Whether you have paid attention to the latest economic news or not, if you are looking for Dallas job openings in the IT field, you may have noticed an uptick in activity. According to CareerBuilder and many other employment resources, Dallas / Fort-Worth and Austin seem to be leading the way in a mini technology boom. These may not be the exact same IT jobs that one would expect to find in Silicon Valley, but the region already serves a variety of industries and it is ripe for start-ups.

As more Americans get engaged with what’s going on in the news, especially the Republican primaries, they are acutely aware of the main message of this election – Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.  But without a clear direction and some help along the way from Dallas IT staffing experts, landing that dream job could take a lot longer than you thought.

For some reason, even the most discouraged IT job seekers always think they conduct their own job search, without the help from a recruiter.  But according to experts in the field, even the most qualified candidates could benefit from working with a Dallas technical recruiter.  In today’s job market, no one should be ashamed if they need a little help getting in the door.  The average mid-career management job in the IT profession still gets hundreds of resumes, and no one has time to go through them all.  That’s why the big companies outsource their hiring needs to search firms and recruiters.

As the economy continues its recovery, staffing agencies are playing an important role in placing IT professionals.  Ask any war-torn veteran of the unemployment line, taking a temporary job from a staffing agency is always better than staying out of the workforce. In fact, there are many employers who won’t hire someone who has been out of work for more than six months.

Staffing agencies don’t always work with temporary jobs either.  In fact, some of them perform multiple services for a specific industry. For IT professionals, the best staffing agencies are technical recruiters who specialize in a specific area of the country.  These professional staffing experts know exactly what is going on in their industry and they maintain strong relationships with some of the region’s top employers.

At the end of every year, the news media loves to write lists.  Most of these lists are about the best and worst of the previous year, but some provide insight about the coming year.  Recently, CNN published a list of the highest paying jobs for 2012 and, not surprisingly, it includes a lot of IT jobs.  This particular list was compiled from a NACE survey on entry level salaries and focuses on major areas of study for college students.

Almost all of the top ten best paying jobs are ideal for engineering and computer science graduates, but the competition for these jobs is still pretty intense.

1. Chemical engineering majors – starting annual salary for 2011 grads was $66,886
2. Computer science grads – starting annual salary offer in 2011 was $63,017
3. Mechanical engineering students – average starting salary offer was $60,739 in 2011
4. Electrical, electronics and communications engineering – starting annual salary offer in 2011 was $60,646
5. Computer engineering – Average salary for recent grads in 2011 was $60,112
6. Industrial and manufacturing engineers – starting average salary for 2011 grads was $58,549
7. Systems engineering majors – starting salary averaged $57,497 in 2011
8. Engineering technology – average starting salary for 2011 grads was $57,176
9. Information sciences and systems – average starting salary for 2011 graduates was $56,868
10. Business systems networking and telecommunications – average annual salary for recent grads in 2011 was $56,808

After reading this list, many college students will look into switching to an engineering or computer science major, but not everyone will be successful at this type of career.  It takes a very specific set of skills, primarily in math and science, to get through the best computer science programs, but graduates say that the rewards at the end are worth it.  A recent CNN documentary mentioned how some companies are finding it difficult to fill their best IT jobs and engineering positions. Where there are plenty of business majors, English majors and psychology majors waiting tables, computer science and engineering graduates should have no problem landing an entry level position.

If you are looking for the best IT jobs in mid-career, the terrain may seem a bit more challenging.  That’s because many technology startups are owned by entrepreneurs who are still in their 20s and 30s.  These companies rarely hire anyone over 30 because they want the freshest minds with the latest skills in emerging technologies.

If you are in search of IT jobs and need that extra edge to remain marketable, a Dallas technical recruiter can help.

If you follow the changing environment for technology jobs in Dallas, you won’t be surprised to learn that the city continues to be a winner.  According to the Wavelength Tech Jobs Index, Dallas came out on top in their August 2011 report for being the only city to add jobs during the summer slowdown.  In fact, seven out of then markets surveyed posted higher demand for technology jobs when compared with the same time period in 2010.  Demand for technology jobs in Dallas rose by an impressive 12.2 percent in August, meaning that employers are ready to hire.  The question you must ask yourself is whether you are ready to be hired?

As a technology professional, one might think your job search would be conducted on social media or you would “tweet” your way to a new career.  It’s not as if these techniques haven’t been attempted, but they rarely do much to get you in the door.  The problem with many job searchers these days is that they rely too heavily on their devices.  I cringe when my clients tell me that they wrote a thank you note from their Blackberry after the interview – before leaving the parking lot!  There is nothing wrong with handhelds per se, but there’s a lot wrong with that approach to job-related correspondence.

Have you started interviewing for IT jobs in a competitive job market?  Then you may want to read up on some tips for landing that coveted technical job.  Chances are, if you are working in the field of Internet or computer technology, you may be interested in find a great startup opportunity. While these positions carry more risk than traditional IT companies, they can also put your career on the fast track.  Imagine where you would be now if you were among that first group of people working at Facebook, or if you were on the team that first launched the iPod at Apple.  Gaining influence in the IT community often begins by playing a key role in a startup company.

A few months back, this blog featured an article about technical jobs and their availability in Dallas, which was a hot topic at the time because Rick Perry had just announced his candidacy for President. But since then there has been much debate about which sectors of the Texas economy have seen the best growth since the beginning of the year.  Perry’s opponents on the Republican stage will claim that 40 percent of the new jobs in Texas are being filled by illegal aliens, while others will claim that Dallas and Austin are the new “magnet cities” for technical companies.  So which of these is true?

If you want to know how staffing agencies can help you get in the door of major employers, then it may be time to find to look for IT staffing companies in your area.  You see, it’s not the average recruiter who can help you with a big IT job; it is the technical recruiter who knows what it takes to stand out as an IT professional.  They know that your chances of getting past the gatekeeper greatly improve when you go beyond the typical resume and cover letter.