The job market for IT pros hasn't been this robust since the dot-com crash in the late 1990s. Unfortunately for CIOs, this means <A HREF="http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci1243344,00.html?track=sy183">fierce competition for hiring new staff</A> and holding on to the staff they already have. CIOs are "definitely starting to see a shift," said Deputy CIO Mary Finlay of Partners HealthCare System Inc. in Wellesley, Mass. "While I don't think we will end up back in the period of the late 1990s, we are moving into another in-demand phase. As IT leaders, we can't ever take our eyes off the ball [around] recruitment or retention, even during the softer times."