Technology At CenterBeam, you even get your birthday off

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JEFF DUCHARME
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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SAINT JOHN - CenterBeam, which describes itself as a recognized leader in managed IT services, held a job fair Thursday in hopes of attracting some two dozen information technology employees to its ranks.

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Peter Walsh/Telegraph-Journal

CenterBeam executive Anthony Hardt, at a work station. The company held a job fair Thursday to attract two dozen new workers.

If they were available, executive Anthony Hardt of CenterBeam would hire the workers today and start them Monday.

"We are looking to hire some individuals immediately," Hardt said. "I'd like some of them to start on Monday, if possible."

The company will bring the remainder on board in December.

Hardt believes the reason there is no surplus of IT workers in the area is because people have the perception the industry is faltering.

"I think there's still a hangover from the dot-com bust," Hardt said.

In the late '90s, dot-com companies began dropping like flies and the result was tens of thousands of people being laid off.

And the trend has continued with companies such as Yahoo announcing it plans to slash its workforce by the hundreds.

"That's not happening here, but that's the perception - that there aren't those opportunities."

But opportunities abound at CenterBeam. The company offers generous benefit packages including birthdays off, three weeks paid vacation from day one and stock options.

"These are not low-paying jobs."

The company is located in CenterBeam Place, which is one of the premier heritage properties in the city's uptown.

"Our business is more focused around supporting the infrastructure for our clients," Hardt said.

Having a job fair, he said, paints a bigger picture for prospective employees who come through the door.

"The opportunity with a career fair is for us to be able to show off what it is to be actually what we call a beamer here at CenterBeam. It's not just to be able to see something from an ad in the paper that describes what the roles and functions are, but to actually be able to show what the atmosphere is like."