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Job recruiting at the Comdex Career Fair RELATED AUDIO Listen to Shanikka Flinn discuss the changing needs of high tech employees 249K/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Listen to Dave Blevins talk about the demand for high tech professionals 249K/09 sec. AIFF or WAV sound RELATED VIDEO CNN's Marsha Walton reports on high tech job searches Windows Media 28K 56K

LAS VEGAS (CNN) -- Newspaper ads, networking, and word of mouth used to be the way job seekers and employers found each other. But with today's heavy competition to fill high-tech positions, employers increasingly are turning to Internet recruiting and job fairs in their search for qualified candidates.

According to CIO magazine, there's a 10 percent annual turnover rate among high-tech workers, and with explosive growth in technology, recruiters at expos are competing aggressively for talent.

"Right now there is high demand and limited supply," says Dave Blevins, vice president of the Lendman Group. "So the value of all these high-tech professionals is at an all-time high."

Many employers have resorted to offering signing bonuses -- once the province of high-profile athletes -- as a lure.

The president of one online job search site says a $2,000 to $10,000 "incentive" is common for computer professionals. And these days, young workers have different demands from their parents' generation.

"A long time ago a lot of people wanted that stability, they wanted to stay with a company for 18, 20 years," says Shanikka Flinn, manager of corporate relations for AimUs Inc. "Right now for a lot of people, I've noticed, the bottom line is -- hey, we like money."

According to CIO magazine, the top incentives for luring job candidates, in order of preference, are:

• Training
• Flexible schedules
• High salaries
• Signing bonuses
• Telecommuting

Some high tech employers allow employees to bring their pets to work

Another coveted perk has to do with family members. More employers in the industry are letting their employees bring them to work -- both the two-legged and four-legged kind.

"Bring your dog, bring your kids ... they're very accommodating," Blevins says.

And of course, the Internet has become an essential tool in the quest for qualified personnel.

SelectJobs, for example, cross-posts resumes and job listings on eight high-volume Web sites, from government pages to Yahoo and Excite.

And some industry observers say the demand for computer professionals is only going up.

"We're just hitting the tip of the iceberg," says Don Moberly, an instructor at Computer Learning Centers. "Imagine what happens when everybody has a PC. As they get cheaper which they are, people are going to have more and more, so the demand is going to increase."