Hot Verticals

An article in a recent edition of Staffing Industry Review listed some of the hot verticals for this year. They preface the list saying "there are still three years left on the current five year up-cycle" and based on what we've been seeing the author's predictions are spot-on.

Banking
Changes in legislation, consumer driven demand for more online / mobile services, and recent breaches of security are cited as reasons this industry hold great growth for IT professionals. Good news for Kansas City who is home to two large banks & a number of other regional players.

Healthcare
Cerner opened near the racetrack last year and announced big plans for the Bannister complex. Netsmart, a Cerner competitor in the EMR space, along with Perceptive Software are also driving plenty of demand in this vertical. We are also home to several large healthcare insurance companies that will continue to have project demands as healthcare grows and our lawmakers figure out exactly where the ACA is going to settle.

Oil & Gas
Kansas City is not much of a hub for the O&G world, but RiverPoint has a large client in Oklahoma in the business that has been going gangbusters. So this is especially good news for us.

Computer Systems
TMobile will let you trade in your phone every six months. Gearheads line up to get the latest iPad or xBox. Consumers want faster & better computer systems and that will drive demand for manufacturing. Garmin is a perfect example of a local company that will continue to benefit from this trend.

The article goes on to discuss the "Hot Segments" within the verticals. The "Big Three" in my mind are as follows:

Mobile Applications
This goes without saying - demand for mobile will continue to rise as more and more people move away from traditional PC systems to tablets and smartphones. Now might be a good time to sign up for KCITP's Mobile Midwest event. You could make a strong argument that mobile is number one.

Big Data
We live in a world where data is collected. HyVee is giving you a discount on gas in exchange for information on your buying habits. Facebook knows more about us than we know. Data is becoming a very hot commodity and people will be needed to organize, analyze, and (hopefully) protect it. Kansas City has a new Meet-Up Group dedicated to Big Data if you're interested. We've been seeing high demand for all sorts of data folks from analysts to ETL, Business Intelligence, and Hadoop.

Security
Security is my pick for the hottest segment. My parents Visa card was compromised by Target. My debit card was compromised by TJX. Because of it's overall importance to all the other categories on this list Information One only needs to look at the exponential growth of a company like Fishnet to know IS professionals will be in demand for years to come.

RiverPoint has delivered services to client in all these categories so we're very excited to see what 2014 brings.

Good start to 2014

The first part of the year is always busy here at RiverPoint. Each year the hiring frenzy begins as new budgets are released. As we look forward to 2014 here are some of the things we feel are cause for optimism for the KC Tech market.

Incubators

thinkBIG partnered with Microsoft Ventures. Microsoft has set up incubators in Tel Aviv, Bangladore, Bejing, Paris, Berlin, and now they've set up shop right here in Kansas City. It's a great opportunity if you have an idea, but aren't quite sure how to build it into a tech business.

TechStars (the #1 business Accelerator in the world) partnered with Sprint to give 10 companies seed money and support to develop Mobile Health solutions.

The KC Startup Village will also continue to provide opportunities for tech entrepreneurs in 2014. A list of other business incubators can be found here at the KCNext site.

Market News

Cerner opened their new 4,000 seat campus near the Kansas Speedway last year with bigger plans for the future. The Bannister Mall project expects to have the first employees on the campus by 2016. 

YRC has some room to breathe after the contract the Teamsters voted down in December was renegotiated & accepted. They aren't out of the woods yet, but this contract will give lenders confidence in restructuring YRC's debt and allowing them to continue operations. There's no doubt this is good news for the KC job market in general. 

FreightQuote announced they would hire 400 brokers today. More brokers means more business which will drive more job demand for this technology driven company.

All in all there's a lot to be excited about in 2014. 2013 was RiverPoint's 25th anniversary and we're excited for the first year of the next 25.

Quick Thoughts on 2014

December at RiverPoint is predictable only in its uncertainty. We’ve had years where clients take advantage of the holidays and snap up top talent before the holiday break and others where it seems like everyone leaves for vacation Dec 15^th.

While I’m not sure what’s going to happen over the next 29 days I am certain of one thing - come Thursday, January 2^nd hiring is going to kick into gear. Looking at trends in the marketplace, and information from the Department of Labor demand for software engineers, analysts, testers, systems administrators and most other technology related job categories will easily outstrip supply.

One thing that will be different from 2013 is the number of people making a change. According to a recent poll published in the LA Times 83% of the workers said they intended to “actively look for a new job” in 2014. How this impacts the KC market remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – a large majority of employees are missing something in their current role and will be looking to make a change in 2014.

We’re excited for the next year. We’ve added a number of new clients, and other key clients have experienced exponential growth providing some excellent opportunities for our associates. A number of our consultants were promoted into strategic leadership roles this year and that is a trend we expect to continue.

If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you realize your goals are for 2014 drop me a line. The marketplace is as active as I’ve ever seen and 2014 certainly holds a lot of promise in getting people to the next level. I’d love to be a part of that for you.

I had a lot to be thankful for over the holiday, not the least of which is the support you’ve shown over the years. 

2014 & Beyond Economic Outlook

Last week I attended a technical staffing conference and one of the more interesting keynotes was from economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics. If you've heard an economist speak you know they like to use charts & graphs and usually leave you wondering if you should prepare your doomsday castle. The good news Alan had for us was technology is going to continue to be an industry with high growth and high demand for the foreseeable future. He pointed to several factors to remain optimistic about our economy overall:

• Leading indicators are pointing up.
• The government & Fed continues their stimulative monetary policy.
• Employment is rising (companies right‐sized).
• Banks are lending.
• Retail Sales are rising.
• Construction is improving.
• Deficit spending continues.

