Job-hunters who are having the easiest time of it are those with experience in sales, administrative support or almost any technical field, especially programming. A lot of technical jobs are found outside of the large high-tech firms that have announced hiring freezes or layoffs recently. And for the most sought-after workers, even hiring freezes aren't necessarily an impediment. Demand for administrative support staff, although slower than last year, remains strong, said Lisa Egert-Smith, a staffing specialist with Palo Alto Staffing Services. In other fields, the picture is more complicated.
Marketing is one area where some companies try to cut back in lean times.
Marketing director Tony Hanseder of Santa Clara, who was laid off from a job at a supply chain software firm in January, said he hasn't gotten much interest from large tech companies during his recent job search. But he is hearing from small and mid-size firms. He did note that some companies seem to have gotten pickier than they were. In some fields, jobs are much more difficult to come by than they used to be. This is particularly true for jobs that existed mostly at Internet companies, such as Web designers and content producers, said Wilson.