Preparing Students for Today’s

IT Employment Market

Ted Mullin

Metro Market Manager

• Places IT professionals on a project and full-time basis

• Robert Half International Inc. pioneered specialized staffing services

• Expert on career and management-related issues

Robert Half Technology

Today’s Topics

• The IT employment environment

• Leading IT skills and specialties

• Non-technical skills in demand

• Starting salary ranges

The Employment Environment

• Pace of investment in technology has slowed since tech boom

• Companies cutting costs through outsourcing

• Offshore component in delivery of U.S. IT services estimated to be 23 percent by 2007

The Employment Environment

• Areas of IT investment– Capital expenditures– Spam/viruses– Wireless communication– Business intelligence– The Internet– Regulatory requirements

The Employment Environment

• CIOs initiating projects that were on hold

• Cautious approach to full-time hiring

• New employees brought in on temporary or project basis

• Companies use strategic staffing approach

The Employment Environment

63 percent of CIOs say it’s valuable to have a

prospective employee work on a project basis

as a means of evaluation for full-time

employment.

* Source: Robert Half Technology survey of 1,400 CIOs

The Employment Environment

• Long-term IT outlook is bright

• 49 percent of tech companies are hiring more this year than last

• Venture-capital funding increasing

• 9 percent of CIOs plan to add full-time staff this quarter

The Employment Environment

• Industries projecting strong growth in 2005:– Business services– Financial services– Real estate– Manufacturing– Construction

Leading IT Specialties

0

10

20

30

NetworkManagement

Informationsecurity

Help desk andend-usersupport

Data/databasemanagement

ProjectManagement

Softwaredevelopment

Other/don'tknow

Leading IT Specialties

• Networking– Hands-on experience with OS applications– Security-related hardware and software

experience– Certification

Leading IT Specialties

• Technical support– Strong interpersonal and communication skills– Customer-service focus– Microsoft XP/2000/NT, UNIX and Microsoft

Office applications experience

Leading IT Specialties

• Internet/intranet development– Experience in back-end web development– Java, JavaScript, Java 2 Enterprise Edition,

Enterprise, JavaBeans; XML; CGI, Visual Basic or ASP; and C++ experience

– Familiarity with .NET platform– Ability to create sites that align with business

objectives and customer needs

Leading IT Specialties

• Database management– Understanding of relational database theory– Oracle8i/9i/10g, Microsoft SQL Server or IBM

DB2 technologies– Certification

Top Technical Skills

• Technical skills include:– Windows administration – Visual Basic development– CheckPoint firewall administration– Cisco network administration– SQL Server management

The Importance of Soft Skills

• 98 percent of CIOs consider strong soft skills essential for IT professionals

Non-technical Skills in Demand

• Industry experience

• Communication skills

• Business fundamentals

• Interpersonal skills

Industry Experience

• Students can gain “real world” experience and firsthand knowledge of industry through:– Internships– Volunteer activities– Part-time work

Communication Skills

• Strong communication skills needed to clearly explain technical concepts to others

• English and business communication courses are helpful

Business Fundamentals

• Ability to explain how IT spending will benefit the organization

• Understanding of principles of finance and accounting is useful

Interpersonal Skills

• Interpersonal skills include:– Diplomacy– Tact– A team-oriented attitude

• Participation in group projects, on-campus organizations can be helpful

• Mentors provide guidance and advice

IT Salary Information

• Average starting salaries to remain stable in 2005

• Projected average increase of 0.5 percent

• Increases expected in high-demand specialties

• Slight declines in other areas

The Ticket to Success

• Gain hands-on experience

• Develop in-demand technical skills

• Refine non-technical (soft) skills

• Explore job opportunities in the leading specialties

Preparing Students for

Employment in Today’s

IT Job Market

www.roberthalftechnology.com