The Recruiter

Companies adapt to compete in ‘war for talent’

CNET’s Dan Farber had a great blog post last week featuring JP Rangaswami. In this post, Rangaswami argues that the corporate world is experiencing a ‘war for talent.’ He explains that with companies out to attract the best talent, employers shouldn’t offer larger salaries or better fringe benefits, but rather, should be open to partnering with competitors to foster new ideas.

So what will this change mean for the workforce? It means there will be a different side to the corporate environment. Employers will need to be pro-active and build relationships and network themselves. Employers, customers, suppliers, and even, to some extent, competitors, will be able to play off of each other to recruit and retain the best talent.

So as the best and most talented prospects around, you should do the same thing. Connect with others in the industry and form networks that will open you to new avenues and contacts. It never hurts to know too many people in the business world.

Posted by Roseanne D.

Job boons for boomers

For baby boomers, the recession threat might only apply to hair lines, not bottom lines, thanks to recent news from IBM. Last week, the tech company joined the Partnership for Public Service to launch a new program aimed at giving boomers a second career with the federal government.

This program, called the FedExperience Transitions to Government, will help seasoned IBM employees launch a second career with the U.S. Department of Treasury. The timing for this partnership couldn’t be better. On one hand, the government will be looking to fill 193,000 jobs, including positions in information technology, just in the next two years. On the other hand, federal jobs often come with appealing benefits such as flexible work schedules, teleworking and job sharing – all attractive to semi-retired boomers. The result, according to Anita Bruzzese on 45 Things: The program will help combat worker shortages, while filling some of the government’s critical positions.

Overall, it’s an interesting response to the ongoing fear that boomers hitting retirement will cause a severe brain drain, and sap the economy of some of its most valuable and talented workers. Any boomers out there care to chime in? What you do think about the FedExperience program? Would it entice you to stay in the workforce longer? What other companies do you think would benefit from programs like this?

Posted by Anna M.

The IT law of supply and demand

I don’t know if there are any economists reading The Recruiter, but if you’re out there, I think you’ll enjoy this article from Techdirt.

In a nutshell, author Tim Lee says basing IT shortage figures only on the number of available jobs is misguided. Rather, the focus should be on jobs at a particular price range. Here’s his Econ 101 summary:

“If the number of jobs exceeds the number of workers at a given wage, wages will get bid up and some employers will choose to let some non-essential jobs go unfilled. Conversely, if there are more workers than jobs, wages will fall, causing some firms to expand more aggressively than they would have at the higher wage. The number of jobs isn't fixed, it varies depending on how high salaries are.”

The real-world data supports his point—just look out for the Q3 2007 Yoh Index of Technology Wages which will be released next week.

So, if we’re following Tim’s analysis, rising wages means available jobs outnumber available workers. The result is the industry talent shortage, something we’ve often discussed here.

For extra credit, read the original BusinessWeek piece that fired up Tim’s brain cells. We’ll tackle the immigration debate in another post, once everyone recovers from having to remember basic economics!

Posted by Anna M.

The Plus Side of Certification

Toni Bowers focused one of last week’s posts on View From the Cubicle on the Yoh Index. Toni’s post focused on the highest paying jobs, as determined by the Q1 numbers, but also highlighted a recent InformationWeek article that discusses certification and bonuses associated with particular certifications.

We discussed this topic on The Recruiter a few months back, but it was interesting to see the numbers from InformationWeek—just 6% of staff and only 4% of managers received bonuses that were connected to their training or certifications. Which leads to the question, are these certifications or training programs still important then? Of course!

Certifications do much more than provide opportunities for pay increases. They keep you updated on the latest tools and techniques for your area of expertise, and make you very valuable in the eyes of your employer. If you’re beginning to search for a new job—having the latest certifications will make you an outstanding candidate to consider.

So, don’t forget, while making some extra cash as a result of your training may be a benefit worth working towards, there are other benefits associated with training that may end up being just as beneficial in the long run.

Posted by Jim L.

A tight talent pool leads Google to change their recruitment strategy

A CNET News.com article from Monday supports what we’ve been telling you on The Recruiter – the forecast looks great for job seekers in the tech industry.  The article focuses on the computer industry and highlights employers and recruiters who are having a difficult time finding enough talent to fill open positions.  In fact, unemployment in the computer industry is now below the level it was at during the peak of the dot-com boom. 

One major factor in this talent shortage: Google is snatching up job seekers.  Last year alone, the company hired about 5,000 employees, taking up a large chunk of recent college grads looking for tech jobs.  Google’s director of staffing programs is quoted in the article, and explains how they’ve changed their recruitment strategy in the last 5 years.  They have realized that in an ever-changing computer industry, the ability to learn and work hard is just as important as possessing specific skill sets.

