In an employer's job market, hiring managers take their time getting to know a job seeker's character, personality and values. Personal questions and even table manners are fair game.  As laid-off executives flood the labour pool, some employers are seizing the opportunity to "upgrade" their management teams, say executive recruiters. In this job market, employers realise they might be able to recruit more experienced leaders—possibly at lower salaries—now than in the past, says Joe Goodwin, president of The Goodwin Group, an executive search firm.

It's not easy for IT professionals to make a wholesale switch to a different technical discipline, but it's not impossible, either. You just have to take the initiative. In fact, Web-related skills were among those garnering higher-than-average pay raises in last year's salary survey. Other hot skills included security and data management.

The CEO of Beyond.com, a network of niche career communities that includes TechCareers.com, assesses the employment outlook in the IT industry.

The newly unemployed can't afford to miss a beat. Yes, the economy has deteriorated. Yes, more layoffs are coming. Yes, it's harder to find a job now than it was a year ago. But while some will react like deer in the headlights to being laid off, smart job seekers will get tough.

Even as the glass ceiling theory appears to be fading away in the work place, are women still an underused resource? And then again, are women really ready for equal opportunity work rules? We recently put together an interesting panel discussion on women and the new dimension they bring with them to the work place.