So you think you can dance (at Macktez)?
Our thinking about our Team is very much like our approach with clients: combine long-term goals with a detail-oriented process, and the result is a rewarding relationship.
At Macktez, we are always interested in getting to know new people even when we don’t have a position available. We have, in the past, been in touch with applicants for up to two years, building a relationship outside of the office before deciding to work with each other. And then, once someone is hired, we have a highly structured 90-day evaluation period to make sure we are compatible for the long haul.
Over the years, we have developed a suite of highly considered — and oft-evaluated — systems, methods, and tools that we ask every new hire to become proficient in. We hold weekly meetings to evaluate Team goals as well as detailed annual reviews for every member of the Team. We keep extensive internal documentation and we encourage daily communication among Team Members to share questions and solutions.
The Basics
The basics aren’t complicated, but there’s a little more to them.
You’ll also want to read through the Macktez Approach before you decide to get in touch, to make sure this is the place for you.
Team Members are primarily Consultants, though we also have room for less-experienced Technicians. Typically, at least two Team Members are assigned to every client. Consultants take responsibility for implementing solutions, performing scheduled maintenance, and making regularly-scheduled client visits. Our Senior Consultants create long-term strategies for clients, write recommendations, and set up the guide posts for specific projects. (Senior Consultants are promoted from within.)
All Team Members are paid an hourly rate, are required to keep detailed track of their time, and must submit timesheets regularly to get paid. Macktez has developed internally a FileMaker database we call MackInfo that will not only help you keep track of your time, but also facilitate the creation of Reports that are written and emailed after each interaction you have with a client. But don’t worry that every single minute of your life must be billed to a client — sufficient room is made in your weekly schedule for paid research and professional development.
To help support individual members of our Team, we make our package of benefits extremely flexible, and we are supportive of reasonable work hours.
New Hire Profile
- You have a range of technical experience, on your own and with several other companies, working with creative professionals on the Macintosh platform.
- You’re tired of being the smartest person in the room. You are looking for real collaboration with people whose knowledge complements and outpaces your own.
- You are curious, self-motivated, and driven toward ongoing self-improvement.
- You have the ability to analyze a complex technical scenario and communicate clearly, either in person or writing, a solution you recommend pursuing.
- You look forward to active involvement from senior Team Members.
New Hire Process
If you’re ready to begin the process, submit your cover letter and resume.
Macktez is a mid-size company — 12 to 15 people — and has grown at a deliberate pace over the past 15 years. We have long-term relationships with our Team Members, and our new hire process is meant to ensure that our small outfit works as well together as is possible.
First, submit a cover letter and resume to Macktez. Since communication skills are such a priority for us, your cover letter is a big deal. (The pretty layout of your resume is not.)
We do not reply to all applications, and apologize in advance if you don’t hear from us. In fact, even if your application stands out, we are not always actively looking for a new Team Member and it might be some time before we get back to you.
If our Director of Operations does reach out to you, you will schedule a phone meeting with him and have a conversation that will help us flesh out your application. After that, you may have a series of five to six in-person interviews with current Team Members. Why so many? One of us will get you excited about Macktez, one of us will impress upon you the difficulty of the work, one of us will evaluate if you are personally suited to join the Team, one of us tries to find your weaknesses — that sort of thing.
The next step would be to make sure you can do the basic work that Macktez requires. You would be asked to complete an evaluation of a technical problem that requires research and a written recommendation. Recognizing at this point that your time is valuable and we’ve already taken up a lot of it, we will compensate you for the one to five hours it may take you to complete this task.
If you are hired, our highly structured process continues: you will be sent out gradually to clients, your Reports to clients will be moderated, and you should expect to be referred often to our internal documentation for methods of evaluation and standards of communication. New Team Members have 30-, 60-, and 90-day reviews, at the last of which you will either be given a raise or dismissed.
In the end, it’s all worth it — Macktez is a very supportive work environment where you will be encouraged both to take responsibility for your own client projects and to collaborate with the rest of our skilled Team Members. Plus you’ll get all the little yellow notebooks you can use, free!
