Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q1 2015

 

Major professional sports teams in Boston have won eight championships this century.

Patriots: 2002 Super Bowl

Patriots: 2003 Super Bowl

Red Sox: 2004 World Series

Patriots: 2005 Super Bowl

Red Sox: 2007 World Series

Celtics: 2008 NBA Championship

Bruins: 2011 Stanley Cup

Red Sox: 2013 World Series

Eight is the new standard for performance.  You need eight to make The List.  You need eight 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 10th 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 each recruiter?

Members of Boston's professional sports teams have championship rings to display their achievements.  The rest of us mere mortals have to make due with LinkedIn recommendations to recognize accomplishments on our field of play.

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

Boston's Top 10 Technology Recruiters

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters perform to a higher standard.  The best in the recruiting business have received at least 39 LinkedIn recommendations each.

Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the first quarter of 2015 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received + given]:

1. Scott Dunlop [96 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
2. Chris Fountas [93 + 8] -- AVID Technical Resources
3. Doug Schade [70 + 10] -- Winter Wyman
4. Jamie LeBlanc [69 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
5. John VanderSande [61 +2] -- WinterWyman
6. Roy Evans [44 + 17] -- CyberCoders
7. Brendan Andersen [41 + 16] -- CyberCoders
8. Chris Mitchell [40 + 4] --  Winter Wyman
9. Danielle Lief [39 + 8] -- InnoTECH Staffing
10. David Honig [39 + 0] -- 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 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 [58 + 19] -- Grenadier Search Group
2. Scott Ragusa [37 + 25] -- Winter Wyman
3. Marsh Sutherland [31 + 11] -- Walden Recruiting
4. Carol Taylor [29 + 17] -- Private Clients
5. Andrea Williams [25 + 28] -- Career Minded Recruiting LLC
6. Kelley White [19 + 18] -- Advantage Technical Resourcing
7. Phil Hurd [18 + 34] -- Oculus Search Partners, LLC
8. Roy Evans [17 + 44] -- CyberCoders
9. Sean Dowling [17 + 23] -- Winter Wyman
10. Jeff Sweet [17 + 19] --  VLink, Inc.

Team Scores

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

Gold Category:

• CyberCoders [6]
• WinterWyman [6]

Silver Category:

• PeopleSERVE Inc. [3]
• Softworld [3]

Bronze Category:

• Digital People [2]
• Global Technical Talent, Inc. [2]
• HireMinds [2]
• Jobspring Partners [2]
• Lightwave Partners [2]
• New Dimensions in Technology, Inc. (NDT) [2]
• Onward Search [2]
• Oxford International [2]
• Talener [2]
• The Bivium Group [2]

Suggested Strategy

There are no championships for technical recruiting performance.  There are no trophies to hoist or rings to wear.  There is no 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.

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.

The 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 the pleasure to teach, mentor and collaborate with.  You will hear more about the CDIA Alumni in the very near future.  Until then, rock on!

[ NOTE: You can follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and become a Fan of Beantown Web on Facebook. ]

Best Business Books | 2014

More than 10,000 business books

are published in a typical year.

source: Statista

For the seventh 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 104 books were mentioned on at least one "Best of" list. Of these recommendations, 78 books were mentioned only once. An additional 13 books were mentioned on two lists and these books comprise the Honorable Mention list.

The Fifth Shelf

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

• The Second Machine Age
• Think Like a Freak

The Fourth Shelf

Four books were mentioned on four lists and have been placed on the Fourth Shelf:

• #GIRLBOSS
• Essentialism
• Leaders Eat Last
• The Innovators

The Third Shelf

Five books were mentioned on five lists and have been placed on the Third Shelf:

• Flash Boys
• How Google Works
• Scaling Up Excellence
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• Zero to One

The Second Shelf

One book was mentioned on six lists and was placed on the Second Shelf:

• Creativity, Inc.

The Top Shelf

One book was mentioned on seven lists and was placed on the Top Shelf:

• Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Personal Recommendations

If 13 books are too many to chose from, then check out the following Short List. The five highest rated books on Goodreads (of the 13 listed here) are as follows:

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things (4.24 rating out of 5.00)
• Creativity, Inc. (4.21)
• Zero to One (4.17)
• Flash Boys (4.14)
• Leaders Eat Last (4.14)

These five books are now on my Short List.

I have read nine books from this list of 13. As I work through this reading list, I will post my reviews at Goodreads.com and share links here.

• Creativity, Inc. ★★★★★
• Essentialism ★★★★★
• Flash Boys ★★★★
• How Google Works ★★★★★
• Leaders Eat Last ★★★★★
• The Second Machine Age ★★★★
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things ★★★★
• The Innovators ★★★★★
• Zero to One ★★★★★

I have to admit that I gave up on Capital in the Twenty-First Century and gave it ★★.

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

Suggested Success Strategy

Regardless of your professional discipline, web-related or otherwise, business is the engine that drives economic well-being.The economy continues to improve and job growth continues to look promising in 2015. You can help enhance your economic prospects by learning more about the business of business.

