Craig Bloem, Founder & CEO of Free Logo Services (which is not his first startup), says,

• Look at code samples – I ask them for their code and have “A” level programmers I trust look at the code and tell me how good it is.
• Similar projects – Have they worked on projects similar to what I am going to have them work on so that they will be familiar with the challenges and the technology.
• Excitement level – Are they excited and challenged by what you will have them work on? Good programmers and IT shops need to be challenged constantly.
• Use their applications – I have them bring in their own computer and show me what they have developed (apps and programs) and tell me about what parts of the programs they owned and what was challenging to them about it. You can also see how they set up their desktop and what tools they use. Look at the programs they have developed. Were they scalable? Do they accomplish their main purpose?
• Personal interaction – How do they communicate with me? Do they
  understand my questions, and what questions do they ask?
• References – I learn more out of references than anything else. Do they learn fast, how is their quality, can they manage deadlines, what are their weaknesses and strengths so I know how to work with them and what to watch out for if I hire them.
• Education – What GPA and schools did they go too. Specifically, how did they do at math?
• Github – Do they have a github account and if so,what have they written?

Ethan Roberts, President of Monkey Mind LLC, says,

• I’ve been on both sides of the fence finding consultants for companies I worked at, and now I’m an independent consultant that other companies hire. From a company standpoint, I looked for a close fit on skillset and then at personality during the interview. If one candidate had better skills but the other one was easier to work with and close on skills, I’d pick the second one because I don’t need a hassle for the whole project. As a consultant I try to have a great skillset and an easy-going personality for exactly the same reasons.

Eric Leland, of FivePaths LLC, says, “We regularly hire consultants and programmers, and help our clients do so.”

• We like to find contractors through peer resources. Partners or clients we work with may have leads or resources they have experience with.
• We trust our partners and clients, and value their experience with the talent they have hired, which makes our vetting process much easier. For some skills, we need to reach more broadly – we use professional networking organizations for various sectors that serve the talent we need. One example is the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, whose membership is experienced with many software packages that nonprofits seek.
• Professional networks exist for many established technologies, helping to aggregate smart talent, not just people who are job hunting. Smart talent, even when they are not available, can lead to great resources, helping to reduce the time it takes to find and review applicants.

Next week we’ll look at what some successful IT consultants and independent programmers have to say about the best ways to get clients. But this suggestion is too good to keep on the shelf for a week…

• Self-described hacktivist Fred Trotter says, “I found that finding clients became much easier when I ‘wrote the book’ on my subject matter”: Meaningful Use and Beyond; A Guide for IT Staff in Health Care

So: Have you considered writing a book about the area where your greatest skills lie? It can be a major career boost.

• Sheel Mohnot, Director of Business Development for FeeFighters, says, “Chicago is the best place to be a programmer… It has a really low cost of living, coupled with a great lifestyle and a burgeoning tech scene.”

Brian Kelly, Director of Software Architecure at TimeTrade Systems, boosts the Boston area. He says:

• Boston “…has it all: ski resorts, sunny beaches, Irish pubs, and plenty of well-paid jobs around to fund regular excurions to each. Plus, it’s got more super-smart nerds coming out of local colleges each year than you can shake a joystick at.”

If Boston doesn’t appeal, Don West, Director of Customer Support at Ability LLC, says:

Northwest Arkansas is a beautiful place to live, one of the best in the country because of the low population and awesome access to outdoor activites. Programming jobs are not hard to find, and the starting pay of $35-$40k per year is not bad either.

Or how about Florida, between Palm Beach and Daytona? We got this blatant recruiting pitch for a company there:

• The best place to be a programmer is Port Saint Lucie, Florida if you could be so lucky as to work for Bongiovi Acoustics. The company’s pedigree is in the studio as it’s helmed by record producer and award winning engineer Tony Bongiovi (yeah that Bon Jovi) who produced his cousin Jon’s first record and discs for Aerosmith, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Black Sabbath and designed and built the world famous award winning Power Station studios where Bruce Springsteen recorded Born in the USA and Madonna recorded Like a Virgin.

Um.. okay. This was sent in by Gail Parentau of Parenteau Guidance. Sounds like an interesting job lead, if nothing else.

And Michael Barfoot, a recruiter in N. Carolina, writes:

• I think the best place in the US to be a Programmer is the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill). You can reinforce this with several points. The Greater Raleigh Metropolitan area is the fastest growing in the US. Raleigh alone grew 42% between 2000-2010. Fully staffed, Research Triangle Park has 40,000 computer employees. Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina and has several IT related, government positions. We have 3 major universities within a 30 mile radius (N.C. State, UNC and Duke-They help educate upcoming IT professionals and they employ several others). Raleigh was also named the number one place in the country to live by a publication recently because of several of these reasons, as well as schools and cost of living. Also, Raleigh has won that title at least 5 times in the last 15 years and is almost always listed as one of the 10 best cities to live in the US.