The situation at Google is a specific example, but the same principle can be applied throughout all technology fields.  By nature of the industry, change is constant, making a skill invaluable one day and outdated the next.  While it’s crucial to develop areas of expertise along the way, it is also important to be adaptable and keep your eye out for new trends and learning opportunities that will keep you ahead of the pack.  By showing your versatility, you can become that much more valuable to current and prospective employers.

Posted by Anna M.

The Future of SAP

I saw a really great article while I was on TechTarget yesterday; Jon Reed wrote a piece on SAP® Jobs of the Future that explained the need for adaptability. Essentially, job seekers in the SAP® space must evolve along with SAP® programs.

As SAP® programs, like NetWeaver, continue to develop, the job descriptions and technical skills needed to operate these programs will also begin to change. Candidates will need to make sure they have the necessary skills, such as solution management, to be fluent in Web-based programming, XML and Java.

If you're interested in learning more on careers in the SAP® space, watch out for the upcoming June ComputerWorld article on this topic. We'll also make sure to post it here on The Recruiter.

Posted by Jim L.

InformationWeek Salary Survey Reports High Tech Wages

InformationWeek released its annual IT Salary Survey last week and the results were not a surprise. The Salary Survey is further justification of the trends we’re seeing in rapidly rising tech wages.

Surprisingly, a slight decline was seen in median salaries for those under the age of 25. With only 39% of staffers thinking that the tech industry is as promising it was five years ago, this is a little disturbing. However, with every cloud, there is a silver lining.

The members of Generation Y play a critical role in keeping the tech sector flourishing and will become more important as Boomers begin to retire. We anticipate the demand for hard-working, experienced Gen Y-ers to continually increase throughout the next few years. And, with technology undergrad enrollments on the decline, supply will be limited. This strong demand and shallow supply pool could potentially send average tech salaries for Gen Y-ers sky-high in the next few years. It will be interesting to see what happens.

For now, Gen Y-ers need to continue focusing on building their career plans and beginning to reach their goals. In addition to its survey, InformationWeek also put together a helpful “How To Career Guide” that can serve as a great resource no matter what age you are or where you fall in your career path.

Posted by Michele B.

Increase your skill set with IT certification

I was reading an article by Lutz Ziob of MCPmag.com about IT certification, and it got me thinking about the value of these certifications—especially with tech wages steadily rising.

There are some skill sets in the IT world that are especially hard to come by, and those with SAP and Oracle skills are always in demand. Therefore, potential employees who can perform the necessary tasks associated with these skills will have their pick of jobs. And that means employers will be more likely to provide additional perks and raise wages to entice workers.

So what does that mean for consultants? A lot. These certifications do much more than show IT workers are competent in their skill set, and increase their hirability. When certification programs are put in place, they strengthen their business.

A survey by IDC (and sponsored by Microsoft) found that 66 percent of managers thought certifications improve the level of service and support offered to customers, and 75 percent of these managers felt that certifications were important to overall team performance.

Likewise, certifications are also beneficial to the employees. Having a certification can set you apart from similar candidates who might not be certified. In addition, certifications can keep you abreast of changing technologies and the skills to manage them.

But these certifications don’t just have to come from employers. There are also online training programs and programs run by vendors, such as Oracle and SAP, that offer certification in several of the latest tools, including Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, Oracle 9i DBA, and mySAP CRM 3.0. And online courses let you complete certification at your own pace, in your free time.

I’d be interested in hearing thoughts on this. Do your employers have certification programs in place? Do you take advantage of them? Have you taken training programs online or through vendors if your employer does not offer certification programs?

All comments welcome!

Posted by Michele B.

More Good News for Tech Workers

As predicted on The Recruiter back in January, the laws of supply and demand have once again driven up technology wages.  According to the Yoh Index of Technology Wages from Q1 of 2007, the hourly wage for high-impact technology workers was $31.80 in the middle of the quarter.  This figure is the highest documented by the Yoh Index of Technology Wages, since its inception in 2001.

So what does this mean for you?

The continued emergence of new technologies, such as Web 2.0 applications, SaaS and social networking, as well as growing tech trends in the pharma and clinical industries, means that the availability of tech jobs will continue to rise.  As a result, you should expect to see wage growth continuing through 2007.

Posted by Jim L.

Shallow Labor Pool Could Make You More Valuable in 2007

Hiring managers in technology markets are in a war for talent.  In an ideal world, they seek high-impact professionals with technical skills and practitioners with domain and industry skills. But in the reality of today’s tight job market, candidates with these skills are few, and the talent shortage has put increased pressure on wages to rise.

