Interview Tips for IT Jobs from a Smartbridge Recruiter

Ever since the Pandemic, IT job hiring has never been the same. Layoffs, ghosting, ATS resume scanning gone wrong… the average job candidate has a huge mountain to climb.

I‘ve been working at Smartbridge recruiting new hires since well before the pandemic, and I’ve seen so much evolution in the world of recruiting for IT and consulting. I’m talking about jobs like Business Analysts, Power BI Consultants, Salesforce Developers, and many more. Depending on the role, we still are experiencing a significant spike in applications for positions we post.

Smartbridge operates very lean, meaning we don’t experience the typical layoff rounds like the large and enterprise consultancies we compete against. So this means we go through a very selective, exhaustive hiring process to make sure we put the best candidates in front of our clients. Culturally our goal is to become a strategic partner to our clients, and we seek the skills that clients have come to demand. We have clients that have been with us over 20 years, and we plan for the list to continue to grow!

Visit our Careers page to view open positions

So let me share with you my many years of wisdom, with some helpful tips to assist those vying for these coveted open positions.

Is Your Resume Up to Par?

As of the most recently released data for the 2024 job market, the unemployment rate has remained stable at 3.8%, reflecting a consistent labor market, even as certain sectors show higher vulnerability to job losses than others. For example, the technology industry.

Tech had a record wave of layoffs in 2023, with over 260,000 tech employees affected globally, so companies remain cautious due to broader economic factors like inflation and high interest rates. This is prompting them to carefully evaluate hiring and expenses. This cautious stance has led to a notable reduction in tech job openings in early 2024, though some areas like cloud computing and data science continue to show solid growth (I’ll speak more on those specific jobs in a bit!).

With so many people now applying for the same jobs, you may be asking yourself, “how do I stand out?” A lot of resume etiquette remains the same, but there are a few things you should try if you haven’t been on the market in a while, or this is your first time.

IT job interviews - update your resume

  • Number one, make sure to check your grammar. Grammarly is a fantastic tool that has a free option to catch grammar mistakes like forgetting commas, spelling, and sentence structure.

  • A lot of recruiters are using “keyword” searches in resumes to shorten the number they need to review. Make sure to read the requirements and tailor your resume to include those keywords if you have those skills.

  • Answer the screening questions with details. When applying, most applications will have a few screening questions. Do your best to provide a little detail when you answer.

  • List achievements. Did you complete each project on time? Did you find a way to save your company money? This is your resume; you need to tell your story and be your biggest fan.

  • If you have been laid off for more than a month, list what you have been doing to be proactive. Did you take a new course? Did you get your certifications renewed?

  • Make sure your resume is relevant to the job you want. Highlight the experience that you have that matches the job. Recruiters don’t need 4 page resumes that talk about the roles you had in high school if it doesn’t align with your career now. According to a study by TheLadders, recruiters spend, on average, six seconds looking at a resume before moving on.

Digital is the New Normal

Once you have your resume in order and you are applying, don’t be surprised to find out that the recruitment process is different than you remember it. Even before the pandemic, more and more companies were turning to digital ways to screen candidates. Be prepared for one-way video interviews, online tests, and multiple rounds of live video interviews. With limited in-person interaction, technology is our best tool to bridge the gap.

Remember that you are not just being considered for the skills you have but for your attitude, behavior, and cultural fit. According to some experts, depending on the industry and position, you should expect to spend a minimum of 5 hours interviewing with a company. With so many hours of video interviews ahead of you, make sure you are ready.

IT job interview remote tips

  • Pick a spot with few distractions in the background.

  • Check your camera position and lighting before the interview starts.

  • Wear pants! Dress like you would if you were going to the office to interview.

  • Be prepared with notes. What things do you want to highlight about your experience? Have them ready. Remember they can’t see what’s in front of you.

  • And by notes, we don’t mean AI. If you are reading answers off an AI tool, we’ll know. And that’s not a good thing.

  • Have questions you want to ask ready as well.

  • If you have two monitors, have the company website up for reference.

  • If your smoke detector needs a new battery, change it before the interview. More times than you would think, I have conducted interviews where I had to sit there and listen to that chirping in the background of the candidate. It’s a little thing, but very distracting.

Data Science & AI

The new shiny tech jobs have their own set of unique challenges. You’re most likely re-skilling into these new areas, or have very little work experience before applying. Data Scientists and AI experts have been growing in demand for years. We’ve been interviewing and hiring candidates for these roles all that time.

My advice to aspiring data scientists and analysts is to not forget to sharpen and improve your soft skills. Being able to communicate technical data and solutions into real business insights to non-technical stakeholders is critical. You can be the smartest person in the room and analyze all the data, but if you can’t help your stakeholder understand the data, what good is it?

Changing Careers? New jobseeker? Get Certified!

And finally, if you are a new grad or jobseeker changing careers and you do not currently have any experience in the IT and Technology industry, take the time to get the certifications in the areas/technologies you are looking to work with. It will show future employers that you are taking the steps to self-learn and are serious about your interest in the field. You may not have hands-on working experience, but you will show that you know some things about the technology and are not starting from ground zero.

Smartbridge has great resources for two of our service areas to give you a leg up:

Salesforce Training Resources >

Microsoft Power Automate Training Resources >

Right now is a challenging time to be the candidate, but there are companies hiring everywhere, all the time. Have patience, put in a little effort, and be your biggest fan. You are the only one that can tell a company what makes you the right person for the job.

Good luck!

Keep Reading: 3 Types of Quality Assurance Teams

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