On Job Interview, IT Professionals Advised to Show Strong Suit

Want to capture that next IT job? Many CIOs suggest they’re impressed by those wearing formal business suits to job interviews.

According to a survey conducted by the tech employment service Robert Half Technology, more than one-third of 1,400+ American CIOs say a business suit is the most appropriate interview attire. About one-quarter of the respondents cited khakis and a collared shirt as proper apparel as well as tailored separates. Says Robert Half Technology executive director Katherine Spencer Lee:

“Employers want to see that job candidates have made the effort to dress appropriately for the work environment. While a suit isn’t the best choice for every interview, it’s better to err on the side of overdressing versus appearing too casual.”

The CIOs were asked, What is the most appropriate interview attire for someone interviewing for an IT job with your company? Their responses:

Formal business suit, 35%

Khakis,collared shirt, 26%

Tailored separates, 24%

Jeans, polo shirt, 9%

Other, 6%

Lee suggests that when in doubt, candidates should ask an insider who works at the company to get advice on the employer’s work style and preferred interview attire. If you don't know anyone, just ask the person who will interview you.

Survey: Vast Majority of UK IT Pros Would Relocate Abroad for Job

Eight in 10 British IT professionals say they'd happily relocate to a foreign country if a job or work opportunity arose, according to a survey conducted by a British online IT job service.

More than one-quarter of those surveyed said they'd move abroad for career development reasons. Only 16% cited current economic conditions as a reason to do so. Despite the credit crunch, more than one-third of techies believed that the UK would continue to see the biggest growth in demand for IT professionals, according to The IT Job Board.

Other key findings:

• 62% search for IT jobs both nationally and internationally.

• 36% see language barriers as being the main challenge when moving to a foreign country.

• 71% would also relocate to a different UK city for work.

Recession Be Damned! IT Services Jobs Rise

American businesses cut 533,000 payroll jobs in November, the biggest monthly job loss in over 30 years as nearly every sector eliminated jobs. But one sector bucking this trend—computer systems design and related services firms, commonly known as IT services—increased payrolls last month.

In November, an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The IT Job Analyst blog shows, IT services firms added 2,700 jobs. IT services firms employed in November some 1,435,900 people, a record high. Since November 2007, employment at IT services firms rose by 48,400, or 3.5%. As a comparison, all American employers shed 1,870,000 or nearly 1.4% from their payrolls in the past year.

In past recessions, IT services firms suffered along with the rest of the economy as business leaders didn’t highly value information technology. From March 2001 through August 2003, IT services firms payrolls shrank by 18.4% or 248,300 jobs.

Why is this recession different? Companies can’t function without IT. Today, IT know-how and the efficiencies technology brings business are among the last thing companies forfeit in troubled economic times.

Here’s what Jerry Luftman, a Stevens Institute of Technology IT professor who surveys CIOs for the Society for Information Management, told me earlier this week (read a fuller version of Luftman’s observation at our previous blog posting):

“This economic downturn is very, very different from previous ones. Today, companies are going to IT and asking them for ideas as to how IT can be leveraged to reduce the costs of other parts of business.”

But the recession is having a mildly negative impact on IT services employment. Payroll growth is slowing. A year ago, IT services payrolls rose by 5.8% or 76,300 jobs. Since January 2005, IT payrolls have consistently risen each month, except for one, this past March. Few other sectors can make that claim.

The computer systems design payroll numbers reflect the relative strength of IT employment when compared with the rest of the economy. The national unemployment rate jumped 2 points to 5.7% in November, a 15-year high. The government doesn’t furnish a separate IT jobless rate. It does release specific occupation figures on a quarterly basis, however. And, my analysis of those numbers from the third quarter shows IT unemployment hovering near record lows. In the third quarter, IT joblessness rose one-tenth of a point to 2.4%, with 4,010,000 Americans employed in the profession, a record high.

When the current quarter's employment figures become available next month, don't expect IT unemployment to remain so low. IT professionals aren't immune from this recession. But it would be surprising if IT joblessness came anywhere near the levels of overall unemployment. If it does, our nation would be in even worse shape than it is today.