The U.S. workplace has become a playing field of competition for hiring top talent in every industry, especially IT. Would you agree that there seems to be a massive and devastating shortage of IT skills and an aggressive war for global talent? This “brain drain” is making it more difficult to find people who are qualified to do the work that needs to be done. One would think that due to the job-killing recession that job seekers would be plentiful. Not so. Post-secondary education graduation rates complicate matters because they are sadly less than 50 percent.

In addition, the diminished rate of labor force growth is related in part to the reduction in the number of births in the United States. Today’s worldwide labor shortage was projected many years ago by the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of the impending retirement of baby boomers. Some people will argue that there is not a shortage of IT professionals, but simply a shortage of qualified IT professionals.

Either way, if you are a company seeking to hire IT professionals, you have an extraordinary amount of competition, so you will have to be well prepared to attract and keep the best of the best, or you will be out of luck. It’s your responsibility as the hiring manager to identify the right people who have more than technical certification, proven abilities, or specific skills. Your job requirements may also encompass work experience in project management, business process analysis, including architectures, process modeling and portfolio.

However, just as important as the required IT skills, you will need to hire job applicants with the energy, ambition, and potential it takes to meet your specific work standards as well as embrace a people-oriented leadership style and comfortably merge with your existing corporate culture. Personality counts, as does the ability and willingness to get along with everyone including internal customers and teammates. In conclusion, if you cite a lack of skills or experience as the reason for the IT talent shortage, you may want to re-evaluate your approach to recruiting, leadership and employee retention. Successful managers know their employees and what it takes to keep them motivated and on task. Successful organizations recognize the importance of building a corporate culture that attracts employees and potential new employees like a magnet.

Is this easy to do? What do you think? Are you willing to invest time (time is money), in going above and beyond as you plan for your future staffing requirements? Hit or miss recruiting is a promise of failure. And once you have the right people in place, you have to consistently respect, recognize and reward them for their contributions. It’s the “oxygen” that employees need to maximize their potential. In Part 2, I will discuss specific tips for attracting IT professionals that are difficult to find, and ways to keep them motivated to stick with you for the long haul.