Advice for Beginning your Tech Career Search

In the coming weeks, we’ll be asking our key recruiting partners what skills are top-of-mind, what advice they have for job seekers and what they love about their jobs. Today, we’re featuring David Rasch, CTO and Co-Founder, Vertroos Health

1. What advice do you have for people starting a tech career search today?

The first job comes from luck as much as anything else. My only piece of advice? Talk to people, be bold, build relationships. Even starting out, you have plenty to give and experiences to share. Your perspective of learning the tools you've practiced, about hiring practices, and other life experiences are great reasons to reach out and swap stories with all sorts of peers at different companies. Join meetups, hit up random people who work at companies that interest you via LinkedIn. Ask them about their job, what they like, what they don't. Everyone rolls their eyes when people say this, because of the feeling that the power is always in the company's instead of the candidate. Take the power back! Put them on the spot, ask them what they're going to do to support you. Ask them what they've learned over the last year. Ask them about people who've left the team and why. Persistence pays off when it comes to your tech career search.

2. What skills do you think will be most important in tomorrow's workforce?

We need diverse, quirky teams to solve the world's hardest problems. These teams will require exception skills with conflict and learning to leverage different strengths across the team. Discover your own strengths and superpowers — do you strive for achievement, recognition, purpose? The most important skills when starting your tech career search are: an ability to learn, communication and explaining things to others, sharing knowledge and skills, and finally knowledge of your strengths.

3. What’s your favorite part of your job?

Seeing the sparks of learning fly — as people connect one thing to another and the knowledge starts to flow. I see the eyes light up and the confidence grow. A great day for me is helping someone make those connections, and watching them believe in a better future for all of us!