SILICON VALLEY IT STAFFING FIRM LAUNCHES LARGE-SCALE CAMPAIGN TO CIRCUMVENT ADDRESS HIRING CHALLENGES

Santa Cruz, CA – It should come as no surprise that Silicon Valley businesses are finding this to be the most challenging technical recruiting environment in history and future trends are not favorable for fast growing companies experiencing or planning for hyper-growth with accelerating technical hiring requirements. In fact, 1 in 4 Silicon Valley CEOs said they were either unable to pursue a market opportunity or had to cancel or delay a strategic initiative because of talent constraints. Local IT Staffing firm, The Armada Group, has announced today a year-long campaign focused on educating hiring managers, addressing recruiting challenges, and helping local area businesses to improve their competitive advantage through stronger talent acquisition strategies.

The Armada Group’s CEO, Jeff Tavangar, was quoted stating, “The biggest challenge to for our local economy is the lack of skilled technical graduates candidates in Silicon Valley. One of our country’s primary hubs of technology, innovation, and job creation is positioned to experience drastic problems in the future if we cannot address these issues. While the number of jobs openings for IT professionals has grown by almost over 25% in less than 2 years, the number of undergrads who are computer science or computer engineering majors has dropped nearly 40% since 2000. It’s important to for all of us here in the Greater San Francisco area to be aware of the challenges and work together to address them.”

In today’s recruiting climate, more companies are turning to On Demand Talent solutions to meet their critical hiring needs without having to absorb the additional costs overhead of recruiting, onboarding, training, staffing, and potentially losing employees. Companies incorporating this flexible model experience faster deployment and execution of strategies because of the ability to quickly ramp up and scale down as needed. These firms can still secure top tier talent, complete projects effectively, and create U.S. jobs– without the additional cost and burden that can come with recruiting direct hires for shorter-term requirements. According to Tavangar, the biggest challenge for these companies is determining what to do and how to do it. With options such as systems integrators, offshore outsourcers, VMS/MSP’s, contract recruiters, and staffing firms, companies are often left using trial and error to determine what their best option is.

Beginning November 5th, The Armada Group will be offering complimentary educational resources, workshops, lunch and learns, and consultations to help businesses address challenges in talent acquisition. For more information on these resources and how to position your company for growth, visit www.SolveMyHiringChallenges.com or call 800-123-4567.

The Armada Group is a Silicon Valley based On-Demand Talent Solutions™ firm that specializes in IT, Project Management, and Software Development. For over 17 years, Armada has worked exclusively for innovative, high-growth, companies. Their highly-trained Talent Consultants are dedicated to solving their clients’ toughest hiring challenges. Among numerous industry awards, Armada has been recognized by CareerBuilder/Inavero as one of America’s Best-of-Staffing by both Clients and Talent 3 years in a row. In addition to a world-class core technical team, The Armada Group maintains a nationwide virtual bench of more than 60,000 pre-screened IT and software professionals. For more information on The Armada Group, visit http://www.TheArmadaGroup.com or call (800) 408-2120.

Media Contact:

Lisa Sullivan
The Armada Group
325 Soquel Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Phone (831) 459-6590

