Advice on Finding an IT Job and a Recruiter in South Florida

Are you trying to find an IT Recruiter in Southwith this approach is that everyone else is doing the
Florida? There are a few strategies to consider locallysame thing. This is a very simple method which will
here in Florida before hitting the job boards. The firstattract the most people. For any given job there
thing you need to think of is your location. Southcould be thousands of applicants. This makes it
Florida is generally broken down into three major jobextremely unlikely they will even review your
markets, West Palm Beach (Palm Beach County), Ft.resume, let alone contact you for an interview.
Lauderdale (Broward County), and Miami (DadeYou can also post you resume on popular job boards.
County). Broward County has the biggest strategicThis approach has value yet gives the potential
advantage from a candidate perspective, beingemployers a lot of information that could put you in a
centrally located. This is certainly something to thinkpoor negotiating position at the time of an offer.
about if you are planning on relocating to SouthTypically these sites will ask you a series of questions
Florida.like previous salary history.
South Florida is only 90 miles from North to SouthAnother option is to contact a local staffing company
and about 15 miles from the Everglades (West) toand speak with an IT Recruiter. Currently there are
the Beach (East). Commuting is more about trafficniche companies, or divisions of companies, that will
congestion than distance. You could live 5 miles awaylikely focus on your individual industry and skill set. For
from your office yet it could take you the sameexample, if you are a Software Developer you will
amount of time to get there as someone who livessearch for a technical staffing company whereas an
20 miles away. Understanding the traffic patterns isAccountant might look for accounting and finance
extremely important. Companies also take this intofocused staffing companies. These companies will
consideration when making hiring decisions. Theyhave deep client relationships which make it more
know that someone who's commuting over an hourlikely that your resume will be reviewed rather than
each way will eventually look for something closer tosit in a pile on a desk.
their home and may have a more short term outlookI suggest contacting a local firm rather than a large
on their current employment.national corporation. Local firms specialize in your local
When it comes to technical positions in South Floridaarea and will typically have better relationships with
there are other things to think about. South Florida islocal companies. This especially holds true here in
large metropolitan area but it would not beSouth Florida. There are loads of national firms that
considered a top tier market. This should be takenlack specific relationships in the local corporate
into consideration both by people who live here locallycommunity. Many large national staffing firms have an
and those who are considering relocating to the area.interest in breaking into the South Florida market
Top tier markets like New York, Washington DC,because they see profit potential, however they
Atlanta, and Los Angeles are the homes of some oftypically have high turnover which makes it
the largest companies in the United States. Theseincreasingly difficult to build a solid relationship with a
companies are more likely to utilize large enterpriserecruiter.
level IT solutions in their environment. An example ofWhen calling a local firm, ask to speak with their top
this would be which database solution a companyrecruiter. Build a relationship with whomever they put
would choose, SQL Server or Oracle. Oracle is theyou on the phone with. Ask to meet them either at
more expensive solution which is tailored to largetheir office or possibly for a cup of coffee. This give
enterprise corporations. Oracle is often found in tieryou an advantage over that thousands of other
one markets. SQL Server has many of theapplicants resume's they see on a daily basis. If you
advantages of Oracle yet is tailored for small andpresent yourself in a professional manner, the
medium size companies both from a services andrecruiter will likely remember you when a position
price point. SQL Server is more often found inopens up with one of their clients that closely fit with
companies that are in the tier two or three areas. Ifyour skill set. Also, try to be as flexible as possible
you are a candidate with either of these skill sets,when they ask questions like what is your target
you may want to consider which tier market you aresalary range and how far would you comfortably
in to give yourself a greater opportunity to findcommute. The more flexible you are, the more likely
employment.it will be that they will contact you for an
Most candidates will look on popular job boards foropportunity.
opportunities that are advertised. The main problem