eWEEK talks to industry trade group TechServe Alliance to get a sense for how 2009 ended up for technology jobs, and where tech jobs are headed in 2010. There is demand for business analysts, business intelligence experts, ERP experts and .NET developers.

The second half of 2009 saw stronger stabilization of technology jobs compared with the first half, according to industry group TechServe Alliance in a report released Jan. 8. IT employment increased by 6,400 jobs in December for a total of 3,821,000—an improvement of 0.2 percent, according to TechServe. TechServe Alliance, formerly known as the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses, is a 500-member trade organization based in Alexandria, Va.

While layoffs were the largest trend in technology and nearly every industry, 2009 was a decent year for technology consultants, contractors and professional services organizations, which saw some of the only gains in employment.

“The most robust job segment, Management and Technical Consulting Services, has gained a net 13,600 jobs in the first 11 months of 2009, with net job gains in four of the last five months,” said technology analyst company Foote Partners in a December report. (PDF)

TechServe bases its information on statistics drawn from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and looks at staffing patterns in a “dozen IT and computer-related occupations in 16 industries and industry sectors,” the report said. eWEEK interviewed TechServe Alliance President Steven Norris, who works for EdgeTech Consulting, to discuss hiring patterns and job trends in 2009 and 2010. The following is a quick question-and-answer session with Norris:

Was there a hiring trend for 2009?

We are seeing more and more clients asking for temporary IT resources as they begin to seek the talent to complete their IT initiatives that have been on hold for perhaps a year or more. We also are seeing that whereas a couple of years ago they would only interview two or three of their top candidates in their labor pool, now with so many Read more…

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When looking at analyst predictions for 2010, developers of mobile applications and software engineers for cloud computing will be two of the hottest job titles this year. IT spending is expected to grow modestly, but these two areas–mobile apps and the cloud–will be sure to grow in job demand and garner strong salaries this year and beyond.

What will be the hot technology careers in 2010? To answer that question, you have to look at the technologies companies are expected to adopt or expand upon this year. The rapid expansion of mobile, Internet-enabled devices coupled with mobile applications, along with the full spectrum of cloud computing are areas primed for growth, according to Framingham, Mass.-based technology analyst firm IDC.

Mobile developers, cloud application developers, software engineers, IT architects, UNIX and Linux system administrators, Internet/cloud security professionals, Java experts, CRM experts, service operation managers, and those with enhanced algorithm expertise are some of the job titles and skills in demand.

“2010 will be a year of modest recovery for the IT and telecommunications industries. But the recovery will not mean a return to the pre-recession status quo,” said IDC Chief Analyst Frank Gens in a December 2009 report entitled IT Predictions: Recovery and Transformation. “Rather, we’ll see a radically transforming marketplace— driven by surging demand in emerging markets, growing impact from the cloud services model, an explosion of mobile devices and applications, and the continuing rollout of higher-speed networks. These transformational forces will drive key players to redefine themselves and their offerings and will spark lots of M&A activity.”

IDC predicts 3.2 percent growth for IT spending in 2010, which ranks spending numbers from 2008 at $1.5 trillion. By other comparison, research firm Gartner pegs IT spending at 3.3 percent growth for 2010, but says spending will not be at 2008 levels until 2012. A recent January 2010 survey of 1,586 CIOs by Gartner, however, puts actual IT spending budgets for the year at 2005 levels or flat.

Mobile application developers will see job demand grow sharply in 2010 as Google’s Android mobile operating system extends with the introduction of the Nexus One, and the leading Internet mobile device–Apple’s iPhone–reaches 300,000 applications by the end of the year. In a recent video interview with ZDNet, IDC’s Gens predicts mobile apps for Android to reach the 100,000 level by the end of 2010–a number that was reforecast from an initial estimate of 75,000. Here is more from IDC on the impact the smartphone evolution is having on traditional computing:

“We’ve all seen this coming for a long time: 2010 will be a watershed year in the ascension of mobile devices as strategic platforms for commercial and enterprise developers,” wrote Gans in the December report. “No, we’re not yet talking about ‘the death of the PC’; far from it, as 2010 will see over 300 million PCs sold. But we are talking about mobile devices no longer being viewed as strictly subservient to PCs but as primary client platforms for developers and users alike… It’s easy to see that they [mobile devices] already have eclipsed, or will soon eclipse, PCs in several strategic dimensions of adoption (e.g., number of devices accessing the Internet, number of developers, number of applications, number of users).”

Developers with knowledge of mobile operating systems including Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile and the iPhone are in the cat bird seat. The rapid growth of the netbook category from 2009–very small, ultra-portable laptops– will carry over into 2010 with demand for developers who can create device-specific applications as well as skills in synchronization, according to IDC.

