I was a little nervous yesterday afternoon about how things were shaping up. See, the intent of moving the Pink Slip Parties to every other month and then moving them around the metro Detroit area was to hopefully let the casual networking events settle down to a more relaxed, mellow environment. So when I saw that about 20 new recruiters had joined the group in the past few days…and people were sending their resumes in via email like last night’s event was going to be a Pink Slip Party…yeah, I started hearing the theme from Jaws again.
Turns out I was right – had a packed house last night, but I couldn’t possibly be happier with how it turned out…
Yes, we had a bunch of new recruiters making their debut at one of our events, and yes, we had a lot of new folks showing up for the first time looking for a job. But you know what? We also had quite a few new people making their first appearance and truly just looking to network a bit and meet other people in the industry. And there was the really good feeling that comes along with meeting recruiters that are looking to fill positions…and having just talked with someone moments earlier that fills one of those needs. Interestingly enough, we also had a few folks in the beginning phases of start up companies that were looking to build…well, “everything” team-wise. Then we had a few people that own their own company as a one-man shop, and have established themselves well enough that it’s time to hire that first employee.
Phenomenal. It really feels pretty good knowing that we’ve taken a step in another positive new direction. We’ve gone from what was originally just a group of like minded folks that wanted to have a few beers once a month to a group that helps people find new jobs, and now to helping new businesses get started in the metro Detroit area and aiding budding entrepreneurs get themselves rolling. In my book, that’s pretty cool.
Laughably, we also continued to get some feedback about some of those “pay to play” networking events out there. Seems that they neglect to mention that those “free drinks” they advertise (which, reminder – are not free…you’re paying an admission charge that is likely more than the cost of a drink or two at any bar in the area…just sayin’…) have a really negative side effect on top of the already known downside of being populated by MLM Guy and everyone else on the planet that are useless to your career – lines out the door of people trying to get those free drinks, and the ultimate that we heard…running out of alcohol. Seriously? An event that’s advertising “free” (which, again, aren’t) drinks…and you run out of alcohol?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHhahahahaa…seriously, those stories alone would have made last night worthwhile, even if we didn’t have all of those already mentioned positives from the evening.
Sorry, I really couldn’t help sharing that. Back to “cool” things though…don’t forget that we have another event this month on March 23rd at Hockeytown Cafe. It appears that some single-seats are now available again for the Red Wings game that night, so hit the event listing to get details on ordering if you’re interested. We’ll be up in the Rooftop Room at Hockeytown Cafe starting at 5pm, and then those that picked up tickets can take the shuttle straight over for the game and back after.
Now…jobs. Yes, LinkedIn.com is still sucking and screwing things up left and right. Your best bet to hit the jobs section in our group is to do what’s laid out in this screen capture off to the right, and that’ll let you get there to both post jobs and view what’s published currently.
We’ve had quite a few come in since our last note went out, and you can always click here to view those earlier postings, or click here to start browsing through all of the earlier postings.
And yes, to answer the question that we got a number of times last night…we are indeed working on a new version of our site that will allow us to get away from these issues on LinkedIn. We’re expecting to have it ready to launch for the Pink Slip Party on April 21st…which is actually sort of funny, given that the last “launch” we did of ITintheD.com was for the Pink Slip Party in April of 2010 after we got fed up with the Groupsite/CollectiveX platform and needed to move before we lost our minds. I guess we’ll just plan on being horribly annoyed by something on an annual basis that will trigger a site refresh/revamp from here on out.
Here’s a few listings that have come in…follow those instructions in the screenshot to see everything.
James Nash
.NET Developer
Detroit .NET Developers with C# or VB.NET coding experience. Direct responsibilities include end-to-end website development. SQL Server experience required. Contract-to-hire opportunity in the area of Healthcare IT Services.
Mark Brown
Mark is looking for Oracle Apps DBAs for long-term opportunities in Detroit…
Data Modeler opportunity…
Looking for OBIEE talent…
Kirk Sellke
Kirk is looking for Interwoven development, CA Service Desk Manager development, SR Java developer. If you or someone you know is looking for…
Matt Migliaccio
Wise Packaging Position available in Metro Detroit! Contact me for more information.
Mina Stanton, Technical Recruiter at TEKsystems
Java Java Java! Java developers needed…
Security Engineers Needed!!!
Jay Marshall
J2EE Lead/Mgr needed for Polk Southfield.
Matthew Holtz
Scripting Engineer Senior
John Channel
Enterprise Data Architect – Long Term Contract in Auburn Hills
That’s all for the moment. Thanks again to everyone that made it out last night, as well as to the BlackFinn itself, for another really great event. Don’t forget about March 23rd down at Hockeytown Cafe…looking forward to seeing everyone there and at the game!