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IT Jobs Outlook Modest for 2011

December 8, 2010/0 Comments/in 2011 it job outlook, dallas it job growth, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, it job outlook, IT Staffing, X it jobs information technology jobs X IT Job Growth X IT Job outlook X dallas it job outlook X dallas it job growth/by admin

Perhaps the best thing that will be said about 2010 and IT hiring is that large layoffs have tapered off and the overall trend seems to favor hiring.

Computerworld — Perhaps the best thing that will be said about 2010 and IT hiring is that large layoffs have tapered off and the overall trend seems to favor hiring.

For sure, IT workers are still losing their jobs, particularly in the weakest areas of economy, such as in state and local government. Camden, NJ, for example, recently announced a plan to lay off one in four city workers to cover a large budget shortfall.

About four IT workers in Camden will be axed if this plan is adopted, and the city says in a report that that cuts will mean “the network will not function effectively.” City officials did not respond to request for comment.

Tech spending is expected to rebound next year, with IDC predicting 5.7% growth next year worldwide after 3% this year. But how will that spending on tech translate into hiring with offshore outsourcing increasing ?

The latest evidence that IT hiring is improving overall comes from a new study from Computer Economics, which surveyed IT managers at 136 firms in the U.S. and Canada with revenues above $50 million. It found that 48% of managers planned to add staff next year, with 11% planning to reduce staff.

John Longwell, vice president of research at Computer Economics, said, “The layoffs are over, people are starting to add workers to their payrolls but it is going to be modest.”

The survey looked at operational spending in IT, those functions needed for day-to-day operations, and about half of that cost is in salaries, Longwell said.

Longwell said that companies are beginning to take on new IT projects, extending staff hours, hiring contractors — and turning to outsourcing . In this quarter, 27% planned to hire and 14% said they were going to decrease staff.

Longwell characterized this year as one of “nervous stability,” and said IT operational budget are still restrained and users in their survey are planning for 2% growth.

Capital spending in the IT industry is projected to increase next year, which will help tech hiring, and offshore outsourcing will send lower rung IT jobs overseas.

David Foote, CEO of IT workforce analyst firm Foote Partners, said he believes the demand for IT skills – not necessarily full-time workers — is stronger, but difficult to track because it is being increasingly spread throughout companies.

Foote says he is seeing a lot demand for specific skills by business units in areas such as predictive analytics, architecture, social media, and security functions that are attached to finance, accounting, and auditing, and not to central IT operations.

IT Jobs That Need Filling

September 29, 2010/0 Comments/in Information technology jobs, IT Consulting, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, IT Jobs, IT Professionals, IT Staffing/by admin

Even with thousands upon thousands of experienced IT pros looking for work, many information technology executives say they are finding it difficult to find talented workers in several key areas of their organizations. Maybe they’re not trying hard enough, or maybe they’re just looking in the wrong places or maybe there exists a mismatch between available workers and the specific jobs open in today’s marketplace. IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology recently asked the following question of 1,400 IT leaders, from companies with more than 100 employees: “In which functional area is it most challenging to find skilled IT professionals?” The answer was something of a mixed bag and one that leaves many questions about the state of IT hiring. The execs mentioned a number of specific tasks that are going begging, with spots in networking, security and help desk support taking the top spots. Only a relatively small fraction said they could find all the talent they need. Where are you experiencing problems in the job market?

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Direct-hire Sr Desktop Engineer Opportunity with a Great Company in Grapevine, TX

September 3, 2010/0 Comments/in Dallas Direct-hire IT Jobs, Dallas Information Technology, Dallas IT, Dallas IT Candidates, Dallas IT Desktop Engineer, Dallas IT Engineer, Dallas IT Jobs, Dallas IT Position, Dallas IT Professional, Dallas IT Recruiter, Dallas IT Recruiting, Dallas IT Staffing, Dallas Permanent IT Jobs, Dallas Technical recruiter, Dallas Technical Recruiting, Dallas Technical Staff Augmentation, Dallas Technical Staffing, Dallas-Fort Worth IT Staffing, DFW IT Staffing, Information Technology, information technology hiring, Information technology jobs, Information Technology Organizations, Information Technology Recruiting, IT, IT Candidates, IT Careers, IT Consulting, IT Employees, IT Help Desk, IT Hiring, IT Jobs, IT Professionals, IT Staff, IT Staffing, IT Workers, Software Engineers, technical recruiting, Technical Staffing, Technology/by admin

If this opportunity is not a good match for your skills or you are not available but know someone who is, please forward this link to them as we pay referral fees for anyone you refer that we place with a client.

