A number of Silicon Valley giants continue to boost their workforces, and Cisco Systems is no exception. Buoyed by a strong fiscal fourth quarter, the manufacturer of networking products has added 2,000 employees, including about 600 in the Bay Area. During the previous quarter, the company added some 1,000 people. John Chambers, Cisco's longtime CEO, said he expects to hire an additional 3,000 employees over the next several quarters, an indication he anticipates its markets will be healthy. Some areas where the company expects to add staff include positions in data center, video, and collaboration technologies. Cisco has about 71,000 employees worldwide. Its fourth quarter revenues rose 27 percent year over year, to $10.8 billion. Net income was $1.9 billion for the quarter, up 79 percent from the same period a year earlier.

NOVA Job Center Detects 'Slow Uptick' In IT Job Placements

"Companies are seeing IT people going back to work a little faster today than six months ago," says Kris Stadelman, director of he NOVA Job Seeker Center in Sunnyvale. "We're seeing the number of jobs available tick up, more so than in the second quarter, but not dramatically more. It's a slow uptick." Some of the IT positions posted through NOVA in July and August are senior process development engineer, senior software engineer, business process manager, senior test engineer, IT director, HR benefits analyst, ASIC engineer, and senior staff applications engineer. But Stadelman's cautious optimism is tempered by the occasional layoff. "We've seen some recent layoffs of size at Applied Materials this month and at Symantec in the May-to-July period," he says. Still, he notes, "the layoffs were bigger earlier in the year." Despite the nascent recovery taking place at many high tech, NOVA still has a sees IT professionals stream in every day looking for suitable work. The center has a waiting list of 200 people seeking to participate in its popular and successful ProMatch networking program. "It's that 'expanding your network' philosophy that is really how hiring in Silicon Valley works," explains Stadelman. "It's really someone who comes through with someone attached." In other words, it pays to network with other IT professionals who are in the same job-hunting boat. "And I'm sure knowing that there are other excellent people out there with you looking for a job is therapeutic as well," Stadelman says. -- Doug Bartholomew