The Nerdy IT Manager tried to order a life sized iron cast of Han Solo. The purchasing department caught it. It was rejected. An uprising occurred. Corporate HR surge was sent in to quell the unrest. You were caught in the middle. Now the Nerdy IT manager hates HR; therefore he hates you, the Recruiter.

As you recruit, the manager shoots down all your candidates. He despises every candidate you send him. Everything you do just sucks.


New recruiting plan: Infiltrate the group and become a trusted partner. Doesn’t work. You’re an outsider. You don’t belong.


You try to buy your way with Donuts. Who cares, they get free donuts already from all the staffing agencies. “Just add it to the pile”, one snotty IT developer says.

You go with them to a Karaoke bar. You sing Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time with a Developer named Huang who can barely speak English. Good try. Entertaining, but nothing gained.

You’re almost over. Everything is a colossal failure until one day the Nerdy IT Manager calls you to schedule an interview with one of your candidates.


WTH! You are shocked, but elated at same time. You go through the notes on your candidate and there it is. Bam! The candidate is not only certified but also publicized some papers on Java Design Patterns.

IT Recruiting is all about finding candidates that are serious about what they do. Certifications make that statement for you. And, if they have been publicized, that’s money in the bank. Search on certifications, and specific websites always uncover the rising star that picky manager wants to interview.

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