HireStrategy Chief Sees Continued Race for Technology Talent Despite Changing Economy

New York, NY, November 16, 2000

Recent turbulence in the economy has created uncertainty in the technology job market, but the "race for technology talent" is as intense as ever, according to recruitment executive Paul Villella.

Villella, President and CEO of Reston, Virginia-based HireStrategy, says that the decline in the technology-rich NASDAQ, dot.com lay-offs, a decline in venture capital funding and talk of a "soft landing" for the economy has somewhat cooled the nation's hot technology job market. But he says competition for top talent in the technology sector will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Villella made his forecast at the Fall 2000 e-Recruiting & Staffing Conference at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.

"We have seen some changes in our market in the past three months," Villella said. "The strong economy of the last few years produced one of the tightest job markets in recent history, especially in technology. Recruiting and retaining top talent has become a continuing challenge for many companies. Over the past several years, we saw the balance of power in the job market shift away from the employer toward the employee or the candidate. That situation has changed a bit since summer. There's a more even balance now between employers on one hand and employees and job candidates on the other. Hiring at some companies has slowed or been put on hold until the uncertainty in the economy clears up," Villella said.

As a result, Villella said, many technology job candidates have changed their career strategies: "They're no longer looking to take a position for six months, get rich and then move on. They're focusing their search on strong, well-financed companies with sustainable business models and proven track records. What was a 'sprint' just a few months ago has turned into more of a 'marathon'. Employees and candidates are looking at a commitment of two to three years now. They're looking for an opportunity to build their career skills and help their company be successful. We expect to see a decline in turnover as the economy goes through this period of adjustment for the remainder of this year and the first part of next year," Villella said.

Villella anticipates a soft landing for the economy over the next several quarters, not a real recession. "The growth in goods and services produced has slowed this fall, and it's possible we'll see an increase in business failures, more layoffs and a decline in corporate profits and spending by businesses and consumers. All this will have an impact on the technology job market, but we continue to have confidence in the underlying strength of our new knowledge-based economy, where human -- or intellectual -- capital is the key competitive differentiator."

Companies know they have to work hard to recruit and retain top talent, Villella said. They must communicate their value proposition to the talent market, telling employees and potential employees why their company is a good place to work. As one research firm put it recently: 'Corporations increasingly view the management of human or intellectual capital as equally important to their success, if not more important, as the management of technology and financial capital. This is particularly true for many fast-growing, knowledge-based businesses such as technology and professional services, where demand for talent/skills continues to outstrip supply.'" In the long-term, Villella said, the nation's human capital supply is shrinking, while demand is growing. "The race for technology talent can only intensify as we move into the future."

HireStrategy is a Web-enabled Human Capital Management (HCM) firm serving technology businesses and professionals. The company uses its proprietary technology and experienced, industry-specific professionals who serve as career agents to quickly match talented individuals and teams with rapidly growing firms. The firm's Web site (www.hirestrategy.com) provides valuable career development resources and tools for job candidates and proven recruitment and retention strategies for companies.