Programmers do not hide their surprise at the situation on the labor market. Cooling down in the IT industry
For years, the IT industry has been the driving force behind the labor market in Poland. IT specialists could choose from advertisements and set excessive financial requirements. Now the sector is facing some cooling. Companies are laying off employees or suspending recruitment, and young programmers are looking for work. It’s worse than last year.
“There has not been such a situation in the IT industry since the coronavirus pandemic,” says Mr. Adam, a programmer with nearly ten years of experience. “Not only are there much fewer job offers for IT specialists, but companies also offer lower salaries, lay off or suspend recruitment.”- adds. He points out that orders from abroad are also decreasing. Young programmers speak in a similar tone. Many of them admit that they have difficulty finding employment.
Work in IT. Recruiters no longer call with offers
This situation is incomprehensible to them. Until now, they could choose from advertisements, but now they are hearing about recruitment being suspended. Just last year, recruiters themselves approached them with new job offers. Some changed employers every few months, receiving higher salaries each time. Now companies don’t even respond to their applications. A new, unusual trend in this industry is confirmed by the latest research and analyses.
Almost every second respondent (47%) claims that it will be much more difficult to find a job in 2023 than last year. This is according to the report “Candidate experience in IT”, published by No Fluff Jobs in cooperation with Square One Poland. Young IT specialists and people who have recently changed industries have the greatest difficulties with engagement.
The end of Eldorado for IT specialists. Companies don’t respond to applications
Voices about the end of El Dorado for IT specialists are increasingly appearing on social media. People who recently worked in other industries and later decided to change industries cannot find employment. Many people admit that when looking for any job in IT, they applied for various positions, even though they did not meet the requirements set by the employer.
As the authors of the study argue, more than half of the respondents applied for positions that required higher qualifications. Many of them applied for jobs requiring knowledge of technology or programming languages, but they only knew the basics. Every fourth candidate applied for job advertisements, meeting only a small part of the long list of requirements. IT specialists admit that recruiters were quick to spot their professional shortcomings. According to the report, over 40 percent the least experienced programmers rarely received feedback after the recruitment interview.
IT industry. The number of offers for IT specialists decreases from month to month
The problems of specialists in this industry do not end there. Changes in the labor market are visible to the naked eye, as job offers for specialists in this sector are decreasing from month to month. Data from Grant Thornton and the Element system show that in September there were more than half as many job offers for IT specialists on the largest recruitment portals than a year ago.
– The IT sector is undoubtedly facing some cooling. A trend has reached Poland, which at the end of 2022 affected thousands of IT specialists, for example in Silicon Valley. Some employers are carrying out layoffs, some have introduced recruitment freezes, i.e. they have suspended all recruitment – said Maja Gojtowska, HR process consultant, in an interview with Wprost.pl.
However, the expert points out that IT specialists can still count on high earnings compared to other sectors. In her opinion, IT specialists will not have to face unemployment, but they will have to wait longer than before for a new contract.
The demand for IT employees is changing
A new, unusual trend on the IT market is confirmed by Mateusz Żydek from the Randstad employment agency. – Our experience over recent months shows that the demand for IT employees is changing. In the case of programming positions, the demand for employees with short experience has decreased slightly – he said in an interview with Wprost.pl.
— However, there are fewer offers in the area of IT support, i.e. for helpdesk specialists – added. The expert also noted that nowadays, candidates with knowledge of Italian, German or French are increasingly sought for IT positions.
IT industry. Experienced IT specialists do not have to be afraid of changes
Not all IT specialists have reasons to complain. Experts argue that there is still no shortage of interesting job offers for people with longer work experience and documented projects, especially in the case of Java and Python programmers. In addition, the demand for data analysts is growing, mainly in the area of Business Intelligence.
Experienced programmers are aware of their value and, despite the cooling in the industry, they do not intend to give up high salaries. Unlike their younger colleagues, they still dictate the conditions both in terms of finances, the type of contract and the formula of work performed.
