TPI - FAQ: Questions About Employment

Q. What are the benefits of using a recruiter versus conducting my own job search?

Recruiters know the employment opportunities of your local community inside and out. They can assist you in locating positions often not advertised, offer personal direction and representation to client companies - certainly a more effective method than becoming lost in a flood of resumes.

With TPI, you’ll be working with a dedicated team of professionals who can help you conduct a discreet job search. This team networks and conducts investigative research to assist you in finding your ideal career. While most people have multiple career moves, our recruiters have negotiated thousands of career moves.

Q. Am I charged a fee for TPI to place me in my next position?

No, The employer that hires you pays the placement and search fee. Do you charge a fee? No. Our fees are fully paid by our client companies.

Q: I've heard you should not discuss salary with recruiters. Is this true?

Contrary to the standard rule, you should discuss salary with recruiters when they ask. In order to match you with available positions, they need to know your salary, benefits history and what range is acceptable.

Q: Do I negotiate an offer with the recruiter or the company?

Some recruiters feel they need to be involved with every aspect of the search process—even the offer negotiation. In some cases, companies may ask recruiters to handle the negotiation process completely.

Q: Should I give a recruiter a list of references?

The people on your reference list are very important to you. Offer to make your reference list available to the recruiter once you are a strong candidate for a position.

Q: Should I keep the recruiter informed of my interview(s)?

Absolutely. After each interview, contact the search firm and bring your recruiter up-to-date.

Q. How do I get started with TPI?

Q. Are you on retainer to any firm?

No. We work on a contingency basis, which means we represent several companies, not just one.

Q. Do you place candidates anywhere in the country?

Yes, we place candidates to serve our clients staffing needs on a nationwide basis.

Q. Do you place candidates moving to other cities?

Yes. A significant percentage of our candidates are relocating to other areas. We can work with you to develop a plan to conduct an out-of-town search with a minimum amount of inconvenience and wasted time.

Q. Why should I use TPI?

Many firms choose not to advertise their open positions because of the time and expense involved with performing the search. Instead, they engage TPI to find qualified candidates for them. You get access to these positions. You leverage the deep relationships we have built with hiring managers over more than two decades. You will have a single point of contact at TPI (your TPI Associate) who will get to know you as an individual. Your job search becomes a team effort — not an individual one.

Q. What kind of jobs do you have?

TPI focuses exclusively on the IT profession, and we have hundreds of technical and functional positions at all levels. These positions can include PC Support, Network Administration, Network Architecture, Web/Internet related positions, Programmer Analyst, Software Engineer, Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, UNIX Systems Administrator, Database Administrator, Data Architect, Project Leader, Project Manager, IT Manager, Director, VP of Technology, and vendor-related positions.

Q. How long will it take me to find a job?

It varies. If you have solid experience with a hard-to-find skill set, you could be presented with an offer in a matter of days. Most candidates can expect their job search to last from two to six weeks on average, but it could last longer. Also, higher-level, permanent positions often have longer hiring cycles of 12 weeks or more. Each client has a different timetable, depending on their sense of urgency. Some clients need to replace an employee who has left or who is leaving and are willing to move very quickly to do this. Other clients may be hiring for a project that does not start for some time; they may take more time interviewing and screening potential candidates.

Q. How will we stay in touch?

We have found that most people prefer telephone correspondence. We realize that telephone conversations may be difficult for you at times, so each TPI Associate can also correspond with you via e-mail.

Q. How often will I hear from you?

Once you begin the search process, you can expect to hear from your TPI Associate as opportunities become available. We also encourage you to review our Web site periodically and to call us if you see a position of interest.

Q. Is our relationship exclusive?

No. You are free to work with any firm you desire at any time.

Q. What is contract consulting ("contracting")?

Contract consultants are hired by companies, on an hourly basis, to use their skills on a specific project for a set period of time. After an assignment is completed, the consultant is released to begin another project. Contracting is a form of employment that has become very popular for IT professionals.

Q. Who will be the legal employer when I am on assignment?

When working with our permanent placement division, we will be helping you become an employee of one of our client companies. When you work with a TPI Professional Services Associate, his or her focus will be to assist you in finding contract consulting assignments with our client companies. In this case, TPI becomes your legal employer.

Q. What factors determine hourly pay rate?

There is no simple formula for establishing pay rates, but a number of factors are usually important: the skills required for the project, the duration of the assignment, the number of available candidates with the required skills, the difficulty of the assignment, and any past employment with the client.

Q. What about benefits?

If you are seeking permanent placement, benefits packages will vary. This is an area we will help you explore with each client company to determine compatibility with your needs. When you become a TPI consultant, you are eligible for the entire TPI benefits package.

Q. What are people with my background making?

Good question. As you might imagine, there is no simple answer to this question. Market value is largely determined by area of the country, years of experience, depth of experience, educational history, and often varies by company and industry. We generate our own IT Compensation Survey for the cities where we do business: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Jacksonville, Northern New Jersey, New York City, Phoenix, Research Triangle Park, NC., San Francisco, St. Louis, and Seattle. This survey can provide you with a good understanding of the range of salaries in the marketplace.

Q. How will an offer be made?

This varies with each company. Typically, an offer will be presented to you verbally by your TPI Associate. Other times, the employer will desire to present the offer directly to you. For permanent positions, once you accept the verbal offer, a written offer letter is generally sent to you via mail.

Q. I am looking to move into IT. Can you help me?

It depends on your background, education, and flexibility. If you have a Computer Science, MIS, EE, or similar technical degree and relevant industry experience, we may be able to help you. You must be flexible on salary requirements when changing careers, but you can recover quickly once you learn new skills.

Q. Does TPI place entry-level candidates?

Yes. However, this is not our primary area of focus. Most of our clients want employees with experience who can "hit the ground running" on the first day. If you have a Computer Science or MIS bachelor's degree and some solid project experience while in school, we may be able to help you. Also, any internship or solid work experience while in school is a plus. Please be sure to mention this experience to your TPI Associate.