IT Managers Face Crunch in Filling Open Positions

Computerworld - Last month, Timothy Ramsay, assistant vice president of computer and network services at the University of Miami, filled a security manager position. But it took a yearlong search and a 30% increase in pay over the original offer.

Ramsay said the search was so difficult because of increased IT hiring activity, particularly in hot job areas such as security, database administration and project management. Salaries also have become a big issue in South Florida, where housing prices have soared. The university is now studying across-the-board pay increases for workers in IT and other departments to help them deal with the regions high cost of living, Ramsay said.

But the hiring crunch that he experienced isnt limited to South Florida. The IT job market is improving nationally, according to several recent reports on technology employment trends. At the same time, though, it appears to be getting harder for employers to recruit people to fill the job openings they have.

Thats partly because the increased demand is creating competition for IT workers, and partly because some employers are seeking people with a range of skills that may be hard to find. For instance, Ramsay said the University of Miami was looking for someone who had policy and administrative skills, a technical background in security with certifications, and the ability to address key issues such as identity management.

In addition, there may be more reluctance among IT workers to move to new jobs than there has been in the past, said some technology managers and recruiters. The market is picking up, said Nate Viall, president of Nate Viall and Associates, a Des Moines-based company that recruits workers for jobs involving IBMs System i server line. But Viall added that some of the IT staffers he has encountered are wary about switching jobs.

People are cautious, said Viall. They either got burned themselves at the beginning of the decade or know three friends that did.

Steven Strout, CIO at Morris Communications Co. in Augusta, Ga., said via e-mail that he also thinks IT workers arent jumping at new job opportunities. People seem to be a little scared of the economic times and are living with the devil they know, Strout wrote. But he noted that despite the hiring difficulties, he is filling the open positions at Morris, a media company that owns publishing, radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising businesses.

Market Trends

Last week, The Conference Board Inc. said that about 4.37 million online job advertisements were placed in April, a 24% increase from the same month a year ago. Of that total, approximately 323,000 ads were in the computer and mathematical category, which is defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as including occupations such as computer programmer and database administrator. The online ads in that category were up about 15% from last April, The Conference Board reported.