Location: Grapevine, TX

Sr Desktop Engineer

Required Experience

· Intimately knows the insides of Windows client platforms (XP, Win7)

· Must at least know how to script with VBScript

· Experience with a variety of client management tools in order to make educated recommendations (Ie, Antivirus, Patch Management, etc)

· Experience with OS deployment methods such as sysprep, ghosting, unattended install, etc

· Must be able to work with IT architects, support staff, server & network engineering, DBAs and developers in order to solve complex problems that span multiple disciplines as well as lead projects or architect client solutions that require support from multiple teams.

· Must know how to do basic SQL queries

Preferred Experience

· Programming experience such as with VB.NET, C#, etc

· Intermediate to Advanced SQL query experience

· Experience with MDT imaging technologies

· Experience working with locked down end points such as public facing systems (kiosks, library systems, digital signage, etc)

· Experience designing and implementing client solutions that meet regulatory requirements such as SOX, PCI, etc.

· Administration experience in products that GameStop employs today (Remoteware, BigFix, MDT, EPO/AntiVirus, Service Desk Express)

· MCSE with at least an educational knowledge of Server technologies if not working experience

If you have this experience, feel you are a fit for this position, and are interested, please answer the questions below:

1) Do you have an updated Word copy of your resume?

2) What is your availability to start?

3) Are you open to a direct-hire position?

4) What is your current salary or pay rate?

5) Are you currently eligible to work for any employer in the US?

6) When is the best time to contact you and what # can you be reached at for this opportunity?

Regards,

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Retain Your IT Staff Through Job Rotations

August 21, 2010/0 Comments/in IT Department, IT Hiring, IT Job Satisfaction, IT Professionals, IT Staff, IT Staff Retention, IT Staffing, IT talent, Software Engineers, Technical Staffing, Technology/by admin

As the economy slowly shows signs of improvement, an IT Job Rotation Program can help you retain your top performers.

As the economy slowly shows signs of improvement, your IT staff members will inevitably question whether they should explore new opportunities. The management challenge that we face is that IT professionals possess skills that are relatively transferrable from one industry to another, so if you’re in a hard hit industry, you have more risk in retaining your top talent as other industries improve faster. So, how do you retain your IT staff in today’s unpredictable economy?

Build a Job Rotation Program

Job rotation programs are designed to move employees from job to job within a company as a vehicle to attract, retain and motivate staff. Rotation programs give employees an opportunity to explore other careers, prevent job boredom, develop competencies, foster career growth, and improve talent in an organization. A well designed job rotation program can have a very favorable impact on job satisfaction, productivity and retention. Rotations are different from normal job openings because the job opening is created by two employees interested in moving into each other’s jobs.

Where Do You Start?

First, assemble a small, cross-functional team of individual contributors and managers to define the program. The team can help you study the topic, define specific objectives, establish the process, and make sure that whatever you eventually put in place will be an effective program. There is a lot of free information available on the internet and even consultants that specialize in the topic.

Defining Objectives

While the name of the program clearly implies its intention, it does not convey the reasons why such a program is necessary for your company. It is important that you clearly emphasize why the program is needed. Organizations put rotation programs in place to solve different objectives. The team that you assemble to build the program can help you identify and communicate the objectives of the program. Merely saying that the program will be designed to help retain employees is not sufficient because no one will understand how such a program will help retain employees. And retaining employees is a goal or an outcome, not an objective. An example of an objective of a job rotation program may be to broaden an individual’s knowledge of other functions in the IT department, which in turn will help become more valuable to the organization. In this age of doing more with less, this is a worthy objective.

Establishing a Process

After you have sufficiently studied rotation programs and are ready to design your own, carefully consider the type of process that you will need. Some companies have very informal rotation programs. In these companies, the culture itself encourages employees to move from one job to another. There may be enough natural movement that a highly structured program is not necessary – too much structure may even be viewed as an impediment in this type culture. Although, it is arguable that some amount of structure is necessary in any type of culture so that employees understand how to make a move into a different role that is right for them – and for the company.