Professionals in technology know that this is a simple case of supply and demand. The lead factor driving the demand for talent is the relatively low unemployment rate in many industries and geographies. In fact, in 2006 the domestic unemployment rate was at a five-year low. 

To get a better idea of where the domestic technology talent market stands right now, let’s see where we stood in 2006.

In the United States, wages in the high-tech field grew steadily during mid-year when compared to the same months in 2005, according to the quarterly compensation index, Yoh Index of Technology Wages. Wages rose 0.1 percent in July and slightly higher (1.4 percent) in August. Wages increases in the high-tech sector then jumped another point to 2.4 percent in September, the most recent month for which there are statistics.  All these increases made careers in technology even more appealing to professionals across the US.   

If you are at the top of your industry, expect to receive increased compensation packages by companies that are serious about landing the best talent. The shortages of talent with expertise in specific fields give pros like you the ability leverage and negotiate wages.  There will be nationwide demand for candidates with specialized technical skills, specific domain and industry experience.

The need for higher compensation packages are going to be most prevalent in technology services and device manufacturers in the hardware space, occupational health and case management in the health care market and clinical research and R&D in the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech spaces.

With several new areas of expertise that have emerged in the technology space, employers are looking for experts with advanced SAP skills.  This is creating a niche in the market for the crème de la crème in SAP.  Other specialties that there will be a strong demand for in 2007 include:

• Biostatistician
• Business Objects Developer
• CRM Project Manager
• Firmware Engineer
• Hardware Engineer
• Java Developer
• Mechanical Designer
• MS Developer (.NET, C#)
• Oracle (Functional/Technical) Consultant
• Oracle DBA
• Project Manager
• SAP (Functional/Technical) Consultant
• SAS Programmer
• Systems Architect

Check out the complete list of hot skills in over fifteen US markets from Atlanta to Seattle on yoh.com. 

Posted by Jim L.

Working Remotely Works

Technology gives professionals the flexibility to work from home, satellite offices and random coffee shops.  Employers are catching on to this popular trend.  Based on a study conducted by our fine marketing team, 67 percent of HR managers see the occurrence of telecommuting increasing over the next two years.

InfoWorld also recognized our study, and their blogger Ted agreed that he finds many benefits from working from home.  Check out Ted's take on our survey.   One point he made that we whole-heartedly agree with is that there is a time and place for telecommuting.  The value of communicating face-to-face and in live meetings is an integral part of the business world.  See our recommendations from this prior blog post for taking it offline.

Posted by Christy H.

Counter-Offers, the Career Killers

As the war for talent becomes hand-to-hand combat, counter-offers are becoming commonplace.  If you are part of the small fraction in your specialization that produces extraordinary results, keeps your skills up-to-date and plays nicely in the sandbox, you should expect to receive a counter-offer eventually. 

The counter-offer occurs when you submit your resignation to your current employer to peruse another career opportunity, and your current employer tries to keep you onboard.  The tactics used in counter-offers sited by careerjournal.com range from:

• Pay increases
• Promotions
• New responsibilities
• Promises
• Different reporting structures

Change is difficult; staying at a company where you know everyone is easy. If your boss is telling you how valuable you are and how the company just can’t afford to lose you, it is too easy to believe every word you’re being fed.

Even if your current employer steps up to the plate and follows through on all the promises made during the counter-offer (yeah, right), things will never be the same at work.  You are now a traitor.  Once an employer knows you looked elsewhere for employment, your future at the company is far less bright.  You are often perceived as a short-timer or as someone whom may be bought.

Beyond implications from your current employer, you burn serious bridges with the new prospective employer.  If they were expecting for you to put in your resignation and start next Monday, they will often let all the other leading candidates for the position know.  In turn, you are perceived as flaky and they are in a serious pickle.

The National Business Employment Weekly (a newspaper covering available business opportunities and career information affiliated with the Wall Street Journal) reports that four out of five professionals who accept counter-offers are gone within the year.  Sometimes on their own accord, other times they are terminated by their employer just months later. 

If you’re ready to leave your current position at your company, the reasons are rarely just compensation.  A fat raise procured from a counter-offer can’t resolve all the other issues that forced you to look for a new career in the first place. 

Be prepared for a counter-offer before you submit your resignation.  Go into your boss’ office with your resignation letter in-hand, and just say no.   

Posted by Christy H.

What Talent Shortage?

