Middle Management IT Job Descriptions
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Technology
Position Descriptions HandiGuide®
Job Descriptions and Organization Charts
Middle Management Positions Descriptions for both technical and administrative functions with Information Technology. All of the job descriptions are compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley and the latest ISO standards. The Middle Management positions included are:
The 220 positions include all of the functions within the IT group. Click on the each group below to see a pop up window with the list of jobs included.
- Accounting Supervisor
- Assistant Controller
- Capacity Planning Supervisor
- Change Control Supervisor
- Computer Operations Assistant Manager
- Computer Operations Assistant Supervisor
- Computer Operations Shift Manager
- Computer Operations Shift Supervisor
- Customer Service Coordinator Lead
- Customer Service Supervisor
- Data Communications Assistant Manager
- Data Entry Supervisor
- Database Administrator
- Disaster Recovery/Special Projects Supervisor
- Hardware Installation Supervisor
- Information Center Manager
- Microcomputer Support Supervisor
- Network Services Supervisor
- PCI-DSS Coordinator
- Procurement Administrator
- Production Services Supervisor
- Project Manager Applications
- Project Manager Distributed Systems
- Project Manager Enterprise Architecture
- Project Manager Implementation Deployment
- Project Manager Network Technical Services
- Project Manager Systems
- Record Management Coordinator
- Supervisor POS Training
- Supervisor POS
- System Administrator Windows
- System Administrator UNIX
- Voice Communications Manager
- Waste Management Coordinator
- Webmaster
- Word Processing Supervisor
- Executive Management 11 Job Descriptions
- Senior Management 81 Job Descriptions
- Middle Management 40 Job Descriptions
- Staff Positions 88 Job Descriptions
You can purchase this book as a PDF Book, Word Book or as individual word files for each Job Description which makes for easier modification. We have also combined the both book formats with the individual word files for each job descriptions to give you the best of both worlds.
IT Middle Management Job News
The making of an effective CIO
CIOs need to
position themselves with their enterprises in order to be successful. They need to not only know where their
clients want them to go but also to communicate how they are achieving those
objectives. The objectives they
need to meet and the metrics that can be used are: ·
Understand
requirements and objectives
Frequency and number of requirements and objectives discussed with multiple
people at customer organization. ·
Establish
company credibility and interest
- Company viewed as a leader with known corporate, technical and project
management teams in addition to solid past performance and
experience. ·
Preview
preliminary solution with customer - Well-developed
solution with features linked to objectives and approach vetted with customer to
get buy-in and solution validation. ·
Achieve
acceptance of win strategy (technical, management, past performance, teaming,
price) accepted by customer
- Win strategy well established, previewed and accepted by customer. ·
Influence
the request for proposals
- Procurement strategy, proposal instructions, and evaluation criteria
favorable.
IT layoffs continue
As part of a large downsizing effort of its labor force in 2010, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is cutting 340 information technology jobs, according to an internal announcement.
Eli Lilly--which manufactures and markets drugs that fight cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia and erectile dysfunction, among others--announced last year it was planning to cut costs of $1 billion in 2010, and the elimination of 5,500 workers is part of that cost reduction effort.
Eli Lilly has already seen about 140 layoffs, retirements and resignations in IT in 2010, according to the The Indianapolis Star. John Russell, a reporter for IndyStar.com, wrote the following on the latest round of layoffs:
"But it means 200 more information technology workers will lose their jobs this year. The company said 115 of those cuts will take place this month. Workers who are affected--or 'reallocated,' in Lilly parlance--are given several months to look for another position within the company. But openings for reallocated workers typically are extremely limited" Eli Lilly reported $5.486 billion revenue growth in the first quarter of 2010 -- a 9 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. The company expects to see large costs associated with health care reform legislation that passed Congress and signed by the president earlier this year.
"Lilly delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter, even as we experienced continued weakness in the U.S. dollar versus prior periods and began to account for the impact from recently enacted U.S. health care reform," said the CEO in the quarterly earnings statement "Our volume-driven revenue growth remains solid and we are making the investments necessary to accelerate the flow of potential new medicines through our pipeline."
Eli Lilly announced on July 2 that it entered a definitive merger agreement to acquire Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology firm Alnara Pharmaceuticals, which has been developing a drug to help combat pancreatic deficiencies and those affected by cystic fibrosis.
