The IT job market is tanking -- but not for everyone
- 03 February, 2009 08:31
- Comments 2
Shortly after Donnie Reynolds, the chief operating officer at Automated HealthCare Solutions, learned that Microsoft planned to cut 5,000 workers over the next 18 months, he and another employee of the medical services provider flew to the software vendor's home city.
"We don't like to pass on a good talent," said Reynolds, who called last Monday's trip to Redmond a "gonzo recruiting approach" on the part of AHCS. He and his co-worker spent the day in the area, some of it outside of Microsoft's headquarter offices holding banners designed to attract the attention of the employees there.
AHCS has also set up a new Web site aimed at Microsoft workers, featuring a picture of a beach with a tagline that reads "This is our Vista." The site plays a song specifically chosen to appeal to people from the Seattle area: "Sunny," which begins with the line "Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain."
Reynolds said AHCS now has more than 100 resumes, some of them from Microsoft employees, for about a dozen open positions.
That's how the tech job market is these days: While numerous IT vendors are laying off workers, and corporate IT jobs are being lost as well, plenty of companies - both vendors and users alike - are still hiring.
The overall trend is clear, and not encouraging: The number of IT jobs in the US is shrinking. From November to December, IT employment declined by nearly 50,000 jobs, to a total of 3.85 million positions, based on an analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the US National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses. That followed a loss of almost 34,000 jobs from October to November, according to the NACCB.
The contraction in the number of jobs mirrors a decline in help-wanted listings tracked by Dice Holdings, which operates the Dice online job site. Dice said it currently has about 57,000 job listings, down 35 percent from the same time last year.
The IT labor statistics are only likely to get worse once all of the layoffs announced in January are added to the government's figures. But it's easy to miss the hiring that is going on amidst the parade of workforce reductions.
Among those looking for IT help is Chris Johnson, manager of human resources at CME Group, which operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade and the New York Mercantile Exchange. Johnson has 15 IT job openings, including database and network administrator positions. He has received upward of several hundred resumes for each of those positions, but he said that isn't making it any easier to find the perfect candidates to fill them.
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Comments
BPSEKHON
IT JOB SCENARIO IS TANKING WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?????
I am a regular user of this website tecworld.com.au and i have no idea when i see this statement written over the web "IT JOB MARKET IS TANKING" what does this mean are they getting rid of employees on a large scale or they cant pay them their salaries.why are all saying that one company is involved in tanking employees which means all the rest follow suit.I am still unable to figure out why this is happening in the world global meltdown really.
I have been struggling ever since to get a job in the networking segment of computer science but failed on all fronts because of low experience i have not been able to achieve that goal really.Now i think if could stick around with blogging which i get about $200 is good or i do Law which is the best todtay continue with my practice in the district courts as that is practical really not theoretical at all.
Law is the best bet as a good noble profession and i do have a passion to be the best amongst the rest.I will take up a part time job in computers when i am done with my work in courts.
this is it Law is the surviving job around today honestly is good had i become a good lawyer
in 1994 after passing my XII today i would be in the high court really.IT is down
was my best hobby some years back not a job which was then later taken it up.
Law is the all time favorite job and honestly this is supposed to be most well paid in todays scenario degree takes 5 years after passing XII exams but after B.A it is just smooth 3 years from any good Law college in the country and then begin the practice and mock arguements and all that is included.Law is good ask me i have the passion to be like Lincoln really.
Abraham Lincoln was a good lawyer and US president.
Anonymous
No offense...and this probably isnt the reason but definately isnt helping you...
Your grammar and spelling are terrible. Take a moment and re-read what you just wrote, and then tell me why you dont have a job. Start on the road to success first by fixing simple issues such as these, which lay the building blocks of performing well in any industry.
This reply wasnt meant to mock you, only to open your eyes. Start small, start basic, refine everything, then go out there and sell yourself. Show an employer why you are different. Not necessarily better(although you want to do this), but why that you stand out. What makes you different than the drone marching into the office each morning.
Whenever I am on an interview, I think they are really reviewing my personality and how I handle questions vs what is on my resume. When they are asking questions about your resume, they already really know what your previous job entailed. "Tell me about the last job you had, where you re-imaged computers". The interviewer doesnt care about the substance, only the presentation of what you say next. They know what is involved with imaging a computer. They want to hear how you respond and how you handle yourself. Speak with confidence and with life, you'll get the point across without even knowing it.
This is just my advice. Hang in there and good luck.
-Reader from NJ.
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