When you sign up with an IT staffing agency, one of the important details to check is whether you can get automated alerts about job postings that suit your criteria. Instead of constantly perusing the agency's website to look for ideal jobs or having a recruiter call you, you'll know in real time when an applicable job comes available. Whether you get the job alert via text message or email, it's time to drop what you're doing and complete a series of important steps that will give you a leg up on any other person who is interested in the same position. Here are three quick steps to take.

Thoroughly Assess The Job Description

Depending on how broad your search parameters are, you may occasionally get some job alerts that aren't in perfect alignment with your skills and experience. That's OK, though. It's far better to get more job alerts and peruse them instead of fewer. Your first priority is to thoroughly go over the job description to make sure that it's a perfect fit for you. You don't want to waste your time and your recruiter's time asking for the agency to consider you for the job, only to later learn that you don't fully meet the criteria. If you read the description and find that you're a perfect fit, you can proceed.

Call Your Recruiter Right Away

As soon as you decide that the job listing is suitable for you, place a call to your recruiter to let him or her know that you're interested in applying. You have to remember that other people represented by the agency will also be expressing their interest, but they may do so by email or an eventual phone call. By calling your recruiter as quickly as you can, you'll show not only that you're keen about the position, but also get the chance to learn any other details that the recruiter may know.

Tweak Your Resume

Instead of having your recruiter submit the resume that he or she has on file, take a bit of time to adjust the resume to more fully suit the job description. Generally, you can always make some changes to your resume to ensure that it accurately reflects what the employer is looking for, even if it's just making some wording changes to use more of the same verbiage used in the job description. As soon as you're done, you can send the updated resume to your recruiter to submit on your behalf.

For more tips, check with a company like Scion Technical Staffing today.