IT professionals with more than five years experience on the job could have a more difficult time finding work during the recession than those with less experience, according to research from online career resource Beyond.com.
The IT industry continues to see online job postings, but the problem is that more and more high-tech workers are actively looking, Beyond.com found in its Career Trend Analysis Report for the first quarter. Beyond.com compiles data from its network of more than 15,000 online communities.
Close to 60 per cent of business professionals polled said they would “take any job they could if they found themselves unemployed.” And the data revealed that there was a 54.5 per cent increase in the number of IT professionals searching for a job vs. during the same period a year ago.
The IT industry made up 11.32 per cent of online job postings in the first quarter, second only to healthcare and medical at 23.2 per cent, according to Beyond.com, but the number of IT pros looking for work might not be considered a fit for the current open positions. The research shows that 79 per cent of the IT candidates posting resumes online had five or more years of experience. But the majority (81.58 per cent) of online job postings were for permanent full-time jobs and for candidates with less than one year of experience (59.47 per cent).
“In times of economic uncertainty, employers are extremely mindful of expenses, especially as it relates to their recruitment program, to ensure that their business is able to continue thriving,” said Rich Milgram, CEO of Beyond.com, in a statement. “As a result many companies are focused on hiring front-line workers who can make the most impact on their business with the least amount of financial risk, further widening the gap that exists between the type of candidates in demand compared to the type of candidates currently searching for a job.”