Boss or Leader: What IT Manager are You?

But what is leading? While there are many different styles of leadership, they all typically have some things in common. Here are some of the characteristics that great IT leaders often share.

Leaders are not islands

Some bosses are convinced they know everything, and they have no need to consult others. However, considering the complexities and the scope of the IT field, it’s virtually impossible for one person to know it all.

That’s why great IT leaders surround themselves with reliable people who are able to complement their strengths, and shore up their weaknesses. The ability to know when you need outside expertise, and to delegate intelligently, is an essential trait for a leader.

Leaders are two-way channels

Bosses broadcast. Leaders communicate. Excellent communication skills are a must for any successful IT leader—and you need to be able to both give and take feedback from people at all levels, in every department, from many walks of life.

Many of the people IT leaders work with are not fluent in tech. As a leader, you have to clearly articulate your messages in ways anyone can understand. This ability to communicate should apply to your emails and phone calls, your presentation style, your negotiations, and even your casual conversations.

Leaders allow their people to fail

While a boss may not tolerate mistakes, shortcomings, or failures, a leader will often encourage them. There can be no innovation without risk, and great IT leaders strive for a safe-to-fail environment where team members have the confidence to try new things, without fear of negative repercussions from management.

Of course, it can be difficult to create a balanced environment that encourages calculated risks, but not wild shots in the dark. You may need to experiment with boundaries to strike the right tone for innovation.

Leaders are often imitated, but never duplicated

Bosses might attempt to copy someone else’s successful managerial style, with mixed results. Leaders understand that authenticity can’t be forced, and remaining true to your own style, values, and personality is the only path to true success.

You may be surprised to learn that being yourself is not only less exhausting, but also far more effective. Playing the role of a leader can be draining. When you are genuine and honest, you’ll find that leadership comes naturally—and your team will be happy to follow your example.

What traits do you believe great IT leaders have? Share your thoughts in the comments! If you are an IT manager looking for recruiting agencies in Silicon Valley, contact The Armada Group today.

The ARMADA Group WINS INAVERO’S 2014 BEST OF STAFFING

ARMADA WINS

INAVERO’S 2014 BEST OF STAFFING®

TALENT AWARD

Silicon Valley, CA – The Armada Group announced today it has been named toInavero’s 2014 Best of Staffing® Talent List. Presented in partnership withCareerBuilder, the fifth annual Best of Staffing Award provides the only statistically valid and objective service quality benchmarks in the industry, recognizing the staffing agencies that provide the highest satisfaction to their clients and candidates.

Fewer than 2% of all staffing agencies in North America earned the 2014 Best of Staffing® award for providing an exceptional permanent and temporary talent experience. With average satisfaction scores almost double the industry average, the Best of Staffing® Talent winners lead the industry in providing an exceptional job candidate experience.

“We’re proud to have been recognized for our commitment to connecting extraordinary talent with world class opportunities,” said Armada CEO Jeff Tavanger, “But, without our client and candidate partners driving us toward creating innovative solutions and amazing experiences, this award would remain out of reach.”

About The Armada Group

The Armada Group provides on-demand talent solutions for the world’s most innovative companies. Armada’s clients include global technology leaders like Cisco, eBay and Paypal; Fortune 500 companies such as HP and Sony as well as fast-growth VC-funded tech firms.

The Armada Group was founded in 1995 to connect extraordinary talent with world-class opportunities. Because of the incredibly competitive nature of technical recruiting in the Bay Area, Armada developed a proprietary technical talent evaluation and hiring plan process that enables employers to more effectively source qualified resources and ensure timely access to full-time and contract staff.

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 service quality 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). Bestofstaffing.com is the central place that businesses and talent go to find the best staffing agencies to call when they are in need.

Inavero’s complete Best of Staffing lists can be viewed athttp://www.bestofstaffing.com. For more information about Inavero, visithttp://www.inavero.com. To learn more about The Armada Group, visit http://www.thearmadagroup.com/

Are You an Aspiring Chief Digital Officer in Silicon Valley?

The technology landscape is transforming faster every day. Mobile technology, Big Data, social media, analytics, cloud computing, and more impact the digital world, creating massive infrastructure shifts and leaving businesses scrambling to keep up. Companies running on legacy platforms need a way to compete with newer organizations born in the digital era—and a CDO might be the answer.

Chief Digital Officer, or CDO, is a new and evolving role in the business world. In fact, CDOs are so new that the positions are barely defined, and few of these professionals have set-in-stone job descriptions. However, that isn’t stopping companies from hiring for this untested position in a bid to harness the latest technologies.

What is a CDO?