Review of OS X Mavericks from Apple

Recently, Apple released the OS X Mavericks, billed as “the world’s most advanced desktop operating system.” Designed to help Mac users port the iOS experience to their desktops and laptops, the new system has a lot of new features and advanced technologies—and best of all, it’s a free upgrade. The new operating system comes with apps for the desktop that also work with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices. Here’s what’s new with OS X Mavericks, which you can download and install now from the Mac App Store. Device syncing for iBooks The iBooks app included with Mavericks makes your library accessible through your Mac. This upgrade syncs iBooks libraries through iCloud, the OS X storage—so when you highlight, bookmark, or take notes on any device, the changes appear in all your devices automatically. The app also remembers what page you’re on, and lets you keep multiple books open at once. New and improved Maps Apple took a lot of flak over its Maps function when it was first introduced in 2012 with a host of glitches and mistakes. Now the improved Maps interface contains fewer mistakes, and also has features like the ability to look up directions on your Mac, and send them to your iPhone for voice navigation en route. Recent searches and bookmarks are saved to the iCloud and synced with all your devices. The app offers information on local points of interest, and uses the interactive, photorealistic Flyover view that gives Maps a great look and feel/ Facelift and features for Calendar In addition to a great new look, the Calendar app for OS X Mavericks comes with an event inspector that auto-suggests points of interest or addresses when you start filling in the location field. There’s also a weather forecast display, one-click directions, a travel time calculator, and notification scheduling.Password storage with iCloud Keychain This app uses 256-bit AES encryption to store website user names and passwords on user-approved Mac and iOS devices. In addition, it can store your credit card information, and auto-fills the data to save you time when you’re signing in or checking out.Improved functionality for multiple screens Apple’s OS previously treated multiple screens as primary and secondary displays, with the Dock and menu bar only available on the primary display. With the Mavericks upgrade, multiple screens now behave as two primaries, each with a separate menu bar. The Dock is accessible through whichever screen you’re using, and you can run any combination of multiple windows and full-screen apps independently. The multiple display functionality also lets you use an HDTV as a functioning second display with Apple TV and AirPlay. Better organization with tags A new tag function with OS X Mavericks makes it easy to find files and documents stored on your hard drive or in the iCloud. You can tag files with keywords, and retrieve all files tagged with a specific keyword at once by either entering the keyword in the search field, or clicking on it in the Finder sidebar. Efficiency and performance boosts OS X Mavericks has redesigned not only the looks, features, and interfaces of desktop apps, but also their performance. A Timer Coalescing feature for processing groups operations to put your CPU into low-power mode more often for increased energy efficiency, and App Naps powers down apps while they’re not in use to save even more energy. There’s also improved HD playback efficiency and a Compressed Memory feature that keeps more memory available by compressing data from inactive apps. If you are looking for software developer jobs in California, contact us today.

The Armada Group Makes Inavero’s 2013 Best Of Staffing™ Talent List

Santa Cruz, CA – February 12, 2013 – The Armada Group announced today it has been named to Inavero’s 2013 Best of Staffing™ Talent list of award winners.  Presented in partnership with CareerBuilder, the 4th annual Best of Staffing list provides the only statistically valid, objective, service quality benchmarks in the industry and reveals which staffing agencies are delivering exceptional service to the permanent and temporary employees for whom they find jobs. This year’s list highlights a growing divide among the industry’s leaders and laggards, and identifies The Armada Group as one of the best staffing agencies for job candidates to call when they are in need of employment.

Less than 1% of all staffing agencies in North America receive the Best of Staffing award for service excellence. Utilizing the Net Promoter® methodology, the 2013 Best of Staffing Talent winners achieved satisfaction scores more than double the industry average. This stark contrast in scores is a clear indication that the firms who have earned their way onto the 2013 Best of Staffing Talent list truly stand out for their service quality. The Armada Group received satisfaction ratings of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 63% percent of their permanent and temporary employees, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 48 percent.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the 4th year in a row as the top 1% of staffing firms in North America, by the high caliber technical talent we represent,” said The Armada Group’s CEO, Jeff Tavangar.  “Considering the competitiveness of the IT Labor market and Staffing Supplier market in the Silicon Valley, it’s a real testament to the strength of our team to be named to the Best of Staffing Talent list yet again.”

“Few things are more important to companies than the employees you hire,” said Inavero Founder and CEO Eric Gregg.  “The same holds true for candidates on their quest for employment.  Staffing agencies have proven to successfully connect companies with permanent and temporary employees.  Since the end of the recession, the staffing and recruiting industry has created more jobs than any other single industry in the country**, yet so many companies andjob seekers don’t take advantage of this expertise and resource. Our hope is that both companies and job candidates use the Best of Staffing lists as a benchmark to help select a staffing agency that can either secure the talent or employment opportunity they need.”   

