Clearpoint Voices: Chrissy Bennett d'Abaza, Sr. Account Manager

Get to know Clearpoint and staff through our Clearpoint Voices Q&A Interview sessions.

Chrissy Bennett d'Abaza, Sr. Account Manager

Chrissy is a Sr. Account Manager with Clearpoint Technology and has more than 10 years of experience in the Recruiting and Staffing industry. Chrissy specializes in IT for Energy, Finance, and Trading.

Q: How would you describe your approach to account management?

A: I have a holistic approach to account management. I like showing my clients the bigger picture and providing statistical information that is useful to them for managing and hiring staff. I love hosting our Clearpoint Technology "Tech Talks" for clients and helping them stay abreast of emerging technology. For candidates, I enjoy being their coach and mentor. We are looking forward to hosting some special professional development events for candidates which are centered on developing soft skills.

Q: What hiring trends have you experienced in 2013?

A: There is a big push in upstream oil and gas with a lot of neat emerging technologies. These technologies help companies grow and get more oil out of the ground. Along with that, I see a large growth in mobile technologies. These technologies help employees, especially in remote areas, to work more efficiently.  Many of our candidates are custom application developers that focus on mobile and upstream apps, and are highly sought after.

Q: What are your predictions for hiring trends in 2014?

A: I think there will be continued growth in mobile application development and a big resurgence in JAVA development.  JAVA is a very rigorous development language and a lot of companies are updating and refreshing existing applications or are developing completely new apps.

Q: Tell us more about the candidate-driven market conditions expected for 2014. We hear this term a lot and it seems that sometimes candidates don't really know what that means for them when negotiating.

A: Candidates should consider what true costs are for leaving their current positions.  Candidates should not only consider salary but the benefits and perks too. I always work with candidates to address this and take into consideration their total compensation including the intangible benefits. IT professionals are very driven by the technology they will be using, even more so by any money or other hard dollar benefits.

Q: What advice do you most often give to candidates you represent?

A: Believe it or not, I rewrite about 75 - 80% of the resumes for candidates that I represent. I think candidates really need to understand the importance of resumes and how to position themselves appropriately. Candidates are doing themselves a huge disservice by not having a robust resume and LinkedIn profile.

Q: What client advice do you have considering the candidate-driven market?

A: For clients, I want them to consider that now it is more important than ever to focus on retention and attraction programs. Also, they should remember that when interviewing they are being interviewed by the candidate too.  They should remember to put their best foot forward.  Clients should know that their existing staff is being called daily by recruiters, so they need to pay attention to morale.  Clients should also be aware of salary trends. If they have a senior level staffer who's been in the role for 5 years, they should be sure what the "market value" is for that role to safeguard against the staffer being lured away. I love working my clients to help them understand the conditions of the market and comps for our area.

Q: What don't people know about you that they might be surprised about?

A: I really enjoy learning about other people and other cultures, especially cuisine. This job allows me to do that.  I can say I've travelled the world through the eyes of my clients and candidates. The IT space is very diverse and has allowed me to meet lovely people from all over the world. This is a huge motivator for me and keeps me excited and engaged in what I do.

Clearpoint is the staffing partner of choice for many of Houston's top employers. Companies trust us to fill open technology and creative positions with talented professionals because of our successful track record, years of experience, and extensive network of amazing talent.www.clearpointco.com

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