Boston Web Tech Job Market | Q2 2017

Hiring continues to slow down in the Boston area.  Job postings for tech workers peaked at the end of 2016 and have continued to trend downward in the first half of 2017.  

None-the-less, jobs remain plentiful and the demand for tech workers remains strong according to the most recent ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey which reveals that nearly three times as many Boston-area employers plan to hire vs. fire workers during the next three months.

Boston Web Tech Job Market

The list of Top 25 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for June and appears below and in the right-hand column.  This list is based on keyword searches in job postings at Indeed.com. The most in-demand keywords are listed more frequently than less in-demand keywords.

Indeed.com is a meta-search engine that offers a maximum number of search possibilities.  All searches encompass a 25-mile radius of Boston.  Search parameters can be adjusted to fit your personal needs. Indeed helps more people get hired than any other jobsite.

Top 25 Web Technologies in Boston

Here is an abbreviated list of the 25 most in-demand web technologies in Boston. [  or  from early February ] listed by number of job postings at Indeed.com:

June, 2017

1. SQL | 4,247  7%
2. agile *** | 3,323  3%
3. Java | 2,839  13%
4. Python | 2,378  5%
5. social media | 2,025  5%
6. JavaScript | 1,906  21%
7. SaaS | 1,406  13%
8. AWS | 1,303  0%
9. Oracle | 1,296  11%
10. scrum *** | 1,145  6%
11. Web Services | 1,105  13%
12. C# | 1,104  20%
13. SQL Server | 912  9%
14. UI | 899  13%
15. HTML + CSS | 895  19%
16. Git | 826  0%
17. API | 764  17%
18. Ruby | 740  20%
19. UX | 714  6%
20. Android | 783  8%
21. XML | 655  15%
22. Perl | 644  24%
23. MySQL | 643  20%
24. PHP | 642  30%
25. Photoshop | 629  6%

*** Note: While "agile" and "scrum" are not technologies, they are methodologies used in technology development.  These two keywords appear in many web development job descriptions.  Experience with "agile" and "scrum" is often preferred, if not required, in many web development jobs.

Job Prospects

Despite the plethora of red down arrows, job seekers should feel confident that plentiful job opportunities will continue through the second half of 2017.  To compare these results to those at Dice, access Examining the Hottest (and Coldest Tech Skills.

The Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston are being counted down for the next two months on Twitter @webapprentices.

[ NOTE: Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and become a Fan of Beantown Web on Facebook today. ]

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q2 2017

   

Ten wins in one season as a professional golfer is a big deal.  It doesn't happen very often.  Here are the men and women golfers who have accomplished this feat on the American tours (PGA and LPGA):

~ Byron Nelson (18) (including 11 consecutive wins)
~ Mickey Wright (13, 11, 10 and 10) (accomplished four times)
~ Ben Hogan (13 and 10) (accomplished twice)
~ Sam Snead (11)
~ Annika Sorenstam (11 and 10) (accomplished twice)
~ Kathy Whitworth (10)
~ Carol Mann (10)
~ Betsy Rawls (10)

In the recruiting industry 10 continues to be the standard for consistent performance.  Technical recruiters need 10 to make The List.  They need 10 LinkedIn recommendations to make The List of Boston's most-recommended recruiters -- Boston's Rockstar Recruiters.

Boston's Top 100 Technology Recruiters

In the fall of 2012 Beantown Web asked the question, "Who are Boston's Rockstar Recruiters?"  Welcome to the 19th installment of The List.

To begin the quest, Beantown Web identified nearly 500 technology recruiters via LinkedIn.  Most are located in the Boston area.  Some are located in New Hampshire and Rhode Island and conduct a significant amount of business in the Boston area.

Beantown Web then turned to LinkedIn to identify customer satisfaction scores.  In particular, how many people were willing to provide a public recommendation for each recruiter?

