Job claims fall

The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell more than forecast last week, dropping by more than 48000. This is the biggest decline in 3 years and the lowest since 2000.

Bis consulting firms are beginning to look toward the future with optimism. After years of economic slowdown and downsizing, the consulting industry appears has stabilizing and is growing.

US Job Growth

The US economy created 157000 new jobs in December making 2004 the best year for job growth since 1999 with more than 2,230,000 jobs created.

Welcome to 2005-- January, 2005

Welcome to 2005. If you have found this blog and our others (use your news feed service or software to get our job hunting tips from
http://jobhuntingtips.blogspot.com/atom.xml or our postings of available jobs:
http://newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.blogspot.com/atom.xml) congratulations. I believe you will find them useful to your job search.

2005 begins on a stronger footing than 2004 and 2003 before it. As 2002 began, companies large and small were imploding. Layoffs were rampant and firms were looking at survival strategies in the wake of 9/11. As 2003 began, we were commiserating about the bottom of the market, a trickle of jobs and a glut of talent.

Last January, I wrote of increased hardware and software expenditures, an increase in consulting assignments and, most importantly, the government inflating the system with new money, tax cuts and rebate checks. I pointed out that with a Presidential election on the near horizon, nothing would be done to contract the system and thus job pick up would improve in the New York area as I was seeing around the country. After all, increased consultant utilization is normally the first sign of recovery in a job market.

Today, as we step into 2005, I can state with confidence that the labor recession in technology in New York is over. We’re also starting to see improvement in wages and job offers, too. This doesn’t mean that the pain for some people is over. Some have lost their careers. Some people have been out of work for so long that if they return to work in technology they will do so at position and salary levels far below where they previously were.

Yet good signs are there, too. Advertising on job boards is growing. Stock prices for publicly-held employment agencies are up. Firms are starting to ask where all the people are. That means that salaries are about to go up, too. Job-hunters are starting to get multiple job offers instead of scrambling for one.

Where is the action?

The simple answer is everywhere. Every sector has started to pump technology jobs again. However, if you focus on the large employers (Citigroup, JPMorganChase, Morgan Stanley, for example), you will miss the most interesting change for 2005.

Smaller technology firms (even dotcoms) to New York that are starting to draw talent away from the bigger organizations. As we saw several years ago, the impact on wages across the board was catapulted by small company hiring. If the recovery continues, I would expect this to occur again because there is a shortage of technology talent available for a growing market.

New supply is down except from outsourcing and consulting. Why? The schools are graduating fewer students interested in technology because of the impact of the recession. Who will step into these new jobs? H1B US-based consultants and off-shore professional services firms.

What skills are being sought? Again, the simple answer is all. But looking beneath the surface is that there are certain skills that are commoditized (desktop support, help desk, network administration) for which wage scales will hold at pre-recovery levels for a while. Others, like business analysts with specific sector experience (not financial services, but with specific derivative products, for example), developers with J2EE or C++ experience, coupled with additional technology and industry experience, will remain in short supply for large firms and subject to good prospects. For the new technology firms, they will, as they always have, continue to value individuals who have lived through start-ups and understands the pace and demands of the culture. Wireless firms, in particular are showing a strong up tick.

For those of you who have been working for the past few years, it is time dust off and update your old resume, lift your head from your desk and raise your antennae. .After several years of keeping your head down, it’s time to remember that the person who gets ahead isn’t always the smartest or work the hardest, although those are great qualities to have. People who get ahead are those who remain alert to opportunity. Sometimes, those are opportunities inside a firm; most often it’s outside.