All about skills ...job seekers will likely experience the market very differently depending on which jobs they're looking for since employers are focusing on specific skills. "Some key technical skills still are in shortage, including welders, truck drivers, health-care specialists, IT [workers], engineers. They are in high demand, whereas the lower-skilled non-specialists are in lower demand and there's ample supply," he said. "For the right skills at the right price, employers are looking to hire, and there's nothing that they've seen that shakes that intent," he said. "Neither gas prices nor inflation fears nor other issues which are hot topics in the news right now seem to have shaken their confidence to the extent that they're scaling back on their intent to hire." http://tinyurl.com/rwoz2
My initial reaction is, "well duh..." This is how mainstream IT has always worked. In the mid 90's, people couldn't get enough network engineers, so people with Novell skills were snatched up left and right. In the mid-to-late 90's it was Microsoft skills. In the late-90's to ealry 00's, it was Cisco skills. Now it's security skills. IT has always been about the skills, and while college degrees is one way to show your "skills", there have always been plenty of alternate ways, particularly if you are willing to chase what is currently hot. Just be aware that the demand may not always be there (COBOL and Novell) or the supply may eventually catch up with demand (Microsoft).
One way to stay ahead of the game is to be a part of leading societies such as IEEE, BCS, IET etc. The magazines, publications and networking opportunities are always good indicators for what is in the future. But also job hunting skills and ability to sell your skills and make your self attractive to the potential customers. We posted an add and by the end of the week we got 200 emails - resumes and by the end of second week 600. Nicole a temp compared the content of the resumes to the job requirements. She rejected not the hiring manager or HR the resumes without the degrees. The number left was still high around 450. Then she continued to compare to the job requirements and in the end a group of 14 had 99% match and additional 80 resumes at 70 to 80% match. Manager first worked with the 14, then he looked at some from the 80 the rest was rejected and a person from the 14 was hired after interviews etc. All together 18 persons were interviewed.
Good post with some great info - and I agree, I tell my students that the ACM and IEEE students memberships are agreat value - not only for the info, but to "enhance" your resume.
Most of the employers I've come across are particular about skills or, at least, knowledge of the underlying theory of the technology (MS, Novell, Unix, Cisco, etc.). They tend to test that knowledge not by written examination but by working with them for a certain period (trial period). But some of them missed the few important skills of a candidate -- soft skills or the interpersonal communication skills as well as business skills. N.B. I'm a member of the 3 professional associations mentioned (in fact an SMIEEE, MBCS CITP, & MIET), but have not had a single incedent where that membership made a real impact in dealing with prospective employers (or now with prospective business clients). All it had made is the self-satisfaction that I'm a part/member of a learned society. But the knowledge/info acquired through their (associations') resources are invaluable aside from the possible networking opportunities (which may or may not happen).
Here is an example: As any member of IET so I'm an MIET and subscribe to publications, also I get publications from IEEE. In one of them I read an interesting review about trends and what is going to be hot in the immediate future, I took a class. Now I have a contract that pays well and I'm the only person who really knows wile others still learn about this new technology. In my chapter meetings I meet professionals just like me and in many times make new friends, the people that attend the chapters and some even became accreditation evaluators, volunteer in ABET etc. Well we needed a person with hands on in XYZ Frank who is a member in TAC with me was looking for job, I recommended him and now we are working together. Maybe next time I will have an a chance at job via networking opportunity. This is not all, In the 90's I landed a job I found in IEEE magazine - Spectrum and it was the only source. I went to IEEE web site and applied. So in my situation some jobs came from and been assisted by association memberships. But not all and yes managers are looking for skills and yes there are other publications on line and a person can find valuable information there.
