For years now, Apple users have talked about how secure their operating systems were when compared to Windows machines.  There was just one problem with that logic: Windows suffered more security breaches because, well, more people used Windows.  In other words, the bad guys go to where the people are.  And if this recent study is to be believed, more and more are turning their attention to Apple machines – and it has a profound impact for IT workers.

A survey of 10,000 IT workers by Forrester, found that 20 percent use Apple products at work.  That’s a substantial amount, and it’s even more impressive when you consider that Apple does not create products for enterprise-wide usage like a Dell, for example – they make devices for individuals.

This trend, therefore, means a few things that may interest IT workers looking for a job: One, IT managers are become far more flexible in allowing personal Apple devices in the workplace.  Ask your IT professional staffing firm executive for local “Apple-friendly” companies; after all, for a qualified IT job applicant, this degree of flexibility can be the deciding factor in making a final decision.

In addition, the survey found that half of firms actually issue Apple PCs to their workers, meaning Apple-related support and security skills will become increasingly in-demand.

If you have started your own business and hired a professional staffing agency to set up your office with new employees, this is a really great time to focus on building employee morale. It may seem a little like jumping the gun, but even before you open the doors for business, this will serve quite a few purposes. Everyone will get to know each other before they begin to work as a team; excitement will build, and friendships will be made. These meet-and-greets can be achieved by a few parties, social meetings or group outings.

Communication is also one of the best ways to keep employees happy. If an employee feels they are an integral part of the success of “their” business, it will motivate them. Keep them in the loop of what the company’s plans, goals, and mission statement are.

Once the business is up and running, don’t forget to keep fostering employee morale. Team building exercises, group outings, and offering awards for achievements, are all great ways to promote a feeling of community inside the office building. Allow employees to try projects on their own or in a group. This will help with their own personal or career development and will, without a doubt, foster job satisfaction. Everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated.

Don’t shy away from telling them how the company performs each quarter. This feeling of inclusion will lead to their own feelings of accountability and success when the company does well.

Waiting for employee morale to drop and then try and resurrect it leaves many companies scrambling at the best way to bring it back. Keeping morale high should be a company’s priority from the get-go as it is these people who you are entrusting with the success of your business.

The proliferation of IT jobs has created a peculiar development: IT organizations and professional staffing firms are proactively reaching out to find highly qualified candidates, rather than the other way around.

As a result, job-hunters are likely to come across articles like this, in which CIOs offer other IT executives advice on how to find the best hire. The benefit of such articles for job-hunters, of course, is that they can calibrate their own job search strategies accordingly.

For example, the author of the aforementioned article suggests IT executives attend conferences to network with talented IT professionals. The takeaway for IT professionals is, therefore – of course – to attend as many conferences as possible, particularly those attuned to your specific skill set; like Android development, for example.

Yet, IT executives currently lack the time and budget to attend multiple conferences a year. As a result, they are relying on professional staffing services more than ever. And if these executives are doing their job, they are precisely articulating what they are looking for to recruiters. The takeaway for IT job-hunters? Sit down with these recruiters, express your interests and skills, and more often than not, you’ll quickly find a great match.

There was a time – maybe, oh, five years ago – when managers frowned upon IT workers bringing their own smart phones to work.  Their logic was sound: it would be a distraction, be a drag on productivity, and if the workers accessed work over the company network, could pose a security threat.

But things have changed.  According to recent reports, more and more IT managers are allowing IT workers to use their smart phones in the office.  For starters, the practice can actually increase worker productivity, as they – for better or worse – will be able to access their work from anywhere.

In addition, it can help companies save money.  According to the Wall Street Journal, by literally turning off 10,000 desktop PCs, a company can save over $160,000 a year in electricity costs.  Ultimately, US companies essentially waste close to $2 billion annually thanks to these “idling desktops.”

And allowing IT workers to use their own smart phones on the job can be a great perk to help attract top-tier IT talent.  In fact, many companies are now openly promoting their “Bring Your Device to Work” policy.  Speak with your IT professional staffing representative to see if open jobs allow this policy; when given a choice between two equally impressive positions, this policy may be the game-changer.

IT salaries are finally creeping up to 2008’s levels, and that’s good news.  This positive trend underscores tremendous opportunity for IT workers and IT job-hunters to not only get the job they want, but also get paid more than before.

So how can IT workers get that extra edge?  The answer, while not glamorous or entirely surprising, is through certification.  The fact remains that more often than not, a worker certified in, say, Windows NT 4.0 is making more money than the one who is not.

An IT professional staffing executives can be great allies in this endeavor.  Sit down with them and articulate your goals and interests.  For example, as suggested by this helpful article, if you are interested in hardware, A+ certification is a great idea.  If you like networking, consider Network+ and the CCNA.

At the same time, security and virtualization are becoming more important, so you may want to look into VMware, Microsoft Virtualization, and CCNA Security certification.

Regardless of whether you want to pursue a certification program that aligns to your interests or are attuned to the “next big thing” in IT, the options are limitless and the payback is real.

When talking about co-workers, it’s pretty common to say that a certain individual “wears many hats” within the organization.  This is especially true with what this fascinating article calls the “accidental IT workers.”

An “accidental IT worker,” in essence, was hired to do another job within the firm.  However, given their special knack for a technology-related activity, be it tinkering with the network or managing e-mail, they end up being a de facto IT worker.  And as you can imagine, this can quickly be a problem.

