FAQ's
1. What does e.serv do?
2. How long has e.serv been in business?
3. What technologies do you specialize in?
4. What functional and technical positions do you support?
5. Why should I work with e.serv versus another firm?
6. Does e.serv work with clients and have employees outside of Wisconsin?
7. Are your consultants 1099 independent contractors, or employees of e.serv?
8. Does your firm provide H1-B sponsorships?
9. Does e.serv provide benefits?
10. Do you offer direct deposit?
11. I have never done contracting before, I'm not sure if it's for me. Can you describe the differences of being a contractor verses a regualr full time employee?
12. How long is a typical consulting engagement and what happens when I have successfully completed my project?
13. What will happen if none of the three options above work out and you can't find me another assignment?
14. Will I have to travel or relocate for a consulting project?
15. Who pays for my travel and/or lodging?
16. Why in the world is your office located in Cambridge, Wisconsin?
By no means can this section answer all of your questions. So please feel free to call us at your convenience. And if you're ever in Cambridge, WI please stop by and say hello!
Q1. What does e.serv do?
e.serv is an IT staffing and consulting firm that specializes in all phases of full-life cycle application development, including: analysis, design, specification writing, development, testing, and implementation. We provide contract, contract-for-hire, and direct hire placement services.
e.serv also provides legacy management, maintenance and enhancement services for the Unisys and IBM platforms.
Q2. How long has e.serv been in business?
e.serv began its operations in June of 1999; however, senior management and founder has been in the IT business since 1986.
Q3. What technologies do you specialize in?
- IMB COBOL, DB2, CICS, JCL
- Unisys A series COBOL, XGEN, Micro Focus, LINC, DMSII, ALGOL
- Unisys 2200 COBOL, Mapper, MASM, TIP, DMS1100
- Oracle, SQL Server
- VB.NET, ASP.NET, Java, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, C#
- and more...
Q4. What functional and technical positions do you support?
- Business Analysts
- Project Managers
- DBA's
- Systems and Programmers/Analysts
- Quality Assurance Testers/Analysts
5. Why should I work with e.serv versus another firm?
e.serv offers best-in-class talent to some of the finest and most respected organizations in the country. We earned this privilege by being passionate about providing only the best subject matter experts at very competitive rates, so your business-critical projects are completed on time and within budget. We are also vigilant in retaining our staff so you can be assured they will be there for the duration of the project, minimizing turn-over and project delays.
6. Does e.serv work with clients and have employees outside of Wisconsin?
Yes, we have both clients and employees throughout the United States.
7. Are your consultants 1099 independent contractors, or employees of e.serv?
The majority of our staff are full-time employees of e.serv, in which we withhold federal, state, local taxes, and pay matching FICA, SUTA, FUTA taxes as required by state and federal law.
8. Does your firm provide H1-B sponsorships?
Not at this time.
9. Does e.serv provide benefits?
Yes. We provide a full complement of benefits, including: group health, FSA, prescription coverage, 401(k), dental, vision, life insurance, and short/long term disability. Please talk to one of our staff consultants to answer specific eligibility and coverage details.
10. Do you offer direct deposit?
Yes. Payroll deposits are made into the account(s) of your choosing on the 15th and last day of the month.
11. I have never done contracting before, I'm not sure if it's for me. Can you describe the differences of being a contractor verses a regualr full-time employee?
The answer to this question generally entails a fairly lengthy discussion to determine if an individual is suited for contracting. Not everyone is, but many IT professionals thrive in this field of endeavor.
One, a contractor is generally brought into a project as a "hired gun" to provide subject matter expertise to get the clients project(s) designed and completed within the time frames allocated. For many IT professionals this set of pre-defined, focused objectives, milestones, and deliverables provides the consultant a feeling of accomplishment and adrenaline rush that is not always found in the full-time work force. As a consultant, you are there to accomplish a set of critical tasks and can generally absolve yourself from the typical "water-cooler" talk and allows you to focus on your area of expertise.
Secondly, as a consultant you have the ability to work in a multitude of industries, and a variety of companies to help continue to expand your technical and business expertise.
12. How long is a typical consulting engagement and what happens when I have successfully completed my project?
Great questions! e.serv strives to work on projects that are long-term in nature with some projects extending beyond nine years in length. However, our assignments on average last approximately three years, although we have had a few projects that were completed in as little as three months.
When a project is completed, one of three things might happen. One, the client may exercise the option to hire you on as a full-time employee, if you agree. Two, we find you another consulting assignment, or third, a full-time position with another company.
13. What will happen if none of the three options above work out and you can't find me another assignment?
There have been a few occassions, due to economic conditions, or limitations imposed on us by the consultant, where we have not been able to locate a new position. In those instances, we may have to furlough you until a new assignment or full-time position is found.
14. Will I have to travel or relocate for a consulting project?
Depending on the location of the assignment(s), the position may require you to travel, but not necessarily have to relocate. Many of our consultants, and their families, maintain a primary residence in their location of choice, and set up either extended lodging or an apartment for the duration of the project, and travel home on weekends. This is probably the biggest decision factor to make regarding consulting. Can you live away from your family and your home during the week while working in a remote location, providing the assignment is not local? This is a decision only you and your family can make. Given our experience, and the experience of our field consultants, we can certainly provide you with endless amounts of advice, tips, etc. on how to make this transition as painless as possible, but at the end of the day, this will boil down to your own personal situation and circumstances.
15. Who pays for my travel and/or lodging?
Every situation is different depending on the individual client, location and a multitude of other circumstances. Therefore, our staffing consultant and management team will need to discuss this with you on a case-by-case basis. But typically, the travel and lodging cost is offset so it does not affect your quality of life or financial situation.
16. Why in the world is your office located in Cambridge, Wisconsin?
Well, this is a question I ask myself every winter when it is 10 below zero! Shortly after starting the firm in the Chicago suburbs, our client base quickly spread throughout various parts of the country. It became apparent that it didn't matter where we had our physical office, provided we had access to major airports, good highways, and high-speed telecommunication services.
When we realized we could move to almost anywhere in the country, quite frankly my wife chose Cambridge, Wisconsin. She loved to shop here while living in Chicago (but now that we live here, she loves to shop in Chicago... go figure). It is a very quaint community with Victorian shops, a beautiful lake, great golf course, and plenty of community events and wonderful people. And besides being a fantastic community, it meets all of our transportation and telecommunication needs. We're only two hours to Chicago, one hour to Milwaukee, 20 minutes to Madison, and allows us to cost-effectively support our clients and employees easier than we could if we were in a major city. Most importantly, it allowed me the advantage to hire and retain some of the hardest working, most sincere and honest employees I've ever been associated with!