®Net Promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score is calculated by taking the percentage of respondents who, on a scale of 0 to 10, rate their likelihood to recommend the staffing agency with a score of 9 or 10 (promoters) and subtracting the percentage who rate the staffing agency a 6 or lower (detractors).  

**Bureau of Labor Statistics

About Inavero
Inavero administers more staffing agency client and talent satisfaction surveys than any other firm in the world.  Inavero’s team reports on satisfaction surveys from more than 500,000 staffing agency clients and talent each year and the company serves as the American Staffing Association’s exclusive research partner. 

Inavero’s Best of Staffing™ is the nation’s only award that recognizes staffing agencies that receive remarkable reviews from their clients and the people they help find jobs (employed talent).  The Best of Staffing winner lists are a central place that businesses and talent go to find the best staffing agencies to call when they are in need.

Building Your Personal Brand Can Help You Advance Your IT Career

You know better than anyone how technology can revolutionize systems, so it shouldn’t be a shock that one of those revolutions is how landing new opportunities and moving forward in your career are being changed by the social web.

Resumes are becoming passe, and taking their place is the concept of “personal brand” – signature traits, achievements, and contributions that reflect what you alone bring to the table. Your personal brand is your reputation, your work legacy, your defining role in the industry. Careful cultivation can create a personal brand that will open up doors as you progress along your career path.

Be the Next . . . You!

Many people have tried to predict who will be ‘the next Steve Jobs’. Will it be Jeff Bezos? Elon Musk? You? The problem with trying to the next someone else is that it isn’t authentic. Your personal brand has to be just that – personal. It’s that unique intersection between your knowledge, experience, and passion—and how you share that with those around you in the workplace.

Figuring out your personal brand is as simple – and as difficult – as taking a look at your top traits and what you are known for. Are you a usability evangelist? Do you educate people about quality assurance? Are you seen as a great team leader, or viewed as a lone wolf visionary? Look at the consistency of your work; does it have a theme? What do you know the most about and how do you communicate it? How does that tie into your career goals? Leverage the best of what you have to offer, and how you offer it, to purposely develop your brand and its message.

Get Social to Get Noticed

Now that you’ve gotten a good start on identifying your personal brand, a large part of its development will be networking to help others identify it. While it’s not all about who you know, that does play a significant part in ensuring doors are opened to you.

LinkedIn, BranchOut, and Google+ are three excellent social networking sites with a more professional focus. Work hard on your LinkedIn profile – don’t just view it as your online resume. Join industry groups and interact with them. Follow industry influencers on LinkedIn and elsewhere, making sure to comment on articles. Be as useful as possible without fawning over them. Add valuable insight to keep the discussion going, and you’ll soon stand out. Hone your writing skills to make sure you communicate well – it’s going to come in handy…

Create a Voice Worth Sharing

The next level of building your personal brand is creating and sharing your own content. If you’ve paid attention to what and how the IT leaders are sharing, you should have a sense of the kind of content that’s valuable to your industry. It’s time to add your voice.

There are multiples ways your brand can deliver its messaging: A blog on your own site, guest posts on respected industry blogs, forums and groups, whitepapers, participating in an open source project, speaking at or leading a seminar, even ‘micro-blogging’ and delivering nuggets of wisdom on Twitter. Your first priority is to create valuable content; your second is to promote it. This hierarchy should guarantee that your focus is serving others – the reverse will come across loud and clear that you’re not ready to lead and therefore not worthy of followers.

Branding tells the story about what you ‘produce’ and why, but it’s not just about promoting yourself. If you want a brand that communicates how you are the right choice for that next step up, it has to be about how you are really qualified. Otherwise, your brand will simply become more noise lost in a busy online world.

If you are looking for information technology jobs in California, contact us today.

