When it comes to building a great IT team or pursuing an IT career, the issue of salary is sure to come up. Employers want to offer a competitive wage in order to attract top talent and keep their high-performing employees performing at their peak. At the same time, professionals want to make sure they are earning a fair salary that aligns with their credentials, their workload and their job market.

That’s why we’ve developed our 2012 Salary Guide. It is a roadmap for simpler, more effective salary discussions and a guide to understanding the market and its hot skills. And it’s available now.

Modis acquired the 2012 Salary Guide data in partnership with Kenexa Corporation, which continuously conducts nationwide salary surveys throughout several industries. Additionally, each Modis office in our nation-wide branch network has reviewed the data against their own internal data, as well as that of local clients and IT professionals in their market.

Our Salary Guide features tons of information on the latest validated salary numbers, broken down by metro market and specific job descriptions for even greater accuracy. It breaks down critical salary data by company size, giving specific national multipliers for 48 different major metro markets to determine actual figures, not predictions. The Salary Guide is an invaluable resource for IT companies as well as IT professionals, used for budget planning, performance reviews, retention studies and competitive analysis. In short, it is the most comprehensive collection of salary data for the IT industry – and it’s completely free.

Request your copy today by clicking here.

Our 2012 Salary Guide simplifies your salary negotiations. is a post from: Modis

Labor Day was once only a holiday to celebrate the efforts of our nation’s hardest working citizens. Today, it symbolizes much more – like the start of back-to-school season and a time for many to put summer behind them and get back to work. And, just as the meaning of this holiday has evolved over the years, so has our nation’s workforce. These days, nearly 70% of workers use a computer every day and information technology continues to grow as an industry.

The infographic below explores the evolution of Labor Day – check it out!

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<br /> <a href=”http://blog.modis.com/job-seekers/evolution-of-labor/” mce_href=”http://blog.modis.com/job-seekers/evolution-of-labor/”><img src=”http://blog.modis.com/wp-content/uploads/modis-IG-labor-day.png” mce_src=”http://blog.modis.com/wp-content/uploads/modis-IG-labor-day.png” title=”Evolution of Labor” width=”400″ height=”2428″></a><br />Source: <a href=”http://blog.modis.com/job-seekers/evolution-of-labor/” mce_href=”http://blog.modis.com/job-seekers/evolution-of-labor/” alt=”Evolution of Labor”>Evolution of Labor – Modis</a><br />

Evolution of Labor is a post from: Modis

After many lattes over the foosball table of letting the best of the best staff roll in to the nation’s IT firms, something very scary started to happen for these businesses in the latter half of the last decade:

The best employees stopped naturally gravitating to Internet-based start-ups and started to return to traditional brick-and-mortar tech companies – some of which were also tech-based, though web and IT-based businesses both began to suffer from a newfound dip in ability to attract the very best employees.

How to Attract the Best Employees

Wrestling back your most valuable asset
What’s more, even though many of the top employees wanted to return to the security of traditional companies, traditional employee attraction and retention techniques often did (and still do) little to actually attract and retain top folk at now-struggling web and IT-based firms.

With that in mind, we present the following no-nonsense-yet-innovative techniques for snagging a truly dynamic roster of top tech staff:

Build and offer a solid and exciting mentoring program
Often thought of as a frill companies never seem to have time to implement, done properly, a solid mentoring program is one of the best investments you can make in attracting the most dynamic, innovative staff available. Scroll down to the list in this article for some step-by-step tips for developing a sustainable mentoring program:
http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/mentorattract.htm

Outsource recruitment
This tip is given with the caveat that whoever you tap to do this must be AMAZING (and have measurable results and testimonials from past and current clients to back up their claims.) Imaginative, unique recruiting is one of the easiest ways to uncover the best talent. It’s also one of the toughest things to get right. While hiring a company that specializes in such techniques may be a godsend, be sure you have a clear vision of your needs that you can clearly articulate to your recruiting team. (In case this is of especial interest to you now, you can check out more on the recruiting services Modis offers at: http://www.modis.com/employers/)

