Rory Cullen, Kaizen Software Developer

Although not directly from my writings in this blog, I think I can report the first success stemming from its existence. The announcement of the blog during a networking lunch last week in Littleton MA led to a phone call and subsequent dinner with the CEO and VP of an independent computer game company yesterday. This dinner has led me to my first WWFF opportunity working on a web application related to their main game. I probably can’t be any more specific about the opportunity at this time due to my non-disclosure agreement, but it will build upon, and expand, my current knowledge, which was the whole goal of this process!

The founders did point out the irony that I get to work on a game site, despite the fact that I do not actually play computer games myself. Of course, the reason I don’t play them is because I am too busy in the job hunt, right? And I spend enough time on my computer as it is. Either way, it seems unlikely that I’ll go into marketing for them then. Anyway, apparently your average gamer would kill for this opportunity. Hmm, that sounds familiar doesn’t it? Guess free is the more effective path toward opportunity in this case.

So, does this mean the blog is done? Not really. First, let me say I am very excited about this opportunity. I feel a great rapport with the people I’ve met, and I feel like this is a supportive environment where I’ll be able to give as much as I’ll get. This is the ideal for both sides. The downside is that there is no real hope that this company can hire me in the near future. While I will get real experience that will show on my résumé, I do not get a chance to be hired into a full time role. In addition, I have no idea how long this opportunity will remain active. It is possible that my work will wrap up quickly, or they will decide not to move forward with the current effort. I guess it’s like any paying job: Just because you are currently employed, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep your eyes open for the next opportunity.

In this light, I plan to continue the blog. Needless to say, my eventual goal is to land a paid position in my chosen field, and I think this blog remains vital to that cause. If nothing more, I should be able to blog about my WWFF experiences.

Thank you to everyone who has come here so far, you are really helping me out. Time to get to work!

Side Note: I want to note a unique and important thing that my new free-ployer did for me. Instead of just viewing my résumé, he went to my online portfolio and actually played with each Java application out there. As a developer himself, he was really able to see what I had done, and in fact was pointing out features and details that I hadn’t realized were a big deal. I know that I can’t expect many potential employers to do this, but it was great to get the feedback from an experienced developer. Because he took the extra time, he was able to basically market me to me, which made me realize I need to do a better job in that department! That said, my portfolio did its job by showing “proof of concept” applications to the potential employer.