Interesting story in Information Week from Marianne McGee: What Keeps CIOs Awake at Night. A recent survey by SIM (Society for Information Management), says that the top three IT management concerns of CIOs in 2006 are the alignment of IT and business at their companies; attracting, developing, and retaining IT talent; and security and privacy issues.
Of course, we’re most interested in the talent piece.

About 37% of the surveyed CIOs expect their IT staff to increase in 2007 from 2006. About 28% expect to have fewer IT staffers, and 35% expect head count to be the same. About 70% of CIOs project that their staff salaries will increase next year, with about 9% predicting salary budgets to be less, and 20% expecting salaries to remain flat.

With a war for talent in full swing, what are those 9% thinking about?

Posted by Jim L.

Montgomery, Idaho Falls and Fort Smith?

Forbes has a story out http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/08/01/technology-careers-jobs_cx_pm_0801techjobs.html?partner=rss about where the best jobs in tech are. Interesting read. Focuses more on relative value, which is why places like Fort Smith are so attractive. According to Forbes, a programmer earning $100,000 annually in San Jose would only need to earn $61,515 in Montgomery, AL. The question of where to work comes down to more than just pay: quality of life, things to do and the availability of pizza and bagels need to be considered. For me, at least.

I'm hoping Perth Amboy is high on the list.

-- Posted by Jim L.

Women Welcome

As I blogged “When Women Rule Work”, I mentioned that many women find their obligations with family conflict with a high-power career in technology.  Because of this challenge and the lack of women in technology (only four of the 200 largest public companies in California had women serving as CIOs), companies are stepping up to the plate with family-friendly perks. 

Google’s giving tons of time, up to 6 weeks, during maternity leave with great compensation, 75% of salary, and offering flexible work schedules post-pregnancy.  In addition, they’re kicking in a $500 “baby bonus” to spend on childcare or even on take-out for hungry families.  With Google’s baby-on-board preferred parking spots and nursing stations located in every single building, what expectant mother could pass up a career with this employer?

Other IT giants like IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Yahoo are also there for moms.  With work-from-home options, flex-time and open-work programs, technology is begging women, especially mothers, to join their workforce.  Check out more details on these amazing family focused IT career options.

Posted by Christy H.

What Does it Take to Get a Home Theater?

A recent story in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette opines about how the war for talent is heating up. You can read many things into the story. Ours is that the battle is so pervasive, it's hit Fort Wayne. Hold on tight. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

It's gotten so bad that employers are starting to dangle all kinds of incentives to snag the best people.

Our favorite: a 50" plasma TV offered by break.com to anyone who finds a qualified ad sales rep who is eventually hired.

Let us know if you've heard of any unique referral programs. We'll keep a log of em.

Got plasma, anyone?

Posted by Jim L.

When Women Rule Work

The glass ceiling, the term coined in 80s journalism as the invisible barrier holding women in the workforce back, is still around.  In fact, a survey released this spring shows that 70% of women and 57% of men feel the glass ceiling has never been removed from above women’s lofty career ambitions.  Despite this belief, certain careers in technology actually hold better pay opportunities for women.

Careers with a focus on technology are among the most lucrative fields for women in the future.  A Forbes article from this month states that women are already being paid more than men in engineering and computer-science fields.

Although women in fields that leverage technology in their growth can roll in the dough, many are not.  It's not that women are less capable than men, they are just typically focused on priorities other than a fat paycheck.  Only 29 percent of women, compared to 76 percent of men, consider cash king.  Other values including a flexible work environment, satisfying line of work, feeling of independence and stable atmosphere are higher on most females’ priority list than money.

There are 25 choices that men and women make at work and in life that create an earning gap according to the author of Why Men Earn More.   When all these choices are boiled down, two trends exist.  Typically men’s decisions focus on money while women focus on relationships.

But when women take the male-perspective focused on the big bucks, they actually earn more than men.  Studies show that when two civil engineers, one a man and one a woman, stay at their respective firms for ten years, taking equal relocation opportunities and career risks, the woman ends up laughing all the way to the bank. 

Also, women who are unmarried with no children, earn 117 percent more than their male counterparts.  Women free of these marital and maternal relationships, tend to work longer hours, relocate more frequently and choose careers in technology.  Women, if you’re not ready to throw-away the family-life for your career just yet, consider marrying a Mr. Mom.   

Many women find their obligations with family make a high-power career in technology difficult.  Despite similar ambition and desire for challenging work as men in the field, the percentage of women in IT is decreasing.  As disheartening as this is to women everywhere, this information doesn’t take into account the female IT leaders that shattered the glass ceiling.  Women’s careers that began in IT could have since evolved into executive positions outside the field skewing these numbers to reflect a decrease. 

Posted by Christy H.