Make work a game
Fastcompany.com recently ran an absolutely fascinating post on how to use the positives of gaming culture to work with (not against) IT staffs that often include a disproportionately high number of gamers (as opposed to – say – a legal or business staff team). The post argues that IT management teams that make time for gaming and turn work into a game will reap more rewards than they can possibly imagine. Check out the original post here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1674749/want-to-attract-the-best-employees-make-work-addictive

Win your existing employees’ trust
“The most powerful strategy for long-term success is to create a corporate brand that tells your top talent that their best career choice continues to be an ongoing investment of their innovation, dedication, creativity, and enthusiastic contributions to your enterprise,” says David Russo, author of 17 Rules Successful Companies Use to Attract and Keep Top Talent: Why Engaged Employees are Your Greatest Sustainable Advantage. By creating a corporate culture where your top people resources feel they are safe to stay, you will also start to gain (or gain back) a reputation as such a place that prospective top talent will have heard about. (Even if they haven’t heard, you can brag about it in interviews and recruiting with metrics and testimonials to back it all up.)

Become worthy to receive feedback
Many IT companies solicit feedback from employees on everything from job satisfaction to work environment to career goals. What some of those companies don’t take into account is whether they have created a corporate climate where people feel comfortable providing honest feedback in the first place. If you have to ask yourself whether this is the case, it’s probably time to implement some of the ideas above. Then you can get a better sense of whether you have earned the credibility to receive useful feedback from existing staff and attract quality new blood.

Realize the changing priorities of job-seekers
While money is important, salary consistently ranks at #3 or 4 on many surveys of most important factors for IT staff in finding the right employer. Employers that realize that work-life balance, opportunity for advancement, and the chance to do interesting and challenging work are just as much or more of a carrot as salary will be well-set-up to land higher quality and quantity of potential staff.

More resources to help find and keep the best employees:

Proactive and reactive ideas
http://www.sideroad.com/Human_Resources/employee-retention-strategy.html

A neat study on employee retention
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Attract-and-Retain-the-Best-Employees&id=2904239

More on finding and retaining the best employees
http://www.execsearches.com/non-profit-jobs/recruiter_Articles/attractingtoptalent.asp

7 Innovative Ways to Find (and Keep) the Best Tech Employees is a post from: Modis

Modis looks at how lessons from the big game translate to winning strategies in the workplace.

This past Sunday, millions of people watched the “big game” from the comfort of their homes, parties and bars around the country. But now that we’re back to work, it might be a good time for you and your team to reflect on how the victory by the Green Bay Packers can translate to a winning strategy in the workplace.

Here are a few key takeaways from Sunday’s big game.

Learn from adversity.
The Packers overcame long odds and a bevy of injuries just to make it to the championship. Throughout the season, they lost 15 players to injuries, including their best running back and defensive tackle during the very first game of the year. However, the team fought through and clinched a wild card berth in a do-or-die game in the last week of the season. They then marched dominantly through the playoffs despite playing every game on the road in hostile stadiums.

So when Sunday’s game proved to be a microcosm of their season, with a string of injuries befalling key players and the Steelers-friendly crowd getting louder and louder as the game went on, the Packers proved undaunted. They simply played their game, called on unheralded members of their team and refused to panic. They proved triumphant once again.

Green Bay linebacker Desmond Bishop summed it up best. “[It] was the way our whole season was in one win,” he said. ”Ups, downs, roller coaster rides, people getting hurt, and a momentum swing. We showed resilience again. We just kept fighting, and stayed as one.”

The Packers faced adversity throughout the season. And, instead of wilting under the pressure, they learned from it and became better because of it. In much the same way, it’s important to remain resilient when things don’t go as planned in the workplace. Whether it be a missed sale, a poor presentation or an unplanned for defection, discuss these instances with your team. Make sure to incorporate these discussions and lessons learned into your operations, so you can mitigate and overcome similar occurrences in the future. These situations can also prove to be great opportunities to refocus your team and reinforce the collective goals of the company.

