Hiring Report: Charleston Southern University Not Feeling The Talent Crunch

Company Name: Charleston Southern University Focus: Higher education, Promoting academic excellence in a Christian environment Headquarters: Charleston, SC Web site: www.csuniv.edu Founded: 1964 Number Of IT Employees: 17 Hiring Leader: Rusty Bruns, CIO reporting to the president. Are you looking to hire on more IT staff this year, and if so, how many and in what skill areas? No, we have no vacancies.

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Given all the news about the talent crunch, have you or are you finding it more difficult to find qualified IT professionals? In Charleston, there is a continuous pool of technical people in the workforce looking for new employers. We average one or fewer vacancies per year and have had no problem in finding talent that fits with our university. What are your primary recruiting strategies? We have not needed to use any other recruiting except the local paper, which is also online. What is the hiring process? After advertising the opening on-campus, we advertise in the local paper. I screen all resumes with my director of computer operations. We decide on candidates to interview. We interview the individual(s). Decide on a candidate, run references and then either offer or do not offer the position to the candidate. Either way, all interviewees and personally called to be informed of their status. I do not test. I first look for maturity, personality, goal setting, and initiative. Then I ask about the technical abilities. What should candidates know before they interview at Charleston Southern University? The mission of the school and their ability to support that mission. What makes for an outstanding potential hire? Excellent communication skills, good personality, strong initiative, mature, goal setting and responsible. What are red flags you look for when reviewing resumes, doing interviews? Some may sound odd but, lack of communication skills, anger, no sense of humor, immature, the inability to listen, ego, inappropriate appearance and no sense of motivation. What kind of non-IT skills do your IT team members need, if any?

• Sense of humor
• The ability to have fun
• No anger issues
• Mature
• Self-motivated
• Mature when necessary
• Flexible
• Strong communication skills
• The ability to listen

How important is the cover letter in job queries " any tips or advice to job seekers on what to do or not to do. I do not place a huge emphasis on the cover letter. I read the resume and cover letter in under a minute. If I become interested, I take longer. Actually, if the skill set is on the cover it helps just some bullets is fine with me. Shorter is best, less than a paragraph. Is the IT organization looking for certified skills? I like A+ for techs, Microsoft does not impress me due to their boot camps, and Cisco is a good certification. I would rather have initiative and personality over certifications. Does the organization hire 'newbies' and invest in training and how well does that work, and if not, why not? The newbie's I hire are those who have been work-studies that have worked in my department for a period of time and have shown the personality and skill set that I need for the position. The following are newbie's I hired from the work-study program who are still with me: Lab Manger (1995) Wireless Administrator (2001), Technician (2005). Over the years there have been a few others but new without experience, I rarely hire. What characteristics or personality traits do you want in a hire, and don't want? I want: a sense of humor, the ability to have fun, no anger issues, maturity, self-motivated, flexibility, strong communication skills and the ability to listen. I don't want: Someone with no sense of humor, an ego, lack of motivation, a whiner or pessimist. What does your company offer IT specialists as an employer? Free tuition for undergrad and grad work. But as an IT workplace we offer these benefits as well: a fun place to work with no micromanagement, cross training, an environment that is conducive to work that does not seem like work. Other recent articles from TechCareers Career Profile: President/Global Wave Group Career Profile: VP Of IS/Russ Reid Co.

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