At Synergis, our people are our best asset. So, let’s get to know them. We first sat down with Denise Wicks, Senior Recruiter, to learn more about her, her professional background and her expertise.

Denise, please tell our readers a little about yourself and your career.

I’m originally from New Jersey but have been in Atlanta for more than half of my life since transferring to Georgia State University from Montclair State. Because I graduated before GSU had a football team, I have been cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs for the past 20 years. (I still loved seeing the Panthers beat Tennessee though!) I currently live on Lake Lanier and love the lake life. I have been in IT recruiting for 25 years and have been with Synergis for almost 20 of those years.

I started my career as a Recruiter for a temporary agency that would typically focus on more administrative and light industrial work. The company that I worked for had national contracts with IT companies in Atlanta and did not have a technical branch to support them. Our office started placing Help Desk Analysts, Computer Operators, Technical Writers, etc. I really enjoyed the IT aspect and moved to another organization to focus on IT exclusively.

What are your favorite aspects of working with clients?

My favorite aspect of recruiting is putting a good relationship together to solve a problem. As a Recruiter, I consider both the candidate and the company contact as my clients. It is my desire to find the best resources for our clients to help accomplish their objectives and to find opportunities for my candidates that meet their needs and career goals. It is especially rewarding to help a candidate who has been out of work for one reason or another land a position and/or to assist candidates in acquiring opportunities they would not have had access to on their own.

What are the biggest challenges you are seeing when it comes to finding talent?

With unemployment at an all-time low and fewer students going for Computer Science degrees, the amount of talent in the market is very minimal. There are not enough qualified resources to fill the open IT needs available currently.

What is the one piece of advice that you give your clients?

Based on the market being as tight as it is – one piece of advice I consistently give clients is if they find someone that they like – they should move fast. That same candidate is likely being pursued by multiple companies. Good candidates will go off the market quickly and if you schedule multiple interviews or drag the interview process over a week or two, they will likely be gone. Several of our clients are now making hiring decisions on initial phone screens or video conferences to speed up the process.

There is also a huge desire for candidates to be able to work remotely. This is the benefit that holds the most value to many candidates but is not a great expense to the client. In some cases, it could be cost-saving! If the client has the ability to allow their folks to telecommute – the opportunity will be far more attractive to the majority of candidates in an already tight marketplace.