Have confidence in your team.
One of the key Packers who suffered an injury during Sunday’s game was cornerback Charles Woodson. A team leader and experienced veteran, Woodson was lost to a broken collarbone late in the first half and never returned. In his place stepped the unheralded Jarrett Bush, a player who had been mostly relegated to special teams duty. Thrust into the spotlight, Bush made the big plays. He had a key interception late in the second quarter to set up a touchdown drive and batted away a pass from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the last pass of the game to clinch the victory for the Packers.

Packers secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. recognized the impact Bush had on the game. “He’s a quality player,” Whitt said. “Is he Charles Woodson? No. But he’s Jarrett Bush, and Jarrett Bush is good enough to win a championship with.”

Like an NFL roster, your organization is made up of many role players who contribute to your success behind the scenes every day. So when the situation arises and you need someone off your bench, be prepared. Take the time to get to know the strengths and capabilities of your entire team so you know who can step in and step up when needed. Like Jarrett Bush, some of these players are capable of making a championship-level impact.

Play to your strengths
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Packers clung to a slight four-point lead over the Steelers. With the ball in their possession, the old axiom of “run the ball, kill the clock and hold on for the win” was surely bandied about by many arm chair quarterbacks and would-be head coaches watching the game on television. Luckily for the Packers, that thought never crossed the mind of their coaching staff.

Instead, the Packers stayed aggressive and continued to rely on their passing game, as they did all season long.  The result was eight-straight passing plays and a key touchdown reception that gave them a 28-17 lead. Later in the fourth quarter, after the Steelers closed to within 28-25, Green Bay again went against the grain and relied on their passing game to mount a key drive that went 75 yards and ended in a field goal.

With time winding down in the biggest game of their lives, Head Coach Mike McCarthy and the rest of the Packers coaching staff knew what gave their team the best chance to win. Defying convention, they played to their strengths and moved the ball through the air as opposed to on the ground. Likewise, when you are faced with a crunch-time decision, don’t be afraid to go with your gut and embrace the methods and practices that have worked for you even though they may be unconventional. Similarly, encourage an environment that promotes “thinking outside the box” so that you can explore the value inherent in different lines of thinking. An open, collaborative environment can help you identify your best chance of success.

From the Gridiron to Your Gross Margin is a post from: Modis

They’re exciting, pay well, and can often be done from anywhere.

Take a look below at why they’re in demand and see how you can have a hope of snagging them:

Offsite web developer/designer

IT is by far the largest source of new work-from-anywhere jobs: Specifically, web developers and web designers (and those who can operate as both) can command higher-than-average salaries or freelance rates and do most of their work from their favorite café, the beach, or even a Ferris wheel…if that’s your thing.

We’re not talking about “amateur” web designers who whip-up a site for their uncle’s dry-cleaning business then hang out a shingle. We mean custom Web site designers with post-high-school training in template modification, redesigns, code updates, hosting, Search Engine Optimization, and usability reviews.

How to get it: Getting at these jobs is a matter of having the skills to and knowing who’s posting the jobs, such as www.ratracerebellion.com or www.Odesk.com , most of whose 15,000 work-from-home jobs are developer positions.

More: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/best-real-work-home-jobs/

Software architect

Ranked #1 by Forbes on its 2010 “100 Best Jobs In America” list, these digital blueprint-creators can command $75-$100,000 a year and higher and more daily variety than simple programmers.

Software architects work with tech staff in creating plans for software engineers to follow. They also work with a company’s senior business staff, serving as a crucial link between the two worlds.

Because of the need for the face-to-face aspect of this job, it’s pretty protected against outsourcing.

How to get it: To get a shot at this job, you’ll need a B.A. and either a Master’s or loads of related on-the-job experience.

More: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2010/snapshots/1.html?hpt=Sbin

Google employee

Let’s be honest: Any job at Google is one of the most sought-after IT jobs on Earth. In part, it’s because of the exclusivity and prestige of working for one of the highest-profile tech companies on the planet. But more than all those other tech companies, a job at Google comes with the chance to make a difference on one of the most visible parts of the Internet landscape.

And then there are the perks: Free gourmet made-to-order food, free medical care, free gym access, $5,000 towards purchasing hybrid automobiles, “take your pet to work” privileges, and many, many…many more. Though some of these benefits have been scaled-back as of late, developers are still allowed to spend up to 20% of their time on pet projects of their choice.

