I am interested in watching the job market trends and what employers are looking for. As I have recently explained, I was laid-off twice in 3 months so it got me thinking about the job market, companies’s hiring trends…etc. Something started catching my eyes recently which in my opinion is very important if you want to stay employable the next 5 years. Companies are more and more interested in hiring people that have skills that cross domains. And I don’t mean something like:  ”Java Developer with Great Communication Skills”.

If you remember late 90s, there was very clear separation between the skills you were deemed to have as far as employers were looking for. For example, if you were a C++ developer, you were a C++ developer, you wouldn’t be asked or expected to know much more, maybe some libraries related to C++ for example: MFC or ATL but no more. If you were a web developer, you were a web developer with no expectations to know C++ or any of that hardcore stuff. Same with databases.

This hard lines started to dissolve years after, and developers were expected to know more than one area in programming. It wasn’t too weird to see a post looking for a Software Engineer with

• 5 years of experience in Java, .Net and/or C++.
• Familiar with SQL Server 2000 and MySQL
• ….etc

That was alright, companies wants more bang for their buck. But starting maybe two or three years back when Web 2.0 started to really kick off and social media started to be the center of attention, but more importantly when more people found a way to monetize them.

Rules has changed.

Companies are no longer looking for: AN ENGINEER or A DEVELOPER. Companies are looking  for people that have skills that cross multiple domains.

I mean Java Developers who know how to design using Photoshop or Graphic Designer who knows how to write HTML, CSS and PHP or Programmer who knows who to setup a network or the .NET engineer who writes secure code. Imagine if you are a software engineer who can write patents! or if you are a quality engineer who can perform web penetration testing.

Companies want even more banks for their buck. Rules have changes, technologies have changed and so does the skills required. I can hardly see a product that would use one or two technologies only now, companies wants one person to do them all.

Having a slash in your title from an active perspective: Going after something that is not in your current core field opens up a ton of possibilities. Few years back, I got really interested in security I was a Software Developer and a Team Leader with next to zero interest in security in my company. The CEO of the company kind of encouraged me to go this route to bring extra expertise into the company and to get the word out there for the company I was working for and it worked. One thing led to the other and when I hit the wall during my career in development, I found the security road wide open with tons of possibilities. I once heard a wise man say: Prime yourself so when the opportunity comes you are ready.

Having a slash in your title from a passive perspective: Help me out here. If you are the guy who is responsible for laying off people and you have two candidates both are on the same level of expertise in C++ and get paid the same, however, one of them is really good in SVN installation and configuration. Which one would you keep? Think of each slash in your title as one more layer of defense from being dispensable.

You get the point.

I feel I am not stuck. When I started out my career I was a classic ASPs programmer, I was really good at it. However, I knew nothing else except some C++. The recession came and I was trying to find a job in Canada and there was NOTHING out there.

I felt stuck.

That’s when I learned the lesson of having a “slash” in my title, I quickly started learning Java and .NET which opened up more possibilities. Few years later, I wanted to break out of the programming\project management area to have a real “slash” in my title so I headed towards software security, I had no idea what I am going to be but I thought experience comes first and then the jobs. I remembered: Prime yourself and when the opportunity comes you are ready.

Bottom line is, I did NOT feel stuck.