Chief digital officers are not to be confused with chief information officers (CIOs). Where the CIO typically runs the company infrastructure and makes technology decisions, the CDO is generally responsible for organizational transformation—helping the company as a whole break down older, legacy frameworks and practices, and transition into a fluid new infrastructure built on new tech.

While the actual responsibilities of the CDO vary from company to company, the core commitment is to develop, implement, and manage a smooth transition. CDOs must be fluent in both technology and business skills, able to truly understand both the company and the ultimate vision for where the organization wants to be.

CDOs: A rising trend

In a recent post on Gartner’s blog, analyst Dave Aron stated, “The Chief Digital Officer is emerging and maturing as a role fast.” Gartner’s data indicates that while only 6 percent of companies currently employ CDOs, the numbers are “springing up faster than we can count them.” By 2015, Gartner projects that 25% of companies will have a CDO.

How to succeed as a CDO

What does it take to land and perform a job that is under-defined and still emerging? Some of the top traits of successful CDOs include:

Leadership skills. Transformative, large-scale projects require everyone’s cooperation to succeed. A good CDO will be able to earn an organization-wide commitment, despite any internal office politics that may serve as a barrier.
Detailed planning abilities. The CDO’s primary role is to create an end-to-end digital strategy that covers every corner of the company’s operations.
A strong network. The best digital professionals are connected with several experts. They aren’t necessarily the most knowledgeable or tech-savvy individual to be found—but they do have a solid network of experts and innovators for consulting and collaboration.
Business fluency. Tech skills are essential for CDOs. But just as important are business skills in every department, and the ability to communicate on multiple levels—from highly technical to powerfully simplistic. A successful CDO will be able to excite not only in-house staff, but also customers, vendors, and boards of directors about the upcoming transition.
If you’re an aspiring CDO, now is the time to find that perfect position. Established companies are looking for skilled digital experts to help them boldly enter the brave new world of advanced technology, and keep up with their savvy competition. You can be the solution to this problem. If you are looking for employment agencies in Silicon Valley, contact The Armada Group today.

Multimedia Hiring Hot in the IT Market for Top Silicon Valley Companies

Just as technology changes, the IT hiring market is changing along with it. In an ultra-competitive job market, some candidates—and the companies that help them—are turning to multimedia strategies to help them stand out.

Online resumes were the first major tech transition for job seekers, recruiters, and employers. The landscape evolved to include online networking and digital portfolios. Now, candidates are increasingly adding video, graphics, and social media into the mix—and employers are taking notice.

Video: Tools for both ends of the IT job market

Some candidates are choosing to supplement their application packages with a video resume. These short, personal introductions manage to summarize background and skills, and give employers a good idea of personality and presentation abilities—enhancing, rather than substituting for, the more formal written resume.

Video resumes can make a powerful impression and help you stand out, if they’re done right. Some tips for creating an impactful candidate video introduction include:

• Choose a professional, quiet spot with a bland or solid background
• Keep it short and sweet—respect the limited time of hiring managers
• Dress the same as you would for a professional interview
• Pre-plan to avoid interruptions: turn off your phone, lock the door, and if anyone else is in the house, make sure they know to keep it down while you’re recording
• Sit still and maintain eye contact by looking into the camera while you speak—and don’t forget to smile!

On the other side of the IT job market equation, some employers are now using video for the initial interviews. These aren’t substitutes for a full, face-to-face interview, but conducting first-round interviews over Skype, Google+, or video conferencing services like GoToMeeting saves time and hassle for both the employer and the candidate.

Graphics and social media: Putting some pop in your presentation

Other techniques IT job candidates are using to enhance their resumes include relevant graphics and social media tie-ins.

Graphics that represent responsibilities, skill sets, and more can be incorporated into the traditional resume format, or included as a supplement, to help text-based resumes stand out. Some job seekers are also using the popular infographics format to submit unique, visually interesting resumes.

Social media has been an integral part of the job search process, and its importance is only growing. Nearly every employer checks out job candidates online, and favors those who are active on LinkedIn, IT-specific open source communities like GitHub, and to a lesser extent, other social networks like Google+, Twitter, and Facebook. Recruiters often seek out and contact IT candidates through these networks.

For today’s IT job seekers, diversifying your resume with multimedia can mean the difference between languishing in a pile of maybes, and moving to the top of the short list. How will you enhance your job search submissions? Are you a talented developer looking to work for top Silicon Valley companies? ContactThe Armada Group’s team today.

Top Technical Candidates in California

Senior Tech Lead

•15+ years of experience with companies such as Applied Materials and Lucent Technology.

