Articles by Matt
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Solution Architects – Interview Questions You Should Be Ready to Answer in Your Next Interview
Solution Architects – Interview Questions You Should Be Ready to Answer in Your Next Interview
Preparing for a solutions architect interview can be a daunting task, especially given the breadth and depth of…
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3 Solutions to Prevent Cyber Attacks
3 Solutions to Prevent Cyber Attacks
3 Solutions to Prevent Cyber Attacks The cost of Cyber Attacks has been growing and the attacks have gotten more…
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Best Tech Jobs for 2019
Best Tech Jobs for 2019
The job market for IT may be as good as it has ever been. Yes, the “.
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Matt Arnold posted thisSomething I don’t think enough people talk about in technology hiring… A lot of companies say they want innovation, but their interview process rewards caution. The candidate who gives the safest answers usually moves forward. Meanwhile, the people who have actually built things, transformed environments, cleaned up disasters, challenged bad architecture decisions, or pushed companies forward technically sometimes get viewed as “too strong,” “too opinionated,” or “not the right fit.” After doing this for decades, I can tell you this happens far more often than people realize. The strongest technology leaders I’ve worked with usually have scars from fixing difficult problems: • Failed implementations • Security incidents • Scaling problems • Bad acquisitions • Legacy environments • Unrealistic executive expectations • Understaffed teams That experience is valuable. Sometimes the candidate who has seen things go wrong is actually the safest hire you can make. Especially in infrastructure, security, architecture, and engineering leadership roles. The best technical people aren’t usually polished corporate robots. They’re problem solvers. There’s a difference.
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Matt Arnold posted thisOne of the biggest mistakes I see experienced technology professionals make during interviews has nothing to do with technical skills. They explain WHAT they worked on… but not WHY it mattered to the business. Most hiring managers already assume you have technical knowledge if you made it to the interview. What separates strong candidates from average ones is the ability to connect technical work to business impact. For example, don’t just say: “I migrated applications to AWS.” Instead explain the bigger picture: “I led the migration of 40+ applications to AWS which reduced infrastructure costs by roughly 30%, improved system scalability during peak customer demand, and shortened deployment times from days to hours. That allowed the business to release products faster and improve uptime for customers.” That answer immediately sounds more strategic and more valuable. Same thing for cybersecurity professionals. Don’t just say: “I implemented security controls.” Explain the impact: “I helped implement security controls that reduced audit findings, improved incident response times, and strengthened the company’s ability to meet regulatory requirements. That lowered operational risk and gave leadership more confidence when onboarding new clients.” If you’re an architect, engineer, DevOps professional, data engineer, AI engineer, or infrastructure leader, your experience should always be tied back to one of these things: • Helping the business operate more efficiently • Saving time or reducing operational headaches • Improving scalability or reliability • Helping teams move faster • Reducing risk • Increasing revenue opportunities • Lowering costs • Improving customer experience The strongest candidates I interview rarely speak only in technical terms. They explain how their work helped the company become more successful. That’s what hiring managers remember after the interview is over.
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Matt Arnold posted thisOne thing I don’t think enough IT professionals realize in this market: Companies are interviewing differently now. 30 years ago, interviews were mostly about technical ability. Today? A lot of hiring managers are quietly trying to answer a different question: “Can this person come in and make our lives easier?” That’s why I’m seeing highly qualified engineers, architects, cybersecurity professionals, and infrastructure leaders lose opportunities to candidates who may actually have less technical depth. The candidates getting the offers are usually the ones who: • Speak clearly and confidently without overcomplicating things • Understand the business side of technology • Know how to build trust quickly • Show they can work across teams without creating friction • Talk about outcomes instead of listing technologies I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard hiring managers say things like: “Technically they were strong… but I just couldn’t picture them working with the team.” That sentence is eliminating a lot of talented people right now. Especially in a slower market, companies are becoming more selective about communication skills, personality, leadership presence, and business maturity. The technical bar is still high. But the people getting hired consistently are the ones who make hiring managers feel confident they can step into complex situations, solve problems, communicate well, and positively impact the team. That’s become just as important as the technology itself.
