Beantown Web

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q1 2014

Seven remains the gold standard.

The New England Patriots have appeared in seven Super Bowls.
The Denver Broncos (will) have appeared in seven Super Bowls.
Mark Spitz set the standard of seven world records in seven races winning seven Olympic Gold Medals.

You need seven to make The List -- The Boston Rockstar Recruiter list.

Seven recommendations from adoring fans

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 sixth installment of The List.

To begin the quest, Beantown Web identified more than 400 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 that recruiter?

Football teams have Super Bowl trophies. Mark Spitz has Olympic Gold Medals. The rest of us mere mortals have to make due with recommendations.

The standard to measure Rockstar Recruiters keeps climbing. In order for a recruiter to make the inaugural Boston Rockstar Recruiter List a mere three LinkedIn recommendations was enough to merit Rockstar status. Then, the bar was raised to five. Then, six -- for two quarters in a row. Now the bar stands at seven, for the second quarter in row.

Only one out of four technology recruiters in the Boston metro area have earned Boston Rockstar Recruiter status with at least seven LinkedIn recommendations received.

Boston's Top 10

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters play to packed houses and receive standing ovations. The best in the biz have received at least 36 recommendations from adoring fans.

Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the first quarter of 2014 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received + given]:

Scott Dunlop [97 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
Chris Fountas [70 + 7] -- AVID Technical Resources
Jamie LeBlanc [62 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
John VanderSande [62 +2] -- WinterWyman
Doug Schade [56 + 10] -- Winter Wyman
Robin Napier [50 + 2] -- CyberCoders
Brendan Andersen [41 + 18] -- CyberCoders
Chris Mitchell [40 + 4] -- Winter Wyman
Leanne Owens [39 + 8] -- Onward Search
David Honig [36 + 0] -- MarketSearch

Boston's Top 10 in Assists

Some players are valuable because they score a lot of points. Others pass the ball effectively. This second list ranks "assists." 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 first quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations given + received]:

David Perlman [56 + 20] -- Grenadier Search Group
Marsh Sutherland [30 + 11] -- Walden Recruiting
Carol Taylor [29 + 20] -- Private Clients
Andrea Williams [25 + 28] -- Career Minded Recruiting LLC
Brendan Andersen [18 + 41] -- CyberCoders
Roy Evans [18 + 33] -- CyberCoders
Kelley White [18 + 18] -- Advantage Technical Resourcing
Jessica Midence [16 + 20] -- Hollister, Inc.
Nagesh Kumar Gona [15 + 27] -- XpertTech, Inc.
Sean Dowling [15 + 21] -- Winter Wyman

Congrats to Brendan Andersen for posting Top 10 scores on both the receiving and giving lists.

Boston's Team Scores

Finally, the team scores. The following teams placed the most recruiters (at least three) in the Top 100 [number of recruiters in the Top 100]:

The Boston Rockstar Recruiter Countdown begins @webapprentices and will continue throughout the first quarter listing all 100 Boston Rockstar Recruiters. Simply follow @webapprentices and connect with your favorite Boston Rockstar Recruiter each day. Each Boston Rockstar Recruiter will also be recognized on Beantown Web's Facebook page.

If you are aware of a Boston-based Technology Recruiter who has garnered at least seven LinkedIn recommendations, go to Beantown Web's Facebook page and share your Rockstar Recruiter selection with our readers. Rock on!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Best Business Books | 2013

It is estimated that more than 10,000 business books

are published each year.

source: Forbes

Life is too short to drink cheap scotch. The same can been said about reading business books. No need to wait three years. The list has been distilled. Here are the twelve business books that represent the finest that 2013 had to offer.

For the sixth year running Beantown Web has conducted a quasi-scientific meta-search to identify the best business books published during the calendar year. The books identified in this analysis are most likely to add value to your career.

This year's search began by identifying 12 "Best of" lists. This resource list is available upon request. Presented here are the results.

A total of 118 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list. Of these recommendations, 90 books were mentioned only once. An additional 16 books were mentioned on two lists and these 16 books comprise the Honorable Mention list.

The Fifth Shelf

Three books were mentioned on three lists and have been placed on the Fifth Shelf:

The Fourth Shelf

One book was mentioned on four lists and was placed on the Fourth Shelf:

The End of Competitive Advantage

The Third Shelf

Three books were mentioned on five lists and were placed on the Third Shelf:

The Second Shelf

Two books were mentioned on six lists and were placed on the Second Shelf:

The Top Shelf

Three books were mentioned on seven lists and were placed on the Top Shelf:

Personal Recommendations

If 12 books are too many to chose from, then check out the following Short List. The four highest rated books on Goodreads (of the 12 listed here) are as follows:

The Everything Store (4.15 rating out of 5.00)
Give and Take (4.10)
Creative Confidence (4.04)
Playing to Win (4.03)

These four books are now on my Short List.