Layoffs at Eli Lilly have not been isolated to IT; scientists, marketers, public relations representatives, sales professionals and others have all been let go from the company this year. Eli Lilly has roughly 40,000 employees globally and claims to be the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world.
- more infoDepartment of Labor mis-classifies IT PRofessionals
The Department of Labor does not specifically identify millions of IT professionals
working in business lines, corporate departments, and in various enterprise
strategic and operational functions. These jobs require skills well beyond 
technology;
for instance, precise industry, customer, product, and solution knowledge and
expertise.
The fact is, the IT profession has undergone radical changes over
the past several years, blending seamlessly into the enterprise.
20 million U.S. IT pros? Of course there are far more than 4 million people who use extensive IT skills to do their job, people who would not classify themselves as anything like a software engineer or computer scientist. But consider that there are about 51 million total managerial, professional, and related workers in the U.S. Up to half of them are IT pros?
When will the DOL get this right ?
- more infoTech is on the comeback
Job demand and salaries are up in California's capital city, according to the Sacramento Bee. Not known as a technology hub for jobs, it is a sign that about smaller cities like Sacramento see an uptick in demand for technology talent.
At more than 500 open information technology positions for Sacramento, the numbers are up by half from the same time last year. The tech job market in Sacramento has improved significantly. There is solid demand for engineers, project managers and programmers.
Officials at SARTA, the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance, seeing an uptick hiring. Other areas of the country like Austin, Texas and Raleigh, North Carolina are also seeing technology job demand increases. Austin and Raleigh are known for being smaller tech hubs due to the proximity to universities and colleges. Companies in these cities are vying for talent as hiring heats up in Silicon Valley, New York and other large metropolitan areas. Job opening postings rose even more dramatically in traditional tech centers such as Washington, D.C., New York and Silicon Valley, where job postings increased 68 percent from the same time last year. The three metro areas represent nearly a third of the website's available tech jobs.
- more infoIT Professionals are satisfied in their jobs but are looking
The vast majority of IT professionals are satisfied at work with 40 percent are satisfied with their jobs. Indeed, Janco finds that there is a direct correlation between job satisfaction and the salary. Since more money equals greater job satisfaction, one could infer that for some, money does buy happiness.
However, more than 60% of IT Professionals feel they should be
making more money.
Though the majority of IT professionals seem to be
satisfied with their current jobs, it is not preventing almost 40% of them to
start looking for new opportunities. Nearly 1 in 5 are either actively
looking or will be looking within the next three
months.
CFOs say IT salaries remain flat - recession is not over
Grant Thornton recently surveyed chief financial officerson a number of economic and business topics. Almost half of surveyed "national" 496 chief financial officers said they believe the economy will not come out of the recession until 2011, and a quarter predicted that the recession will last longer than 2011. Only 15 percent of tech CFOs surveyed said they think the recession will be over after 2011. Forty-seven percent said they think it will end in 2011, one-quarter expect it to end in the second half of 2010 and about 10 percent said they think the recession is already over.
Tech CFOs were more positive across the board. The 53 in that group were feeling pretty decent about their budgets and hiring, but don't expect much of a raise or bonus in 2010. Only 11 percent of respondents said they plan to give raises this year, with 32 percent actually decreasing them this year.
In terms of hiring, 37 percent said they expect to increase headcount in the next six months, compared with 29 percent in all other industries. Only 2 percent of tech CFOs said they expect to lay off employees, compared with 9 percent in every other industry. Over 80 percent of tech CFOs are keeping headcounts flat. IT Salaries have remained flat. From the report:
"Fifty percent thought that the U.S. economy would improve over the next six months (versus 44% for their counterparts in other industries), 60% thought their own company's financial prospects would improve (versus 52%), and 37% thought the economy would come out of recession in 2010 (versus 28%). In terms of inflationary pressure, only 17% were planning to raise prices in the next six months, versus 24% for other industries."
- more infoColorado Inflation Adjustment Lowers Minimum Wage
Colorado's minimum wage will drop slightly in the new year - the
first decrease in any state's minimum wage since the federal minimum was adopted
in 1938.
Colorado's wage is falling 3 cents an hour, from $7.28 to the
federal level of $7.25. That's because Colorado is one of 10 states that tie the
state minimum wage to inflation. The goal is to protect low-wage workers from
having unchanged paychecks as the cost of living goes up.