Top IT Talents in California : The Armada Group

iOS Developer
• Over 4 years of experience in Objective C.
• Over 3.5 years of experience in application development using XCode and Instruments.
• Experience in XML Parsing, Threading etc.
• Great optimization and debugging skills.
• Updated knowledge of Xcode, iPhone SDK and Cocoa Touch framework.
• 3 years of experience in iPad application development, handling different orientations and using split view controllers.
• Plenty of Web Development experience using HTML, CSS, JavaScript etc.
• Updated knowledge of HTML 5, CSS3, JQuery etc.
• Extensive experience in C and C++.
• Development experience in using pointers and references.
• Plenty of Object Oriented Programming expertise.
• Ability to create memory efficient applications.
• Familiar with data structures.
• Experience managing application flow using Storyboarding.
• Strong understanding of the MVC architecture.
• Expertise in MapKit, UIKit, GameKit, EventKit, Addressbook, AddressbookUI, Twitter, Account, and Core Location frameworks.
• Experience in integrating applications with the iCloud.
• Trained in SCRUM methodologies.
Android Developer
• 7+years experience in designing and implementing Java and Android Solutions
• Good knowledge of Android Application Framework and Framework APIs
• Experience in Android development using Android SDK, Android Emulator, Eclipse IDE along with android Plug in – ADT
• Expertise in developing application using Activity, Fragments, Action Bar, Animation, Notification Manager, Location Manager, MapView etc
• Experience in Android debugging tools – DDMS, LogCat, ADB
• Experience in working directly with vendors/clients on project estimation, infrastructure planning, requirement analysis and software design
• End -to- end knowledge of publishing an application in Android Market place
• Experience in Web Development, Distributed Applications, Client-Server and N-tier (Multi-tier) using Object Oriented Design(OOD), Object Oriented Analysis(OOA), Object Oriented modeling (OOM) based on Unified Modeling Language(UML) architecture using Rational Rose 2000 and Microsoft Visio.
• Proficiency in developing applications using Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server 2000, PostGres and SQLite databases
• Experience in version control tools like VSS , ClearCase, SVN, CMVC and Git
• Good understanding of Software Development Life-cycle(SDLC) and Software Test Life-cycle(STLC)
• Experienced in White box testing, Performance testing, Manual Testing and Unit Testing
• Experience in Testing tools like Quality Center(QC)
• Familiarity of Quality Assurance standards, process methodologies and strategies
• Programming with web based distributed architecture using Sun's Java technologies
• Experience in Developing Applications using core Java, WebServices, XML, HTML, UML, JDBC, JavaScript
• Experience in design patterns like MVC, DAO, Singleton
• Worked on Low level and High level Design and Documentation
• Experience in software development methodologies like Agile and WaterFall methodologies
• Experience in Media and communication, Healthcare and Finance domains
• Good Team Player with excellent Communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to learn and master new technologies and to deliver outputs in short deadlines
 
 
Senior Technical Lead/Architect

• Proven expertise with 15+ years of experience in System and Application Architecture – starting from bare metal, heterogeneous technologies (Servers, Storage, Network, Security, OS, Middleware, Web/App/DB server, monitoring), Cloud Computing/ Virtualization (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS), HPC/LSF, ERP applications (SAP, Oracle, Teamcenter), Databases (Oracle, MSSQL, NoSQL), Hadoop/BigData Eco System (HDFS, MapReduce, Hive, Hbase, Flume and other tools), Licensing, Business Analytics, Master Data Governance, Collaboration tools for a global and large scale projects catering IT requirements of various Business domains.
• Guide teams to do Capacity Planning, Performance Tuning, Security, Disaster Recovery, System Software, Software Configuration Management, Change Management, Incident Management, Release Management, Training , Consulting, pre-sales and post-sales support
• Experienced in technical/business discovery conversation, solution demonstration, custom demonstration creation, proof of concept delivery, RFI and RFP responses, delivering compelling and relevant presentations
 
 
System Admin/Operations Engineer

• 20 years of Linux Admin experience with companies such as Google and Cisco
• 15 years of experience supporting large scale Linux based production systems
• Expert in Bash scripting
• Confident in developing complex scripts to automate system admin tasks having over 15 years of experience
DevOps Engineer

• 6 years of DevOps experience with a start-up company
• Solid background in Ruby, Perl, PHP, JavaScript, HTML and CSS
• Managed thousands of deployment remotely
If you are looking for information technology recruiters in California, contact The Armada Group today.

