Thomas Novosel, a Purdue Calumet senior, was stalking jobs at the Purdue University Calumet manufacturing industry job fair last week.

With graduation just six weeks away, he was trying to put advice from professors and career counselors to work.

"Make eye contact, a firm handshake, show interest in what they're saying, ask what their IT personnel do," he said of the check-off list he kept in mind as he approached employers' displays.

Dressed in a dark, button-down suit with a gray patterned tie and crisp white shirt, the wiry 22-year-old went from one manufacturer's booth to another at the job fair, peddling the degree he soon will receive in information technology.

He's heard from his professors that demand for information technology grads remains strong.

"All companies today want to keep up," he said. "They want an edge in technology. So every company uses IT people, including hospitals and other stuff."

The 2007-2008 recruiting trends survey of Michigan State University reports there may be a shortage of information technology grads this year. Even a forecasted increase in openings of only 4 percent may cause demand to outstrip supply, according to the survey results.

The winter salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed demand for computer science grads was even stronger. The average starting salary for a computer science grad was $56,921, a 7.9 percent increase as compared to one year ago.

Still, both the association and the Michigan State report acknowledge the economic slowdown is beginning to affect demand in many fields, with small- and medium-size employers cutting back on hiring.

Novosel seemed to be running across a hint of that.

At a job fair two months ago, he dropped off 15 resumes and got two calls back. But neither resulted in a job.

At last week's manufacturing job fair he talked to Dan Tufts, of Tufts Grinding, of South Chicago Heights. Tufts explained how the company cuts and grinds large steel bar products from area steel mills into hydraulic cylinders and other machine parts.

He told Novosel they has just filled their only IT position and hired an IT intern. But he asked Novosel for a resume.

Novosel dropped off eight more of the neatly typed sheets during the afternoon.

"With the U.S. dollar weakening, outsourcing is more expensive," he said. "So companies may be bringing more work back here."

Nothing seemed to discourage the confirmed computer geek. As he patiently waited in line to talk to another company, he related his idea of fun in high school was to haul his computer over to a friend's house and network it with others to play computer games.

"They're saying with the recession companies will not be expanding their IT departments," he said. "But since they're not buying technology they will need someone to maintain the equipment they have."

But just in case that proves not to be the case, he has a plan B.

"Worst case scenario is I could just go back to school and get a masters degree," he said.