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.]

Boston Web Tech Job Market | Q1 2017

It has been three months since the presidential elections in the United States on November 9.  Despite stock market euphoria, the job market has taken a pause.  Could this be the calm before the next leg up in tech job hiring?  Silicon Valley seems to think so.

Boston Web Tech Job Market

The list of Top 25 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for February 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 November ] listed by number of job postings at Indeed.com:

February, 2017

1. SQL | 4,547  9%
2. agile *** | 3,410  6%
3. Java | 3,267  13%
4. Python | 2,510  0%
5. JavaScript | 2,412  5%
6. social media | 2,141  0%
7. SaaS | 1,610  2%
8. Oracle | 1,450  10%
9. C# | 1,384  6%
10. AWS | 1,305  4%
11. Web Services | 1,269  11%
12. scrum *** | 1,223  1%
13. HTML + CSS | 1,111  14%
14. UI | 1,031  15%
15. SQL Server | 998  12%
16. Ruby | 929  2%
17. API | 926  5%
18. PHP | 911  16%
19. Perl | 846  2%
20. Git | 828  11%
21. MySQL | 799  19%
22. jQuery | 783  19%
23. Hadoop | 780  4%
24. XML | 767  6%
25. UX | 761  5%

*** 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 early half of 2017.

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

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

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q1 2017

   

The following men's college basketball teams have received 10 NCAA post-season tournament bids over the course of their participation in the sport:

~ Baylor
~ Seton Hall
~ Iona

All three appeared in last year's tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness.  Even though none of these college's have ever won the tournament, 10 lifetime appearances represents a high standard of performance on the basketball court.  Hundreds of colleges have not achieved this standard of being invited 10 times to the men's NCAA tournament.

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 18th 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?

Football players and coaches have championship trophies to gauge excellence on the gridiron.  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 on Offense

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters perform to a higher standard.  The best in the recruiting business have received at least 61 LinkedIn recommendations each.  These recruiters have demonstrated an ability to score points.

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

1. Chris Fountas [115 + 9] -- Hollister Staffing
2. Scott Dunlop [98 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
3. Brendan Andersen [86 + 21] -- CyberCoders
4. Doug Schade [85 + 11] -- WinterWyman
5. Jamie LeBlanc [81 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
6. Ashlee Chan [75 + 2] -- Strategic Employment Partners (SEP. Inc.)
7. John VanderSande [65 + 2] -- WinterWyman
8. Phil Hurd [62 + 18] -- Oculus Search Partners, LLC
9. Roy Evans [61 + 20] -- CyberCoders
10. Danielle Lief [61 + 8] -- InnoTECH Staffing

Top 10 in Assists

Assists in basketball are accumulated when one player passes the ball to another resulting in a score.  In recruiting this less glamorous statistic reveals how many times a recruiter is willing to recognize the effort of others.  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 fourth quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations [given + received] are as follows:

1. David Perlman [60 + 19] -- Grenadier Search Group
2. Ed Nathanson [49 + 32] -- Red Pill Talent, LLC
3. Scott Ragusa [40 + 26] -- WinterWyman
4. Tim Halloran [35 + 10] -- JVT Advisors
5. Jordan Goldberg [31 + 11] -- The Bowdoin Group
6. Andrea Williams [29 + 32] -- Career Minded Recruiting, LLC
7. Carol Taylor [29 + 18] -- Private Clients
8. Brendan Andersen [21 + 86] -- CyberCoders
9. Sean Dowling [21 + 25] -- WinterWyman
10. Roy Evans [20 + 61] -- CyberCoders

Congrats to Brendan Andersen and Roy Evans for their top 10 appearance on both Offense and Assists.

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 Twitter @webapprentices.

[ NOTE: You can also follow Beantown Web on Facebook.]

Best Business Books | 2016

"What we really need is not more authors,
or better publishers.
What we most need is
a vastly better system
to identify the books we will love."
TechCrunch

Beantown Web has developed such a system. For the ninth year running Beantown Web has conducted a quasi-scientific meta-search to identify the best business books published during the calendar year. These books are most likely to add value to your career.

This year's search began by identifying 11 "Best of" lists. This resource list is available upon request. Presented here are the results.

A total of 110 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list — 77 of these books were mentioned only once.

The Honorable Mention Shelf

An additional 15 books were mentioned on two lists and these books comprise the Honorable Mention list.

The Must-Read Shelf

Thirteen books were mentioned on three lists and have been placed on the Must-Read shelf:

• Chaos Monkeys
• Disrupted
• Makers and Takers
• Never Split the Difference
• Pre-Suasion
• Shoe Dog
• Smarter Faster Better
• Sprint
• TED Talks
• The Inevitable
• The Man Who Knew
• Under New Management
• Wonderland

The Top Shelf

One book was mentioned on four lists:

• Superbosses

One book was mentioned on five lists:

• Small Data

Two books were mentioned on six lists:

• Originals
• Grit

One book was mentioned on seven lists:

• Deep Work

 

 

Personal Recommendations

If 18 books are too many to chose from, then check out the following Short List.The four highest rated books on Goodreads (of the 18 listed here) are as follows:

• Shoe Dog (4.46 out of 5.00)
• Never Split the Difference (4.40)
• The Man Who Knew (4.31)
• Sprint (4.20)

These four books are now on my Short List. (Update: I have now read and reviewed three of these four books.)

I have read two of five Top Shelf books and five from the 13 books on the Must-Read shelf. As I work through this reading list, I will post my reviews at Goodreads.com and share links here.

• Deep Work ★★★★★
• Disrupted ★★★★★
• Grit ★★★★★
• Never Split the Difference ★★★★
• The Inevitable ★★★★
• Shoe Dog ★★★★
• Sprint ★★★★

You can access reviews of 100+ Leadership and Strategy books I have read at Pinterest.

Suggested Success Strategy

Regardless of your professional discipline, business is the engine that drives economic well-being. The economy continues to improve and job growth continues to look promising in 2017. You can help enhance your personal economic prospects by learning more about the business of business.

Goal: Select one business book from the five pictured above, read it, practice its principles and shift your career into a higher gear in 2017. Of course, you can select all 18 books, read more than one per month, and receive a guaranteed seat in business class!

NOTE: The 18 Best Business Books of 2016 — those making at least three "Best of" lists — are being counted down on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook @beantownweb.

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View annual Best Business Books blog postings.