What IT bosses want

Last week's Work IT article, in which IT employers lamented a national shortage of IT skills, provoked an indignant response from job candidates unable to find work.

Exactly what IT skills were employers short of, candidates demanded? Will they hire people over 40? And how can new graduates get past recruitment agencies? We put these questions to several employers with interesting results.

Kevin Adamson, IT director for the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, says he is often short of Novell software skills.

"While there are people out there with some experience, most have not kept their certification current," says Adamson.

Ron Hooton, chief information officer for the New Zealand Defence Force, has experienced a shortage of entry level and seniorsystem architects and employees skilled in general infrastructure areas.

"We have to work hard to find people skilled in network security, computer network defence and areas like building and managing servers, management and storage systems," says Hooton.

Alan Dempster, director IT services for Victoria University, says systems administration staff and those with the right Microsoft accreditation can be elusive.

However, these comments will undoubtedly make some job candidates even more indignant - many have achieved Microsoft accreditation and also have tertiary degrees. Why haven't they been employed yet?

Though almost every employer we interviewed admitted receiving a flood of CVs in response to jobs advertised, they said positions remained unfilled if applicants wanted to be paid too much, lacked the right work experience, or had an attitude that irked.

"They flick off a CV and think their tertiary qualification or their long-ago experience is a guaranteed ticket to employment in a tight job market. It isn't, and we don't appreciate the expectation that it is.

"We want candidates that fit - that personally shine and have the enthusiasm and talent to set the place on fire," says one IT director.

"When you get a flood of internet generated applications you can't tell whether the person will be right no matter how qualified they are. I'd rather take a little longer to look and actually talk to candidates," says Dempster.

"Hiring is never one-dimensional; we want [passion] and demonstrable performance as well as qualifications," says Hooton.

Dempster says though IT is a dynamic career, he is also impressed by candidates who can commit to a job for a reasonable length of time. "You don't have to show that you've had more than five years in a job to get past my desk, but if you have had five one-year jobs in a row your resume might go down the list a bit," he says.

"Candidates who have the energy to whinge about not being employed are obviously not putting enough energy into finding out where they miss the mark. We want to see a lot more than their qualifications," says an IT director and team leader of more than 200 staff (see panel below).

Most employers were offended by the suggestion they may prefer employees younger than 40. Older employees are valuable they say, providing their qualifications and experience are up-to-date and their attitude is jubilant rather than jaded.

"A higher age is actually a benefit. Four-fifths of jobs are about helping people to change the way they are working and there is no substitute for people skills and experience," says Dempster.

"The IT industry now spans all generations and we don't care if employees are over 60, never mind over 40," says Hooton.

However, young candidates without work experience may find they need to start near the bottom and below their level of ability.

"We will and do hire new graduates. But we test their commitment by starting them off in a basic position. If they demonstrate humility, teamwork and a good attitude, they get moved up fast," says one employer.

The bottom line seems to be that though many IT employers want more IT staff and cite it as their number one concern, they are not prepared to compromise a quality fit for easy availability.

Have you got what it takes?

* Skills cited as difficult to acquire: network security, e-business, business analysis, project management, systems administration, change management, team leading, operational line management, Novell and Microsoft senior accreditation, general infrastructure, and Linux

* Personal skills favoured: confidence, humility, determination, enthusiasm; an advanced understanding of the organisation the candidate is applying to; highly developed people skills and social maturity

* Qualifications favoured: IT degrees coupled with specific system accreditations.

* Experience favoured (from minimal to ideal): worked in IT for free; worked in IT as part of an undergraduate programme; worked in IT for minimal wages to gain experience; worked in another industry with closely-related market pressures; worked in IT for the same employer for more than 18 months; worked in IT for more than five years in a specialised field