In the face of the worldwide economic shutdown, most would expect jobs to be scarce. Statistics though show otherwise, with the number of technology jobs rising rapidly. Tech hiring trends are also shifting focus, and are landing veterans who are not super-creative in their fields, in a rut. The Acquity Group, which specializes in the fields of technology design, strategy planning, and experience design solutions recently released an info-graphic that explains this hiring spree in Silicon Valley. According to the info-graphic, 150,000 jobs were added to the count of tech jobs in the US as of late 2011, and the competitive climate has pushed companies to offer a number of “goodies”, which include stock options, sports outings, access to game rooms, and happy hours too. Internet technology companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are “aggressively” recruiting college students even before they graduate in hopes of landing new employees.

In a report by the New York Times though, a number of technology veterans with more than a decade of experience and advanced engineering degrees are facing unemployment. According to Massimo Sutera, a microprocessor engineer aged 45; the job scene is “not the same as it was years ago”. Sutera found himself unemployed when his firm, the Zoran Corporation (which made video chips) was acquired by another British company C.S.R. The British firm cut back on its Silicon Valley operations, and discontinued its investment in digital TV integrated systems. Semiconductor manufacturers, like Zoran have lost about 4,600 jobs since 2008. According to the report, Russell Hancock, the president and CEO of Joint Silicon Valley, a research group, noted “The pace of change is just breathtaking. We’ve entered a strange new world. There are opportunities, but they are different,” he said “You have to be edgy and super creative'.

The head of hiring at LinkedIn, Brendan Browne, reportedly said the firm wanted each new hire to be an entrepreneur. The head of Human Resources and recruiting efforts at Facebook, Lori Goler said the social media network was looking out for the “college student who built a company on the side, or an iPhone app over the weekend. ”Acquity’s info-graphic backed Goler’s statement-- Most opportunities are mushrooming for mobile app developers, data warehouse analysts, and user experience designers.

NOVA, a local work force investment board director, released a survey of HR directors in July last year. Kris Stadelman, a director at NOVA noted that in her experience, “Especially in social media, cloud computing and mobile apps, if you’re over 40 you’re perceived to be over the hill'.  However, there is hope for those who re-tool their skills, minus branding, especially if techies have made a number of years at a particular firm. Goler, Facebook’s HR executive emphasizes this fact, saying “If you’ve built great things before, you can build great things again".