Recruitment Strategies, Social Recruiting,
Recruiting Tools / News / Articles & Resources

Thursday, October 14, 2010

50 Hot IT Skills on the Rise



Here are the 25 certifications and non-certified skills most likely to increase in value over the next six months, as determined by Foote Partners LLC. But President David Foote cautions, "There is simply no such thing as a reliable six-month IT labor forecast in these volatile market conditions." 

 Rank
 IT Certifications
 Non-certified IT Skills
 1
SAS Certified Base Programmer
SAP Basis components
 2 
Red Hat Certified Security Specialist
RAD/extreme programming/agile programming
 3
CompTIA Security+
Virtual private networks 
 4
 SAS Certified Advanced Programmer
Business continuity and disaster recovery planning
 5
VMware Certified Professional
Web 2.0 skills (AJAX, Adobe Flex, Adobe Flash, JavaScript, JSON) 
 6
GIAC Security Essentials Certification
Windows 7 
 7
Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator
SAP Web Application Server 
 8 
Cisco Certified Network Professional
SAN/storage administration 
 9
Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional
RFID/wireless sensors 
 10
Red Hat Certified Technician
Python 
 11
HP Accredited Integration Specialist
HTML/DHTML/XHTML
 12
Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (all)
Business performance management software/systems 
 13
Sun Certified Systems Administrator for Solaris
SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)
 14
Microsoft Certified Database Administrator
SAP EBP (Enterprise Buyer Professional) 
 15
Cisco Certified Design Professional
SAP FI -- FSCM (Financial Accounting -- Financial Supply Chain Management) 
 16
GIAC Certified Incident Handler
Linux
 17
CyberSecurity Forensic Analyst
Ruby/Ruby on Rails 
 18
Certification Authorization Professional
Social networks (tagging, virtual communities, social bookmarking, etc.) 
 19
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (virtualization)
SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management) 
 20
GIAC Security Audit Essentials
SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) 
 21
GIAC Secure Software Programmer
ITIL v3 Foundation 
 22

IBM Certified Specialist - AIX Basic Op
SAP WM (Warehouse Management) 
 23

Avaya Certified Specialist
Web Dynapro 
 24

Check Point Certified Security Administrator
SAP APO (Advanced Planner and Optimizer) 
 25
GIAC Certified Windows Security Administrator
SAP PP (Production Planning)
Source: Foote Partners IT Skills and Certifications Hot Lists, July 2010. Rankings are based on interviews with hundreds of executives and primary decision-makers from the 2,000 companies in Foote's database of research partners.
(Courtesy: Jamie Eckle. CIO.com)

IT Industry Outlook for 2011 - Budgets and Salaries

Funding for IT budgets—including allocations for salary increases—will go up next year, but cost cutting is still a major concern. Business intelligence—despite its expense and effort—continues to be a No. 1 technology investment priority in 2010.

IT workers, listen up: Management is budgeting for raises next year.

These raises, however, come with an expectation for technology to be a strategic cost-cutting and simultaneous revenue-producing investment. Business intelligence—despite its expense and effort—continues to be the No. 1 technology investment of 2010.

In exact terms, 61 percent of executives are planning to give technology worker salaries a boost in 2011. Only a third of employers will be keeping salaries flat. The silver lining is less than 10 percent will be chopping salaries next year, according to annual data compiled by SIM (Society for Information Management), which surveyed more than 172 companies.

Of most concern to executives such as CIOs and senior IT managers is business productivity coupled with cost reduction. Other major concerns include speed to market, business agility, business and IT alignment and the reliability and efficiency of IT practices.

“The No. 1 response is getting more revenue from IT investments as in leveraging IT to reduce business costs,” said Jerry Luftman, professor of information systems at Stevens Institute of Technology, in an interview with eWEEK. “It is also clear that the trend for offshore outsourcing is expected to continue to rise.”

Luftman is a former SIM executive vice president who will be presenting the survey results to SIM attendees Oct. 3 at its annual conference in Atlanta. Luftman has been producing the research for this report for the last 10 years.

For IT budgets, 38 percent of executives are increasing them next year, 27 percent are decreasing them and 35 percent are keeping them flat. Compared to last year, there is an 11 percent increase in budget spending—a good sign for projects and resources that have been on hold or postponed.

Many executives are looking for IT to lead the way in business process re-engineering, in strategic planning and keeping data and intellectual property secure. Making the list of concerns for the first time, however, was globalization.

The No. 1 technology investment for these 172 organizations is BI (business intelligence). According to Luftman, BI has been the top technology investment for the last three years despite a recession and challenges for many with effective BI implementation. Given the emphasis on cost reduction, how is it that business intelligence ranks above virtualization, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), continuity planning/disaster recovery and cloud computing?

“I am surprised too that it remains so high other than they recognize its importance but are still struggling to implement it,” Luftman said.

Cloud computing made the top five technology investments for the first time in this year’s SIM report, further confirming its ascendancy as companies look to reduce costs in areas across the landscape of cloud-based services. Another trend that continues to be taken advantage of is offshore outsourcing, which will see an increase of 2 percent, from 5 percent in 2010 to 7 percent in 2011 IT budgets, according to the SIM report.

IT turnover rates were low in 2010, according to the study. Seventy-one percent of SIM survey participants saw less than 5 percent of IT workers leave their company. Nearly 16 percent saw 6 to 10 percent turnover. The average rate of turnover was about 5.5 percent for 2010; last year, that rate was 6.9 percent.

“The insights from the study confirm that the economic downturn is continuing to cause a significant shift in IT priorities,” said Luftman in a SIM statement. “It is essential to recognize how organizations are leveraging IT during this prolonged economic conundrum, as well as preparing for when the economy will improve.”

Another thing Luftman noted is that as the economy improves, many people are expected to hit the retirement ranks, though he expects to see a larger hiring pool next year.

(Courtesy: Don Sears, eWeek.com)

Monday, October 11, 2010

10 useful books on IT Recruitment, Staffing and Job Search

The following are few books on IT recruitment which can be very helpful tools for serious recruiters looking to add knowledge and acquire knowledge and self help coaching.



This is an instruction manual like no other. With The Complete IT Recruitment Survival Guide you have a constant, easy-to-understand yet knowledgeable companion as you tackle the murky waters of the world of IT recruitment.



A well-designed interview is demanding, yet still respectful of the candidate. Dale's tried-and-true techniques enable managers and HR professionals to pinpoint exactly what qualities they want in their applicants, assess candidates, and hire the best fit for the organization.



Learn about valuable insights on e recruitment.



There are few books available which cover the full job-searching, application, interview and negotiation process. The Definitive Job Book is just that



Hiring the Best, 5th Edition offers managers and HR personnel a proven and practical approach to recruiting and selecting the right people for the job.



Heneman and Judge’s Staffing Organizations, 6/e, is based on a comprehensive staffing model. Components of the model include staffing models and strategy, staffing support systems (legal compliance, planning, job analysis and rewards), core staffing systems (recruitment, selection, employment), and staffing system and retention management.






There are currently over 8 million resumes in each of the databases of some of the big Internet recruiting sites. Learn how to give your resume a competitive edge so it gets the attention it deserves.



Ken Tanner guides entrepreneurs through the three critical components of staffing a business—recruiting, teambuilding, and retention. As he shows time and again through advice, anecdote, and example, solving these challenges is like adding rocket fuel to the entrepreneurial business.



"A Manager's Guide to Recruitment and Selection" is designed for busy managers who are responsible for recruitment at any level.