Golfers have championship trophies to gauge excellence on the links.  For those of us who perform on different playing fields, we have LinkedIn recommendations to recognize our performance.  Less than 100 out of nearly 500 technology recruiters in the Boston metro area has earned Boston Rockstar Recruiter status with at least 10 LinkedIn recommendations received.

Top 10 in Scoring Average

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters perform to a higher standard.  The best in the recruiting business have received at least 60 LinkedIn recommendations each.  These recruiters have demonstrated an ability to consistently score recommendations.

Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the second quarter of 2017 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received + given]:

1. Chris Fountas [116 + 10] -- Hollister Staffing
2. Scott Dunlop [97 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
3. Brendan Andersen [92 + 21] -- CyberCoders
4. Doug Schade [87 + 11] -- WinterWyman
5. Jamie LeBlanc [81 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
6. Ashlee Evan Chan [79 + 0] -- Strategic Employment Partners (SEP. Inc.)
7. Phil Hurd [66 + 18] -- Oculus Search Partners, LLC
8. John VanderSande [65 + 2] -- WinterWyman
9. Roy Evans [60 + 21] -- CyberCoders
10. Danielle Lief [60 + 8] -- InnoTECH Staffing

Top 10 in Scrambling

Scrambling in golf is the percentage of time a player misses the green in regulation, but still makes par or better.  In recruiting this less glamorous statistic reveals how many times a recruiter is willing to recognize the effort of others.  (OK, I admit that this analogy is a stretch.)  It answers the following question:

"Of the recruiters listed in the Top 100, who are the most generous in offering recommendations to others?"

The Top 10 most generous Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the second quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations [given + received] are as follows:

1. David Perlman [60 + 19] -- Grenadier Search Group
2. Ed Nathanson [50 + 32] -- Red Pill Talent, LLC
3. Scott Ragusa [40 + 26] -- WinterWyman
4. Tim Halloran [36 + 10] -- JVT Advisors
5. Jordan Goldberg [31 + 11] -- The Bowdoin Group
6. Andrea Williams [30 + 32] -- Career Minded Recruiting, LLC
7. Carol Taylor [29 + 18] -- Private Clients
8. Brendan Andersen [21 + 92] -- CyberCoders
9. Roy Evans [21 + 60] -- CyberCoders
10. Sean Dowling [21 + 25] -- WinterWyman

Congrats to Brendan Andersen and Roy Evans for their top 10 appearances in both Scoring Average and Scrambling.

Team Scores

Now, for the team scores.  The following teams placed the most recruiters in the Top 100 [number of recruiters in the Top 100]:

Gold Category:

• WinterWyman [9]

Silver Category:

• CyberCoders [5]
• Strategic Employment Partners (SEP, Inc.) [5]

No other recruiting firm placed more than two recruiters in the Top 100.

Suggested Strategy

There are no live sportscasts on network television that document technical recruiting excellence.  In fact, there is no single measure we can all agree on to decide which recruiter or recruiting firm might work best for you as a candidate or as a hiring manager.

However, there is one place to start your search.  It is the same place many of us start when buying a car, or looking for a plumber or finding a dentist.  That place is personal recommendations.  LinkedIn provides personal recommendations.  Banks use credit score as a proxy for trustworthiness.  We can use LinkedIn recommendations as a starting point to determine networking currency.

If you have technical skills and believe you offer above average value in the marketplace, then consider working with recruiters who have consistently demonstrated above average customer service in the form of personal recommendations -- both receiving them and giving them.

The complete list of Boston's Rockstar Recruiters is made available exclusively to the 400+ Web Design and Web Development alumni of CDIA, some of the most talented designers and developers I have had the pleasure to teach, mentor and collaborate with.  You will hear more about the CDIA Alumni in the very near future.

The list of the 50 most recommended technical recruiters (out of nearly 500) in the Boston metro area is being counted down throughout the quarter on Facebook.

[ NOTE: You can also follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices.]