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CI Job Market Picking Up This is a good trend. Indications from the field are that commercial integrators are hiring again after a recession-driven drought. CIs seem to be taking a more precise approach to filling positions than in the past. Many CIs are focused on upgrading their IT/networking skills, according to USAV’s K.C. Schwarz. “The whole Cisco/Tandberg thing has put the ‘fear of God’ into integrators,” he says, referring to the IT giant's acquisition of the videoconferencing company. “They see IT skills as a competitive necessity and expect [that] the level of IT expertise required will increase.” Basically, CIs are looking to hire employees that can help them diversify or boost revenues in some way, according to NSCA’s Chuck Wilson. “People may have been laid off based on seniority, but they’re not rehiring on that basis,” he says. “They’re often hiring based on where the industry is moving, towards networking and IT. They’re interested in recruiting from industries that have the skill sets for that going forward. It’s a very different approach from what we’ve seen in the past. It’s strategic, it’s methodical, it’s almost surgical.”