How to get it: Getting in to Google for each successful applicant means getting past the other million applicants per year for an average of 4,000 jobs. Doing so isn’t just a matter of having the tightest skill set or interviewing best, but being a well-rounded person that will be a good fit in the Google mix. In short, if you’ve ever applied to be a NASA astronaut, you’re well prepared for the process of vying for a job at Google.

More: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6h-gm01Fb0

Data Modeler

CIO Magazine insightfully said “If database administrators are jet pilots, then data modelers are aerospace engineers.” Basically, data modelers perform the initial work that lets production applications and systems use data.

By doing this job, you are basically driving business processes and help manage data assets at ground-level.

How to get it: To get signed as one of these Navy SEALs of computer data, you’ll need five-years-plus of experience with tools such as ERP and ERWin and on-the-job experience in more than one or two databases.

More: http://www.cio.com/article/464095/Hot_Jobs_Data_Modeler

Database administrator

It doesn’t sound exciting but database administrator is one of the single-most recession-proof/outsourcing-proof jobs in IT. That’s because even though the organizing and management of data, database troubleshooting, and software updates could be done by outside contractors, no one wants the uncertainty of outsourcing all that to external firms with high turnover rates.

This job has been around longer than most in IT but don’t think you can sit back and cruise through a couple of decades in this area: Database administrators typically have to become experts on new programs every six months.

How to get it: You can get to this job from any number of other IT areas, assuming you are good at what you do and get certified in database management software such as Oracle, DB2, and/or SQL Server.

More: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2010/snapshots/7.html

Offsite tech support specialist

Much like web designers and developers, tech support specialists – more and more – are being farmed-out to people working out of their homes.

The up-side is that you can work from anywhere you can pick up a phone. The down-side is that you’re following “problem trees” and getting screamed at by people who don’t actually know what they want.

How to get it: All-in all, working tech support is an increasingly portable job – which by itself makes it desirable, if you can sort out the legit job opportunities from the scams.

More: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/best-real-work-home-jobs/

Information Systems (IS) Security Engineer

Good pay but few of the people who do this job can do so without tri-hourly smoke breaks.

This job is hard to get but also hard to do – especially during those 3 am emergency calls.

Basically, an IS security engineer develops plans for others to carry out that safeguard files, designs security architecture, ensures the integrity of system computers, and the security of databases and data transfers.

How to get it: Among a slew of other competencies, to get this job, you’ll need proven experience and success with maintaining existing network security capabilities and upgrading security technology.

More: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/2010/snapshots/17.html

Think you have what it takes to get these highly sought-after jobs? Browse the Modis job database today and start applying.

The 7 IT Jobs Everyone Wants (And How To Get Them) is a post from: Modis

The current economic recession and the high unemployment rate have forced thousands of college graduates to pursue paid or unpaid company intern positions as a means to obtain permanent employment. In March of this year unemployment rates for American workers aged 16-24 was nearly double that of the overall workforce. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers only 24 percent of 2010 college graduates “…who applied for a job” actually had a job after graduation.

The shortage in jobs means that companies receive twice as many applications for internships while hiring fewer interns. Internship positions provide students work experience and contacts, things that can make them more desirable to prospective employers.

The general definition of an intern is someone who is in a “pre profession learning experience that allows students to use skills and knowledge in a professional setting.” In this economy many view an internship as a necessary position to obtain in order to get a permanent job.

… Among employers responding to the survey, 83.4 percent said the primary focus of their internship program is to help them recruit entry-level college hires, 31.1 percent said they offer such a program to provide students with experience, and fewer than 20 percent said their program’s primary aim was to help them build relationships with schools.
http://www.naceweb.org/home.aspx

This means that when a HR representative interviews someone for an intern position, he or she is really interviewing a prospective long term employee. So, with so many students applying, from a company perspective, what makes a good intern?