But Colorado's
provision also allows wage declines, and the state's consumer price index fell
0.6 percent last year, so the minimum wage is going down.
The lower
consumer price index, attributed to lower fuel prices, would have forced the
wage down 4 cents an hour, But no state can go below the federal minimum of
$7.25.
Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia will keep a
minimum wage higher than the federal minimum, according to the U.S. Labor
Department. Alaska will join them Friday when its minimum wage rises 50 cents to
$7.75.
Colorado's drop is small - but those among the estimated
48,000 residents earning the minimum shook their heads at the possibility of pay
cut. - more info
Keeping a positive attitude improves CIO performance
With hard times, CIO often find it difficult to enjoy the success that they have had. There are things that top IT executives and IT managers can do to get the joy and enthusiasm back in their lives. They are:
- Take pride in your team and what it can do
- Look for new challenges that can be met within the limitations of your staff and budget
- Keep pet projects going even if it means putting in more effort
- Let others know what you have done and are doingGive yourself rewards for the good work that you do
- Delegate your dirty work and work that does not
- Reward you to others on your team
- Revisit your career choices and validate that you are in the right field
High tech jobs continue to suffer according to government report
Silicon Valley's decline has been charted over an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008 in which venture capital investment meant big gains for technology workers' wages in the beginning, but those IT wages have since diminished. The recovery will be slow and gradual, according to government economists. On the whole, high-tech industries in Silicon Valley declined sharply in employment and wages from 2000 to 2004 but increased gradually in both respects from 2004 to 2008.
From 2000, when high-tech employment and wages peaked, to 2008, Silicon Valley's hightech industries lost more than 108,400 jobs, or 19.9 percent of their employment.8 High-tech industries in the rest of the Nation lost 6.2 percent of employment. In addition, real wages fell by 13.5 percent among Silicon Valley's high-tech industries, while high-tech wages grew by 1.3 percent in the rest of the Nation.
- more infoJob Market Looking Better for IT Professionals
In a soon to be released IT Salary Survey, Janco Associates, Inc. says the IT Job Market is finally starting to improve.
Janco's Summary observations for the 2010
Mid-Year IT Compensation Study are as
follow:
-
Some recovery is occurring in compensation and hiring. The total mean compensation for all IT Professionals has increasing to $78,210 from $77,690. There still is softness in the executive ranks of mid-sized enterprises.
-
Executives other than CIOs in mid-sized companies continue to feel a salary crunch with Chief Security Officers and heads of internal consulting seeing the greatest pressure.
-
Companies have continued hiring and spending freezes in addition to laying-off of staff. This has been augmented by extensive outsourcing, bonus reductions, and elimination of IT contractors -- which has decreased the demand for IT professionals and in some cases lowered wages, with higher priced positions being eliminated.
-
Companies are continuing to reduce the benefits provided to IT professionals. Though benefits such as health care are available, IT professionals are now paying a greater portion of that cost.
-
Flexible hours and work schedules are becoming more available as the recovery begins to take hold and is viewed as a low cost high value benefit by both employers and employees.
-
As a result of outsourcing and layoffs, hiring for new positions has remained flat for several quarters.
-
CIOs compensation has increased over the last 12 months. The mean compensation for CIOs in large enterprises is now $181,533 (an increase of 7.52%) and $169,303 (a 3.73%) in mid-sized enterprises.
-
In mid-sized enterprises, the mean total compensation for all positions has fallen slightly from $73,905 to $73,439. At the same time in large enterprises, the median compensation has risen slightly from $82,475 to $81,652.
- more info
HP to cut 9,000 jobs
Hewlett-Packard is spending $1 billion and cutting 9,000 jobs in a restructuring its enterprise services.
The company announced that it plans to spend the money to invest in a series of commercial data centers that will offer enterprise customers a more integrated platform on which to run their businesses. The initiative will also consolidate HP's data centers, networks, and applications. But as a result of the increased streamlining and automation, HP expects to eliminate around 9,000 jobs, or about 3 percent of its work force, over the next few years. HP has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide, according to a Fast Facts page on its Web site.
To pay for the enterprise restructuring, HP will take a charge of about $1 billion over an unspecified number of years that will be included in its financial results. Once the restructuring is complete, the company said it expects to save around $1 billion each year before taxes and between $500 million and $700 million after taxes and reinvestments.
