The Internet gold rush is over, and many disheartened techies are flocking to safer Old Economy jobs. But the traffic is by no means one-way, even amid almost daily reports of retrenchment and closings among technology companies. Mr. Haslett is hardly alone. Established companies that are continuing to develop e-commerce do much of the hiring, but young tech ventures are hiring, too. The big salaries and perks that once flowed freely have been scaled back.
Stock options hold little immediate allure in the current bear market for tech shares.
Some who take the plunge are in between jobs, recruitment experts say, but many more are seasoned executives who feel driven by an entrepreneurial streak. Experience once again means something. Eddie Sung, Singapore managing director of Futurestep, estimates the average age of top executives recruited by start-ups has gone up by 10 years over the past year. And because these veterans are seeking job satisfaction, employers say it pays to highlight the new career direction that a start-up may have to offer. Having held senior positions at Oracle Corp. and Andersen Consulting, he was turning down lucrative job offers every week through 1999 and much of 2000.