Survey: Efficiency, service delivery are top IT skills in demand

1/10/2011 9:29 AM

When looking to hire new IT employees, senior IT leaders look most for candidates that possess the ability to boost a company's efficiency and service delivery, according to a recent Forrester Research survey.

The research firm polled 139 IT management professionals, asking them what they look for most in IT applicants. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they look for candidates that can improve execution. Twenty-two percent said they want to fill a need for greater consistency with processes and services, while 20 percent want a new hire to foster business growth.

"To build more consistent processes, you need people who understand how services are designed, sourced and executed, as well as highly specialized people to design the processes that enable these services," Forrester analyst Marc Cecere wrote for the report.

Though companies are still looking for candidates with broad IT knowledge, Cecere predicts future hiring may be done with a specific skill set in mind.

Prospects for job seekers appear optimistic this year. According to the Recruiting Trends 2010-2011 survey, the overall job market is expected to increase 3 percent this year, with information technology in high demand. IT professionals face better prospects than those in publishing, nursing, social services and the health sciences, according the report.

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