Look who's hiring II
Earlier today, I mentioned that I had had a conversation with the leaders of two companies last week who were telling me about their positive job-hiring trends. 
One of those companies is G.1440, a Web/IT consulting and recruiting firm based in Baltimore.
Larry Fiorino, G.1440's president and CEO, told me that his company was looking to fill 30-40 positions for I.T. companies -- a surprisingly busy time for them and a "tremendous opportunity" for tech workers in Baltimore, he said.
So today, with the help of Tim Kassouf, a marketing manager over at G.1440, I got a more detailed rundown on the job-market trends from Leslie Kellermann, a senior recruiting manager at the company.
Leslie responded point-by-point to some of the questions I posed to companies and recruiters earlier today. Here's what Leslie had to say:
BaltTech: Who's hiring right now?
Leslie: Companies in general are beginning to hire, especially contractors, but the biggest growth is with smaller to mid-size companies who are looking for mid-level IT Professionals. We aren’t seeing as much from the large companies and we aren’t seeing a whole lot of need for candidates in the six-figure range.
(Wait, before you hit the jump for more from Leslie: Is your tech-related company or recruiting agency hiring right now? If so, please leave us your take on the current Baltimore/Md. I.T. job scene in the comments below.)
BaltTech: What's the current climate like out there for tech companies in Maryland?
We are beginning to see things picking up in the last half of the second quarter. Contractors have been in demand more so than Permanent Direct Hire employees, but even that is beginning to pick up.
BaltTech: What sectors are seeing growth and a resumption of hiring? It’s not necessarily one sector, we’ve personally seen an increase in healthcare, companies with a focus on education and government agencies.
BaltTech: Who's still in bunker mode?
Leslie: Financial and Investment Banking type firms.
BaltTech: Any noticeable trends?
Leslie: Companies are beginning to call out requirements to agencies with whom they have relationships with and the requirements are beginning to look more like the standard IT skill set, whereas for the first quarter of the year we were seeing only the hard to fill requirements. Hiring managers are making decisions faster and pulling the trigger to hire top talent.
Comments
BRAC will certainly be big for Maryland's IT sector, but I think that we've already seen Baltimore emerging as a leader in tech. Companies like G.1440 that staff IT people for all industries are in a great position because as MD's tech sector grows to serve government needs, other industries will grow to serve the tech sector growth... stay with me here... bottom line is tech is reaching deeper and deeper into every industry and no where faster than in Maryland. I think we'll lead the economic recovery.
I think you're right, Steve. -gs
Posted by: Steve L. | June 16, 2009 3:27 PM
I used to think that the abundance of talent in the area would make it hard for tech staffing companies, but after trying to hire a quality .Net developer on our own for a while, it's pretty clear that sorting through who actually knows what they're talking about, and who's just blowing smoke is like trying to find a needle in a haystack...
Ahhh, but isn't that one of the glories of being involved in your company's hiring process -- getting the chance to look for that needle? ;-) - gs
Posted by: Mitesh Insamalin | June 16, 2009 3:38 PM