...to innovate, not retrench as the economy toughens. That means learning to take the pain out of understanding IT and communicating in plain English.
So the IT worker must embrace two extremes of their role — improving solid technical skills while embracing interpersonal and communication skills.
It will prove a considerable challenge for many.
Alex Farrell, MD of The IT Job Board
There will be less choice [of jobs] but candidates can target hot areas — such as online, such as SAP. SaaS [software-as-a-service] is another area we feel is going to be a big trend in 2009… so clever candidates will be targeting these hot areas where they will be highly in demand.
They've really got to invest in their CV as well, in view of it being a fairly competitive marketplace — candidates have got to realise their CVs have to be the best they possibly can, so it's not just dusting off their old one and putting it out there. They've really got to think about making their CV as appropriate for the job they're applying for as they can.
They've really got to make the most of the sophisticated tools out there — it's a very good market from a technology perspective for candidates these days. Job boards are very sophisticated and candidates need to use all the tools available to them to make sure they're making it as easy as possible for future employers to find them.
Sean Gallagher, director at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and MD of IT Human Resources
People who out of necessity or want are looking for a new job have got to view it as a project — they have to view it that they are in competition with other people. They need to be very clear about what they want, and they need to have a very up-to-date CV.
People need to become more savvy in difficult times. If people have their CV on a generally open job board like a CV database… they need to refresh that CV, because the more it's perceived to be bang up to date, the more likely they're going to get a call from an agent.
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Don't smart over hard times — get smart and beat them…
I get 40 CVs and half of them haven't even read the job spec — all they've done is an auto reply from a job board… They have to understand if you're just going to fire your CV out to anything that's got 'software' in it then recruiters are not going to be enamoured of having an inbox full of irrelevant CVs.
Use all the job boards but specifically apply for things and make sure you're relevant and make sure you have all the skills. If you genuinely believe you do fit then you should chase the agent advertising.
Derek Pilcher, managing director, TheLadders.co.uk
While companies throughout the UK are seeing redundancies, there are still important roles out there to be filled. If a job seeker finds his or her industry has been hit hard, then reinventing your career by focusing on one's skills and passion is an important step to find a new career path.
Certain sectors are experiencing growth even now. Companies are looking for talented individuals so showcasing skills you may have thought might not be important for career fulfilment might actually be something that lands you the job.
