Myth #2 - Shortage of Employees Equals Entry-Level Job Opportunities

Every day it seems like we are bombarded by another media story on the shortage of IT workers. A study by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) indicates that "employers will attempt to fill over 900,000 new IT jobs in 2001.^iv So naturally, this means it will be easy to get a job when you graduate from your training program, right? Unfortunately, this is not always the case. All those statistics the media pundits bandy about related to unfilled IT jobs tend to ignore whether or not they are entry-level positions. The majority of the vacant jobs right now are for experienced IT professionals.

So does this mean there is no hope for you? Of course not! Every experienced employee had to start somewhere. Entry-level jobs do exist, but they are tougher to find and land. However, with the shortage of IT workers, certain companies are more likely to hire inexperienced personnel than they were in the past. Here are some tips for landing that first job:

1. Start at larger companies for your job search - Companies with large IT departments tend to have more entry-level positions and training programs for inexperienced workers.^v
   
   
2. Be prepared to expand the geographic area of your job search - Looking for a job close to home is a natural reaction. Still, you may have to go much farther afield to land that first job. Many technology companies are now setting up shop far away from Silicon Valley, New York's Silicon Alley and Boston's Route 128 corridor. Therefore, you may need to relocate to Bozeman, MT or Vancouver, Canada to land that first job. The benefits to the employee: lower cost of living, recreational opportunities, and shorter commuting time due to less vehicular traffic. The benefits to the employer are: decreased pressure on salaries, less competition for employees and lower costs of doing business.^vi
   
   
3. Try to get an internship or part-time position while attending school - experience is invaluable and this starts you on the road to building your skill base. According to Jamie Fabian, who writes a career column called The Career Coach for JobCircle.com, "employers would uniformly prefer to hire candidates with documented experience". But, as Jamie points out, the good news is that employers can't always locate enough experienced employees to hire which forces them to hire entry-level employees and train them.^vii Another benefit of internships is that the contacts you develop may assist you in landing full-time employment.