Information technology (IT) is the engine of the modern office, and in-house IT employees can keep your office equipment humming. Consider information technology recruiting companies when you need to hire IT employees. High tech recruiters can simplify the hiring process and can provide you with high-caliber applicants.

When searching for IT recruiting services, consider the following:

1. High tech recruiters work with your HR department to develop technologically accurate job descriptions and IT recruitment strategies.
2. Bringing outsourced IT recruiting services in-house for better accountability may require more than one employee. How many positions are you filling?
3. High tech recruiting companies can find experts in specific programming languages or IT personnel with other desired qualifications.
4. Using online IT recruiting services.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Information technology recruiting companies provide expertise

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) includes a variety of tasks. High tech recruiting companies often provide marketing, networking, screening, interviewing, skills testing and performance monitoring.

I recommend: The American Staffing Association promotes legal, ethical, and professional practices for the staffing industry and offers a search tool to find members who offer technical and IT recruiting services in your area. CyberCoders offers online RPO of permanent hires for a flat percentage of the IT candidate's starting salary, with a 90-day replacement guarantee. The Lucas Group offers placement for a number of IT jobs, including software engineers and systems administrators.

Look for IT recruiting services that offer alternatives

IT recruiting services can add up if your hiring needs are quantity-driven, but some firms allow per-hire fees, or are willing to accept a sliding scale percentage. But do you need to hire all your IT personnel on a permanent basis? Contract employees satisfy fluctuating needs without incurring HR costs or payroll and benefit expenses, and you get to preview a prospective hire in action as a contract employee.

I recommend: TEKsystems are high tech recruiters offering short-term and long-term placements in the IT industry. High-Tech Professionals offers a wide range of staffing alternatives and will even help you hire summer interns for your IT positions.

Use specialized IT recruiting services

If you need a LINUX programmer, but don't feel like wading through a big list of potentials, some information technology recruiting companies specialize in offering narrower ranges of candidates. Candidates with special security clearances can be required for some jobs, and are often found in areas that do a lot of business with the federal government.

I recommend: Oya's Directory of Recruiters allows you to find a range of high tech recruiters specialized by IT functions, such as systems administration. ClearanceJobs.com also offers IT candidates that can be sorted by specific security clearance levels.

Use online high tech recruiting resources

Online IT recruiting services give you more control of your IT hiring practices.

I recommend: Dice, the number-one site for tech jobs, offers pointers for writing your own IT job ads before posting them on the site and also offers IT recruiting services, such as Targeted Job Fairs, in different regions. Other online high tech recruiting companies include Computerwork (a JobServe site), Tech-centric.net and ITJobs.net.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Define an overall recruitment strategy and hiring objectives before hiring IT recruiting services to fill your company's IT roster.
• •  Interview a few information technology recruiting companies before choosing one. Look for people you feel comfortable sharing sensitive information with and check their references with past clients.
• •  Get the best employee you can for the money. If you plan to expand your business into sensitive areas (government contracts, health care records, etc.), it's worth hiring high tech recruiters who specialize in IT candidates with the right security clearances.
• •  Most high tech recruiting companies will work with you to find a replacement quickly if your initial hire doesn't work out for any reason.