The crystal balls of the IT staffing and recruitment world don’t have the juice to tell us exactly what’s going to happen this year, but the signs are positive, at least for the skilled IT workers themselves. Despite sluggishness in the economy and fears about the housing market right now, IT operations are once again in need of top talent.

Robert Half Technology, for example, surveyed 1,400 CIOs and found that 12% were expecting to boost staff size in the last quarter of 2007. Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology, recently told a Computerworld writer that she expects even more hiring this year based on comments from clients. The Society for Information Management is predicting a similar trend, with its recent survey of IT execs from more than 100 companies finding that just over 75% expect to maintain or increase their IT staffs.

More importantly, these companies aren’t just looking for warm bodies but skilled professionals. Unlike a decade ago, companies are hiring for key skills that meet the business goals and strategic objectives of the company—not just to fill seats.

Among the jobs that IT managers are likely to have the hardest time filling this year—because of a tightening labor market and skills shortage—are data management experts, software developers, IT security workers, project managers, network managers, help desk staffers and storage administrators, as was noted in a recent article in Computerworld.

“It’s more important than ever for companies to step up their in-house recruitment efforts and consider outsourced recruiting partners,” says Jon Hesselink of TreeTop Technologies. “Companies need to show IT professionals why they should come to work there. It’s not just about the money but also things like career development paths and fringe benefits.”

Footnotes: Reprinted with permission © 2008 TreeTop Technologies

From "View from the TreeTop" Volume 2 Issue 2 February 2008