When it comes to cloud computing, IDC predicts a very big year with the expansion in the enterprise of private cloud offerings that take the best aspects of the public cloud–pre-built application and hosting infrastructure, a pay as you go model–with a customer’s infrastructure in a more secure, private cloud similar to what Read more…

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Claiming an abundance of jobs in Linux, the Linux Foundation is launching a new job board specifically for open-source-related employment on the Linux.com site (jobs.linux.com). Since 2005, jobs in open-source technologies have grown some 80 percent, according to online recruiter JobThread, which the Linux Foundation has partnered with for job postings.

“Linux’s increasing use across industries is building high demand for Linux jobs despite national unemployment stats,” Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation, said in a statement. “Linux.com reaches millions of Linux professionals from all over the world. By providing a Jobs Board feature on the popular community site, we can bring together employers, recruiters and job seekers to lay the intellectual foundation for tomorrow’s IT industry.”

Ars Technica blogger Ryan Paul wrote on the Linux Foundation and job growth:

During the Linux Collaboration Summit last year, Zemlin declared Linux the “fastest-growing platform” and touted an IDC study which contended that the open source operating system would endure the economic recession better than its competitors. Although it’s still unclear if IDC’s speculation will prove true, the need for cost-cutting in the current economic climate has certainly helped to boost Linux adoption, a trend that is potentially contributing further Read more…

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Industry organization CompTIA is promoting a new program to promote technology certifications–including a specific program called “Getting America Back to Work” targeting unemployed IT workers.

“The current employment market for high-tech workers can best be described as a paradox,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of CompTIA in a statement. “At a time when unemployment is at its highest level in more than a quarter century, hiring managers struggle to fill tens of thousands of jobs requiring certain high-tech skills.”

CompTIA has set up this program in conjunction with local state employment organizations including Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers. Workforce investment boards exist regionally to publicly fund employment and career training, and publish research. They are made up of business leaders, labor unions, and educational organizations like community colleges. At least 50 percent of a Workforce Investment Board has to be made up of private business, so there is a balance between public and private entities.

“There are costs associated with some of the career assessments, training and certification exams. But in the case of people out of work there is funding available through their local Workforce Investment Boards to pay for these things,” said Thibodeaux in an email to me about costs associated with the program. “The only cost that CompTIA assesses for this program is the cost of taking our certification exams, which typically range from $180 to $250 per test.”

From the CompTIA press release:

The Getting America Back to Work program is designed to streamline the process that Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Centers use to place unemployed individuals, career changers and people new to the workforce into an IT job. The process has just four steps:
Assess – MeasureUp, Inc., an assessment and certification practice test company, provides an aptitude test to measure an individual’s technical knowledge and ability to determine if they should pursue a career in IT.

Train – Individuals who show promise can take IT certification Read more…

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Verari Systems, which makes data center equipment, including servers and storage systems, has laid off the bulk of its employees as it looks to restructure its business. The company has been hit by the current credit crunch, according to its CEO. Rumors had been circulating for days that the company had gone under, and Verari employees are using the Internet to stay connected.

Server maker Verari Systems is undergoing a restructuring that has led to the layoffs of a large portion of its work force and put into question its future viability.

Currently, a number of employees are still working in Verari’s San Diego, Calif., headquarters to deal with a backlog of orders and to develop a plan that will benefit the company’s customers and partners, President and CEO David Wright said in an interview.

“We have customer orders we’re working with, and we’re also working with our business partners,” Wright said. “In all reality, it not rosy, but it’s not all vinegar.”

However, what the company will look like next month has yet to be figured out, he said, adding that Verari has not filed for bankruptcy protection.

Questions about the health of Verari reportedly began to be asked in November, when the company did not appear at the Supercomputing 2009 show in Portland, Ore. On Dec. 11, Wright called a meeting of all employees to tell them about the restructuring plan, which included laying off most of the workers.

Wright wouldn’t give exact number of the layoffs, but said it was a “major percentage” of the work force.

The week of Dec. 7, rumors began circulating that Verari was shutting its doors. On Dec. 10, a Website called VerariAlumni.com was created, initially saying that the company was closing. That has since been changed to talk about a restructuring.

As of Dec. 14, 83 Verari employees had signed up on the networking site.

In addition, an employee calling himself VerariGuy has been posting messages on Twitter about the company. In one post, he said that at peak, about 300 people worked at Verari, but that that number had dropped to 225.