•Proven expertise 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

•PMP, ITIL and Six Sigma Certified

Senior Java Developer

•Excellent client feedback from prior engagement with Armada

•8+ years of excellent experience in Java, J2EE, JEE and Database technology

•Developed Web-Applications using MVC frameworks like Spring and Struts

•Web Services Design & Development (REST, SOAP, WSDL).

•Experience using legacy database systems DB2, Oracle and MySQL and supporting technologies like Hibernate and JPA

•Experienced writing NoSQL for Big Data technology like MongoDB

Senior Frontend Developer

•9+ years of Front-end development experience working with companies like General Electric and Capital One.

•Strong web development skills in web 2.0 framework, JSP & MVC and Classic JSP, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, DHTML, Servlet, XHTML, XSLT, XSL, VSS, Eclipse, Tomcat 6.0 and UNIX, Linux, Windows XP, 2000, 2003 and NT.

•Extensive experience on implementing the AJAX features using frameworks like Direct Web Remoting (DWR), YUI, JQuery and DOJO.

•Worked on AJAX features and enhancement in various projects using JQuery, AngularJS, DOJO (for JavaScript event handling) and Ext JS framework (for AJAX communication).

•Web developer with a strong background working on open source technologies, including PHP, HTML, CSS, MySQL, JavaScript, Flash, Photoshop.

•Experience in developing Web and Mobile-based applications using HTML, XHTML, XML, JavaScript OOP, JQuery, CSS, JSP and JSP Tag Libraries.

•Hands-on experience developing web-applications using various design patterns, including session facade, MVC, Data Access Object, Transfer Object, and Business Delegate.

•Experienced in writing XML converters using DTD for validation, XSL for formatting and displaying XML data on browser.

•Expert in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe In Design, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Designer, Adobe Image Ready, Adobe/Multimedia Flash, Dream weaver.

•Excellent understanding on RIA, AJAX and Web 2.0 applications both for PC and other devices (iPhone, Apple Mac).

•Knowledge of XSLT, CSS, Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) using Java RPC API.

•Leader with expert understanding of user interface design principles, product build cycle and working within a cross-functional team under tight deadlines.

•Bachelor’s degree in Electronics, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India

Senior iOS Developer

•4+ years of iOS development experience.

•Enterprise and start-up experience working for companies like Tomfoolery Inc. (acquired by Yahoo!) and AOL.

•Expertise working with Product and Design teams to create pixel-perfect front-end development.

•Strong interpersonal skills – relate to, communicate easily with, and enjoy people of diverse backgrounds.

•Strong time management and organizational abilities.

•Respect management authority and procedures and work well with co-workers.

•Versatile, flexible, and adaptable.

•Hands-on development experience working with iOS technologies such as Objective-C.

•Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Michigan State University

Java Developer

•Highly motivated and passionate professional with over 6 years of Java Development experience

•Strong Ruby scripting experience

•Masters of Science degree from NYU

•Recent project with Apple (Applied Machine Learning Group), responsible for writing the topologies to accept incoming requests and pass along the correct business logic so that fraud detection could work

Test Engineer

•20 years Software QA and networking experience

•7 years of Linux UI testing experience both frontend GUI interface and backend server data validation

•Experience  performing WiFi testing with Kineto Wireless, where responsibilities included testing mobile connections through their UNC/UMA networks

•10 years of IPv4 experience, most recently gaining exposure to IPv6 protocols with Pace America

•Most recent engagement included testing the end user Web UI and front end server for functionality, development, content for customer fields/requirements, and enter the updates on the back-end server database

4 Ways to Improve IT Office Productivity

Think about how much time you spend in the office each day…and now, consider how much you actually get done. Chances are you’re not as productive as you could be. The good news is, you can boost your productivity—and decrease your stress—by consistently implementing a few simple changes at your workplace.

1. Prep your space for success

The foundation for productivity is an efficient environment—one that lets you find what you’re looking for quickly, and offers easy access to the things you work with most. To turn your office into a productive space, start with a purge: go through your desk drawers, filing cabinets, shelves, stacks of paper, and random cluttered areas, and throw away everything you don’t need.

Once you’ve pared down your office, the next step is rearranging. Think about how you work, and adjust your furniture layout accordingly. For example, if you have to get up from your desk every time you throw something away, you’re likely to leave trash on your desk or floor—so move the wastebasket close to your desk.

Finally, organize your desktop so that it contains only the supplies and devices you use on a daily basis. Everything else should have a permanent home where it can be returned when you’re finished.

2. Develop a system

When you have everything purged and organized, you’ll need a system to help you keep things in place. There’s no right or wrong way to create a system—simply use a strategy that suits the way you work.

