IT Consultants share their thoughts about working with staffing firms...

Compiled from interviews with two seasoned IT professionals: Donald Sweet and Pat Ellison

  What would you say if someone asked you about your future in IT and your ability to stay current and continue to earn good money? Or, how candid would you be about your success finding the right engagement through the online job boards? Those and other questions were asked of two IT professionals with a combined 30 years of IT experience. Their opinions are the focus of this issue of Consultimes and itjournal.com. If you're a consultant, compare notes; if you manage others from the company side of IT, gain insight.

   Questions for David Sweet: The job market has certainly changed over the last year. What challenges have you had to face? Are engagements longer, shorter; are pay rates going up or down; are clients demanding more of you?

  "Work was hard to find late in 1999 with the Y2K bug chewing up all the IT consulting money and the flood of people coming off Y2K contract work starting in the fall. Then its apparent lack of impact gave many VPs pause on how much money they were devoting to IT consulting resources; the consultants and software developers did their jobs well enough in preparing for and fixing this problem that it seemed like it was a non-issue to many higher-ups with less technical understanding of the problem, and they wondered if they had spent too much on it. I think that had a lot to do with a tighter and more cautious feel to the market this past year. "

  Pay rates are difficult to gauge, with all the mystery that most consulting firms work to create. Levels of qualification and job req's vary so widely in IT relative to other careers that it's almost impossible to figure what a reasonable amount is for someone.

  Companies are definitely expecting more from IT people now, but it's not as much in technical ability as it is in soft-skills. The days of getting away with being technically skilled but socially incompetent are numbered. Right now, having both is a killer combo in this business, because most of your peer competition is lacking in one or the other - but managers are becoming increasingly intolerant of the arrogant and obnoxious personalities that are so common among IT personnel.

   Question: Specific to your particular skills, have you found the job market about the same or weaker or stronger?

   "The job market is still strong; the biggest difference today is that it is getting smaller and smaller for entry-level candidates. Breaking into an IT job is nowhere near as easy as the training companies on the radio would have us believe. It should come as no surprise that you cannot simply take a few months of classes and be dropped into a corporate enterprise network and know exactly what to do. It's just not that simple. There are tens of thousands of people out there who have paper certifications and/or bogus fluffed-up resumes, thinking they know more than they actually do - and little if any real experience or ability - and they're making it difficult for legitimately experienced and skilled professionals, not to mention the impact it's having on people who are younger and greener in their IT careers."

  Question: We hear that consultants like working through a staffing company that knows IT and appreciates being treated like a professional. Is that true in your case?

   "Once through the initial process of matching requirements to a candidate, it's mostly irrelevant who you work with. I get bombarded with req's that are so far off the mark it's obvious who knows the business and who doesn't. It only creates a problem if the staffing company has the req and the right candidate for it but can't match the two up. Having been on the other side too, I can tell you that the sales side is what really matters, because the relationship there is much more than just who pays the bill."

   Question: What do you think the future is going to hold for someone with your experience?

   "IT is a career choice totally unlike more traditional careers. The technology is constantly evolving or changing completely, and it's doing so in an extremely short timeframe. Whatever your current skills are, they could be as short-lived in just six months. I cannot emphasize enough how critical constant training is to an IT career. Get complacent and you'll be replaced."

   Question: With all the job boards out there, do you ever think that staffing firms are in jeopardy of losing consultants to them, or do you think they will always want personal, one-on-one representation?

   "Going back to the problem of paper-certified and bogus-resumed candidates, HR departments find themselves inundated with unskilled, unknown people when they post job req's on 'the boards'. My resume gets buried amongst all the others, and by the time they get to mine they're already cross-eyed with all the you-know-what. People like me have to develop trusting relationships with staffing firms over many years so we can go back to them on the strength of our experience and working relationship. Then the staffing company can go before a client with confidence and say, 'Look no further, we have the person you need.' That means a lot."

   Question: What benefits must staffing firms provide to help secure relationships?

   "Having the right job at the right rate at the right time, and always dealing with your candidates in a professional manner with a personal touch."

   Question: Have you had any success with working with Job Boards to find a job or assignment with a client directly?

   "Not even once. I have had a zero success rate trying to get through to companies directly. Too many bogus people out there with resumes cooked to look just like mine."

  Consultant Bios:

David M. Sweet is a Systems Engineer presently in a contract-to-hire position with a subsidiary of AT&T. His career began in 1993 after majoring in computer sciences. He has earned his MCSE and certifications in Apple and A+.

Pat Ellison is a Programmer/Analyst. Pat has over 20 years experience in the IT field specializing in VB, ASP, COM/DCOM and SQL.