In September 2004, when Verari closed a round of funding that raised more than $13.27 million—bringing the total raised by the company to almost $34.2 million—the company said it had 265 customers and more than 4,000 customers. Verari currently counts Virgin America, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia, Akamai, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Johns Hopkins, EMC, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman among its customers.

Some former Verari employees also have been leaving posts at the InsideHPC Website.

Wright said the company’s problems have been more about cash flow than business. Verari has orders in the pipeline worth multimillions of dollars, but that for the past two months, it has had problems getting credit, hobbling Verari’s cash flow, he said.

The layoffs were the result of the company being unable to meet the payroll, Wright said.

Now he and the other employees still left at Verari are working with banks and other business partners to determine the company’s future, whether that means it remains independent in some fashion, is sold as a whole or in pieces, or whether it’s broken up into multiple entities.

“It’s premature to try to say what it will be,” Wright said. “I believe in the next two weeks we’ll be much clearer.”

More details on the company’s direction will come to light in the next couple of days, he said.

The company, which has been around since 1996—though known as Verari since 2004, changing its name from RackSaver—sells a host of server BladeRack products aimed at compute-dense Read more…

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Analysts say the fast growing demand for contract technology workers doesn’t indicate that the economy is turning around – yet.

Demand for contract tech workers, whether they call themselves freelancers or consultants, is increasing, but the trend isn’t a green shoot — a signal of an economic recovery. It may be more an act of desperation by companies struggling to keep up with work in the face of staff cutbacks.

Two job sites that work use eBay-like features to match workers with employers, Elance., and oDesk Corp., have seen sharp increases in the number of employers that are hiring temporary workers from their sites.

Today, Elance averages 25,000 job postings a month from employers, up almost 50% from this time last year. And oDesk says it has seen job postings on its site increase by 100% percent over the past year to about 17,500 jobs.

As demand for IT freelancers or consultants grows, interest by employers in hiring permanent full-time and part-time employees is down. One tech hiring board, Dice.com, earlier this month, said it’s postings have declined by about 45% since last year to 48,000 jobs. The Dice numbers are just another indication that the overall technology workforce continues to shrink.

This rising interest in tech contract help “is what we would expect to see right now,” said Stephen Minton, an analyst at IDC. He added that the increased project-by-project hiring does not signal an improving economy.

IT managers aren’t undertaking new projects, but still have as many projects as they did six months ago, but with fewer permanent staff, said Minton, who doesn’t expect to see signs of an improving economy until the end of 2009.

Michael Axelrod, co-founder and president of e-Brilliance LLC, a Philadelphia provider of both IT services and contract consultants, says that over the last two months he has seen the number of “opportunities” – potential projects for his firm – increase by nearly 50%.

Companies are “being asked to do the same amount with less,” Axelrod said. His firm is in most demand for infrastructure work, especially upgrading Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007, and for server Read more…

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Call it a sign of the times. Being unemployed, while still an obstacle to overcome when looking for work, doesn’t necessarily damage a reputation the way it once did. Executives in human resources and IT from New England and the broader United States are more accepting of the economic realities of job hunting in 2009, shows a study.

It seems the stigma of unemployment isn’t what it used to be, given the economy, reduced hiring and increased layoffs in the worst recession seen in generations. New research from a Boston-based staffing company shows over 40 percent of executives don’t put a lot of weight on whether an IT job candidate has been unemployed or not.

From Veritude’s statement about its survey of 195 executives, 72 from New England:

“[W]hen it came to examining the acceptable length of time for a candidate to be unemployed, 36 percent of responding executives said they did not believe it mattered how long a candidate was unemployed given the recessionary conditions, with 36 percent indicating that six months or less was their ideal length of unemployment. The survey also revealed that when making hiring decisions, 44 percent of executives have no preference for a candidate’s employment status. In addition, one-third of New England hiring managers and human resources professionals are considering rehiring information technology (IT) employees whom they had laid off.”

This should be welcome news to unemployed IT professionals looking for work. It’s a reminder to focus on skills, strengths, teaming and management experience rather than having lost a job through a work force reduction and cost cutting.

“With half of employers looking to hire back a portion of their laid-off IT workers either as full-time employees or contractors and employers accepting the economic downturn as a reason for an extended unemployment, IT job candidates should take heart that their employment status will not significantly bias a potential employer,” Joe Collins, senior vice president of Veritude, said in a statement Dec. 2.