I have friends who live in or near Raleigh and love it, and know people who live in (or near) and like Chicago, Boston, and Port St. Lucie — and a few who echo Ryan Bednar, CTO @ Tutorspree.com, who says he’s lived in both San Francisco and New York, and believes that “salaries for programmers are slightly higher in SF than NYC, but NYC is a much better place to live, so NYC wins right now.”

It’s good that we have so many different tastes in places to love. Otherwise, we’d all live in a single 3000 story high-rise, and the rest of the country would be covered with robot-run farms where all the crops were irrigated with Brawndo.

• Tal Guest, Network Product Engineer at Bomgar, replied that Jackson, MS is a great place for programmers because, “There is less competition for great jobs, and an extremely low cost of living. Plus Jackson is a great place to live: southern hospitality, plentiful activities for the outdoor sportsman, and a central location for weekend excursions to New Orleans, Memphis, or the beach.”

In case you were wondering, Bomgar is actively recruiting.

• Robert Pease, at Gist (located in Seattle), thinks Seattle is as good as it gets. He even published a blog post in early July about Seattle’s startup culture. He says, “Startups can’t happen without a few important ingredients, including innovative and inspired people living and working nearby each other; a community that values collaboration and cooperation; and a local government and population that support new businesses (large and small).”

Okay, I’m sold. We’ll start loading the car tonight, and try to head out the day after tomorrow.

John Simpson, Vice President of Marketing at Jama Software, disagrees with Mr. Pease. His take:

• It has to be Portland, Oregon, hands down.

  There are giants like Intel, HP and Nike in our backyard, but there is a new wave of start-ups like Jive, Jama Software, ShopIgniter, Janrain, Urban Airship to name a few that are exploding and doing creative, social, distributive technologies. The beaches are an hour west and Mt. Hood w/ year round skiing is an hour East.

  We’re the greenest city in America, bike-friendly, dog-friendly and tech-geek-friendly. The music, art and food scenes are world-class. Housing is affordable relative to our neighbors on the West Coast such as Seattle or San Francisco. Traffic isn’t bad. What else would you want? If you can tolerate the rain for half the year, then you’re golden! Welcome to Portlandia baby, we’re hiring!

Did I say my wife and I were going to Seattle? Slight change of plans. Portland is obviously the place to be.

Sarah Welle of Rocware says:

• The best place to be a programmer in the US is Longmont, Colorado or any of the small towns outside of Boulder. Huge per capita IT Industry with lots of investment money floating around in Boulder. Easy access to it all from the rural-feeling cities at the base of the Rockies that surround Boulder. Best place in the US to have backyard chickens, keep bees, and have your own “urban homestead” – all while making a good living in the IT industry. I live in Longmont and love it

Greg Starling, Technology VP for MTM Recognition in Oklahoma City says:

• In OKC, energys booming, everyones hiring, and companies are offering perks on top of perks to come, hang out, and enjoy big city life – country style.

And let’s not rule out our nation’s capital. Josh Jeffryes, Lead UI Engineer at The College Board, says,

• I think the DC Metro area is one of the best in the nation for any tech professional. I chose it over Boulder and San Francisco, because Boulder paid half as much and San Francisco paid the same with twice the cost and worse quality of life.

Also, he adds:

• The DC Metro area gives you a Silicon Valley salary, but you can raise your kids here. The best schools in the nation, progressive, friendly communities and homes you can actually afford make this a no-brainer when you’re done living with your 3 buddies in a tiny apartment.

Not a single response mentioned Silicon Valley or San Francisco as a good place to be a programmer and live a decent life. Interesting.

I got more excellent “Where’s the best place for a programmer to live and work?” responses to share with you than I have room for today. I’ll post the rest Wednesday or Thursday.

And unconferences and hackathons and LUGs and so on. These are all seriously good places to meet people who can actually hire you. Plus, the events themselves tend to be both interesting and fun.

So please, get off your duff and go to some of them!

This is not a woman addressing “you programmers” or “you IT industry people,” because she has major programming and IT chops herself, including a Masters in EECS from MIT and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science and Economics from Smith College.

The thing is, Sramana says, it’s no longer enough just to be a bit-twiddler, assuming that ever was enough. Look at the people who start successful Internet companies and you see that sure, they might be able to write code, but their main skill is in figuring out what people need, and only then setting down to write code — or to tell other people what to write.

Moving on up

In Sramana’s view of Silicon Valley, the local creative process started with chips and is now focused on high-level applications that interact directly with human beings. Building chips and writing their instruction sets took (and still takes) great knowledge of electronics. Writing applications for people takes great knowledge of people, and you can’t get that knowledge sitting in front of your computer, because we have five senses, not just the two (vision and sound) that come to us through our Internet connections.