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Matt Arnold posted thisHere’s what I’ve learned after building enterprise architecture teams, helping stand up security organizations from scratch, and placing engineers and AI talent into some very competitive environments: The best candidates are not applying to your job. They’re busy. They’re successful. And more often than not, they’re working for your competitors. That’s where the right recruiter makes a difference. Not someone blasting resumes—but someone who already knows: Which companies have the talent you actually want Who the top performers are inside those teams How to get their attention (and trust) and how to move quickly when there’s mutual interest The companies I work closely with don’t use me because they can’t fill roles. They use me because they don’t want to spend 3–6 months getting it wrong. I act as an extension of their team—especially when it comes to: Enterprise / Solutions Architecture Cybersecurity & Information Security Software Engineering Data Archietcure AI and Emerging Technology roles And here’s the part most companies aren’t thinking about yet: This market will shift. When it does, you won’t see hundreds of applicants. The best people will have options again. And hiring will get competitive—fast. The companies that win in that market are the ones who already have relationships in place with recruiters who understand their business and can deliver quickly. If you don’t have that kind of partnership right now, it’s probably worth a conversation. Not to “use a recruiter”—but to have someone in your corner when it matters
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Matt Arnold posted thisThis IT job market is creating two very different problems at the same time… and most people don’t realize it. On one side, you have highly qualified candidates struggling to get interviews. On the other, you have companies saying they “can’t find the right people.” Both are true. And both are happening for the same reason. The hiring process is breaking down in the middle. Here’s what I mean— Most companies are relying heavily on job postings right now. But those postings are getting flooded with applicants—many of them not even close to the mark. Internal teams don’t have the time to properly sort through it all, so what happens? Strong candidates get missed. Or worse, filtered out before anyone actually reviews them. At the same time, many of the best candidates aren’t even applying. They’re heads down. They’re selective. They’re not spending hours competing in applicant pools. So companies end up seeing a high volume of candidates… but not the right ones. And candidates feel like there are no real opportunities… even though roles exist. That disconnect is where things are getting stuck. Here’s what I’ve seen work—on both sides: For candidates: Stop relying only on applications. The people getting interviews right now are the ones having conversations before the job becomes competitive. For companies: If you’re only looking at applicants, you’re seeing a very limited slice of the market. Some of the strongest people I’ve worked with recently weren’t applying at all. They became interested because the opportunity was brought to them the right way. That’s the difference. This market isn’t about volume. It’s about access. Access to the right opportunities… and access to the right people. The challenge right now isn’t that talent doesn’t exist. It’s that the connection between the two sides isn’t happening efficiently. Curious to hear from both sides— If you’re a candidate: what’s been the most frustrating part of your search? If you’re hiring: what’s been hardest about finding the right people?
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Matt Arnold posted thisThere’s a certain type of IT search that looks fillable on paper… but almost never gets filled the normal way. Usually it’s a role where: the business needs someone who’s done it before the environment isn’t perfect and there’s not much room for a learning curve On paper, it sounds straightforward. In reality, there are maybe a handful of people who can walk into that situation and actually make it work. Those people aren’t applying to jobs. And they’re usually not interested when they see a generic outreach message either. After close to 30 years doing this, I’ve learned those searches don’t get filled by increasing volume. They get filled by being very specific about who you’re going after… and then actually getting in front of them. Sometimes that means reaching out to someone who hasn’t taken a call from a recruiter in years. Sometimes it’s someone who wasn’t even thinking about making a move until the conversation makes sense. But when you get the right 2–3 people into a process like that, everything changes pretty quickly. If you’re dealing with something like that, feel free to reach out. Happy to talk through it.
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Matt Arnold posted thisHere’s something I’ve seen work recently with candidates who started getting traction fast: Stop sending resumes. Start sending context. Before you apply (or right after), take 10 minutes and do this: Look at the job description Pick ONE responsibility that stands out Write 3–4 sentences explaining how you’ve actually handled that exact situation Example: Instead of: “I have strong experience with AWS and cloud architecture.” Say: “On my last project, we had to stabilize a failing AWS environment that was causing downtime during peak hours. I redesigned part of the architecture using auto-scaling and reworked the monitoring strategy, which cut incidents by about 40%.” Why this is working right now: Hiring managers don’t trust resumes the way they used to. They’ve seen too many “perfect matches” on paper that don’t hold up. But when someone shows: ✔ how they think ✔ how they approach problems ✔ what they’ve actually done …it immediately separates them. I’ve seen candidates go from zero response… to multiple interviews… just by changing how they present their experience. Same background. Different positioning.
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Matt Arnold posted thisThere’s a type of candidate I see all the time that gets overlooked— And it usually ends up being the one that gets hired. It’s not the person with: The cleanest resume The most polished LinkedIn Or the perfect keyword match It’s the person doing the actual work… at a high level… inside a complex environment. The problem is—those people don’t always present well on paper. So they get filtered out early. Meanwhile, companies spend months interviewing candidates who interview well… but don’t always perform the same way on the job. Some of the best hires I’ve seen were not obvious on day one. You just had to know where to look—and how to evaluate them differently.
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Matt Arnold posted thisA lot of companies assume they’re losing candidates because of compensation. Most of the time, that’s not what’s happening. They’re losing candidates because: The process feels slow The role isn’t clearly defined Or the hiring manager isn’t aligned internally Strong candidates don’t usually walk away over small comp differences. They walk away when something feels off. And they decide that faster than most companies realize.