Optimistic Outlook for IT Field

If you’re wrapping up your degree in one of information technology’s many specializations, or if you’re interested in a new position, the job market for IT professionals is looking pretty bright, even in an economy with slow job growth. We’ve collected a few good reasons you may want to brush up your resume and get excited about new challenges.

Accelerating Job Growth

The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has released figures showing that several IT specialties will be on the forefront of all job growth, in both volume and specific demand, for the next decade. Some of those high-demand areas of expertise include information security, cloud computing, and mobile app development. Analysts of many stripes – web, data communications, and systems – are also desired.

For many of these positions, the focus is more about solving business problems than just administration or coding. That means those looking to land a new position will need to have more than just IT skills—the ability to see the big picture and puzzle out the details will be essential.

Rising Salaries

In addition to the number of IT positions, salaries are also expected to progress nicely, especially in comparison to other vocations. In particular, mobile app developers, wireless network engineers, network engineers, and data modelers are all projected to see an average increase of over 7.5%. Several more IT specialties will see more-than-modest growth, making the field fertile with possibilities.

Multiple Job Offers in Multiple Locations

Looking to relocate? IT is everywhere, and great prospective careers can be found far beyond Silicon Valley. Companies of varying sizes across the U.S. are taking advantage of new technologies, and hiring the staff they need to harness its advantages. Mobile, interactive, and big data are all hotspots for the IT field, creating openings in many different industries. If your IT experience includes healthcare, expect to see more opportunities as well, as technology needs in this arena are exploding.

A growing number of telecommuting IT jobs are available, as employers realize this flexible feature is attractive to the top talent they’re seeking to add to their teams. Provided the communication and deliverability are there, you may be able to relocate your work environment to your home as part of your compensation negotiation with a new job.

Spending Predicted to Escalate

Perhaps not quite as strong as predicted earlier in the year, the 2013 IT spending forecast is still up over last year—and continuing to trend higher for the foreseeable future. Companies are recognizing that updating their technology, as well as exploring new tech tools, is a crucial investment into staying on the cutting edge. Collecting, organizing, and sorting big data is essential for maximizing information gathered from customers and potential customers. In turn, they are also seeking the right IT team members to implement solutions and manage systems, as well as specialists they can depend on to speed up progress.

Forecasting job outlooks isn’t an exact science, but considering how many of the important pieces are in place for growth, it’s pretty fair to say that 2013 is a great year for chances to advance your IT career.

If you are looking for information technology jobs in California, contact The Armada Group today.

How Mentoring Can Attract & Retain IT Talent

With the baby boomer workforce heading into retirement, it’s now urgent to create workplaces that can both lure new IT talent while ensuring employee knowledge is passed along. A good mentoring program can foster this exchange, bring top talent on board, and provide your company with other tangible benefits.

Creates a Team Culture

Mentoring means deeper personal relationships at work, whether it’s via one-on-one dialogues or group mentoring meeting – or, preferably, both. When an employer creates space for and encourages the building of positive exchanges, employees realize the company is truly interested in their professional development.

In a 2010 survey by the Corporate Leadership Council of the Corporate Executive Board, 64% of high-potential employees who identified themselves as dissatisfied with their current employment cited its lack of impact on their career development as one of the reasons they were considering other opportunities.

A company that makes more than a token effort for a healthy mentoring program is investing into an organizational culture where employees feel stronger bonds with their colleagues and their employer.

Creates Tangible Business Benefits

If your organization has been searching for a solid way to better its communication, foster diversity, or align its culture with its mission, mentoring can provide a channel to achieve these valuable business goals. Supporting the connection of worthy advisers to interested employees also increases accountability within a well-structured program, turning potential into performance as talent works with talent to set goals, define responsibilities, clarify expectations, assimilate feedback, and measure results.

