For all IT blogs and updates please see our new blog www.talkrec.ie
Nov/100
Following the rebrand of Premier, Verkom and Brunel to Morgan McKinley in Ireland, we now have one combined blog, www.talkrec.ie .
For updates on IT jobs please see our new recruitment blog, Talking recruitment !
Games Games Games
Oct/100
Ireland’s largest gaming exhibition will be running in the Citywest Events Centre in Dublin from October 29 to October 31. GAMER Expo 2010 will showcase all of the latest titles to hit the stand and will cater for all types of Gamers, from the casually wii-er to the hardcore “Call of Duty” Gamer. Suppliers include Ubisoft, Playseats, Genius and Warner Bros. Interactive. The exhibition will provide war arenas for mutli-playing gaming and stages and rooms for tournaments.
Gaming has taken off massively in Ireland over the past 10 years which has had a knock on effect on the I.T. industry also. There is a skills shortage in Ireland for Gaming developers with 3D and OpenGL skills. If you are interested in hearing about more Gaming opportunities please check out or website for the job the spec or contact Fiona Richardson on 01 4321 555 or frichardson@morganmckinley.ie
http://www.morganmckinley.ie/job/894076/gaming-developer-dublin
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/18306-gamer-expo-2010-set-for/
Verkom is now called Morgan McKinley
Oct/100
Pat Fitzgerald, Batt O'Keeffe & Brian Murphy outside Morgan McKinley Dublin office
From October 6th, Verkom will be called Morgan McKinley. We are the same people, the same Irish company delivering the same excellent service.
Sep/100
Why are we changing our name?
We began trading in Cork over 20 years ago and have since built five specialist recruitment brands in Ireland: Premier in Finance, Verkom in IT, Brunel in Technical, La Crème in Office Support and more recently, Accreate in Executive Search.
In parallel, for the past seven years, we have been expanding our services overseas in the UK, Europe, the middle-east, Asia and Australia. We currently trade as Morgan McKinley in eight other countries.
So we have decided to take the significant step of rebranding Premier, Verkom and Brunel as Morgan McKinley here at home.
Announcing a new specialised recruitment website
Make sure to check out our new look website on the 6th of October for Accountancy & Finance, Financial Services, Technical & IT jobs in Ireland www.morganmckinley.ie
Interested in finding out more?
Contact your local office to talk to one of our specialist consultants or call 1850 840 000 or talktous@morganmckinley.co.uk
What does Cloud Computing mean for IT Jobs?
Sep/100
Everyone who knows anything about Cloud Computing is fully aware of the many advantages for companies of going down this route. Results like cost-saving, increased capability, agility and flexibility.
However, what does Cloud Computing mean for IT jobs? As most of the work involved in Cloud Computing can be done by 1 person and the machine, is it likely to lead to a decrease in demand for certain IT skills. In short, the answer is “yes”. IT Administrators are likely to be less in demand as the services and servers move into the cloud.
A recent survey in the UK showed results where the majority felt that cloud computing would not be good for IT jobs. In fact, only 28% felt that it would be good. However, some 70% did agree that possessing Cloud skills would make them more employable with the downside being that it is not yet clear which specific skills will be useful for Cloud Computing. Others suggest that an increase in Cloud Computing will also lead to an increased demand for Application Support professionals.
Of course, all of the above is dependent on how many companies decide to go down the route of Cloud Computing. It would appear that they are not jumping into it as quickly as was initially thought with most being extremely cautious with their IT investments.
The Education System – Failing to prepare people to secure positions in the real world?
Aug/100
In a week which saw record number of students applying for third-level college places, the importance being placed on further education is obvious. As a recruitment consultant who has been working in the Dublin market for the past 10 years I have however noticed a distinct lack of emphasis on actually preparing individuals on how to go about securing real jobs.
I have encountered people who have spend considerable time, effort and money in ensuring they have excellent education qualifications and certifications and yet have spent minimal time on how to present these credentials to prospective employers.
CV presentation and interview preparation are vital areas to focus on in order to give people the best chance of getting a job in the real world, there is no point in having all the qualifications/skills/abilities in the world if you can not actually “sell yourself” at an interview.
I would recommend that every secondary school and college student be given courses covering these topics and no this is not just a suggestion to give recruitment consultants more career opportunities! I would consider this preparation a vital part of educating young people to reach their maximum potential in this extremely competitive world.
Angela Redmond – Senior Consultant – Verkom
Summer Heating up on the IT side
Aug/100
I thought I would update our followers on whats hot and not so hot in the summer months on the IT front. There has been an increase in the amount of signed off jobs for July and companies seem to be getting more confident about hiring people. Technical tests are growing in demand and becoming a major priority especially for start ups. The main skills in demand are very much Java/J2EE/JEE skills, core Java is not so popular however mid level candidates with 2 – 5 years experience are (smokin’ hot!) very much in demand.
Senior positions such as IT Advisory, Audit, Governance, Risk and Release Management are becoming a necessary requirement for Professional Services and some of our FS clients.