When designing a job rotation program, consider steps such as the request process, eligibility, matching participants to opportunities, terms of rotation, timing, transition plan, and monitoring the rotation. It is best to have the program clearly documented and made available on the company’s intranet.

Measuring the Success of the Program

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IT Staffing and IT Staff Augmentation – Project-Based Staffing

August 17, 2010/0 Comments/in information technology hiring, Information Technology Recruiting, Information Technology Staffing, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, IT Job News, IT Projects, IT Staff, IT Staff Augmentation, IT Staffing, IT talent, IT Workers/by admin

It’s next to impossible for IT employees to be experts in every skill needed to complete any project that comes up. To make up for this lack of expertise, many organizations hire outside temporary help. About 10% to 20% of workers on IT projects are contingent employees, according to David Van De Voort, a principal consultant with Mercer, a human resources and consulting firm in Chicago.

The task of staffing is typically an HR function, but the CIO oversees allocation of resources in the IT department, where it is often prudent to recruit specialized workers for specific projects. Establishing an efficient process for hiring and managing temporary workers is essential to the success of those projects.

One of the challenges in hiring temp workers involves finding the best contract workers and getting them up and running quickly and efficiently. Temporary workers aren’t cheap. According to Van De Voort, organizations fork over $3 for every $1 they pay a regular employee. Find the wrong people — or supervise them inadequately — and an organization is likely to waste a great deal of money in the process.

The upshot: It’s essential for CIOs to have an effective freelance-management system. According to staffing experts, a few key steps in the hiring and managing processes can ensure smooth sailing.Hiring

The first stage involves finding and hiring the right people. The more systematic the process, the easier it will be to locate the right freelancers quickly.

Designate regular sources Organizations often find freelancers from a few sources. Contingent staffing firms offer temps who specialize in IT skills. Some focus on specific areas of expertise, such as ERP applications or Java development. Because those firms are able to devote considerable effort to finding specific candidates with specific skills, they’re especially useful when the project needs only a few freelancers at a time.
Create a database of expertise An ongoing database of freelancers can list specific areas of expertise. “When you actually need the freelancer, you’re ahead of the game,” says Dora Vell, managing partner of Vell & Associates, an executive search firm in Waltham, Mass.
Clarify the job description While this step may seem obvious, doing it right can make a difference. Articulate specifically which skills are needed and the day-to-day duties will be performed, as well as the size and scope of the project, specific benchmarks, timelines, and other expectations for performance. Failure to do so often leads to hiring the wrong person. “We have to make sure we have every detail nailed down so we provide the right candidate,” says Kevin Knau, executive vice president of Hudson, a Chicago staffing firm.

Managing

Once the right freelancers are on board, they have to be supervised. While management of contract workers requires some of the same steps used when overseeing any employee, there are additional issues to consider, as well.

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IT Job Satisfaction in a Rut

August 17, 2010/0 Comments/in IT, IT Department, IT Employees, IT Field, IT Hiring, IT Job Growth, IT Job News, IT Job Satisfaction, IT Professionals, IT Staff, IT Staff Augmentation, IT Staffing, IT talent, IT Workers/by admin

It’s getting tough out there for IT employees facing long workdays, short tempers and limited career options.

Computerworld — The Jet Blue flight attendant’s dramatic de-planing last week says a lot about workplace frustration, a problem that may be increasing in IT.

A few days before flight attendant Steven Slater released a rear chute and exited his career with a couple of cans of beer in hand, an organization of IBM users meeting at the Share conference in Boston held an informal discussion entitled “The Mythical 40-Hour Week.”

It wasn’t a gripe session as much as a chance to share notes about what’s going in IT workplaces since the Great Recession. What emerged was an insider’s view of the frustrations building among tech workers as work days lengthen, pay remains stagnant and career growth appears thwarted.

Those taking part in the discussion asked that their names not be used so they could speak frankly.

“You don’t know how many hours you work – it’s all about getting the job done,” said one IT worker. “There are lots, lots of people in IT who are expected to work far more than a 40-hour week,” said another. Sixty hour weeks are common.