While you can argue continued deficit spending is just kicking the can down the road, it does provide reasons for short-term optimism. Other positive indicators in the marketplace included dropping delinquency on consumer debt, rising manufacturing, and an abundance of natural resources (especially natural gas) within our borders. However, as all economists tend to do, he gave us the good news first. He feels there is cause for concern in 2014 because of • Stagnant wage growth and ongoing high unemployment.

• Food, fuel and rent inflation.
• Higher payroll and Affordable Care Act taxes.
• An unclear deficit reduction plan.
• A looming bond and stock bubble.

The ACA is a hot button with a lot of people, and there's no doubt it's going to result in higher taxes, but when you look at the increase vs. the GDP there's been many other pieces of legislation with greater impact including the "Read my Lips, No New Taxes" Bush increase in 1990 and the Clinton increase in 1993. Even Reagan's increase in 1982 was a higher percentage of GDP than ACA.

The take-away was that 2014 is going to be a year where we'll see little growth, with the possibility that there will be a small set-back as people and companies adjust to the new healthcare law. Overall he was optimistic about things over the next 15 years. Which is good news for everyone.

Why are you Waiting to Network?

My dad has worked for the State of Iowa since 1960 (although he retired 8 years ago, he still contracts part time).  Can you imagine 54 years with the same employer?  

Dad started as a field child welfare worker and nine years later was the head of the Child Protective Services division of the Iowa Department of Human Services.  By the time he retired he was the #2 guy over Iowa's Department of Human Services, the largest state organization in Iowa.  He worked hard, sacrificed, and was rewarded with a fulfilling career spanning six decades.  

My how the world has changed.  Today your employer will not carry your career cradle to grave. Even government jobs - the last bastion of employer stability - no longer can guarantee you a life long career. Your career stability will come from you, not your employer. I’m not saying you won’t have a fulfilling career.  Because you can. I’m not saying you won’t have to work hard & sacrifice.  You will. 

What I am saying is you should always be looking for potential opportunities.  The average Gen X / Millennial will likely have a new employer every 4-5 years over the course of a career. There's no excuse for not wanting to expand your network.  We live in a hyper connected world where online and real time relationships can be discovered and nurtured with ease. Whether its a Google hang-out or Hack-a-thon, it's never been easier to network.

If you are not networking you are stunting your career growth.  The best time to plant a tree was 20 year ago. The second best time to plant one is right now. Don't wait any longer - make it a point to meet 3 new people this week. You never know where it will lead.

Side bar: CPS sent a case worker to our house when he was chief because of my 8 year old shenanigans.  “Say, aren't you my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss?”

Technology Project #fail

Yesterday the Kansas City Star published an AP story called "Builders of Obama's Website Saw Red Flags." This week Obama admitted there's some "kinks in the system" and apparently "no one is madder" than him. I don't think he's right on either point. Everything I've read regarding the technical structure of the system leads me to believe it's more poor design than "kinks." I'd also argue there's plenty of "mad" to go around with regards this debacle.

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't healthcare.gov essentially a portal to Healthcare Exchanges that insurance companies & the government have been furiously building since ACA was passed in 2010? Sign yourself up, answer a few questions, and the data interface magic should do the job.Unfortunately it appears that those in charge of the interface magic apparently weren't thinking. This article by Will Oremus over at the Slate gives you a glipse of how poorly the project was executed. 500 million lines of code is likely to lead to a lot of dead ends and broken links.

There's plenty of good reading on this subject regarding its cost and what they're doing to fix it. Even NSA leaker and current Russian exile Edward Snowden made an offer to fix it in exchange for immunity.

As a guy who spends a lot of time the technoloyg space I find this whole situation as facsinating as troubling. The "kinks" in the system have nothing to do with the law itself. It's simply an example of an incredible failure on the part of nearly everyone involved in building an enterprise system.

I think healthcare.gov will be an example of how not to handle a major technical project for years to come. Lets just hope they can get it figured out, and soon.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what went wrong.

Permanent Positions

Few things in our lives upset the apple cart as much as an unexpected job change. I've had the experience of going into work in the morning and walking out with my things in a box before lunch. It's not fun. If you're currently on furlough from the government you know the bills don't stop. Most people don't like change so we all seek stability in our lives. Which from a career perspective means a permanent position to many people.

But what is a permanent position? Most people would define it as a job where an employer hires you directly to their payroll. In my business that's called a "direct hire" which is far from a permanent position. My father got his MBA from the University of Iowa and started working for the state of Iowa in 1962. He retired in 1997 and still spends several hours a week consulting to the state writing grants. That's a permanent job. Unfortunately in today's marketplace its unheard of that someone works at the same company for 40+ years, even if it's the government.

We all know someone that took a job directly with an employer and was looking again within months - some within days or weeks. Conversely, I know people who have been with their employer for over a decade after getting their start as a temporary resource (aka contractor). Whether it's direct to the employer payroll through internal or agency recruiters, or working as a contractor, the mechanism employers use to fill positions in their organization is not always related to the long-term viability of the position.

Permanent positions are a myth in today's market. In the 1960's when our parents went to work, career stability came from their employer and it's pension program. Today career stability comes from your ability to port your talents, ability, and background from one employer to the next. In that sense a consulting career is a great training ground to go in, get the job done, and move on.

I'm not saying ditch all direct to employer opportunities and become a contractor. If you haven't already, start developing relationships with several recruiters that work in your "space" and listen to what they have to offer from time to time. Not considering contract / contract to hire work means you miss out on pportunities that can build your abilities and increase your future marketability.

The question you ask yourself when a recruiter calls should not be "is this a permanent position?" The question you need to ask is "will this help me grow and position me to get where I want to go?" The best way to answer that question is through the discovery process with the recruiter and their client.