We have seen a growth in Technical support with Languages and Network Engineer positions
Skills especially certified in Vmware, Citrix and Cisco with a noticeable decline in Field Service and 1st level Support vacancies’.
C++ continues to be a popular skill set at the moment, most notably in niche software development houses, the gaming sector, telecommunications and the contact centre space. Candidates with a strong mathematical background with the ability to absorb complicated algorithms are in demand. In the .Net space, the latest versions of C# (3.5 and 4.0) coupled with technologies such as LINQ and OO Programming are desirable across all markets.
Contract Developers are still in high demand with a special focus on Business Intelligence requirements noticed a slight decline in new jobs registered in July in line with seasonal trends.
Keen to hear your thoughts on the above;
What Companies want – Now and Then
Aug/100
Having recruited for Software Developers for various companies in Dublin over the past decade I have noticed a big change in most clients’ priorities over the past 18 months.
Traditionally clients were much more concerned with candidate’s work experience; what technologies they used, what they had achieved, industry background etc.
Now while track record is still important, qualifications are also crucial. Educational background is emphasised, with many companies looking for 2.1 Degrees or above and some will only consider applicants who have Masters! Certifications are important to have, one of the most desirable is the Sun Certified Programmer for Java.
Membership of professional bodies and specific interest groups are also extremely desirable.
The reasons behind this new focus are varied but fundamentally I believe are because clients are looking for extra reassurances that the person they hire can really do the job as especially in this current environment they cannot afford to take a chance and there is also the perception that they can be extra “fussy”. There is an increasing requirement for IT professionals to be able to multi task, so they may need to be able to do full life cycle development, have leader ships skills and be comfortable in client facing situations.
While this may prove good news for the various providers of further education it has put many strong developers who have excellent track records at some what of a disadvantage when pursuing new career opportunities.
Like most things in life I would recommend clients have a more balanced approach and not to rule applicants out purely based on lack of academic achievement.
Angela Redmond: Senior Recruitment Consultant: Verkom Dublin
Virtual is the new Reality!
Jul/100
Virtualization is one of the fastest growing areas in the current I.T. market. Deemed as “Green IT”, it is providing opportunities to improve computer performance and end user productivity as well as cutting costs.
Virtualization at the server level is more established, however, desktop virtualisation is gaining ground. Virtualization’s value comes from its simplicity – the ideal that there will be one desktop operating system, one copy of each application and one instance of each server workload. The most obvious benefit is that the operational costs in the area of technical support will be reduced for companies. However, continuous innovation in desktop virtualization will also start to provide firms with a more flexible and adaptable desktop environment, allowing users access to the workplace from out-of-office locations at any time.
Virtualization and the companies involved in it are getting recognition at industry level for their advances into this type of technology. VMware collected awards for “Green IT Initiative of the Year” as well as “Technology Industry Company of the Year” at this year’s ICT Excellence Awards. At the same time, the Microsoft Ireland Virtualization Campaign won the “Technology Marketing Campaign of the Year”
So how is this affecting job opportunities in the current market? Well first of all, there is a definite increase in the numbers of roles in IT Infrastructure and Support that require Virtualization skills, with familiar job titles such as ‘Technical Support Engineer’ being replaced with ‘Virtualization Engineer’. Secondly individuals have wisely invested time and effort into achieving Virtualization certifications in order to meet the changing needs of current and potential employers. And thirdly, recruiters need to ensure that they understand the virtualization technologies that their clients are expecting in order to identify the most appropriate candidates.
Virtualization is here to stay and keeping up to date is the key to unlocking the potential in this area of IT.
Source : ComputerScope June 2010
O! say can you see – O! save us I.T.
Jul/100
“… Ireland exited the recession during the first quarter of 2010”; I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the newsreader announce the bulletin on Wednesday morning when I was scrambling to get ready for work. I envisaged skipping to work as my fellow Irishmen and women hooted with joy and punched the air in victory having made it through one of the worst economic years in memory – a little optimistic maybe, but the outlook is definitely looking positive.
Our figures estimated a quarter-on-quarter rise of as much 1pc in Irish economic growth during the first three months of the year, which technically points to the end of the recession. What can we attribute our success over the dreaded recession? One area that has held strong throughout 2010 was Foreign Direct Investments from the US. Despite the odd wobble like Dell and Pfizer, FDI has remained quite strong throughout 2009 for Ireland and IT has proved to be a good source of employment.
HP, McAfee, EA and Blizzard are just some of the companies that have created multiple positions for highly skilled IT professionals last year. Verkom, part of the Premier Group has secured exclusive recruitment contracts with companies such as D&B and BSB who are hiring multiple highly skilled Java developers and IT /other professionals for their new Dublin based hubs. As we globally emerge from recession it is fair to say that we are turning a corner, smiling at the USA and grateful for our highly-skilled IT workforce.
http://www.irishexaminer.ie/ireland/figures-show-recession-ended-at-start-of-year-123837.html