For starters, businesses must realize that technology isn’t so simple.  Security threats, for example, pose a real risk to company assets; they should be left to true technology professionals and not Bill from Marketing.  And while businesses may think they are saving money by having such a worker wear "multiple hats," the long-term costs of a service failure will far exceed any short-term savings.  And besides, affordable and experienced IT workers are easily available via any IT professional staffing firm.

And these “accidental IT workers” aren’t doing themselves any favors, either.  One security breach or one network outage and their title can quickly change from “accidental” to “unemployed.”

The recent spate of high-profile security breaches of major online retailers has alarmed both consumers and businesses alike.  For those unfamiliar with the developments, last week saw a handful of sophisticated attacks in which hackers accessed customers' accounts at eBay, Zappos, and others.

This news is particularly striking because large firms such as eBay and Zappos should, in theory, have the resources to secure properly customer information.  And the fact is that they are probably well-protected; it’s just that hackers are becoming more sophisticated and industrious in their attempts to circumvent existing controls.

And while this is certainly disconcerting news, there is a silver lining to it, and it has to do with the job prospects for IT workers.  As this news indicates, information security is no longer a “necessary evil” at corporate boardrooms; now, and increasingly so, it can directly influence a firm’s bottom line.  It’s serious stuff.

As a result, IT departments and professional staffing firms will be aggressively looking for experienced IT security professionals.  If you are an IT security professional, odds are, there are many opportunities available to you.  And if you are not, do consider enrolling in training and certification courses that will help you make a lateral move.  It will be worth the effort.

If you are working with an agency that offers temporary or permanent staffing solutions, you are doing the best thing to get yourself into the job market, get recognized for your skills and land a great job. There is also something else you should be doing on the side to boost your chance—Get LinkedIn. Many professional staffing agencies will refer clients to a prospective worker’s LinkedIn account to help them get a better idea of their work history.

A LinkedIn account allows you to keep up with your networking while working or looking for job opportunities.  Networking is one of the most advantageous ways to help land that dream job. By staying in touch with other  professionals in your field, you have access to the latest updates on available jobs.

LinkedIn is a sociable platform where you can join groups that are of interest to you. An example is alumni groups. Join in on their discussions—this is a great way to connect with others who share similar experiences with you. Increased visibility on your profile is also one of the perks. Someone may just have a need for your services.

LinkedIn is a great way to showcase your work. There is an application called Portfolio Display, which allows you to showcase examples of your work. There is also a place for people to recommend your work and write testimonials. This is a great way of building up your credibility.

Being able to manage your professional image in such an accessible manner has never been easier. Depending on the type of work you do, you will appreciate having control over your profile when a prospective employer is seeking for services you can provide.

Staffing agencies also use LinkedIn for recruitment so you wouldn’t want to lose out. Jump on the bandwagon and join several users who have tapped on the benefits of using LinkedIn.

When you are creating a LinkedIn account, be sure to list particular keywords that describe the type of work you are searching for. When a recruiter performs a search for candidates, these tags will indicate the potential relevance of your profile and include it in the search results. If you need help finding the right keywords you can look up job postings that is similar to yours and use them as tags. Build your brand while increasing your visibility through LinkedIn.

The interview: For some it is fraught with fear as they try and position themselves as an employee, which the company cannot do without. Many folks have enough confidence to appear articulate and poised during the interview process, others, however, could use a little coaching. Whether you are interviewing for a  professional staffing agency or a corporation, here are a few tips to remember that will have you feeling very confident during your interview.

Being prepared to position yourself in today’s competitive market means creating a personal brand; one that makes people sit up and take notice.

Think about what makes you unique and valuable. Where do your strengths lie and how can your passions drive you forward in a business? Knowing who you are and what drives your inspiration, makes you irreplaceable. And, this is the first step in presenting a very competent you.

Think about ways in which you have inspired others. If you have the ability to make people feel comfortable and perform at their best, this is a great quality in any worker. When you show that you have the confidence to not only reach for higher goals for yourself, but you can also inspire others to do the same, you present yourself as an employee who works for the greater good and not simply for themselves.

And finally, position yourself as a very upbeat, uplifting personality that people just want to be around. Maybe you’ve initiated sporting events or charity events at your old job. These are ways to make a prospective employer feel confident that you take your job seriously and understand your wish to create an environment where people are excited to go to work each day.

Obviously positioning yourself as a qualified front runner in the field to which you are applying is what every interviewer is looking for, but along with having the qualifications and accolades to back up your resume, these other tidbits are just the thing to push you over the finish line in this competitive race.

As readers of this blog know, IT hiring continues to outpace the economy as a whole.  Yet this trend isn’t a linear and logical progression.  In fact, if you take a closer look at the underlying data, you’ll find a whole host of interesting sub-trends that will interest CIOs, professional staffing firms, and IT job-hunters alike.

One is the fact that Baby Boomers are retiring in record numbers.  This keeps CIOs up at night, but it’s good news for job-hunters who are willing to commit to careers in network management and other “legacy” roles.

Another segment of the IT workforce is “retiring” at an alarming rate: twenty-somethings who quit after just one year.  These workers quit because, as a hot commodity in an IT job market where workers are in demand, they can use that first job as a stepping stone for something better.  Again, bad news for CIOs, good news for workers - or is it?

Prior to quitting after a year for greener pastures, younger IT workers should consider the ramifications.  Does the next job provide the same job security and career development opportunities?  Will their skill set be valued in this new position?  And will it be a black mark on their resume, leading future employers to view them as merely an IT mercenary?

After all, the grass isn’t always greener.