Calgary IT Consulting Firms

[sputnik]

I have noticed that a number of Calgary IT consulting/staffing firms are hurting for IT people right now. Does anyone have any experience working with any of them in town and know which ones are good and which ones to avoid?

Here is a list to start things off.

- Metafore
- Graycon
- IBM
- Longview
- Klopp Richards
- David Alpin

[nosegrindR]

A few of our IT guys at my office work for Metafore. As far as I know I dont think they have any problems with their employer.

[BigBadVlad]

I think usually you'll find somebody that has something bad to say about pretty much anybody.

Metafore - heard they pay so so, not really good and some of the management are idiots.

Longview - Heard good and bad things from different people. My personal experience, they were nice and professional with me but in the end wound up waiting to hear from them on a particular job for over a year.

David Aplin - Personally I think at least one of their recruiters doesn't have a clue when it comes to understanding what the employer and employee are each looking for when it comes to IT, more interested in just placing someone so they could collect.

[JeremyD]

How many of those offer more than 3 month contracts? A lot of the companies that contact me lately are 3 month that may or may not extend.

[BokCh0y]

Klopp Richards is a waste of time
Twin Solutions also a waste of time
ITMatters - heard good things
Metafore - heard good things
Graycon - heard good things

[Chim]

I work at Shell and am surrounded by Longview staff as we're their biggest client. They seem to be pretty good to their people. For example, one thing they give you is a $4000 allowance per year to take whatever education you want (project mgmt courses, public speaking courses, maybe sex ed? jk)

[forced14]

If you plan on contracting for IBM, you would have to go through CNC global for the position. So far I have been having a pretty good time with this, no complaints at all, and IBM is pretty good to work for (even though its a 1 year contract) however they usually employ you after the contract, most of the people I have worked with have been hired on after their contract.

Another head hunter to try to go through is SiSystems. They have alot of postings online.

Ant BTW BigBadVlad, great signature :thumbsup:

--forced

[Toms-SC]

Long View is full of assholes IMO.

I know as of now GreyCon is offering their employees a $4000 head hunting fee for bringing new staff in.

[bspot]

IBM is a terrible terrible place to work. Stay far far away if you can. They slowly suck the life out of anyone that goes in there. I almost feel guilty when I run into my old coworkers from there that I made it out.

Heard good things about longview.

Heard bad about metafore, I know lots that have left or are trying to.

Bowen sucks balls. All they do is skim a huge ammount of money to do your payroll.

By the way...

IBM sucks. Don't work there. Its not worth it.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Long View is full of assholes IMO.

I know as of now GreyCon is offering their employees a $4000 head hunting fee for bringing new staff in.

Lots of companies do that. Our company ranges from $4000-5000 depending on the position filled.

[forced14]

Originally posted by bspot
IBM is a terrible terrible place to work. Stay far far away if you can. They slowly suck the life out of anyone that goes in there. I almost feel guilty when I run into my old coworkers from there that I made it out.

Heard good things about longview.

Heard bad about metafore, I know lots that have left or are trying to.

Bowen sucks balls. All they do is skim a huge ammount of money to do your payroll.

By the way...

IBM sucks. Don't work there. Its not worth it.

It all depends on what you are looking for. Right now I just finished college and was looking for experience. 2 years with IBM will be good for the resume, as well, so far I have learned a fair amount of things and the people im working with are very skilled in what they do. I guess it could be different depending on what department you are working in..

--forced

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by forced14
If you plan on contracting for IBM, you would have to go through CNC global for the position. So far I have been having a pretty good time with this, no complaints at all, and IBM is pretty good to work for (even though its a 1 year contract) however they usually employ you after the contract, most of the people I have worked with have been hired on after their contract.

--forced


:werd: :werd: :werd:

I vote :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for CNC Global, since I work there now.

If any of you IT guys are on the prowl, give me a shout.

[snoop101]

What about web designers?

[forced14]

Just put your resume in with www.cncglobal.com or www.sisystems.com and see if they come back with anything.

Nothing wrong with trying, im not sure if they will have many jobs regarding web design, but give it a shot.

--forced

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by forced14
Just put your resume in with www.cncglobal.com or www.sisystems.com and see if they come back with anything.

Nothing wrong with trying, im not sure if they will have many jobs regarding web design, but give it a shot.

--forced Or send your resume directly to me, because this way, I can start working on your resume right away, rather than having the resume float around on the system for who knows how long before someone finds it.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
Or send your resume directly to me, because this way, I can start working on your resume right away, rather than having the resume float around on the system for who knows how long before someone finds it.

Are you working as a recuiter?

[Toms-SC]

Hey headhunters,

Whats in it for me? :) Sign on bonuses?

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Toms-SC
Long View is full of assholes IMO.

Care to share? There are only so many IT people in this town. Even if you try not to hire assholes, it inevitible you'll get a bunch because of the shortage.

LongView I believe is one of the better one out there. But it's growing at a such fast pace that it may collapse into iteselves.

Metafore is average at best.

ITMatters is ok but doesn't pay that well.

IBM is dirt poor and hasn't treat their employees well for a few years now.

IMO, if you can stick with IT gigs as an employee with big oil companies would be best. Pays way better than any of these outfits. Most I believe pays about $50-$60K/year straight out of school. With incentives and bonus, you can easiler clear $70K for a well educated noob.

[bspot]

Originally posted by forced14


It all depends on what you are looking for. Right now I just finished college and was looking for experience. 2 years with IBM will be good for the resume, as well, so far I have learned a fair amount of things and the people im working with are very skilled in what they do. I guess it could be different depending on what department you are working in..

--forced

True, but are you IGS? Madatory 44 hour work weeks, a complete lack of a training budget, and ridiculously minimal raises all lead to many people wanting the fuck out.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by sputnik


Are you working as a recuiter?

Yes I am. I do contract placements AND permanent placements.

[gwild]

I work for CCSI Compucom.

Used to be GEITS - but we were sold to Platinum Equities who in turn merged us with Compucom (US).

In Canada, we are CCSI Compucom.

http://www.ccsicompucom.com/

I myself have been onsite (Senior Unix Admin) at a large Oil/Gas company here in Calgary.

You can search for opportunities here:

https://compucom.hrdpt.com/cgi-bin/a/searchjobs_quick.cgi

Good Luck!

Rgds...Geoff

[Envitro]

I used to work for Long View before I jumped ship to an oil & gas company...

Long View is good, but it all depends on what you're looking for. If you're young and looking for experience, don't expect to make good money.

However, if you're experienced and have a specialized skill, and if they are looking for it, you can expect to rake in good cash.

As far as the company itself, it is growing exponentially. I still have lots of good friends that work there and the environment is really good. It all depends on what you're looking for in a consulting firm too.