When done right, mentoring can also help prevent knowledge loss, as experienced IT professionals advance their career paths or retire by passing along their technology understanding to new or less experienced employees. This gives mentorees insight into their careers, allowing them to give and gain long-term value to the company.

Creates an Enticing Environment for New Recruits

As the candidate pool for IT talent shrinks, companies competing for great recruits will need to demonstrate that they can provide more than just a paycheck and profit sharing possibilities. More than ever, employees want to know where a new position can take them professionally. When recruits see that a company actively invests in a mentoring program, they know they’ve found an employer who will help them along their career path. They will see growth challenges and a bright future.

This realization applies to both ends of the equation. While many employees will recognize the value of having a mentor or mentoring group, others will be excited about the opportunity to become a mentor, raising their industry visibility and increasing their leadership skills.

As you develop a mentoring program, build in recognition and celebration of the future impact mentoring will have on your company and your employees. This requires that you find and collect the success stories that will inevitably arise. These examples will become testimonials for recruiting, raise demand for mentoring, and help you improve the program as best practices are shared. Mentoring can help build an environment of trust and loyalty your IT team will appreciate throughout their career with your business.

If you are looking for IT recruiters in California, contact The Armada Group today.

Top IT Candidates in California

HOT CANDIDATES:

Senior Tech Lead/Architect

- 15+ years of experience with Multinational Corporations

- Expertise in System and Application Architecture

- Expertise in Cloud technology  and Big Data (Hadoop, HDFS, MadReduce,Hive,Hbase,Flume)

Senior Linux System Administrator

-15 years of Linux systems administration experience with start-ups and enterprise level companies such as YesVideo, Attributor.com and EBay/PayPal.

-12+ years working in data centers and managing servers.

-12+ years experience providing PC and Unix Server LAN Support

-Solid background working with Hadoop, Cassandra and Splunk having almost 2 years of experience.

-Confident working with Shell and Perl scripting having 6 years of experience.

Full-Stack Engineer

-15 years of IT industry and web development experience.

-Background in User Interface, User Experience and Human-Computer Interface.

-Experience with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

-Hands on experience with JQuery, PHP, Perl, SOAP, and DOM.

Sr Frontend Developer

-C, with 20+ years’ coding expertise. Adept in C++ and Java. Fluent in C# for Windows and Objective-C for Apple.

-Android phone App development with SDK (Java) and NDK (JNI to C / C++); custom Android kernels for rooted phones.

-iOS App development for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch: XCode IDE, Objective-C, Cocoa, CoreData, Unity 3D frameworks.

-Sybase Unwired Platform (SUP Server) web services encapsulated as Mobile Business Objects (MBOs) and accessed from iOS iPhone and iPad devices.

-RhoMobile Ruby-On-Rails framework for developing mobile enterprise apps for multiple device platforms.

-IBM Websphere 7 Enterprise Service Bus (client) user Single-Sign-On to Microsoft Dynamics .NET WCF SOA AX-WS web services provider (server) via either Kerberos / SPNEGO or SAML / X.509 Authentication Token mechanism.

-IBM Tivoli TSPM and DataPower integration for centralized enterprise-wide SOA Security Services provision:

-For AAA, Federated SSO and Message Integrity and Confidentiality.

-RBAC-based Authorization Policy expressed via XACML; Message Protection Policy specified by WS-SecurityPolicy.

-Websphere MQ, OpenLDAP, syslog, PWM, Hibernate, MDBs, JMS, Log4J for Enterprise Authentication and Logging.

-Industry best-practice Design Patterns; UML (Universal Modeling Language).

iOS Engineer

-Over 4 years of experience in iOS application development as a technical lead and senior iOS developer and well versed in using XCode, iPhone SDK and Cocoa Touch framework.

-Responsibilities include ensuring that proper technical vision and software engineering processes are implemented on all projects incorporating best practices

-Deep knowledge and experience in IOS application design and implementation

-Updated knowledge of XCode 4.5, iOS 5 and 6

-Experienced in all aspects of IPad application development including designing for all types of screen sizes and orientations.

