On Wednesday night Ninetwenty hosted the Wellington Java User Group which certainly was an eye opener. Thilo Frotscher presented on various Java Web Frameworks and the pros and cons of certain frameworks.
For the first six minutes I was with Thilo but for the other sixty minutes I was a little lost:) Hence I might remain a recruiter! In saying that Thilo is an ultra impressive individual whom has a great track record behind him.
We had a good turnout of twenty two Java Developers and Java Architects who seemed to enjoy the Pizza's and Beer's provided by us. All the Pizza went but not all of the Beer went!!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Networking
I loved these tips from Marie-Claire Andrews regaring networking and what not to do:
1) If you make an excuse to leave a conversation, don't lie. If you say 'I'm just going to refill my glass' go do it! If you say 'It's been great talking with you, but I've spotted Mary who I haven't seen for ages so must say hello' then please walk straight to Mary and say hello. You'll be watched, spotted and found out as a fraud if you lie. A pretty quick way to ruin credibility.
2) Don't open a conversation with a sales pitch. You are not there to sell. You are there to build relationships and get to know people and have them trust you because you share stories and information that is interesting and helpful. They do not want to hear your pitch - well they might, but only give it if they ask.
3) Not reading the signals. If someone is pulling at their clothes, rubbing the stem of their wine glass, sighing, moving from foot to foot, chances are you've bored the pants off them so stop talking and start listening. Change the subject, invite someone else in to the conversation or wrap it up, write it off and walk away with a smile.
4) Bad personal habits. For goodness sake don't get drunk. The wine might be free but that's not an excuse to drink the bottle. Make sure you're presentable and not smelly and eat a mint before you arrive. Obvious but honestly, trying to maintain interest in someone who is talking at you with clouds of halitosis washing into your nostrils is mighty tricky. And don't gossip - you just don't know who they know (which is, after all, the whole point of going in the first place but can be your downfall if you say the wrong thing...)
5) Don't go unprepared. Know who will be there, what they might be interested in so conversation can flow easily. Take your business cards, prepare some opening lines. Have your pitch ready in a concise and interesting format just in case you're asked to give it. Being prepared shows you are committed, being unprepared puts everyone there at the bottom of your priority list which doesn't make them feel too happy.
http://gingernut.terapad.com/
1) If you make an excuse to leave a conversation, don't lie. If you say 'I'm just going to refill my glass' go do it! If you say 'It's been great talking with you, but I've spotted Mary who I haven't seen for ages so must say hello' then please walk straight to Mary and say hello. You'll be watched, spotted and found out as a fraud if you lie. A pretty quick way to ruin credibility.
2) Don't open a conversation with a sales pitch. You are not there to sell. You are there to build relationships and get to know people and have them trust you because you share stories and information that is interesting and helpful. They do not want to hear your pitch - well they might, but only give it if they ask.
3) Not reading the signals. If someone is pulling at their clothes, rubbing the stem of their wine glass, sighing, moving from foot to foot, chances are you've bored the pants off them so stop talking and start listening. Change the subject, invite someone else in to the conversation or wrap it up, write it off and walk away with a smile.
4) Bad personal habits. For goodness sake don't get drunk. The wine might be free but that's not an excuse to drink the bottle. Make sure you're presentable and not smelly and eat a mint before you arrive. Obvious but honestly, trying to maintain interest in someone who is talking at you with clouds of halitosis washing into your nostrils is mighty tricky. And don't gossip - you just don't know who they know (which is, after all, the whole point of going in the first place but can be your downfall if you say the wrong thing...)
5) Don't go unprepared. Know who will be there, what they might be interested in so conversation can flow easily. Take your business cards, prepare some opening lines. Have your pitch ready in a concise and interesting format just in case you're asked to give it. Being prepared shows you are committed, being unprepared puts everyone there at the bottom of your priority list which doesn't make them feel too happy.
http://gingernut.terapad.com/
Friday, December 14, 2007
Our Clients
Yesterday at a lunch meeting it really highlighted how important it is to get quality time in front of your clients. You can have great phone conversations with them but yesterday at lunch with a couple of key clients the flow of information both ways was huge and information we received and they got from ourselves, you wouldn't get via the phone. I know this is "Recruitment 101" but sometimes we forget how important it really is, to get face to face time with our clients.
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