A few helpful tips for developing organization systems:

• Establish a paper workflow with an inbox, an “in-process” box, and a filing system (which may be a trash can, if you don’t generally keep paper documents).
• When you’re looking at a paper document to deal with, decide what action you should take and follow through—don’t just put it back on your desk. If action isn’t immediately possible, place the document in the appropriate next-step area of your system.
• Don’t forget to organize electronic files as well, using a system that makes sense with your working style
• Develop an index, or master list, of your files (paper and digital) to reduce duplicates and help maintain organization

3. Implement basic time management

For many, “time management” sounds like a complicated corporate objective that wastes more time than it saves while you’re trying to learn it. The truth is that time management doesn’t have to be difficult. Just a few simple strategies can save you hours every week.

Keep a running to-do list of all your projects, appointments, and deadlines. If you’re using a mobile device to help you keep track, make sure you’re able to sync with your primary computer—it’s easy, automatic, and ensures that your list is at your fingertips no matter what you’re doing.

Choose an hour or so each day to focus solely on projects and tasks. Make sure to build a time cushion into your schedule to account for any (usually inevitable) interruptions. You can also tackle larger projects more confidently by breaking them down into shorter tasks that can be completed one at a time.

4. Create a communication schedule

Most people are not surprised to learn that email is one of the top office time-wasters, and phone calls are a fairly close second. Rather than continuing to handle emails and phone calls all day as they come in—and break concentration on the tasks you’re working on while you deal with them—set aside a few short blocks of time each day to deal with communication.

You can take 10 to 15 minutes in the morning, and again in the afternoon, to tackle your inbox and return phone calls. The rest of the time shut off all of your notifications so you can work uninterrupted. You may be shocked at how much time this saves!

You don’t have to reserve productivity for those rare days when you’re feeling energetic and ultra-determined. When you make organization and time management a habit, you can have a productive day, every day.

If you are looking for recruiting agencies in Silicon Valley CA, contact The Armada Group today.

Is Your California Tech Firm Taking Advantage of Mobile ?

More consumers than ever are using mobile devices to compare and research products, find great deals, and even make purchases. The numbers continued to rise through 2013, and this year analysts expect to see the biggest mobile year yet. Is your company ready to cash in on mobile?

As the use of mobile for commerce continues to expand, new mobile marketing strategies are emerging to keep up. Here are a few trends expected to rise this year that can help your business get in on the lucrative mobile market.

Geo-targeting (location-based marketing)

Most smart phones and tablets have built-in GPS, helping millions of drivers give up using dash GPS consoles and paper road maps. But marketers can also use this technology to target consumers in real-time with relevant offers, based on geographic location.

Geo-targeting can also be used inside stores, restaurants, and other physical businesses with micro-location-based strategies. The possibilities for in-store targeting range from relevant coupons and offers, to integrated “check inventory” features, to specific department targeting. Geo-targeting will be able to act as a two-way channel, capturing customer data while sending offer notifications.

Narrowcasting

The potential reach of social media marketing is unquestionably broad, with major platforms boasting hundreds of millions of active users (or in the case of Facebook, more than a billion). A broad reach is great—but the problem arises with reaching your actual target market, which often represents a very small percentage of the total possible viewers.

Narrowcasting is a mobile marketing strategy that aims to create the opposite effect. The more personalized delivery methods of mobile allow your business to create and deliver customized content only to significantly more qualified leads. This translates to less marketing dollars spent for a higher ROI.

Multimedia Messaging Service and Rich Media Messaging

The primary vehicle for mobile marketing has been SMS, or Short Message Service, for several years. Most marketing messages are text-based, typically with one link that leads to a website, landing page, or social media. However, with video now accounting for 50 percent of mobile traffic, the marketing vehicle is shifting gears.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) has grown 40 percent year after year, and analysts predict that 2014 will see the growth rate for this vehicle explode. Even more popular is Rich Media Messaging (RMM)—similar to MMS, but with built-in responsive design that ensures messages are formatted correctly for the device it’s being viewed on. Currently, RMM enjoys open rates more than 99 percent, and twice the conversion rates of SMS.

Mobile ad gamification

Apps and games are practically synonymous. The explosive popularity of apps like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, and the recently discontinued Flappy Birds illustrates our competitive nature—and the fact that we’re far more likely to use something if it’s presented as a game.

Marketers who give people the opportunity to gamify their experience, whether it’s competing with friends, unlocking content, acquiring badges, or racking up points, will see greater engagement and higher click-through rates. They’ll also experience lower uninstall rates and, hopefully, more conversions.

If you are looking to take advantage of the mobile marketplace, contact The Armada Group today for the top IT talent in California. If you are in need of Silicon Valley recruiters, The Armada Group have the experienced team you are looking for.The Armada Group is also Best of Staffing Talent Winner!