-Well versed in user-friendly design, performance improvement, documenting code, refactoring, continuous integration and deployment, and unit testing

-Complete understanding of Object Oriented Features (Inheritance, Polymorphism, Abstraction and Encapsulation)

-Developed native based iPhone applications and beginning knowledge of hybrid development

-Developed and implemented application designs based on MVC and Singleton

-Trained in Agile SCRUM, Waterfall, and TDD methodologies.

-Experienced in XML and JSON Parsing, Multithreading using both 1st part and 3rd party frameworks including TouchXML, SBJSON, NSXMLParser, and NSJSONSerialization

-Extensive knowledge of various frameworks including: UIKit, Core Data, AVFoundation, EventKit, AddressBook, AddressBookUI, MessageUI and Core Location frameworks.

If you are interested in any of our talented candidates, contact The Armada Group today.

-To check latest openings in The Armada Group check our page at Careerbuilder. 

Attract Talent: Develop a Desirable IT Environment

For most organizations, getting and retaining top IT talent is a primary goal. When it comes to attracting talent, some strategies are more effective than others. One of the most foolproof is to make your business a great place to work.

So, what constitutes a desirable IT environment? Today’s employees are seeking flexibility, opportunities for advancement, and a team atmosphere that fosters knowledge and communication.

Create a team orientation

A popular workplace mentality at many of today’s successful businesses is that “none of us is as good as all of us.” This is especially true for millennials, who are often far more comfortable and productive working in teams than flying solo.

There are several ways to foster a team culture in your organization:

• Offer diversity training for both new and established employees
• Recognize and reward team players as frequently as those with individual merit or accomplishments
• Arrange for team-building workshops, seminars, or retreats that help employees learn to work better together

Offer certifications and training

Helping your IT staff build up their skills and abilities isn’t just good for your company’s productivity as a whole—it’s also great for retention. When you make additional training and certifications available to your employees, you’re sending the message that you want to invest in them for the long haul.

The potential for advancement within your company is crucial for IT employee retention. If they believe they’ll be stuck at the same level—and the same salary—for as long as they work for you, they’ll start hunting for greener pastures.

Tell them “why” to do

Today’s savvy IT employees are no longer satisfied with simply being handed down tasks from management and expected to complete them by rote. They want to know why they’re doing what they are—not out of laziness or an opportunity to refuse work, but because they want to feel like they’re making a difference and contributing to the success of the company.

Providing employees with context for their work and business goals enhances the team culture, and helps staff feel they’re part of something larger than themselves.

Be flexible

Work options like flexible scheduling and part-time telecommuting are becoming more common in today’s workplace. In fact, many employees—who are leading increasingly busy lives outside the office—value flex options over other types of benefits, and would choose a position with flexibility over one with a higher salary and rigid requirements. Offering flex options is a great way to differentiate your firm and attract top talent.

Provide variety

No one wants to do the same thing at work, day after day. You can improve attraction and retention for IT employees by offering different projects throughout the year, providing opportunities to cross-train and experience a variety of work disciplines.

Put these strategies into place for your business, and you’ll create a desirable IT environment that enables you to attract the best talent—and keep them happy, engaged, and productive.

If you are looking for staffing agencies near Silicon Valley, contact The Armada Group today.

How do I advance my IT career?

Careers, like technology, can stagnate or become obsolete—and, also like technology, they can be augmented to boost progress. With a clear goal and careful planning, you can innovate your thinking and develop opportunities to ensure that your job becomes an exciting advancement.

Bridge the Gap between Current and Needed Skills

You bring three types of skills to your job: knowledge-based skills (education and past job experience), general transferable skills (non-specific to your expertise), and behavioral characteristics (personality traits developed through life experience). All three can be expanded and improved upon. Take stock of the different skills you offer: are you a detail-oriented TI graduate with who communicates well? List everything you bring to the table.