Instead of spending all your time in IRC, you must connect with other people face to face. You need to dance with them; to look at art, and discuss art and music and perhaps literature with them. The idea here is that a well-rounded programmer will write software that is more tuned in to what non-programmer people actually need than someone who spends all day and night staring at a screen.

The renaissance salon

Picture a small group of people who get together weekly and play music or show art or discourse on their latest work. This is a salon, and in Paris the leading renaissance salonnière was Madame Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin. She invited groups from one discipline to her house on Mondays and another on Wednesdays. With each participant bringing something to present, even if it was just an amusing tale they’d picked up that morning, conversation was lively, and everyone went away knowing something they hadn’t known before that evening.

In the 1970s, a woman named Sonia held regular salons in her San Francisco (Mission District) home. I attended a number of them and always came away, as intended, knowing not only something I hadn’t known before, but something I didn’t even know I didn’t know. This is a common, happy result of enjoying the company of people you might not meet in the course of ordinary life, and it is the essence of the salon experience.

Sramana is trying to bring salon culture to Silicon Valley, where, she says, “Many of our nerds are absolutely brilliant. But to achieve brilliance in the next phase of Silicon Valley’s history, they perhaps need to interact more with some liberal arts types.”

Silicon Valley: The Next Decade

This is the title of a June 4, 2011 post on Sramana’s blog, and it’s where I cribbed the quote in the preceding paragraph.

If you are interested in becoming a 21st century software or Internet entrepreneur — or in becoming a more human-oriented IT person at any career stage from entry level on up, you should read that blog post and spend some time thinking about what it says.

And if you are already a wealthy Silican Valley magnate, please note that Sramana mentions rich renaissance patrons spurring the creation of works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and others. And how, compared to Florence during the Enlightenment, Silicon Valley is a cultural wasteland.

Silicon Valley in 2020

The third page of Sramana’s Silicon Valley: The Next Decade post talks about how it might be to live in a culturally-enriched version of the place, circa 2020. It certainly does sound nice, although I personally believe that in many ways the Silicon Valley culture district is San Francisco, which already has plenty of galleries, restaurants, and places for innovative musicians to perform.

Now let’s think outside the Silicon Valley box. What if we used the presence of a thriving arts community somewhere else to lure technologists or to serve as the nucleus of a new arts-plus-tech region?

This is certainly not a new idea. Urban studies pioneer Richard Florida has built a career by saying, over and over, that bringing in lots of creative people in one field can lure creative people in other fields until you have a critical mass and, Presto! Silicon Valley.

Or a Silicon Swamp, Silicon Alley or Silicon Prairie.

Naturally, a whole lot of killjoys have pointed out that Stanford, Berkeley, SF State, and other local research universitie, are probably a larger factor in Silicon Valley being Silicon Valley than the presence of a strong creative community, and this is entirely possible.

But that’s all macro stuff. At the personal level, no matter where you live, the more time you spend dealing with actual, living and breathing people, the more likely you are to pick up what they need and want from the technology they use — and from technology they would like to use, if only it existed.

And this is where you come in, isn’t it?

So this isn’t a one-month statistical blip. It’s a serious shift in IT employment.

Foote says, “The trend of employers no longer wishing to employ large numbers of their own full-timers in what are mostly pure technology IT jobs has been building over a very long period of time.” We now have managed services, offshoring, and “the cloud,” all of which cut the need for traditional (or at least traditionally-titled) IT workers.

But, says Foote, “by far the biggest force of all shaping change in jobs and in the overall composition of the IT workforce has been the fact that the role of information technology in the enterprise is now so pervasive that managing it is distributed throughout the enterprise.”

So over here you have a couple of people in the marketing department who just happen to have mad IT skillz. And over there you have a few who are pretty good programmers but are part of a mechanical engineering team instead of being locked behind a door with a sign on it that says, “Here There Be Programmers.”

Foote says his research shows that these “multiskilled IT-business specialists outnumber the traditionally skilled IT workforce by roughly four to one.”

But the federal government’s job statistics haven’t caught up with this shift in IT employment practices, so all we know about these new multiskilled IT-business specialists is that there are a whole bunch of them — he estimates around 20 million — out there, and that government agencies undercount them because they don’t fit into traditional job pigeonholes.

“Does this mean I should go back to school?”

Maybe it does. If there’s an employment field outside of IT that winds your stem, check it out. If you’re interested in marketing, Foote says you should look at marketing studies — or at getting some direct marketing experience, which is better to have in today’s business climate than a degree or other “paper” certification.

But whatever you do, be glad that you’re in a field where demand isn’t dropping the way it is for, say, American (and even Chinese) furniture factory workers.

A little adroit resume-wrangling, coupled, perhaps, with a willingness to move, can make a person with IT experience and skills among the most employable and best-paid workers in the world.

Link: Foote Partners study quoted above.