There is still some preference, however, for hiring those who are already employed. Around 19 percent, or one-fifth, of human resources and IT hiring managers polled said they preferred hiring current full-time employees, according to the report. In a similar vein, 22 percent said they preferred hiring candidates currently employed either full-time or with temporary or contract work. Another 17 Read more…

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If you haven’t lost your job, you undoubtedly know someone who has, and you’ve likely heard some disturbing accounts of what those colleagues are going through in their relentless search for employment. The last thing these people need to deal with is having to perform what amounts to slave labor in order to get a job. Yet many of them are doing just that.

In the past year, I’ve watched as some of the most talented and accomplished IT professionals I’ve ever met became victims of the recession. Award-winning CIOs and other IT leaders with exemplary track records have been laid off in numbers that none of us who follow this industry could ever have imagined. As much as I question the competence of corporate directors who are making the grossly shortsighted decisions to cast aside this talent in the name of cost-cutting, I find the tactics of companies that are taking free dips into the unemployed talent pool far more questionable.

What’s happening is that potential employers are taking advantage of the desperation of many jobless professionals by making unfair and overzealous demands on them as part of the recruitment process. A particularly troubling tack taken by some companies, especially in dealing with unemployed CIOs and other senior executives, is to demand that the job candidate analyze the employer’s operations and prepare a strategic plan (or some other intellectual property that’s created and surrendered) to improve those operations.

I don’t know how widespread the practice is, but I know it’s happening because I’ve talked to enough people, not just in IT, but in journalism and other professions, who have either experienced it or know someone who has experienced it in some form. I would love to know how many millions of dollars in consulting fees companies are Read more…

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Two million IT positions are expected to have been eliminated from 2000 to 2014, according to Hackett Group, which forecasts an ‘extended jobless recovery.’

Large, global companies have eliminated 300,000 IT jobs in 2009, according to the consultancy Hackett Group. Back-office jobs in general fell 630,000—three times the average annual job loss from 2000 to 2007. The firm doesn’t expect 2010 to see a turnaround for such positions, and instead forecasts an “extended jobless recovery.”

Reasons include the lack of economic growth, deep cuts in response to budget pressures, improvements in productivity and automation, and the increased use of offshore labor resources.

In the longer term, Hackett’s research estimates that nearly 2 million IT jobs in North America and Europe will have been eliminated between 2000 and 2014. That makes IT the largest back-office segment to lose jobs. The firm advises companies to use automation and offshoring, rather than hiring locally, to continue to keep back-office Read more…

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The best five weeks of networking for the entire year are going on now. Make sure you’re prepared for all of your holiday networking events by following these seven do’s and don’ts from master networker and motivational speaker Dave Sherman.

“We’re coming up on the best five weeks of networking for the entire year, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s,” says Dave Sherman, an author, motivational speaker and master networker. “Everyone says there’s never any business during the last five weeks of the year, but it’s a gold mine for networking because you get invited to so many parties.”

Parties are perfect venues for networking because networking is all about making connections with people, sharing interests and finding common ground, says Sherman. The inherently social and relaxed atmosphere of a party facilitates this.

If the importance of networking in your job search still eludes you, consider this fact: An astounding 70 percent of U.S. jobs are never publicly advertised, according to Sherman. “The only way to find those jobs is by meeting people who know people who know about those jobs,” he says.

That hidden job market—the market for jobs that companies would like to fill but haven’t advertised—has ballooned during the recession. “There are companies that need to hire people right now,” Sherman says, “but they’re not willing to post the jobs online because they do not want to be inundated with resumes, knowing that 85 percent of the people who apply are unqualified.”

What’s more, HR professionals polled by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas say networking and social networking are the best job search methods.

As your social calendar swells this holiday season, make the most of your networking opportunities by heeding Sherman’s seven networking do’s and don’ts.

1. DO arrive on time.

Showing up fashionably late is a networking faux pas. To get the most out of networking opportunities, arrive on time for parties or 15 to 30 minutes early if the event is a conference, lecture or trade show where your early presence won’t impose on a host.

“If you show up early, you’ll meet the movers and shakers at the event—the chair, the speakers,” says Sherman. “Plus, you never have to worry about having to break into other people’s conversations. If you’re one of the first people in the room, others will begin to congregate around you.”

2. DON’T approach networking events as sales opportunities.

Trade shows, conferences and parties are opportunities to meet people, “to create likability and commonality,” says Sherman, the two cornerstones of networking. No one at a networking event is going to buy your product right then and there, he says, even if the product is yourself. So don’t try so hard to sell yourself. Instead, find common ground with the people you meet. Break the ice by asking people about their interests outside of work.

“If you’re not doing that with every person you meet,” Sherman says, “you’re prospecting, not networking.”

3. DON’T start conversations by giving out your business card.

When you immediately hand your business card to people Read more…

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