Now, envision your career destination. What skills do you need to get from there to here, and how can you acquire them? This will help define your career path. Whether it’s further training, better project management abilities, or stronger follow-through – or all three – your ideal workplace image can direct your self-development.

Consult with Leaders about Your Career Path

You have your dream and some thoughts on how to get there. The next step is sitting down with the appropriate people at your organization and talking about the possibilities. Whether it’s your supervisor, a human resources staff member, or the colleague who’s become a mentor, someone in leadership can offer the guidance you need to get where you want to be. Eventually moving forward may mean some side-stepping with lateral moves in your company for now – but don’t undervalue the opportunities that a related, same-tier role can provide in developing your skill set.

Those you consult can also point you toward useful activities and training. Maybe they know of a community college course, an “apprenticeship” within the organization, upcoming projects, or even volunteering that will provide relationship-building opportunities. Keep your ears and eyes open, and remember that to a certain extent, you are asking for construction criticism; however, your employer should be pleased with your motivation and interested in your development. They may even be willing to invest in that development.

Get Noticed by Getting Certified

As far as investing in development, nothing says commitment like putting the money and time into pursuing certification, if applicable. Many IT careers that show strong possibilities for career growth are tied to certifications that demonstrate your specialized knowledge. Depending on your demographic role, there are certifications for security, networking, programming, project management, and more. Determine which will provide the highest return on your training and education investment for the specific position you want to reach. Peruse descriptions of open positions for that particular title on job boards to pinpoint certification qualifications. Without being obnoxious about it, keep your supervisor and HR department updated on your acquisition for certification.

Advancing your IT profession requires being honest about your current capabilities, identifying improvements, setting goals, having important conversations, and investing in education and training. You know better than anyone else what you want from your career, and you have more control than anyone else to get where you want to be.

If you are looking for software engineer jobs near Silicon Valley, contact The Armada Group today.

Searching for a job is a job in and of itself, and it can be frustrating when the one measurable goal – landing rewarding employment – is still out of reach after applying yourself again and again. When looking for someone to hire you, it seems the decision is out of your hands, but there many aspects of the job search that are under your control. Here are a few ways you can work a little smarter to secure the job you want.

Resurface and Rethink

When diving after every possible position in your field, you’ll need to come up for air once in awhile. Take the time to give yourself a bit of a break – but ameaningful one. Remind yourself of prior successful projects. Recall the rough spots and what got you through them. Reflect on your vocation; your choices in education, training, and other experiences; and the efforts you invested to become knowledgeable, qualified, and resourceful.

Once you break away from making a job title your identity, think about what you really want from your next position. What’s the ideal direction for your career? To keep your goals in sight, make sure the water’s no longer cloudy with discouragement and desperation before you dive back into the job search.

Plan on It

You know who you are, and you have a definite goal. Now, develop a strategy. Treating the process as a project will allow you to remain objective. Break down your big-picture vision into smaller steps, and give yourself ways to measure your progress. For example, you may want to research a networking group online, and give yourself a deadline for deciding whether or not to join. The clearer you are about search-related tasks, the less mental clutter you’ll have.

Connect More

There are more ways to network than ever before. Make sure those in your immediate circle know you’re looking, but don’t stop there. Explore the possibilities for professional interaction online – niche sites for your field, groups on LinkedIn, forums on sites related to your occupation – and check into local groups that meet regularly. Volunteering is another great way to expand your circle, but make sure to choose a cause and an activity that genuinely interests you.

Sharpen Your Tools

Apply your new outlook to your core search implements. Refine your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile to reflect your passion, experience, and insight. Use features on LinkedIn creatively, and share your profile link on other social media sites when appropriate.

Like any project, a job search is done best when you’re thinking clearly. Keep yourself on a regular schedule, and put your skills and experience to work on focused tasks. This will help you move forward and stay in control of your best job search asset: a positive attitude.

If you are looking for IT or more specifically developer jobs in Santa Cruz CA, contact the employment experts at The Armada Group today.