K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
The tech space has a reputation for being less friendly to older workers. But Mike McNatt, now in his fifth decade in the industry, knows how to keep the work coming. On the day we spoke, he had three interviews booked.
Here's how he does it.
Enthusiasm
When asked the secret to his success, McNatt gives enthusiasm the highest marks. Not only is he passionate about the work, but he also enjoys meeting people. For example, McNatt has offered to drive an hour to meet a recruiter instead of having yet another online meeting. However he shows up, not only does he bring his passion, but he also brings decades of experience.
McNatt has been playing in the tech space since the age of 12 when he first started visiting the neighbor's electronics shop. Although he's honed many skills since his first job in 1969, McNatt gravitated to test engineering, EMC testing and safety compliance where he’s developed a deep expertise.
It's in these roles that he finds the most opportunity.
Flexibility
One of McNatt's best tricks for securing work is the willingness to accept contract positions versus full-time roles. He encourages others to give contract work a try if they are struggling to find a job. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it is a good way to stay in the game.
He also suggests paying attention to developing trends, such as the increasing number of jobs for part chasers. Not only is there a chip shortage, McNatt explained, but other electronic components can also be very hard to get.
A million transistors are nothing on an integrated circuit, which explains why there are part chasers eagerly scouting for chips at $35 an hour. Now companies are setting up part chaser departments to run down part substitutes.
Networking
Another constant when job searching in the tech space is aggressive networking.
"I have found that recruiters are the main source of contract positions. Connect with several dozen in your career area, then keep in contact every few weeks. A simple "checking in" LinkedIn message will do. Always include a comment like, "let me know if I can help find a candidate for one of your open positions."
To help other unemployed techies find work, McNatt wrote about his job-hunting experiences in a series of articles he published on LinkedIn.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilacallaham/2022/02/23/working-in-tech-at-any-agethis-engineer-tells-you-how/?sh=5cd471432f01
Here's how he does it.
Enthusiasm
When asked the secret to his success, McNatt gives enthusiasm the highest marks. Not only is he passionate about the work, but he also enjoys meeting people. For example, McNatt has offered to drive an hour to meet a recruiter instead of having yet another online meeting. However he shows up, not only does he bring his passion, but he also brings decades of experience.
McNatt has been playing in the tech space since the age of 12 when he first started visiting the neighbor's electronics shop. Although he's honed many skills since his first job in 1969, McNatt gravitated to test engineering, EMC testing and safety compliance where he’s developed a deep expertise.
It's in these roles that he finds the most opportunity.
Flexibility
One of McNatt's best tricks for securing work is the willingness to accept contract positions versus full-time roles. He encourages others to give contract work a try if they are struggling to find a job. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it is a good way to stay in the game.
He also suggests paying attention to developing trends, such as the increasing number of jobs for part chasers. Not only is there a chip shortage, McNatt explained, but other electronic components can also be very hard to get.
A million transistors are nothing on an integrated circuit, which explains why there are part chasers eagerly scouting for chips at $35 an hour. Now companies are setting up part chaser departments to run down part substitutes.
Networking
Another constant when job searching in the tech space is aggressive networking.
"I have found that recruiters are the main source of contract positions. Connect with several dozen in your career area, then keep in contact every few weeks. A simple "checking in" LinkedIn message will do. Always include a comment like, "let me know if I can help find a candidate for one of your open positions."
To help other unemployed techies find work, McNatt wrote about his job-hunting experiences in a series of articles he published on LinkedIn.
Continue reading: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilacallaham/2022/02/23/working-in-tech-at-any-agethis-engineer-tells-you-how/?sh=5cd471432f01
