The first thing to keep in mind when pursuing any job is the law of economics. When supply is large and demand is low, prices are low. When supply is small and demand is high, prices are high. Your labor is a form of price. Tech management jobs are in small supply, which makes them hard to get. High wages mean high prices to the employer. There are fewer positions that have high costs to the employer simply because they do not like high expenses. If you want to be competitive in the job market for management in the tech industry, ask yourself the following three questions:
1. What Am I Actually Good at Doing?
Are you really qualified for being a technology manager? Some people think that padding a resume is all that needs to be done. This is not true. Good technology managers are detail oriented, careful, and well informed. If you are not good at these things, reconsider becoming a technology manager. If you feel like you could practice these things, then get to work on it. You can check your mental qualifications against the Myers-Briggs type indicator. Dr. Dario Nardi of UCLA has compiled one of the best free brain tests online. Figure out what you are really good at doing by comparing with the career lists at this site. You will avoid disappointment for both you and your employer by doing so.
2. Who is My Target (News - Alert) Market?
What employers are greedily demanding people like you? Job seekers often overstate their own abilities to their interviewers. Make an honest appraisal of your own strengths and weaknesses. What kinds of businesses are hungrily looking for people like you? An entry level software engineer will do better working in Africa than in Silicon Valley. Why? Far less competition and a much lower cost of living. In order to find your ideal market, you have to be flexible.
3. What Are My Competitors Afraid to Do?
This comes from the wisdom of Warren Buffett. If you do what all the other tech management job seekers are doing, you are all going to be grabbing for a small shrinking pie.
What differentiates Average Joe from Steve Jobs (News - Alert) is the level of innovation and courage that the two have. You have to be willing to strike out on your own to find a fresh pie that your competitors are missing. You can compile a list based on what your friends at school are pursuing, but you will find the most opportunities by doing the opposite. Tech management job seekers are usually pursuing high pay, indoors, easy living, fancy school, Silicon Valley, New York, Google, Apple (News - Alert), Microsoft, short commute, big city, USA, Europe, independent, remote work, no boss, civilian, great work environment, and kind peers. All of these traits have a ton of competition. If you want to find lots of easy tech management jobs, do the opposite virtues in your search. Things like low pay, outdoors, hard living, community college, Cairo, Delhi, Mom & Pop store, long commute, small city, international, Asia, Africa, dependent, corporate work, lots of bosses, military, terrible work environment, and evil peers. These unpopular traits when combined can give you a pick of great tech management jobs. The secret is to be the crazy person who is willing to try a few.
No one succeeded by refusing to fail. We succeed by learning from our failures. Some of the best search engines for finding jobs quickly are Craigslist, Government Jobs, and LinkedIn. Use networking to improve your opportunities. You do not have to do all of the unpopular traits to find your dream career. But adding a few of the undesirable virtues to your job search will increase the probability that you get a tech management position.
Things like VSAT technology have made more people interested in the tech management field. Applying the laws of economics to your job search will put you on the high road to success.