The 5 Traits that make a Great Intern

1. An intern should be able to demonstrate at least a basic knowledge of the business technology that they will be working with.
2. An intern should be a self-starter. This means that once given an assignment the intern is not afraid to ask the questions to get the information necessary to complete it successfully.
3. An intern should have the ability to understand the chain of command. They should understand that they are not being hired to replace an employee. While there may be many people in the company who position themselves as mentors, an intern should have the ability to understand who they really work for.
4. Every intern should have the ability to communicate with managers, team members and other employees. It’s not about being outgoing and gregarious. It’s the ability to communicate clearly and professionally that is important, not the style.
5. An intern should be able to take direction and corrective suggestions from management and team leaders.

http://architectureintern101.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-makes-good-intern.html

Daniel Cardenas, Career Editor with military.com sums up what makes a good intern very nicely:

… When I look for an intern I am actually looking for an associate, contractor or employee. I want someone who is happy, glad to be at work, and ready to rock and roll. A lot of it has to do with temperament. Interns need to be able to do whatever it takes to get the job done. If you are doing something you love, it’s your vocation and avocation. The love and commitment you bring to the table is something that cannot be taught or bought. That is a big advantage for you and the organization.

5 Traits that Make a Great IT Intern is a post from: Modis

An organizational chart for the staff of an entity, whether it is anything ranging from a nonprofit church to a large, for profit IT company, is a document showing the hierarchal structure of jobs within that entity. These jobs are commonly listed by job title, showing at least the number of positions by that job title. In some instances, the actual name of the person filling  that position is also included in the listing.

The organizational chart is a useful tool for delineating job responsibilities. It is additionally an excellent tool for providing evaluations of the staff during the periodic evaluation processes that are essential to maintaining quality performance of the organization.

When structuring a working organizational chart for the entity in question, care must be taken to first ascertain the purpose for which the chart is being made. Will the chart be used to explain the inner workings of the organization or will it be used to monitor production within the group over a certain period of time?

The specific focus of the chart’s creation will enable the persons responsible for the finished product to target their audience and give the audience the accurate information they need to achieve their work goals.

An open-ended chart showing only job positions without identifying specific personalities will enable this particular chart to be used for planning purposes and the distribution of critical responsibilities throughout the organization. The jobs can be parceled out based upon the known hierarchy of job positions.

Having an organizational chart with specific employees’ names affixed to the chart by each funded position allows for a more performance-based assessment of the organization’s capacity and future potential. By identifying the specific talent associated with each job title, upper management can more clearly identify and chart the entity’s future.

The existence of a valid organizational chart makes filling any unexpected production need an easier task, as a quick glance at the chart can provide information about current work loads. Having the employees’ names keyed to each specific position will make assigning the new tasks a simpler process for the managers who find themselves with the job of delegating new responsibilities.

The presence of either type of chart will be a helpful tool for everyone involved in delegating new job responsibilities and the future reviews of that performance.  When management knows how to create an organizational chart for staff to make job performance expectations known or to effectively evaluate staff, the leaders of the entity create a win-win environment for all involved.

How to Create an Organizational Chart for Staff is a post from: Modis

How CIOs Spend and Waste Their Time:

Flexible Ideas for Today’s CIOs Balancing Business and Innovation.

How CIOs Spend and Waste Their Time (Infographic) is a post from: Modis

IT Managers had it easy a few decades back. In a corporate setting, they managed people that were involved in IT, took care of the infrastructure, saw that systems were performing well, and reported all this back to their bosses at the end of the day. Then they went home and watched a movie, never thinking about their job until they walked into work the next day. In today’s world, that’s certainly not possible anymore; not with the workload they have these days and how hyper-connected we are to the internet at all hours of the day and night.

Despite this, the number of IT managers are increasing fast. The number will go up almost 17% in the next few years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bad news is that the number of tasks they are asked to manage these days is increasing even faster. IT managers are required to talk to clients and employees, know about accounts and balance sheets, protect against hackers, and solve IT related problems around the world. Believe it or not, there are IT managers who have been known to settle labor disputes with rowdy worker’s unions. I would say that’s going above and beyond the IT job description.

There are two distinct reasons this is happening.