Goal: Select one business book from the 13 listed above, read it, practice its principles and shift your career into a higher gear in 2015. Of course, you can select all 13 books, read one per month (one extra for the beach this summer) and receive a guaranteed seat in business class!

[ NOTE: The 13 Honorable Mention books, as well as, the 13 Best Business Books of 2014 are being 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.

Boston Web Tech Job Market | Q4 2014

image credit

"Employment for technology professionals continues to thrive, yet this rising tide of job opportunities for tech pros has not lifted the prospects for all skillsets equally."

According to The Dice Report for September, 2014 demand for some technology skills is growing faster than for others.  Beantown Web takes an in-depth look at the demand for tech skills in the Boston area.

Boston Web Tech Job Market

The list of Top 25 Web Technologies in Boston has been updated for the fourth quarter. It appears in the right-hand column and below.  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.

Top 25 Web Technologies in Boston

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

October, 2014

1. SQL | 4,310 11%
2. Java | 3,861 4%
3. agile *** | 2,787 17%
4. JavaScript | 2,614 23%
5. Oracle | 2,682 5%
6. Python | 2,062 4%
7. social media | 1,481 2%
8. C# | 1,349 1%
9. Web Services | 1,441 6%
10. SaaS | 1,299 4%
11. SQL Server | 1,265 5%
12. HTML + CSS | 1,248 25%
13. XML | 1,237 22%
14. UI | 1,162 7%
15. Perl | 1,098 18%
16. jQuery | 1,063 31%
17. scrum *** | 955 30%
18. MySQL | 939 15%
19. Ruby | 919 39%
20. PHP | 763 40%
21. HTML5 | 732 50%
22. UX | 727 11%
23. SharePoint | 690 4%
24. Android | 684 18%
    
25. Ajax | 670 7%

*** 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.

Recommended Strategy

Select five technical skills in the Top 25 and focus on becoming proficient -- if not expert -- in each technology.  What are your top five technology skills?  What projects can you link to that demonstrate expertise in these technologies?  View a Smarterer Scorecard of my top technical and business skills.

Guard against being distracted by "shiny new object" skills that are not listed in the Top 25.  Without having solid core skills in high-demand technologies, you may not experience an optimum return-on-investment in terms of time and energy invested in becoming proficient at lower-demand technical skills.

Boston's Top 100 Web Technologies

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 become a Fan of Beantown Web on Facebook today. ]

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q4 2014

 

• Pete Sampras -- seven Wimbledon Men's Singles titles
• Shannon Miller -- seven Olympic medals

Seven remains the standard.  You need seven to make The List.  You need seven LinkedIn recommendations to make The List of 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 ninth 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 each recruiter?

Tennis players have Wimbledon trophies.  Olympic athletes have Olympic medals.  The rest of us mere mortals have to make due with LinkedIn recommendations to recognize accomplishments on our field of play.

The standard to measure Rockstar Recruiters has stalled.  The bar has stood at seven recommendations for five consecutive quarters.  Has exceptional customer service stalled along with the economy?

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

Boston's Top 10 Technology Recruiters

Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters play to packed houses and receive standing ovations.  The best in the recruiting business have received at least 38 LinkedIn recommendations.

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

1. Scott Dunlop [95 + 6] -- The Bivium Group
2. Chris Fountas [85 + 8] -- AVID Technical Resources
3. Jamie LeBlanc [68 + 2] -- The Bivium Group
4. Doug Schade [66 + 10] -- Winter Wyman
5. John VanderSande [61 +2] -- WinterWyman
6. Chris Mitchell [40 + 4] --  Winter Wyman
7. Brendan Andersen [39 + 16] -- CyberCoders
8. David Honig [39 + 0] -- MarketSearch
9. Roy Evans [38 + 17] -- CyberCoders
10. Leanne Owens [38 + 9] -- Onward Search

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 fourth quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations given + received] are as follows:

1. David Perlman [58 + 19] -- Grenadier Search Group
2. Scott Ragusa [37 + 25] -- Winter Wyman
3. Marsh Sutherland [31 + 11] -- Walden Recruiting
4. Carol Taylor [29 + 17] -- Private Clients
5. Andrea Williams [25 + 28] -- Career Minded Recruiting LLC
6. Kelley White [19 + 18] -- Advantage Technical Resourcing
7. Roy Evans [17 + 38] -- CyberCoders
8. Sean Dowling [17 + 23] -- Winter Wyman
9. Jeff Sweet [17 + 19] --  VLink, Inc.
10. Brendan Andersen [16 + 39] -- CyberCoders

Congrats to Brendan Andersen 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]:

Gold Category:

• CyberCoders [7]

Silver Category:

• WinterWyman [6]

Bronze Category:

• Global Technical Talent [3]
• Jobspring Partners [3]
• PeopleSERVE Inc. [3]
• Softworld [3]
• Talener [3] 

Suggested Strategy

If you have technical skills and believe you offer above average value in the marketplace, then you owe it to yourself to work with recruiters who have consistently demonstrated above average customer service.  The List of Boston's Rockstar Recruiters offers you direct access to Boston's Top 100 (out of 400) Technology Recruiters.

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!