Looking for a Tech Job: Think Small

You're young, energetic and most importantly you are ambitious. The odds are that when you left college a few short years ago you thought that you would be running things by now. If the global economic crisis has left you stuck in a junior job title well below what you deserve, or with no job title at all, and you don't have the inclination to strike it out on your own, then you may have to get a little bit creative in order to make the climb to a job that you deserve.

Under other circumstances the older workers in large companies would have been leaving the workforce in droves right now, leaving lots of good openings for you to step into. For now they seem to be firmly entrenched in their spots so until they are forced to retire by circumstances they can't control you are going to have to work around the boomers and forge your own path.

That is where smaller companies come into play. According to a report put out by the McKinsey Global Institute there is one ray of hope for new jobs, and better jobs, for sexy ambitious men like you. Smaller companies, and even some mid-sized firms that are very tech savvy are growing jobs like the weeds in front of that abandoned house at the end of your street. The good news for all of you guys is that it is not just tech firms that are growing, not just the Google's of the future. Companies in every industry that have embraced new tech, from retail to health care and even particularly hard hit areas such as finance have shown growth. You just have to avoid the big boys if you want to move up.

The growth is fairly solid. Between 2001 and 2009 overall hiring shrank by .5%, but these companies grew jobs by about 5.1% according to work from research at Brandeis University. This means that the small fry's had a lot more chances to hire you, or put you in a better position. As a bonus since many of these companies are growing new leadership rolls the chance to move up again in a year or so, is a very real one. If you have the skills it is a great plan, and if you don't I'm sure that you can learn them without too much trouble. After all, you're already pretty web savvy.

So how do you spot one of these firms in your industry? Look for the company that isn't a household name yet, but has a great social media presence. Also, keep an eye on trade publications. Look for one of those glossy style features about new tech in your field and take note of which company is using them. Did a competitor just get a new inventory management system or outfit its workers with iPads? If so then they should be on your watch list. Remember you can always set up an auto-alert if they're not hiring right now. The story may be different in a few weeks or months and its easier to get an alert when they post the job then hoping that you catch it through a random check. You want your obviously impressive resume to be the one on the top of the pile.

Article by Katie Gatto