I have read seven books from this list of 12. As I work through this reading list, I will post my reviews at Goodreads.com and share links here.

Contagious ★★★★★
Creative Confidence ★★★★★
Decisive ★★★★
Give and Take ★★★★
Lean In ★★★★★
Playing to Win ★★★★
The End of Competitive Advantage ★★★★

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

[ NOTE: The 16 Honorable Mention books, as well as, the 12 Best Business Books of 2013 will be counted down on Twitter. Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ]

View recent Best Business Books blog postings.

Sunday, December 08, 2013

Boston Web Tech Job Market | Q4 2013

Demand remains strong for workers in the Boston area with technology skills.

For example, Dice listed Boston's 10 Most In-Demand Software Skills. In this analysis Ben Hicks from WinterWyman reviewed the skills sought in jobs that have come through his technology search firm since the beginning of the year.

The Ben Hicks Top 10

Java (including all related open source frameworks)
Web UI (JavaScript, AJAX, jQuery, Backbone, Angular, etc.)
C#
Ruby
Python
Mobile (both iOS and Android)
Full Stack Web App Development (JavaScript, node, etc.)
PHP
C++
Scala

The article concluded ...

"Newer skills such as Ruby, Python, Scala, JavaScript and .node would be good bets if he were to predict skills with growing demand."

Boston Web Tech Job Market

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for the fourth quarter. It appears in the right-hand column and below. This list is broader than the WinterWyman analysis and 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.

Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston

Here is an abbreviated list of the 20 most in-demand web technologies in Boston. [ or from early September ] listed by number of job postings at Indeed.com:

December, 2013

SQL | 3,623 02%
Java | 3,009 02%
agile *** | 2,197 01%
JavaScript | 2,132 08%
Oracle | 2,098 03%
Python | 1,384 06%
C# | 1,251 03%
Social Media | 1,240 02%
"Web Services" | 1,216 01%
XML | 1,201 00%
SQL Server | 1,194 02%
HTML + CSS | 1,055 02%
UI | 1,019 06%
jQuery | 961 03%
MySQL | 918 19%
SaaS | 915 06%
Perl | 893 04%
Ruby | 811 14%
scrum *** | 740 02%
PHP | 711 09%

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

An expanded version of this list -- Boston's Top 100 Web Technologies -- is being counted down for the next three months @webapprentices.

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

Friday, November 01, 2013

BAKE: Four JavaScript Frameworks

JavaScript is a hot language. It currently stands at #5 on the list of most in-demand web technologies in Boston. The only programing language that ranks higher is Java. Details at Boston Web Technology Job Market | Q3 2013.

SQL | 3,689 job postings
Java | 3,126 job postings
agile *** | 2,334 job postings
Oracle | 2,228 postings
JavaScript | 2,116 postings

*** Note: While "agile" is not a technology, it is a methodology used in technology development. This keyword appears in many web development job descriptions. Experience with agile is often required or preferred.

JavaScript BAKE Sale

A trend within JavaScript community is a movement toward JavaScript MVC frameworks. The Dice Report for September listed four of them. I have arranged them to create an easy-to-remember acronym -- BAKE:

These JavaScript-based frameworks are designed to help developers build apps quicker.

Best JavaScript MVC Frameworks 2013-2014 provides a nice overview of three of these frameworks. To complicate matters further, Top JavaScript MVC Frameworks lists 13 additional frameworks to consider.

Which Cake to BAKE?

Let's allow the marketplace to decide which of these frameworks would be most valuable to learn. By conducting a keyword search at Indeed.com we can determine how frequently employers mention each framework in job descriptions they have posted. The result of this search is as follows:

BackboneJS | 109 job postings
AngularJS | 62 job postings
KnockoutJS | 69 job postings
EmberJS | 61 job postings

So, BackboneJS appears to be the most popular flavor this month, However, demand for these technologies can change quickly.

No matter how you slice it, JavaScript is here to stay. Learning to bake different flavors of the JavaScript cake can only enhance your value in the front-end web technology marketplace.

Beantown Web will continue to monitor demand for these and other technologies on a quarterly basis. Look for Boston Web Technology Job Market | Q4 2013 in early December.

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

Monday, October 14, 2013

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q4 2013

Seven is the new magic number.

