Recruiters perform a very valuable service in our industry by matching consultants with clients.  As an IT Consultant, I work with recruiters all the time.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great ones.  The best recruiters form long term relationships with clients and consultants.  They are people that you want to work with throughout your career.  Here are a few tips that I follow, as a consultant, when working with recruiters.

Always reply to them

Even if you are currently on a long term assignment, let them know your status.  You never know when the assignment can end or a better opportunity might come along.

Make Referrals

Even if you’re not available for an assignment, you might know someone who is.  You can help your colleagues and the recruiter by getting them in touch with each other.

Be Respectful

Recruiters are working hard, just like you are.

Think Long Term

A good recruiter is someone you want to have a long term relationship with.

Bret Miller – Owner and Principal Consultant, LMR Computer Services Inc

Early in my career, an older, wiser, IT Professional told me that there is no such thing as a temporary contract or a permanent position.

Full time positions don’t last forever.  Lay-offs and reorganizations are realities that full time employees have to deal with.

Sometimes contracts are extended much longer than expected.  I’ve had jobs, that started out as 6 month contracts, last over 2 years.

IT Consulting is not for the faint of heart.  You can be let go at a moments notice for things that are beyond your control.  Budgets get cut. That’s the way it goes.  At the same time, there is a lot more money to be made in consulting.  Why not make the most money that you can for your work?

Bret Miller – Owner and Principal Consultant, LMR Computer Services Inc

It’s important for every business to have a clearly defined focus.  To define our focus I came up with the following Focus Statement:

LMR Computer Services Inc is focused on Server Infrastructure from Hardware through the Advanced Features of the OS.

This Focus Statement encompasses everything from installing a new Blade Chassis to supporting the advanced features of the Server Operating System such as Active Directory and Web Services.

In between the Hardware and the OS lives the all important Hypervisor. I’ve been working with one of the most popular forms of Virtualization, VMware ESX, for over 10 years.

In larger organizations these functions are typically handled by separate teams. In smaller organizations this may all be handled by one person or a small team.

Throughout my career as a consultant I have made myself versatile by taking on a wide variety of work. At some clients I have even moved between teams as their needs changed.

The Focus Statement is not just important for what it includes but also what it excludes.  My goal is not to become a general purpose staffing firm.  There are already some very good ones out there.  My goal is to focus on what I do best, which is Server Infrastructure.

Bret Miller – Owner and Principal Consultant, LMR Computer Services Inc