- more infoNetworking Tips for IT Professionals
Before anyone starts to look for a job they need to see that their professional network is in order and that they have game plan of steps that they will follow. Included are:
-
Belong to professional groups in your industry and be active - To get the most out of networking opportunities, arrive on time for events 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. When you show up early, you will meet the movers and shakers at the event. In addition, 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.
-
Treat networking events as ways to meet other professionals not sales opportunities. Trade shows, conferences and parties are opportunities to meet people, to create likability and commonality the two cornerstones of networking. No one at a networking event is going to offer you a job right then and there. 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.
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Give out your business card only if it is asked for or after you ask for the individual you are talking to.. When you immediately hand your business card to people to whom you're introducing yourself, the action suggests that you're interested only in selling a product or service to those people
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Networking is not a numbers game, aim to make meaningful connections with a manageable number of people.
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Talk about what you would like to do and never be negative. Job seekers should state what kind of job they're seeking, as well as the industry and any specific companies that interest them.
CIOs remain cautious - salaries to remian flat
Park UT CIOs in 57% of the 243 enterprises survey remain very cautious about the economic prospects of their companies. The CEO of Janco Associates, Victor Janulaitis said, The general belief of most CIOs is that the recession is not over as of yet and that as they begin the budgeting cycle for 2011 they will take the lead from their enterprise operations management on salary increases. CIOs do not want to be in the position as the ones calling for increases in salaries as companies continue to trip costs. He added, A number of the CIOs surveyed say they are not looking to have any increased hiring until the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2011. They feel they can still squeeze more productivity out of their existing staff and applications. On the bright side they are beginning to upgrade older hardware to improve efficiencies and reduce operating expense by getting more green equipment.
eJobDescripion.com in conjunction with Janco Associates will be releasing its mid-year IT Salary Survey June 21st and will include a forecast of the job market in that survey. The current survey can be found at http://www.ejobdescription.com/IT_Salary_Survey.html . eJobDescriptions.com said, Enterprises that purchase the current survey will be eligible to download the new survey at no cost when it is released.
- more infoJanco disagrees with ADP forecast of job market
Janco has just conducted a series of interviews of CFOs and CTOs in large and mid-sized enterprises. Janco finds that the job forecast for IT professionals remains poor for the short and medium term. Janco finds that most large enterprises are continue to consolidate and cut costs. Especially impacted are firms based on the West Coast. The CEO of Janco, Victor Janulaitis said, "Many firms are continuing to reduce the size of their IT staffs as smaller layoffs continue. Few enterprises are hiring where there is an increase in head counts." He added, "Looking ahead to the next budgeting cycle, many of enterprises interviewed do not see any new hiring until 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2012 as they expect a dip in the economy in the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2011."
This is in contrast with a recent ADP report which says that layoffs are down, hiring is up and cautious optimism is the rule of the day when it comes to employment figures. Payroll numbers show the most job growth in April came from the services sector and from medium to large businesses.
The news from ADP is that 32,000 new jobs were created in April, predominantly in the services sector and mostly by medium to large businesses. Small businesses were only responsible for 1,000 of the 32,000 total jobs added.
- more infoOne More Proposal to Alter H-1B
A new proposal in the US Senate would stiffening of the regulations surrounding H-1B and L-1 visas, including restricting the number of H-1B and L-1 employees that U.S. companies of a certain size could hire.
A visa program would be added - H-2C. H-2C visas would give workers the ability to change employers after one year, and allow them to earn lawful permanent residence if they meet sufficient integration metrics to demonstrate that they have successfully come part of the American economy and society.
Included in the proposal employers would not be able to hire an H-2C worker before an employer takes affirmative steps to recruit and hire American workers, including through Americas Job Bank and recruiting through State Workforce Agencies.
This proposal would add fraud and abuse protections for existing temporary high-skilled work visas. It will amend current law regarding H-1B employer application requirements to: (1) revise wage determination requirements; (2) require Internet posting and description of employment positions; (3) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection: (4) apply certain requirements to all H-1B employers rather than only to H-1B dependent employers; (5) prohibit employer advertising that makes a position available only to, or gives priority to, H-1B [non-immigrants]; and (6) limit the number of H-1B and L-1 employees that an employer of 50 or more workers in the United States may hire.
- more infoH-1B Visa holders may want to avoid Arizona
Federal immigration law requires that all non-U.S. citizens, including H-1B workers, have documentation showing that they are in this country legally, but visa workers are rarely asked to produce their papers at any time or place.
