Although the Santa Clara, Calif., resident has mostly looked for entry-level software jobs with IT vendors, he recently interviewed with a financial firm for an in-house IT position. His lack of a business background was quickly exposed. "They didn't ask me many technical questions during the interview," Tanaka said.

Mixed messages

IT managers are part of the problem, because they often send mixed messages to job seekers. CIOs told Kaiser that although they continue to hire entry-level workers mostly for their technical skills, what they really deem most important for in-house IT workers are business and management skills -- especially the ability to communicate well.

"I'm always shoving down my students' throat the importance of writing well, doing presentations and listening," she said. "They just think I'm being weird."

Even in the more technically specialized area of mainframe computing, business skills are essential, said Jim Michael, secretary of Share, a Chicago-based IBM mainframe users group. Overshadowed by more glamorous Web-related jobs, mainframes are enjoying a stealthy resurgence and are a promising area for recent graduates. "I don't think the next generation of zSeries professionals should go and get a business degree," Michael said. "But if you want to make a difference, you'd better be able to talk about how IT can drive business value."