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2w
Great job Darryl!
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisAfter 35+ rewarding years in working for 2 great companies, it’s time to logoff and retire Thank you to all the friends, colleagues, and mentors who made the journey memorable — now onto some relaxing and new adventures.
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisI’m excited to share that I’ll be joining CooperSurgical this summer as a Paragard Marketing Intern! In this role, I’ll have the opportunity to support projects that connect brand strategy with tactical marketing execution, and help develop strategies focused on healthcare professionals and college age audiences. I’m especially excited to learn more about marketing, brand strategy, and the ways healthcare marketing can directly impact education and awareness. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the team while continuing to grow my skills in marketing, communication, and project management. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. I’m looking forward to an incredible summer with the Paragard team!
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisCongratulations to Jack Reever new Mathmatics PhD from NC State!!
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisHappy birthday to the owner of our company, Paul Smith, CPC! Hope you have a great day!
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisCyber risk is no longer limited to systems, controls, and threat actors. TODAY AT NOON ET — join us for the HMG Expert Network Series' Special Cyber Report with Mario DiNatale, CISO at Odyssey Group, for a timely discussion on The Mythos Threat: How Hidden Narratives Quietly Reshape Enterprise Risk. Hidden narratives can move through an enterprise and quietly reshape trust, decision-making, brand reputation, and operational risk. If you want to be a part of the conversation, we’ll be live on Zoom from 12:00–12:30 PM ET. Hope you can join us: https://lnkd.in/eU6WMvw9 #Cybersecurity #CISO #EnterpriseRisk #Leadership #HMGStrategy
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisI’m excited to share that I graduated from Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a minor in Computer Information Systems, graduating Summa Cum Laude. I’m incredibly grateful to have completed my undergraduate degree in just three years through Quinnipiac’s accelerated 3+1 BS/MBA program. My time at Quinnipiac has been rewarding, challenging, and filled with experiences that have helped me grow both personally and professionally. From leadership opportunities in to the friendships, mentors, and professors who supported me along the way, I could not have done it without such an amazing community. This summer, I’m excited to begin my internship with RBC Bearings as a Finance Intern. I’m looking forward to gaining hands-on experience, continuing to grow professionally, and applying everything I’ve learned in the classroom to a real-world setting. This fall, I’m excited to return to Quinnipiac to pursue my MBA and continue working toward my future goals. I’m thankful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey and excited for what’s ahead.
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisRBC Bearings is looking for an experienced Talent Acquisition Recruiter to support our Aerospace segment growth. This role offers direct partnership with Aerospace Sales and Business Development leadership, helping drive hiring aligned to our strategic priorities.
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Matt Arnold liked thisMatt Arnold liked thisMost enterprises run dozens of business applications. Very few have a thread connecting them. Digital thread isn't an integration project. It's semantic continuity — the ability for a design decision in PLM to inform a process change in MES, trigger a quality event in QMS, and land as a revenue recognition moment in ERP as one story, not five disconnected ones. For 20 years we treated this as a nice-to-have. Engineers had PLM. Operations had MES. Quality had QMS. Finance had ERP. Each system was a kingdom. The "thread" was a PowerPoint slide. The AI agent economy changes the math. Agents don't browse systems the way humans do. When the thread is broken, they don't pause to reconcile — they hallucinate across the silos. Confidently. At scale. Which is why the enterprises pulling ahead are investing in, and in this order: 1️⃣ AI-ready data — governed and addressable at the atomic level, not trapped in app-specific schemas. 2️⃣ Data products — domain-owned reusable assets (a "customer," a "part," a "batch") that mean the same thing everywhere they appear. 3️⃣ Semantic layer — the meaning and relationships that turn data into a decision-grade asset an agent can reason over. Then the AI layer on top actually works. At MSD, this is the architecture we're building. ERP as our financial and operational backbone. Siemens Teamcenter X as our modernized PLM. MES and QMS as the connective tissue in between. And a digital thread vision that turns the whole thing from kingdoms into a backbone. Which is why I'm hiring a Director of Enterprise Systems. But the real reason to come to MSD isn't the architecture — it's what the architecture is in service of. Our assays accelerate science in the labs working on cancer research, neurodegenerative disease, and the next generation of diagnostics, and every system we modernize gets those discoveries to patients faster. I'm looking for a leader who has lived inside ERP, who understands how PLM and MES data flows stitch together, who can translate business strategy into a durable systems roadmap — and who is energized by the prospect of doing it in a life sciences manufacturing environment where the stakes are real. A team to build. A thread worth pulling. https://lnkd.in/eNnjQ6d5 #EnterpriseArchitecture #DigitalThread #CIO #ERP #Hiring
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