Working in IT, just as in many other professional sectors, involved a bit of risky business as the GFC kicked the economy down a notch or ten. But since the economy cranked out of hibernation much more swiftly than was expected, IT projects that were put on hold are now being reinstated and the professionals who may have been made redundant in the downturn are now being coaxed back.

Information Technology is no longer a part-time concern for many medium to large enterprises. It now stands on par with accountancy as a vital element in the success and growth of any business, and business owners know that IT professionals are core to their human resource requirements.

A recent story published on the Computerworld website tells of a survey conducted earlier this year by IT recruitment specialists Greythorn to determine which IT professionals, with what length of experience, had remained in their jobs, which had chosen to seek alternative employment and which had been forced to find new jobs.The results showed that 85 per cent of people with less than ten years experience were least likely to consider leaving IT for a different career. The figure was 75 per cent amongst people with between 11 and 20 years IT experience, and in those whose experience is greater than two decades, the likelihood of switching careers during the GFC was merely 69 per cent.

What these results demonstrate is that employers and employees alike understand that IT is a major consideration when times get tough. Letting IT professionals go can be hazardous in a short-term economic setback because once the money begins to flow again, the interruption to all those important projects can be difficult to set back in motion. It can be especially tough to attract all over again, the skilled staff that will make the projects happen.

Additionally, retention has become a whole lot harder.

Greythorn managing director Richard Fischer weighed in on the issue. “Despite considerable IT layoffs being made during the downturn, IT professionals remained comfortable in the fact that when the tide turned employers would once again be clambering over themselves to attract the best IT talent.”

This has indeed turned out to be the case, as in Greythorn’s case, the demand for IT professionals has bounced back more rapidly than for those in many other sectors. What recruitment specialists now face is getting all those talented people back to work, in jobs that will provide enough satisfaction, reward and prospects for promotion to spare companies unnecessary staff turnover.

Transforming difficulties into triumphs is what we’re all about at SMStheJOB. Now that there are plenty of IT jobs to go around, it will be interesting times ahead to watch and see the level of job satisfaction that results in the valuable IT industry.