We all know that in IT technical skills and experience are highly transferable and its nice to know that in these tough economic times you can change from one declining industry to a more stable or growing industry. However, one of the things that we are seeing in recent years that is making such a change more difficult is that of the size of your current organization. Yes, size matters to your ability to switch positions, and specifically the size and scope of your role and function needs to match closely to that of any potential new employer.

Sure we all understand that in some roles, like Network Engineering, size and scope are critical differences in a candidate’s ability to handle the function & role, but most people will see this trend for what it is a continuation of companies to find the EXACT MATCH for their role in an effort to prevent making poor hires. Of course, we’ve addressed this trend and some of its other aspects here and here so I won’t delve into all the details, but suffice it to say that this step in the trend will make it both more difficult for you to get a job that you’re qualified for and capable of doing, and also for companies to find the level of talent they truly need to hire.