I can hear the job seekers now, “What don’t they want?” This week’s Management Strategies story in Network World outlines the hottest skills hiring managers desire on a resume.

According to recruiters and research firms, top on many lists are IT professionals who have stepped out of the server closet and have a good set of business skills and business experience. Just as businesses want IT purchases in line with business goals, so too do they desire IT pros who have a good sense of the big picture of how IT fits into the company’s bottom line and improves it.

 “Many companies are moving out of the siloed approach to IT and are aligning how they approach IT with their line of business,” says David Foote, president and chief research officer for Foote Partners. “Hiring managers today need to find someone that knows technology but also has some expertise in their line of business. It’s difficult to move quickly to meet business needs if you have a lot of people with specific skills. Broader capabilities are definitely needed.”

Sure, you probably didn’t get into IT because you loved the business side of things. Yet having a well-rounded set of experiences and skills can only help your career.

Here are some other sought-after skills to have on a resume:

Interestingly, one of the hot skills of the past - certifications - seems to be losing its luster a bit. Our author says demand and compensation for certifications such as Microsoft Certified Professional and Certified Computing Professional dropped about 13% this year, while pay for certifications in the areas of project management, security, systems administration and engineering, and network operating systems each increased in the past 12 months.

Check out this week’s Management Strategies story in Network World for more information, whether you’re a job seeker or a hiring manager: http://www.nwfusion.com/careers/2003/0915man.html