Most H-1B holders are not likely to carry valuable and hard-to-replace paperwork on them at all times for practical reasons -- they could be lost or stolen. Under the new Arizona law, though, every police officer becomes, in effect, an immigration enforcement agent that can demand the paperwork at any time.
Legal experts said that an H-1B worker questioned by a police officer that has "reasonable suspicion" about his or her immigration status could be arrested while doing nothing more than going to a restaurant, grocery shopping or even taking a walk around the block if they don't have their H-1B papers at the ready.
- more infoCreating Job Descriptions
Never Write Another Job Description From Scratch!
If you plan to add new IT positions or re-organize your IT department in the near future, the Internet and IT Job Descriptions will save you many hours of research. Detailed job descriptions are the best way to communicate the responsibilities and requirements to both prospective candidates and to the remainder of your organization and they are already written for you!
We have compiled complete descriptions for the 230 plus most hired IT positions. Each 2-5 page description contains a detailed description of the responsibilities and of the recommended requirements for each position. The documents are in Microsoft Word format and can be easily customized to fit your unique needs.
You will save hours of time for each position you're hiring with this handy resource.
- more infoHiring on the Upswing in Large IT Tech Firms
Has hiring started to improve? For some large companies it has. Google, Intel, Cisco Systems and others have increased their headcounts in the first quarter of 2010 and all three say they will continue to hire throughout the remainder of the year. Oracle and Hewlett-Packard - which cut back some full-time positions due to acquisition redundancies with the Sun Microsystems and EDS deals - have stated that they are expecting to hire more workers this year.
Google saw a nice 37 percent jump in profit in the first quarter and added 786 new employees to its roster in the first three months of the year, the company said April 15 on an earnings call.
- more infoH-1B employees face employment risks
Federal prosecutors filed extortion-related charges against two Illinois men both of whom were employees of an IT staffing company. The U.S. Department of Labor determined after an investigation that a H-1B employee was owed back wages.
Complaints from H-1B visa holders about non-payment of wages by IT consulting firms is a fairly routine matter for the Labor Department, but most are civil matters and are handled administratively. A criminal case puts this wage complaint into a different league. The two suspects face 20 years in jail, according to prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors said the two Illinois men arrived unannounced at the H-1B employee's residence and ordered him to get into a car. The employee said he thought he would be hurt if he did not comply. After entering the car, the employee was told that if he did not recant his statements to DOL he would "take care of" him.
A number of day's later, federal officials said the defendants allegedly entered the H-1B employee's residence without permission through a closed, but unlocked door, and "struck him in the chest and shoulders to awaken him." Later, the employee again met the defendants at a restaurant where he was offered $5,000 to recant his statements. He was also told that if he didn't accept the offer he would lose his H-1B status.
The IT consulting company is being investigated by the Department of Labor and owes some $142,000 in back wages to four of its employees, including the money owed to the man in this case.
- more infoNearly 2,000,000 IT jobs lost
The Hackett Group found nearly 630,000 back-office jobs will be lost at the worlds largest companies in 2009, over three times the average number lost annually from 2000 to 2007. The number includes nearly 300,000 IT jobs. This is a dramatic spike in the long-term trend, and points to the potential for an extended jobless recovery in IT, finance, procurement, HR and other general and administrative (G&A) areas.
Longer term, some researchers estimate that nearly 3.6 million G&A jobs in North America and Europe will have been eliminated between 2000 and 2014. More than half of these losses, or nearly 2 million of these jobs are in IT, making it the largest back-office area to be hit by a wide margin.
- more infoEffective project managers follow this road map
Project Mangers responsible for teams should follow these guidelines in order to be successful
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Build support for the team and the project with the right people at the right levels
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Established guidelines for team and project success
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Create meaningful performance goals, scope, objective and metrics
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Define and communicate the decision-making process
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Establish appropriate norms for performance
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Create effective communication channels
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Focus and utilize diversity of team members
Employ America Act would limit H-1B Visas
The proposed Employ America Act has H-1B hiring restrictions that would bar any firm that lays off 50 or more workers from hiring guest workers. This legislation could potentially affect a broad swath of tech firms that have laid-off large numbers of workers but continue hiring.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics high-tech industry overall has laid off more than 345,000 workers (see job descriptions) since August 2008, according to the two senators in the unveiling of what they called the Employ America Act.