Ed Asner has seven Emmy awards.
Simon & Garfunkel have seven Grammy awards.
Mark Spitz set the standard of seven world records in seven races winning seven Olympic Gold Medals.

You need Seven to make The List -- The Boston Rockstar Recruiter list.

Seven recommendations from adoring fans

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 fifth installment of The List.

To begin the quest, Beantown Web identified more than 390 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 that recruiter?

Actors have Emmy Awards. Singers have Grammy Awards. Mark Spitz has Olympic Gold Medals. The rest of us mere mortals have to make do with recommendations.

The standard to evaluate Rockstar Recruiters keeps climbing. In order for a recruiter to make the inaugural Boston Rockstar Recruiter List a mere three LinkedIn recommendations was enough to merit Rockstar status. Then, the bar was raised to five. Then, six -- for two quarters in a row. Now the bar stands at seven.

Only one out of four technology recruiters in the Boston metro area has earned Boston Rockstar Recruiter status with at least seven LinkedIn recommendations.

Boston's Top 10 Technology Recruiters

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters play to packed houses and receive standing ovations. The best in the biz have received at least 35 Rockommendations from adoring fans.

Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the fourth quarter of 2013 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received]:

Scott Dunlop [97] -- The Bivium Group
John VanderSande [62] -- WinterWyman
Chris Fountas [61] -- AVID Technical Resources
Jamie LeBlanc [60] -- The Bivium Group
Doug Schade [55] -- Winter Wyman
Robin Napier [49] -- CyberCoders
Brendan Andersen [40] -- CyberCoders
Leanne Owens [39] -- Onward Search
Chris Mitchell [35] -- Winter Wyman
David Honig [35] -- MarketSearch

Top 10 in Assists

Some players are valuable because they score a lot of points. Others pass the ball effectively. This second list ranks "assists." It answers the following:

"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]:

David Perlman [55] -- Grenadier Search Group
Marsh Sutherland [31] -- Walden Recruiting
Carol Taylor [28] -- Private Clients
Andrea Williams [25] -- Career Minded Recruiting LLC
Kelley White [18] -- Advantage Technical Resourcing
Matt Ramos [17] -- Computer Express, Inc. (CEI)
Brendan Andersen [16] -- CyberCoders
Nagesh Kumar Gona [15] -- XpertTech, Inc.
Jonathan Anderson [15] -- Softworld
four tied at 14 recommendations given

Congrats to Brendan Andersen [40 + 16] for posting Top 10 scores on both the receiving and giving lists.

Team Scores

Finally, the team scores. The following teams placed the most recruiters (at least three) in the Top 100 [number of recruiters in the Top 100]:

The Boston Rockstar Recruiter Countdown begins @webapprentices and will continue throughout the fourth quarter listing all 100 Boston Rockstar Recruiters. Simply follow @webapprentices and connect with your favorite Boston Rockstar Recruiter each day. Each Boston Rockstar Recruiter will also be recognized on Beantown Web's Facebook page.

If you are aware of a Boston-based Technology Recruiter who has garnered at least seven LinkedIn recommendations, go to Beantown Web's Facebook page and share your Rockstar Recruiter selection with our readers. Rock on!

Monday, September 09, 2013

Boston Web Tech Job Market | Q3 2013

Massachusetts continues to exhibit above average technology job growth. In fact, only New Jersey has added a greater percentage of new technology jobs in the past year. Details are available at The Dice Report.

Boston Web Tech Job Market

On a local level, the demand for Web tech professionals continues to be strong in the Boston metro area.

However...

Job demand did slow during the past three months. This is not unexpected since the summer months are traditionally slower months for job creation. It is likely that there will be a seasonal bounce over the next three months as employers refocus on getting back to work.

The list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for the third quarter. It appears in the right-hand column and below. The 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.

Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston

Here is an abbreviated list of the 20 most in-demand web technologies in Boston. [ or from early June ] listed by number of job postings at Indeed.com:

September, 2013

SQL | 3,693 22%
Java | 2,953 17%
agile *** | 2,212 18%
Oracle | 2,164 34%
JavaScript | 1,981 22%
Python | 1,308 10%
"Web Services" | 1,231 13%
SQL Server | 1,219 29%
C# | 1,212 25%
Social Media | 1,212 12%
XML | 1,197 21%
HTML + CSS | 1,082 20%
jQuery | 994 18%
SaaS | 974 13%
UI | 961 03%
Perl | 931 06%
MySQL | 769 19%
scrum *** | 756 10%
Ruby | 709 20%
PHP | 654 21%