It’s a scary time right now in the UK. The word of austerity is on every lip in the House of Commons and Downing Street. To corrupt a phrase, it’s time to look smarter, not harder. It’s easy to send out multiple applications through the various websites, but it is not the same as having someone actually match you to a position and be keeping an eye open for, and on you. Chances are the same you will be on the books of your recruitment consultant.

Focus

You need to lead with your strengths, clearly, but the way it looks likely to develop this year are that IT will be a field that will grow. The clear fact is that the infrastructure of any business has to evolve to keep up, and in that change there is a necessity for a keeper of the flame. Whether it is project management, telecoms, systems, software, or whatever else you can guess, it is not an exaggeration to say technology is becoming something of a bed rock to business and the public sector. What you do is valuable, and coveted by people who make the decisions.

The Future

It’s tough to predict with a degree of accuracy if the Office of Budget Responsibility, The Bank of England, and the Chancellor cannot, but it is getting better. Budgets are improving, there are more contract options, and more permanent options for jobs in IT in the UK. The range is also increasing as far as applying your experience goes. True, it is early days, but businesses know above all else the need to adapt, and are doing so with alacrity. The country is now looking outward to project ourselves, rather than the reputation we have for introversion.

Options

The field of IT recruitment is opening wider up than ever before, with companies like Randstad Technologies recruiting for a wide range of positions. You can look at branching into different areas or even moving to different countries. Your expertise is not limited to your job spec and is valuable everywhere.

We have built a very valued and envied reputation for technical prowess and it is getting back on its feet, when other professions are not. We- You need to capitalise on that. The nettle is there for the grasping, it is a matter of drive. It may seem bad here in the UK, but Spain, Portugal and Greece are on the brink of having a bailiff knock at the door. We may not be happy campers but being an IT professional puts you in a uniquely lucky position of being needed and wanted.