The proposers of this legislation said that with the unemployment rate over 10%, companies that undertake mass layoffs shouldn't need to hire foreign guest workers when there are plenty of qualified Americans looking for jobs.
In February, these same legislators moved to prohibit any financial services firm that received money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) from hiring H-1B holders. That blanket restriction on hiring wasn't adopted, but Congress did agree to automatically make any firm receiving TARP funds "H-1B dependent."
A company is considered H-1B dependent if more than 15% of their workers are on the H-1B visa, but the TARP restriction applies regardless of the percent of visa holders on the payroll. Companies that are H-1B dependent must, among the things, make good faith efforts to hire U.S. workers first.
With the Senate expected to receive an immigration overhaul bill early next year, the prospects for any H-1B-related legislation is uncertain and probably unlikely to pass.
Proposed earlier the H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2009 would set a number of restrictions on H-1B use, including the so-called 50-50 provision that would prohibit any firm with more than 50 workers from having more than half workforce on H-1B or L-1 visas. That provision is aimed at Indian outsourcing firms. The legislation also sets higher salary standards for visa workers as well as anti-fraud provisions.
Other proposed legislation that would to increase the H-1B cap and that would exempt foreign graduates of U.S. Ph.D. programs from counting toward a cap on H-1B visas.
- more infoCould proposed fed policy help IT Hiring
Several Republican senators and procurement experts have voiced their disagreement with a policy Obama administration officials are considering that would give a leg up to contractors who pay their employees more, according to a letter and comments at a hearing.
"We are concerned that the imposition of these requirements, during a time of significant economic turmoil in the private sector and tight federal budgets, could have serious, negative consequences, especially for our nation's small businesses," five senators wrote in a letter to the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Today, an Obama administration official said the president hasn't issued any policy regarding a contracting preference. Nevertheless, experts inside and outside of government have offered suggestions to the administration on improving contracting, as the president pledged to do in his reform memo.
- more infoArmy to reduce outsourcing
(Washington Technology) Army Secretary John McHugh told a Senate committee today that the Army plans to give outsourced jobs that are associated with inherently governmental functions to its civilian employees.
The Army intends to insource 7,162 positions this fiscal year, McHugh said in testimony before the Armed Services Committee. From fiscal 2011 to 2015, the service aims to take back 11,084 positions and give them to civilian employees. Of those, nearly 3,988 are for acquisition-related work, he said.
"Civilians are assuming increased responsibilities within the Army," he said.
In fiscal 2009, the Army saved significant resources by bringing back in house more than 900 "core governmental functions," McHugh added.
Core governmental functions, sometimes called critical functions, are jobs that are very close to inherently governmental functions, or work that only a government employee can do. Outsourcing core jobs can force the government to rely on the private sector's knowledge, and contractors potentially can unduly influence the government, officials say.
"The Army is recouping intellectual capital by insourcing former contracted positions,"McHugh said.
The Army identified these positions to insource in its ongoing contractor inventory review process.
Like McHugh, other military officers and Defense Department officials have announced plans in their fiscal 2011 budget proposals to take away numerous jobs from contractors, in areas such as acquisition and procurement.
- more infoBaby boomers face new challenges in the job market
According to the Congressional Budget OfficeOver the past 15 months, the stock market has wiped out $2 trillion in Americans' retirement savings . With the downturn in the stock market and the laying off of so many IT professionals, there now is a situation where "baby boomer" are competing for the same jobs as the "millennials" are just getting out of college.
CIOs now have to decide whom to hire by sorting through a maze of
competing technical expertise, business acumen, cultural preferences, and career
expectations.
That is not always easy. Millennials have a tendency to eat,
sleep and breathe Web 2.0 technologies, and the value of that may not be
immediately clear to a traditional CIO.
Boomers
have expertise in more traditional technologies such as IT infrastructure and
operating systems. That's good news for large enterprises, which are always on
the lookout for IT professionals with the skills needed to support its largely
mainframe-based package-tracking system.
That type of expertise can limit boomers' prospects elsewhere.
This
eagerness to learn gives many millennials a leg up on the competition. There is
a managerial flip side to consider. Young IT workers who are bold enough to take
on new technologies are also more likely to be impatient with the constraints of
traditional workplaces.
Businesses
that expect all employees to march to the beat of the same drummer, however, may
have a tough time reining in millennials' more spirited work ethic and thirst
for experimentation.