How does the IT recruitment process work? And why won’t agents tell me what company it is?

We hope your job hunting is going well out there. There are a lot of people looking for jobs at the moment so keep applying and you will find something - stay positive.

Since Steph and I started Sunstone nearly 11 years ago, we’ve worked with over 300 companies in Christchurch & the South Island from SaaS start-ups, agencies, consultancies, government to corporates. It’s something that I love about my job, working with diverse sectors helping to understand what they need and then using different techniques to help them find the right person for them, whether that might be through advertising, networks or my knowledge of people that I’ve known for years that might be looking for a new challenge – it really excites me.

But how does the permanent recruitment process work?

Once we’ve understood what the company needs I choose the best method to find the right person which might be through using advertising on job boards, like Seek, or through different network channels. I also keep in touch with a number of people I’ve met through the years who will contact me if they’re looking for opportunities, and I spend a lot of time matching the right skillsets, culture and expectations for both the people I’ve met and what the company is looking for at the time. Sometimes companies are looking for a certain skillset to compliment the existing team, or know a personality type that will be a particularly successful fit, so it goes well beyond what you see on a page.

Recruitment companies then will only get paid if they place someone successfully in a role and then it comes from a recruitment budget held within the company.

I want to know who the company is before I apply, why don’t recruitment agencies tell me who it is?

Often the reason companies use recruitment companies is precisely that, to avoid being seen to be recruiting. It may be that they’re looking to keep it confidential for privacy reasons, they might be starting a new product, a team or a new project that they’re not ready to disclose or it may just be they don’t want to be overwhelmed by people applying directly to them.

While it’s important to us that we are as transparent as possible, we are often requested by our clients not to disclose who the role is with until the person is actively engaged in the process.

I didn’t apply for this job, why are you talking about it?

One of the advantages of working in the same market for a long time is that I have a broad understanding of what my clients need and who might be a good fit. It may be that you apply for one role but when I read your CV, talk with you or meet you, there may be another role that may be a better fit for you or the company that I’m aware of.

One of the challenges that I hear from people looking for their next role is that jobs may not be real. All of the roles I advertise online are currently vacant roles and I update them daily. You may see a role re-advertised if we haven’t found the right person, needing another, or if the company is looking for something different as it’s their perogative. Sometimes companies may decide to put their recruitment on hold if something changes, be that a project, budget, people internally or even the economy. This is something that’s out of our hands, but if I’ve spoken with you I’ll keep in touch and do my best to find something else that will suit you.

Likewise it can be frustrating when someone has gone through the whole process and doesn’t get the job but often, we’ll have another software job that is similar that might be of interest so we always value meeting people, getting to know them and hopefully help them find them something soon or in the future. If it’s one thing I’ve learnt in business anything can happen and it’s how you conduct yourself through the process that leaves a lasting impression. This year I appointed two candidates who I have known for 10 years and only managed to get them a few interviews before this, we kept in touch and I managed to appoint them into jobs this year which everyone was very happy about.

Why don’t I hear back from recruitment companies?

If you’ve read the media you’ll know there are a lot of people looking for jobs at the moment. I’m currently receiving over 300 applications a day. As we’re a boutique IT recruitment agency, we’ve made a conscious decision not to use AI to screen applications, instead, I read every one of them. As you’ll appreciate, this takes time. If you feel you haven’t heard anything and it’s been a couple of weeks, please reach out and contact me. I do my best to ensure everyone has a response, even if it’s to say there’s nothing suitable for you right now as I understand how important it is to have closure so you can know and move on.

I hope this helps explain the process and shed some light on how it all works. I love meeting people and helping them on their journey. I have a high personal standard of ethics and you can be assured that your privacy will be respected. I’ve chosen to specialise in IT recruitment because I believe it’s one of the most exciting industries with the most potential. It is continually evolving and I enjoy meeting the people who make it all happen, whether it be working with the graduates from UC and the think tanks through to the established corporates.

I especially enjoy helping people with career advice so if you would like a chat, whether it be about a tricky situation, a CV that needs a new approach or what the market is doing out there, feel free to message me and I’d be happy to help you out.

We love working with people in the tech industry in Christchurch and do our best to serve our clients & candidates the best we can and bring a smile to everyone’s faces :-) You’ll find me at networking events so I can stay current with the industry, so if you see me at one, come up and say hi :-)

I’m Paul, lover of coffee, dogs, biking, surfing & skiing. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, digital, mobile, blockchain, data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.