If
you're managing a network department that's been chronically understaffed
for five years, hiring now is somewhat easier. Layoffs and the
dot-com demise are turning out warm bodies all over the place,
but in today's Web-enabled world, with the success of companies
resting on an ever-more-complex network, you need a lot more than
that. You need network professionals who understand the technology
and the business and can communicate effectively with users. And
those employees still command a premium.
They're also still the most likely workers to be wooed by
other companies. "Don't be fooled into thinking your stars have no other
opportunities," says Barry Mills, national director of recruiting at MATRIX
Resources, a technology staffing firm in Atlanta. "It's still important
to pay attention to the fundamentals of holding on to good people."
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Good career choice
Networking is one of the IT disciplines with the fastest-growing
demand, according to a recent RHI Consulting poll
of 1,400 CIOs at U.S. firms with more than 100 employees.
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IT discipline in demand
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Percent of
respondents
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Networking
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20%
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Internet/intranet development
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20%
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Help desk/end-user support
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17%
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Applications development
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12%
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Project management
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5%
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Systems analysis
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3%
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Other/don’t know
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23%
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Source Network World, Inc. 2001
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A look at today's job prospects shows that now, more than
ever, workers and managers must pay close attention to the basics of interviewing,
hiring and managing their careers.
Last year, cold-calling recruiters were constantly bothering
Brett Amato, a PC LAN specialist at Send.com, a Waltham, Mass., online retailer.
"I had headhunters calling twice a day in July," he recalls.
But as the economy slowed and dot-coms lost stature, the frequency
of the calls dropped. By this January, when Send.com went out of business
and Amato would have welcomed a few calls, the phone had stopped ringing.
The sour economy has unquestionably altered the job-hunting
landscape. In a recent study, the Information Technology Association of America
(ITAA), an Arlington, Va., industry group, found demand for IT workers is
down 44% from 2000 to 2001 - from 850,000 unfilled IT positions last year
to 425,000 this year. In its report, the ITAA says this is "a fact no doubt
attributable to the slowdown in the high-tech sector and the economy in general."
So no more Gilded Age. In Seattle, salaries for networking
positions have fallen 3% to 10% from September 2000 to April 2001,
estimates Kathi Jones, human resources director at Aventail. "Applicants
used to come in and say, 'I'm making $75,000,' and you had to
offer $80,000," she says. "They still say, 'I'm making
$75,000,' but now I can say, 'Well, the average for a network
administrator is $71,000 around here.'" (For more on 2001
salaries, go to "Your
growing paycheck").
And Jones is no longer forced to sweeten the deal by offering
to buy prospects' parents plane tickets for twice-yearly visits. Last year,
she often used that enticement when recruiting East Coast network specialists,
she says.
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In demand
Experts say you still have two surefire ways to keep your
career options open and improve your job security. The first is gaining not
only general network knowledge but also expertise in a hot niche. The second
is outshining other job seekers or your peers. "There's always a demand
for the cream of the crop," says MATRIX Resources' Mills.
When
it comes to that designation, the best advice hasn't changed:
You need deep technical knowledge, a solid understanding of your
company's business and the ability to communicate with end users
and nontechnology executives. Demand for these abilities will
never fade.
However, niche skills go in and out of fashion. Currently,
three specialties are in hot demand: security, wireless and Web globalization
- as well as "hot rodding" (more on that later).
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Security in particular makes every expert's "In" list.
The increasing volume of critical corporate data flowing over IP networks
means network professionals who understand Internet security command a premium.
At Aventail, clients such as DuPont and Kraft Foods clamor for this expertise,
Jones says. "Anybody with a security focus is vital to me," she adds.
Some recruiters also mention wireless expertise and knowledge
of Web globalization issues as gold-plated resume items. But demand may be
regional for now. Globalization of Web operations - that is, creating Web
sites that work efficiently in a variety of languages and locales - is hot
on both coasts but less so elsewhere, experts say.
And what about that demand for hot rodders? Most organizations
have already built or implemented their key applications. The apps work reasonably
well, "but everybody wants them to run faster, be a bit more reliable and
secure," Mills says. This is the type of tweaking he refers to as hot rodding.
"We're seeing demand for the guy who makes the app run faster," says
Mills says, noting that such skill is far from universal. "That person has
to understand the app, the database and the network, almost at an architectural
level. That's the type who can find where design flaws contribute to slowness,"
he adds.
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Changing values
WHAT'S YOUR STOCK WORTH?
Even if you're not actively looking for a job, keep up to date on the market demand for your skills, advises Barry Mills, national director of recruiting at MATRIX Resources, a technology staffing firm in Atlanta. He suggests doing informal polls by checking job boards such as Monster.com. "Every Monday, type in your skill set and measure how many openings you find."
Don't panic if your market value, thus measured, fluctuates. But if demand for your skill set declines month over month, then you might face a problem and should seek training or experience that will raise your stock, Mills says.
START EARLY.
Last year, IT hiring managers could act almost on a whim. Some would sign on people for whom they had no immediate use just to lock up good workers, recruiters say. Now managers are scrutinizing every open position and being picky about whom they consider.
“Employers are less willing to interview candidates who don't have 95% to 100% of the required skills,” Mills says. “A year ago, if we found candidates with 70% to 75% of the skills, we could get them interviews.”
As a result, allow yourself six months to find an outstanding new job.
BAND TOGETHER.
If your employer has laid off workers or gone out of business, a group e-mail list can serve as a therapy session and networking bulletin board. This was the case for Greg Jennings, now MIS director at Aventail, a managed services provider in Seattle, and colleagues from a failed start-up. They formed a giant newsgroup that helped many people with leads. —Steve Ulfelder
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Interestingly, experts say job-seeking technology professionals'
values have shifted recently. "Twelve months ago, when you asked networking
people what they were looking for in a new job, they said, 'Comp, comp,
comp,'" says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director at RHI Consulting,
a Menlo Park, Calif., recruitment company. "Today, they want competitive
compensation, but they also want a supportive corporate culture, career development
opportunities, stability. They want the full-meal deal."
This flight to old-school corporate comforts is understandable
in the wake of the dot-com blowup. After all, now that it's pretty clear
you're not going to make $5 million on an IPO, why not work for a solid
employer that's going to be around for the long haul?
Aventail's Jennings says when his former employer went out
of business, his top priorities when looking for his next job were working
with interesting technology, business continuity and longevity. "I was definitely
looking for [an employer] that wasn't running purely off of funding,"
he says.
In describing what they're looking for in an employer, network
professionals mention a trade-off among three elements: compensation; a casual,
enthusiastic work environment; and the opportunity to work with cutting-edge
technology. Today, they say, you must be willing to sacrifice in at least
one of these areas.
Like Amato, Beau Christensen worked in networking at Send.com
until early this year. At his new job, as network administrator with Pegasus
Satellite Television in Marlborough, Mass., he compromised on compensation
("I took it on the chin a little bit," he says.) and culture in order
to work with hot technology. "Guys at dot-coms got used to the shorts and
the sandals and the camaraderie," Christensen says. "Now I'm in a billion-dollar
company where I'm just a number."
But Pegasus "isn't going to balk at leading-edge technologies,"
he says. "And you've got to learn that new stuff because
it makes your résumé shine."
Clearly, the pendulum has swung. Managers can no longer add
headcount at will. Employees can't walk across the street and demand a large
pay raise. Prospects can't get freebie plane rides for Mom and Dad. Old-school
values and common sense have made a comeback.
Ulfelder is a freelance writer. He can be reached at sulfelder@charter.net
By Steve Ulfelder
