WASHINGTON — 2018 should be a good year in D.C. for recent graduates looking to start information technology careers, as well as IT professionals looking for new challenges.
The District makes the top 15 for cities in which chief information officers have strong hiring plans, according to placement firm Robert Half Technology.
Robert Half says 21 percent of CIOs in the Washington area surveyed plan to add full-time technology professionals to their teams in the first six months of the year. That ties both San Francisco and Chicago for hiring plans.
Topping the list for IT hiring in the first half of next year is San Diego, with 29 percent of CIOs planning to bring on more staff. Atlanta and New York tie for second, at 26 percent. Austin, Charlotte, Minneapolis and Philadelphia all rank high for I-T hiring plans in the first half of next year.
In addition to hiring plans, the twice-a-year report from Robert Half also highlights the technology skills in demand and CIOs’ top business priorities.
According to the survey, database management, desktop support, telecommunications support, wireless network management and business intelligence and reporting services will be top skills demands next year.
CIOs also rank innovation and helping grow their business, upgrading existing systems, investing in new technologies and staff retentions as top priorities.
“CIOs are tasked with ensuring the highest level of security and systems efficiency for their organizations while also pursuing continuous innovation,” said John Reed, senior executive director for Robert Half.
“To secure the best talent, tech leaders should act quickly when they find a great candidate and offer him or her a competitive compensation package,” he said.
Despite strong hiring plans, many IT departments are still hitting a wall in filling the openings they have. The survey says 61 percent of hiring leaders think it is still somewhat or very challenging to find skilled IT professionals.
The survey was based on telephone interviews with more than 2,600 CIOs from 26 major markets.
