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Recruiter Recommends Ways to Gain a Competitive Edge
By Sheryl Silver
Are you an information technology (IT) professional? In the market for a new job? If so, the findings of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) 2004 Annual Workforce Development Survey may interest you.
Based on telephone polling of 500 hiring managers, the recently released survey results reveal the overall IT workforce in the U.S. increased by 213,639 between Q1 2003 and Q1 2004. These additional jobs raise the U.S. IT workforce total to approximately 10.5 million.
According to the survey, programmers remain the largest single group of IT workers in the U.S. ITAA estimates indicate that 2.1 million of the nation's 10.5 million IT workers are programmers. Numbering just over 2 million, technical support professionals are the second largest group. However, while the demand for programmers declined by 30,000 during the period covered by the survey, demand for technical support professionals increased 5.4 percent during that period. Demand for those in the network systems sector of IT also increased by 5.2 percent.
Despite the growth in the overall IT workforce during the twelve month period ending March 31st of this year, the projected demand for IT workers for all of 2004 is down substantially from a similar projection for 2003. ITAA survey respondents indicated plans to add just 230,000 IT jobs this year compared to the nearly 500,000 forecast for last year.
Helen MacKinnon, president of the Los Angeles-based recruiting firm Technical Connections Inc., was surprised by the projected decrease in demand.
"I was surprised when I saw the survey because we're seeing a pick up in hiring," said MacKinnon. "Companies appear to be moving ahead and adding staff for projects they've had on hold for awhile. We're seeing people with good technical skills getting multiple job offers and counteroffers from their current employers."
Paralleling ITAA's findings, MacKinnon said the majority of demand she's seeing is coming from non-IT companies in several industries including financial services, mortgage lending, and entertainment. MacKinnon also noted that although the hiring of full-time employers is up from last year's level, companies are still doing more contract and contract-to-hire staffing.
"Many employers remain cautious," she said. "Many still want an opportunity to evaluate someone in a work situation for a period of time before deciding to hire them full-time."
What IT skills are in greatest demand locally?
".Net technology is without a doubt the hottest technology right now. It's hard to find enough people with experience to meet demand," said MacKinnon. "People with ERP experience are also in demand as are strong business systems analysts who really understand the business lifecycle."
MacKinnon said analysts with functional skills and experience in certain industries, such as financial services and entertainment, are particularly sought after. "Analysts who come out of the big consulting firms with 4-6 years experience are also very much in demand," she added. "They know what questions to ask to analyze business problems."
Does MacKinnon have any advice for employed or unemployed IT professionals looking for new jobs?
"If you're a developer, go learn .Net," she said. "In fact, whether it's Oracle or any other technology, I encourage people with skills in particular technologies to take time to learn the newest version of those technologies. That will give them an edge on most people who may still be working with older versions."
MacKinnon urged analysts to obtain some sort of certification. "It will help distinguish you from other analysts," she said. "More employers today look for certifications."
MacKinnon also advised unemployed IT workers to consider contract as well as full-time opportunities. "The lines between contract and full-time employment are blurring," she said. "A significant percentage of contract opportunities today lead directly to full-time positions with companies."
A well-designed resume can also improve your chances of being hired. "One of the most damaging mistakes people make on resumes is leaving huge gaps of time unaccounted for," said MacKinnon. "That is bound to get those resumes thrown away."
MacKinnon also advised against including too much technical verbiage in resumes. "Lead with your strengths," she said. "Less is sometimes more effective." To illustrate her point, MacKinnon said, "Let's say you're a very seasoned HP 3000 programmer. And let's say, although you mention that on your resume, you also mention every other technology you've ever taken a class in or used at work. The fact that you're an HP 3000 programmer may be lost in all the technical verbiage."
Finally, MacKinnon recommends explaining short-term jobs on your resume. "To avoid looking like a job hopper if you are not one, briefly indicate why each job ended," she said. "For example, at the end of a particular job description, you might say, 'project ended,' 'company moved to Arkansas'--- whatever explanation is appropriate."
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