IT Job Fair Reflects Market Downturn

Reality set up shop Feb. 4 at the University of Arkansas’ annual Information Technology Job fair. Corporate participation was down about 40 percent this year with only 10 firms represented at the Arkansas Union.

But H.B. Fink, senior placement officer in the Walton College of Business’ Career Development Center, said the showing was simply a product of last year’s IT industry downturn.

Fink said most noticeably absent were the Dallas offices of several notable IT powers including Hewlett Packard Co., Nortel Networks Corp., Accenture Ltd. (Formerly Andersen Consulting) and Ericcson.

“A number of those telecommunications companies have taken a real hit over the last year,” Fink said. “Nortel, for instance, has laid off half of their employees throughout their system, so during a downsizing period they probably couldn’t justify doing college recruitment right now.

“Also, we have a number of companies that come to our fall job fair and do college recruiting at that time but don’t in the spring such as Price Waterhouse Cooper, Citgo of Tulsa and Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville.”

Fink said he’s hopeful most firms will return next year with an improved economy.

The event, sponsored by the UA Career Development Center and Walton College’s Information Technology Research Center, still drew 250 students with computer-related majors.

The participating companies included Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., J.B. Hunt Transportation Inc., Dillards Inc., Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, United Parcel Service Inc., Alltel Corp., Axciom Corp., Nuvell Financial Services and Robert Half International Inc.

Fink said most of the UA’s IT seniors are still interviewing. Companies still seeking candidates may contact the UA Career Development Center at 575-2805 or post job listings at www.Arkansasjobs.net