Yet another worker described bosses who expect their employees to work late into the night if need be to fix problems and then be on the job the next day at the usual time. Even vacation time is no longer sacrosanct: one person said he expects to be contacted “more than a half dozen times” during his time off.

Even if companies are getting more unpaid hours from their workers in today’s climate, the companies themselves may be getting hurt in other ways, according to the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) in Washington, D.C. The CEB conducts ongoing behavioral surveys of employee attitudes, and many of its clients are Fortune 500 firms.

The willingness of employees to “exert high levels of discretionary effort” — or put in the extra effort to get a job done — remains at low levels, the CEB found in its most recent survey, completed in the second quarter.

This willingness to put in extra effort fell from about 12% of workers in 2007 to about 4% last year. It was the lowest level in 10 years. The latest CEB survey of nearly 20,000 IT workers said that percentage had changed little and is now at 4.6%.

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IT Departments: Bridging the IT Generation Gap

August 15, 2010/0 Comments/in Information Technology, Information Technology Field, Information Technology Organizations, Information Technology Staffing, IT, IT Careers, IT Department, IT Employees, IT Field, IT Hiring, IT Industry, IT Professionals, IT Staff, IT talent, IT Workers, Technology/by admin

Older generations learned tech. The younger generation lives it. Organizations that want to succeed need the skills of both.

InfoWorld — IT pros who grew up in the Baby Boom are dinosaurs who just don’t get it. Generation Y is full of Facebook-happy slackers with an exaggerated sense of entitlement. But beyond these broad generalizations lie some real differences between the generations of geeks who do tech for a living, from Boomers to Generations X, Y, and the Millennials.

“Today’s generation was born into a world where technology is about interaction, whether it’s playing video games or using social media,” says Larry Johnson, age 62, co-author with daughter Meagan (age 40) of “Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters — Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work” (Amacom, 2010). “They spent hours at it, the way I spent hours watching ‘Rin Tin Tin.’ So their brains are structured to interact with technology in an entirely different way.”

[ Looking to get the most out of your IT investments, see InfoWorld’s “20 more IT mistakes to avoid” and “16 ways IT can do less with less” | Find out which of InfoWorld’s IT personality types best fits your tech temperament. ]

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IT Staffing: IT Hiring Continues to Improve, According to Surveys

August 10, 2010/0 Comments/in Information Technology, information technology budgets, Information Technology Field, information technology hiring, Information Technology Organizations, Information Technology Projects, Information Technology Recruiting, information technology spending, Information Technology Staffing, IT, IT Budgets, IT Field, IT Hiring, IT Industry, IT Job Growth, IT Job News, IT Jobs, IT Projects, IT Spending, IT Staff, IT Staff Augmentation, IT Staffing, IT talent, IT Workers, Technical Staffing, Technology, Technology Budgets, Technology Projects/by admin

Hiring for IT jobs continues on the upswing in the U.S. and Canada as recessionary gloom gives way to cautious optimism, according to various recent polls of employers, who cite networking, security, virtualization and database skills as among the most sought-after.

IDG News Service — Hiring for IT jobs continues on the upswing in the U.S. and Canada as recessionary gloom gives way to cautious optimism, according to various recent polls of employers, who cite networking, security, virtualization and database skills as among the most sought-after.

“Overall, employer confidence is improving,” said Tom Silver, senior vice president, North America, at Dice Holdings, which operates Dice.com, a technology and engineering careers website. “We hear that as we speak to our customers every day.”

The most recent edition of The Dice Report, which heard from 600 respondents across the U.S. who hire or recruit technology professionals, found that 71 percent expect to add more employees in the second half of the year than they did in the first. More than half of that 71 percent expect to hire 10 or more new IT staff members. Likewise, CDW’s IT Monitor has had similar findings in its surveys across the U.S. and in some areas of Canada.

The IT Monitor recently found that 37 percent of IT decision makers at large companies expect to hire more IT staff in the rest of the year, which is up 11 percentage points from a year ago — the size of the increase was “a much faster jump than I would have expected to see,” said Matt Troka, CDW vice president of product and partner management and acting CMO.

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