Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management

    Employees, Where Art Thou?

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    June 18, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Layoff stories lead the news on a regular basis. Hiring has slowed. But dont think that information technology workers are heading for the bread line.

      “If you have skills, you can still get a job,” says Brett Walker, vice president of marketing at FlipDog.com, one of the Webs largest commercial career sites, which was just acquired by TMP Worldwide, the owner of Monster.com.

      But the recent economic downturn has caused some corporate hiring managers to be pickier about who they recruit. Once, employers were so desperate for IT workers that it seemed like anyone who could boot a computer could get a six-figure salary.

      “Clients are being more selective on pulling the trigger on dollars, both in hiring and starting projects,” says Nat Dodge, chief operating officer at Directfit, an IT hiring company that provides virtual interviews between candidates and companies with job openings.

      Mark Mehler, co-author of the CareerXroads 2001 job directory and a long-time human resources consultant and speaker, agrees that since January, recruiters have become more choosy. There are plenty of jobs — but now there are more candidates chasing those jobs, so recruiters have time to find the “perfect” match. “The job seeker has to hone the position they want, and attack the company, not just the job,” Mehler says.

      So has the dot-com frenzy stopped, and the hiring world returned to normal? To some extent, yes. “Crazy times are still upon us, but there are more candidates and more résumés, and companies are still raising the bar to find the best candidate they can,” Mehler says.

      In addition, the extravagant perks offered by some of the dot-coms in their heyday — such as cars, on-site massages and letting employees bring their dogs to work — are on the decline, Mehler believes. “That was an attempt by young managers to keep the younger generation working, and people happy and motivated to work all those hours,” he says.

      Adds FlipDogs Walker: “Its the return of the adult to the business world.”

      Dot-com bombs have had another effect, according to Dodge. “In Silicon Valley, more software development folks are cycling out of failed dot-coms than last year, but are quickly getting jobs with major corporations with internal projects”— jobs that often couldnt get filled because of competition with dot-coms, he says.

      As companies become more selective in their IT hiring, job listing sites are booming. A study by Alexa Research found other job sites sharing in the upsurge, reporting that during the recent economic slowdown, traffic to the top 20 leading career-related job sites increased more than 47 percent among U.S. users. Russ Curtis, CEO of JustTechJobs.com, says that page views on his site increased 50 percent over the last four months. Job postings are up by 20 percent in the same time period.

      Walker says theres a new emphasis on hiring accounting executives, which may reflect the newest trend in the new economy: making a profit. “Most companies grew rapidly the last three or four years, and are now focusing on cost reduction rather than growth,” he says.

      The shift in candidates sought reflects a maturing approach by Internet companies to actually make money. “We see a high demand for sales — experienced salespeople who can really close business,” Walker says. “Companies today cant stand the lost opportunities due to unskilled labor in the sales area.”

      Job movement between industries in the past year has declined, which says a lot about the maturity of certain job markets, Walker says. “Two years ago, people jumped from a secure job in industry A to a dot-com in industry B,” he says. “Now, people are staying within their own industry two-thirds of the time. Thats a positive sign.”

      Staying within the IT industry wont be a problem, since job openings for IT professionals still vastly outnumber candidates. According to a survey conducted by the Information Technology Association of America, U.S. companies need to fill 900,000 IT positions in 2001, but they expect almost half of them to go unfilled.

      “IT is basically becoming a new basic trade for companies, with corresponding high demand,” Walker says. “Even people who are trainable in IT, such as math or music majors, are valuable.”

      Mehler thinks the job market may never return to a time when employees were grateful just to have work, at least not in the IT sector. “Quality of life is becoming more important as people are getting older. People really want to work at least one day out of the house. Telecommuting will only get bigger.”

      “Theres a new mental shift with the yuppie generation,” Mehler adds. “Older workers look at a job differently when they have money in the bank and a retirement account that stays full with a healthy stock market.”

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×