possible to maximize your hireability.
Move Up. With high demand can come higher salary, but higher responsibility, too. While technology builds the demand, it can also create a talent gap. If you sell your boss on the idea that you’re ready to move up with position and commensurate salary, make sure you really do know your stuff well enough to live up to it. Otherwise, another developer who lives and breathes Java may end up filling your shoes.
Button Up. Time to shake the dust off your résumé and tighten up your career image a bit. Getting a professionally written résumé can help. Plus, it can teach you how to tailor your résumé to each job opportunity. Making preparations now will make it easier to jump when the right position comes along—and hasten that golden opportunity, too.
Narrow Down. Opportunity abounds, which is a good thing. On the other hand, it can be overwhelming when trying to do your job search alone. Get the help you need to find the right match for you and filter out the positions that could be a waste of time.
Contact Carroll Technology Services for career advice and opportunities in your area. Get started today and you could be on your way to a happier career with increased earning potential as a Java developer.
Top 10 Reasons Why Smarter Businesses Use a Pro Recruiting Firm
July 12, 2012
More and more and more leading businesses are discovering that it’s smarter to hire a pro recruiting company. Here are the top 10 reasons why.
1) Focus on the Big Picture
Hiring a recruiting company lets you focus on the money-making, strategy-shaking, ground-breaking things that matter most to your job and to your company, whether you’re the CEO, CFO, or a human resources specialist. While your company is likely not hiring at the time, when it does, it probably needs to act fast to fill the position. More often than not, this means dropping all the other things you’re juggling. But with a dedicated recruiting company that is always focused on hiring and placement, you have a more seamless transition, while always maintaining focus on the big picture.
2) Pick Platinum from Gold Rather Than Diamonds from the Rough
Our pre-screening for talent assures that only the best, qualified candidates are presented for IT job openings. That means employers get to select from already hand-picked, proven, all-star talent, rather than wasting time with scouting and risky betting.
3) Look for Real Impact, Not Just Status Quo
Our team specializes in placing “impact players” in technology. That impact can mean a match for producing better, more revolutionary technology products, or profit and career path growth aligned well. It means that you get senior-level, technical and managerial roles not only filled to your expectations, but both parties get something that exceeds the job description in a way that’s mutually beneficial for the long-term.
4) Draft Your Dream Team
For start-up clients, we can help by not only placing key impact individuals, but also by establishing whole teams from the ground up, whether it is a highly specialized IT technical team or a dedicated in-house recruitment department. We get how individual candidates will perform alone and their potential for meshing with each other.
5) Minimize Risk
Hiring an individual or team of individuals can be complex. Policies around health and retirement packages, bonuses, training, and severance all add to the base salary monetary liability of someone new on board. Carroll Tech’s recruiters understand the unique challenges presented in recruiting technical staff, and are constantly staying up-to-date with the changes and trends in the industry. This allows us to better meet the needs of both the prospective employee and the employer. We look for demonstrated track records, proven talent, and red flags as much as green lights for opportunity. We connect employers with top talent and connect qualified job candidates with the right jobs. It’s our philosophy that the more satisfied both parties are, the more successful and profitable a future they will have, with reduced risk of falling out.
6) Experience Is Everything
Entrusting your recruitment process to a firm with plenty of professional experience in the field is key. Established in 2001. Carroll Technology Services has been in the technical recruiting business for 11 years. The founders alone have combined a experience of over 45 years. We have placed more than 3,000 highly qualified technical candidates, and filled even the most challenging positions, for several of the top tech firms in the country. While based in Maryland, our business has worked with firms stretching all the way up to New York, over to PA and Delaware, and down to Virginia and DC.
7) Quickness Meets Quality
When facing a hiring process, even non-urgent ones, HR and department heads too often rush the process in order to get back to regular operations sooner. This typically results in settling for the wrong candidate. Before you know it, the soon-disgruntled new hire either leaves on a dime, or worse, makes poor decisions, disgruntles other productive team members, and otherwise costs the company money before they’re fired. In both cases, you’re back to where you started. Not only do we save each party time making the initial match, we save them time for the future. We are more than comfortable handling urgent time-to-hire searches while maintaining a quality match.
8) Increase Flexibility with Contract Staffing
Besides direct hires, we can also help with contractual roles. Contract staffing is growing in popularity, partly due to the shift in the economy and new insurance legislation and the reduced costs and liabilities of contract roles. Most importantly, contract solutions offer the key benefit of flexibility that’s attractive to both the company and the worker. Our contracting back-office, Top Echelon Contracting, handles everything from drawing up the contracts, finances, administrative tasks, and more.
9) Get The Help That Handles Everything
If you’d like to simply outsource all the IRS headaches and concerns that come with employment, Carroll Technology Service offers a convenient, turnkey Employer of Record service. For a nominal cost, we hire the candidate, handle the taxes, insurance, benefits, payroll funding, payroll processing, and more. You just pay one simple invoice.
10) Tapping Into Your Recruiting Resource Is Easy
The best part about going with a professional recruiting firm is how easy it is to get started with Carroll Technology Services. Registration is free and quick to begin checking out our huge database full of pre-screened and top-notch talent. You’ll be able to find all kinds of information technology specialists looking for new opportunities, from network engineers, enterprise managers, and database architects to programmers, software developers, systems analysts, web heads, and more. There are plenty of managers, senior-level directors, and chief technology officers available to boot.
Contact Carroll Technology Services today or call 1-877-885-5899 right now.