Is the IT market overheated?

In recent years, it has become common to talk about an “overheated” IT market. What does this mean, what are the consequences and whether this overheating actually exists, says Alexey Likhatsky, the owner of his own IT company and an IT specialist with ten years of experience.

What’s the point

Market overheating can arise from different sides. Two main ones:

1. From the side of job seekers. The number of new market specialists, i.e. personnel, is growing.
2. From the employers’ side. The number of new companies, i.e. jobs, is growing.

The IT sector is currently experiencing two-way overheating. People are looking for work, and work is looking for people, and all to no avail.

Since 2015, the number of IT companies has been growing. Each needs new specialists in different fields. Both startups and large market players need personnel. Along with the growth in the number of jobs, the number of newcomers to the field is growing. More and more people are moving into fashionable IT after completing one or two courses. Among the stream of new candidates, it is difficult to identify qualified ones.

The image of an IT specialist has changed a lot over the past 7 years. This is no longer a tense introvert who cannot put two words together. Now he is a successful person with a good salary. He works with new technologies, is part of a huge community and knows his worth. An in-demand profession of the 21st century.

Because of this picture, people come to IT from other niches. Many candidates, after graduating from another online school, do not realize that one diploma does not make a person a specialist. Everyone sends the same PET projects from courses, thinking that they will be torn off arms and legs. However, to answer the question: “What is the http status 200OK?” They can not. And this is the basis if you go to a company to write an application.

So it turns out: the field is popular and prestigious, there are more and more companies, as well as jobs. There are also more and more weak personnel. Everyone is looking for each other and does not find.

Overheat. Competition. Consequences

The unfortunate consequence of an overheated market is unemployment. Young professionals cannot find suitable jobs and are sitting at home.

The hardest thing to survive in overheated conditions is for baby boys after basic courses. Those who know how to sell themselves cope. Empty resumes and unwillingness to develop are the worst enemies of a young specialist. Our company is looking for personnel among juniors, but most of them fall off during the test. Units that pass further will be disqualified after an interview with HR.

It’s hard for startups too. A good specialist costs money, and to work on a new project you need several such specialists. Hiring an inexperienced employee for a start-up company is dangerous – bad code will prevent the product from scaling and will scare away investors. But even finding such an employee is not easy for a startup due to lack of experience in hiring. So novice managers end up with incompetent employees, lose market share and lose even more to large competitors.

The consequences of overheating, in my opinion, will not affect experienced specialists. The hunt for middles and seniors is now on. They are offered large salaries and favorable working conditions by large players who can afford it. The professionalism of this person is proven by experience, so he can choose the company. The flag here is on the side of the employee and overheating of the market is only to their advantage. But this situation has a deplorable effect on companies: staff turnover, workload of HR specialists and the need to please. It is not they who choose, but them.

I already had a bad experience as an employer – I was late with an offer for a middle specialist. I decided that I could find a better one, but I missed a good candidate. Another situation: a candidate was lured away by competitors during a test day at my company.

However, overheating also brings positive trends:

1. the emergence of new IT companies, new solutions and technologies. Such a leap will have a positive impact on the technical developments of the generation and will improve people’s lives;
2. competition as the main engine of trade. This works both with companies and their proposals, and with personnel. Whoever is stronger wins.

Checklist for survival in an overheated market

1. To be honest. There is no point in exaggerating your knowledge. Any bluff will result in embarrassment during the probationary period.
2. Be prepared to be proactive. If there is a defect, we talk about it. It is especially important to share your opinions and best practices during the probationary period.
3. Be prepared for difficulties and not be afraid to take responsibility for decisions and mistakes made
4. Do not rely only on courses and prepare additional PET projects. It’s not a must-have, but it’s definitely an extra point.
5. Follow new technologies and trends. The new will one day replace the old. Each new language in IT corrects the shortcomings of the previous one, so we keep ourselves informed.
6. Learn how to type up a resume. This will make you stand out from hundreds of similar candidates. It is better to indicate several ways to contact you in order to target your resume to the company.
7. When invited to an interview, remember: quick response, subordination, corporate thinking and punctuality. Otherwise you won’t get a good offer.
8. Study the employer and choose only those for whom you really want to work, without wasting your own and other people’s time.
9. Talk about your wishes or professional comments without hesitation. This will show expertise, interest in the product and desire to be involved in its creation.