1. There’s the pervasive scope of IT security these days- Harmless dumpster diving hackers from the local high school have given way to corporate hacking. The lines between researching and spying are becoming blurred- some competitors will have no qualms with gaining access to your IP and other material if they can so you have to be careful. Every software and hardware poses a potential entry point for professional hackers, and so the IT manager has to have eyes on it all. Not only that, global compliance structures have been kicked up a notch. Laws like Sarbanes Oxley and EU Data Privacy Directive have forced IT managers to also become compliance specialists. Even CIOs have become involved in their company’s compliance issues, risk management systems, and auditing.

2. IT is no longer a peripheral part of business- With the development of IT Project Management (PM), the role of IT in an enterprise has become ubiquitous. IT Managers are, therefore, required to deal with every aspect of a project life cycle, including resource management, budgetary considerations and scheduling. Some businesses, like IBM, have even developed an in-house training program that duplicates the standards set by the Project Management Institute.

The need for soft skills is not just an extra bonus to have anymore. It is not only necessary but extremely critical for IT managers to be able to deal with employees and clients in different time zones, with different cultural parameters and attitudes towards business. The changing role of IT managers is going to evolve much more in years to come. If you’re interested in the IT industry I suggest you brush up on skills not directly related to IT- such as HRM and direct client relations.

The Evolving Role of IT Managers is a post from: Modis

Employee engagement is not your garden-variety buzzword. It’s an important business concept with a direct impact on company profitability, and yet it’s a concept still widely misunderstood. There is widespread concern among businesses in every industry about the shift in attitudes among workers. Older workers who tend to take ownership in their jobs and demonstrate a real sense of concern for their responsibilities and for their customers are starting to retire in droves. Young workers entering the workforce have a more cavalier attitude, perhaps since job-hopping has become an accepted norm.

Career perceptions have changed radically in 50 years. Two generations ago, success was defined as accepting a job, working as hard as possible, being rewarded for hard work with promotions, perks and raises, and retiring after long years of service at the same job. Today, it’s far more common to take the “onward and upward” view, changing jobs when a better offer comes along…and constantly searching for that better offer. Job ownership is replaced by the driving need for more education and certification – which leaves professionals more educated and less likely to remain with the company, and as a result, less likely to really care about their jobs.

Studies also show that career-driven ambition in upwardly mobile professionals is not the only disconnected link in the chain. Entry-level workers are proving to be important as well. Taco Bell found that the 20% of its stores with the highest rate of employee retention showed 55% higher profit than the 20% of its stores with the highest employee turnover. The conclusion is inescapable, satisfied employees sell more product and draw more customers. Other studies have clearly demonstrated that this paradigm works at all levels of employee relations and across every industry. The California Milk Advisory Board commercial slogan “Great milk comes from happy cows.” seems disturbingly appropriate.

Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin, put it very well. “We embarked on consciously building Virgin into a brand which stood for quality, value, fun and a sense of challenge. We also developed these ideas in the belief that our first priority should be the people who work for the companies, then the customers, then the shareholders. Because if the staff are motivated then the customers will be happy, and the shareholders will then benefit through the company’s success.”

Employee management is the key to employee engagement. The single most powerful path to employee satisfaction is a good relationship with management. Communication and mutual respect are crucial. Other factors include trust, integrity, job stimulation, career options, company pride, interaction with co-workers (friendly atmosphere), new challenges, self-esteem and a clear understanding of why the employee is an asset to the company and how he fits in to the overall scheme of things. In order to care, employees must be validated for their contributions. They must know that what they do is critical to the success of the company. And the most powerful truth in business is that it’s true.

“There is one key to profitability and stability during either a boom or bust economy: employee morale.” – Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines

CEO may make the influential decisions, but it’s the 18 year old girl at the checkout register, or the person answering that technical support phone call that is the public face of the company. The more personal responsibility she takes to deliver the product or service to the customer with a friendly attitude, the better public perception is and the potential for more repeat business increases. A 55% difference in profitability that can be directly attributed to employee job attitude should make any business sit up and take notice, and any manager work towards creating the kind of atmosphere that makes working for him the best job in town.

Why is Employee Engagement Important? is a post from: Modis