Network World (03/06/12) Ann Bednarz

Robert Half International polled 4,000 U.S. executives—including chief information officers, chief financial officers, senior human resource managers, lawyers, and advertising and marketing executives—to determine their hiring plans for the second quarter of 2012. More CIOs say recruiting is a challenge than do their counterparts in other professions, with 65% saying it’s a challenge to find talent. Candidates with a solid knowledge of cloud computing and software as a service are highly sought, Robert Half reports. Across all professions, 61% of the executives report recruiting challenges.

Among all respondents, 89% expect to maintain headcount in the second quarter, 5% expect to increase staff levels, and 3% expect to decrease staff. The strongest hiring activity is expected in the legal and marketing fields, with a net 22% of lawyers and 10% of marketing executives planning to increase headcount. Robert Half pollsters also asked executives about their companies’ prospects for growth in the second quarter, and 91% say they are confident about growth.