Microsoft Tech Junkie? Like Your .NET, C#, SQL? Come to Code Mastery, Boston – It’s Freeeeeeee……

So, this is a little bit of me helping out a favorite client (Magenic), a little bit of me helping you out (if you’re a smartie who happens to dig developing in and around the .NET platform, or just wants to be around a bunch of nice geeks on a Wednesday), and a bit of me helping, well, me (because, I’d like to meet you, and help you with your next career move into a great company).

Magenic is a very cool, high-end custom application development shop. They do big project based work for clients that have hard problems to solve. The projects typically run 6 months+, are local to the office, six-seven figures in size, and require the use of the most cutting edge Microsoft technology available (for those of you whose religion is, say, Java, Ruby, whatever, calm down – .NET people are good people, too, they just develop in a diferent church platform than you do). The typical project team is a mix of architects(s), senior engineers, design, QA, project manager, etc. They don’t tend to outsource, as it helps with quality control. In between projects, consultants focus on training, speaking engagements, etc. Because they have to do some pretty heavy stuff, they hire really engaged, talented engineers and architects to get that done. Then, they give them lots of training opporunities, cool projects to work on, and the opportunity to speak at technical events like Code Camp, SharePoint Saturday, etc, about what they’re working on.

Which brings us to the post in question. They also run a series of events called Code Mastery. These are free, day-long events where they talk about what’s happening now, and whats coming, in the future for Microsoft. The speakers are interesting, bright, and highly informed, and include MVPs like Rocky Lhotka You’ll walk away with a ton of actionable information, as well ast contacts who do what you do, so well. There’s one coming up near Boston in a week that I think you should get to, if it sounds like your kinda gig.

And, if you’re looking for a job, you may well walk away with an interview scheduled…

Here’re the particulars:

Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3290438791?ref=ebtnebregn

Go here: 21 Jones Rd, Waltham MA o2451

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On: May 2nd, 2012 at 8 am

Hope to see you there.

Software Engineering Jobs Around Boston

Hey, you.

Psssst – yeah, you. The one with the job you kinda-sorta like, where you’ve been comfortable for a couple of years. The problems are relatively interesting – not amazing, and, honestly, getting redundant – and you know where the cafeteria is, the short cuts home, all of that. Frankly, it’s not great – morale’s down, and turnover’s increasing, but, hey, it’s better than nothing, right?

Right?

No. No, it isn’t. We both know you’d be happier somewhere else. We also know the economy the past few years made the idea of a job search, well, dicey. Out of the frying pan, a quick bounce into the fire, and then likely into the unemployment line. So you held onto your job, watched friends get axed, took on their work, maybe (if you were lucky) took on some extra pay as a “thank you for doing three people’s jobs, here’s a nickel” kind of thing, and quietly said “I’ll move when it’s better.”

It’s better. Really, really better. I’m kind of at the tip of the spear when it comes to hiring, just the nature of my role, and I’m busy.  Frankly, I’m busy enough that I need candidates more than I need clients. The seesaw supply-and-demand nature of my industry just flipped (as it does, over and over and…)

In any event, I’m looking for a few good people – primarily software engineers – for clients in and around Boston. The opportunities I’m working on range from consulting to product development to R&D. Tech from .NET to Java, Ruby to Python.

Spread the word, and reach out yourself if you’re interested. The game’s afoot. You can reach me at: mrtnburns AT gmail

Surviving (hell, _killing_) the Technical Intereview

Mikhail Naganov has written a handy post for engineers who are stressing out about interviewing.  He’s spot-on when he says:

“what are the staffing needs in smart companies? They want people that can tackle complex problems in new problem areas. They want people that are responsible and passionate about their work. And, of course, they want people that can explain their solutions to colleagues.”

We’re going to grill you when you come through, but it’s not like we expect you to solve all of our problems correctly – if you do that, expect an offer before you leave (unless you’re a jerk – we have a policy against hiring those…)

One more resource I’d point you at (hat tip to Mikhail) – Steve Yegge’s poston interviewing at Google.  Worth a gander or two… That said, very funny counterpoint to Steve’s raving about Google culture can be found here (hat to William Wechtenhiser for that one).

.NET Jobs in Massachusetts

Boring post, but just in case somebody’s doing a keyword search for this job….

The Opportunity:

This is a chance for a talented software engineer with some knowledge of .NET and C# to join a rapidly growing, engineering focused company.  ZoomInfo is at the cutting edge of search engine technology, and producing suites of new products to exploit our rapid growth.  Our Web Development team works very closely with product management, QA, and UX in creating these products, ranging from software as service to our API, as well as creating product for our new online advertising start-up, Bizographics.  You’ll learn by doing, working with a close-knit, smart, and highly entrepreneurial team that is focused on rapid product development in an Agile environment.  This is a great time to join us, as we’re still small enough that you will have your voice heard, but large enough that you’ll have the support you need to accelerate you career development.  Plus, we’re a pretty fun bunch.

 The Day to Day:

• In an Agile, highly team based development environment, work on new products from requirement interpretation through implementation
• Research new technologies
• Make recommendations on how to approach design of architecture
• Maintain existing products, and add update with enhancements from product management

What You Need to Land the Job:

• Bachelors in Computer Science or equivalent degree
• 2-5 years experience in software development
• Technically proficient in .NET, C#, HTML, XML, SQL, and object oriented design (C++ and/ or Java preferred)
• Experience in (and/ or appetite for) developing product in a fast based, Web speed environment
• A sense of humor and perspective
• Points for: Multi-Tier Architecture, User/Kernel Mode Debugging, Black/White Box Testing, Model-Based Testing
• Agile development experience a plus
• Solid communication skills

Collaborative, and entrepreneurial approach to work – we want to look forward to spending time with you

Interested? ‘course you are.  Apply here, and let’s get going.

Shameless, Shameless Plug…

…for votes   For whatever reason, Good to Know  is up for best recruiting blog of the year.  I’m pretty sure it’s not because my employer is paying for the grand prize (seriously – what I suspect is that Jason Davis, the guy who runs RecruitingBlogs.com, the organizer of the whole contest, is just ridiculously nice and felt bad at how poorly I did at poker last time we hung out).

While I’m under zero illusion I’ll win, I wouldn’t mind not coming in dead last.  Seriously.  Soooo…. if you’re so inclined, I’d appreciate it if you clicked here and exercised your right to vote.  Primarily in categories #1& #6 – well, feel free to vote in the rest, too – in fact, I’d recommend checking out all of the nominated blogs – there’s a lot of really great guidance out there, from a gang of remarkable minds.