Hundreds attended Technical.ly Delaware’s first NET/WORK jobs fair

Dressed to impress and with resumes in hand, hundreds of technologists participated in Technical.ly Delaware’s first NET/WORK event on Thursday.
The career fair — which included guest speakers, resume critiques, head shots, networking and a free happy hour — was held at the University of Delaware’s Venture Development Center, home of the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship.
More than 15 hiring organizations were present at the event, showcasing what they do and meeting with potential job candidates.

Many participants were UD students or recent graduates, but there was also a strong showing of industry leaders and seasoned technologists in the crowd.
“It was an awesome event,” said Stan Ivanov, a software developer at SevOne, one of the exhibiting organizations. “We definitely connected with people of all different backgrounds, not just students, but people with more experience, too.”
WebLinc, a Philly-based ecommerce platform and service provider, has participated in the past two NET/WORK Philadelphia events, the latest of which was held in February. WebLinc’s Ryan Amaya said he was pleasantly surprised with the turnout at the Delaware event.
“It was far more successful than I thought it would be,” said Amaya, whose company is hiring a Ruby on Rails designer, an operation engineer, a front-end engineer and a UX designer. “And we found a few people we really want to follow up with.”
Attendees had the chance to network in the main space with the dozen vendors and their representatives, but also had the opportunity to hear from various guest speakers.
Mona Parikh, the Archer Group’s community builder, led a discussion about how to break in to the Delaware tech scene. She referenced the need for collaborative communities like The Loft and 1313 Innovation, which foster working together with technologists and other partners in Wilmington and beyond.
“The power of community is the thread that runs throughout Delaware,” Parikh said.
Capital One’s Sam Binder, the bank’s senior director of technology, provided career tips to the audience during his session. Many UD students attended this conversation and asked questions about securing their first job after graduation.
The final discussion was led by Archer Group developers Frank Lee, Steve High, Alex O’Donnell and Julian Piane.

Lee and High talked about what it takes to be a programmer and how the work is more demanding than it is during college. O’Donnel and Piane interned at the Archer Group while in school, prior to accepting full-time work with the interactive marketing firm. The two told the audience how important it is to always be thinking like a programmer.
“Think like a programmer,” Piane said. “As an intern, I was modifying code and fixing bugs. I taught myself as I went. Learn it. You’re a sponge that works from project to project.”
The event closed with a happy hour, where participants mixed and mingled with one another.
“I had an excellent time at NET/WORK today!” tweeted attendee Samantha Blinde. “Met a ton of great people. Definitely planning on going to more of Technical.ly Delaware’s events.”