If you've been waiting for an economic recovery
to start your IT job search, now's the time to pull the trigger.
Joe Iovinelli, CEO of IT recruitment company
SmartSource, tells Channel Insider that demand for senior-level systems
engineers and networking engineers has tripled in the last four months.
What's more, candidates are getting multiple offers, and that hasn't happened
for the last two years, Iovinelli says. And while those offers are not any
higher in terms of salaries—more like what they were two years ago—Iovinelli says
he believes that may start to change.
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"What's going to happen, as this trend continues, is candidates will
start getting more money," he says. "Employers will have to pull the
trigger quickly. That is going to start to drive the prices back up for these
candidates. We saw this happen coming out of the last recession."
Most in demand? Candidates who hold a CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork
Expert) with VOIP (voice over IP) certification.
"CCIEs with VOIP are still probably the No. 1 requested resource,"
says Iovinelli. "Every client has to have one."
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Also in demand are systems engineers, Microsoft engineers and consultants,
SharePoint experts, and .NET developers. Employers are looking for candidates with
as many years of hands-on experience as they can get. Also, candidates who have
examples of their work that they can show are favored over those who don't.
Candidates who are experienced but don't hold certifications are more likely to
get hired through connections or word of mouth, says Iovinelli, because while
they may be better qualified, they can't demonstrate that as easily and
therefore may not even get an interview.
Entry-level candidates are not getting the same kind of interest, however,
Iovinelli reports. Rather, they are being used on a temporary basis for short-term
projects such as installations as IT solution providers look to supplement
their downsized workforces in a dynamic way without adding to headcount yet.
