It's true, I am a recruiter and I have given myself a fancy title to try and differentiate myself from the others which may be out there. I am not a developer and I couldn't code my way out of plastic bag...however, I do have a passion for all things Open Source, an in depth understanding of the market and a constant thirst to learn more about it...What I also have is a different perspective on the industry which a couple of you who read this might begrudgingly find interesting! If you don't, then fine! Tell me what i'm doing wrong! I can take it, i'm a Recruiter, err I mean Open Source Expert Consultant!
Those who know me know that one of my main areas of business lies in the Drupal market. I discovered Drupal about two years ago and have seen it develop from a very niche area which many mere Recruiters (and dare I say, Developers?) had little knowledge of, to one of the most in demand.
All you have to do is pop onto Monster and you'll see numerous adverts on there from desperate agencies begging for any "Druple" or "Droople" Developers to urgently get in touch. Demand is going up as are market rates, so any developers out there who are wondering whether or not it may be worth their while to add Drupal to their repertoire...do it! The launch of Drupal 7 has taken it to new heights and improved on many of the holes the critics said held the previous version back, making it a better piece of kit all round.
It has gone from being a cheap (cheaper than cheap, it's free!) alternative to a must use Content Management System and the clientele it attracts has grown even more impressive...unfortunately I can't actually divulge the clientele on here for obvious reasons! Hmmm...actually, maybe I can? My biggest client is Milton Keynes Orphanage for Abandoned Badgers...I can imagine Dean from Hayes IT trying to track down their phone number as I speak!
As well as general ramblings, I'm going to be posting articles on here which may have caught my interest, in the hope that it may spark a discussion and not a deafening silence...If anybody else see's one that they think might be interesting to put on here, then please don't be shy!
As a way to kick things off, i'm going to start by asking a question...since this is the first blog i've written, i'll probably be lucky if anybody responds at all, but i'll give it a shot! This is mainly for the Drupal guys out there, but anybody else who is immersed in a technological community might also have an opinion on this...Drupal is well known for its meet ups and social gatherings, so my question is this - does it annoy you when Recruitment Agents turn up to these events? Do you find it invasive? Or is it a welcomed networking opportunity? I have my own opinion on this, but would love to hear what everybody else thinks...
That's all for now,
Have a good weekend!
My two pence, for what it's worth, is that anyone and everyone should feel welcome at a Drupal meet, on the proviso they're vaguely aware of what Drupal is, and are there to do what everyone else is there for - namely, to have a chat and get to know other members of the Drupal community.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's any need to start out with the assumption that there is (or should be) a dividing line between people who work with Drupal, and people whose job is to work with people who work with Drupal. Maybe I'm oversimplifying it, but the bottom line, I suspect, is that there's no need for anyone to feel uncomfortable at having recruiters around - we're all just trying to make a living from a common technology.
Thanks for your comment Al! I've never actually been to a meet up myself for fear of standing out like a sore thumb and having angry developers demanding me to name modules.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that my kind might be welcome at such an event - I may look into attending one soon!