What do you say me and you drop the act: everybody loves some good swag.
From the branded bottle opener to the coveted company T-shirt; from the lowly beer koozie to the high-end portable charger; freebies make the tech events go ’round.
And last Thursday, at the first suburban iteration of our NET/WORK jobs fair series, 18 Philly-area companies brought out the big guns. Swag-wielding hiring reps linked up with over 120 smart folks to talk about who they were hiring for and why. It was a real-life manifestation of the work we do here every day, dear reader: connect you to the latest opportunities in Philadelphia’s increasingly tech-driven economy.
Honoring his audiovisual roots, Technical.ly Editor-in-Chief Zack Seward couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do some live reporting on the swag situation, so he took over our Snapchat for the first installation the Technically Media Swag Report.
Wow pls watch @technicallym Live Snapchat Swag Report by @zackseward 'cause it's fun and funny 😂 ft. #networkburbs16 pic.twitter.com/fNGk8TrjG7
— Christopher Wink (@christopherwink) October 27, 2016
There were awesome lil Albert Einstein dolls from VWR (because the company’s slogan is “we enable science,” get it?). Or how about the very popular T-shirts from fintech company CardConnect.
But according to several accounts — more like an informal poll of Technically Media employees — the winner of the evening’s swag game was Chalfont, Pa.-based AWeber, with the high-quality beanies and socks.
We’ll let you be the judge:
However, attendees at NET/WORK Suburbs walked away from eMoney Advisor’s Radnor offices with more than just freebies in a tote bag. They had a chance to take a deep dive into a pool of high-paying tech jobs.
And for the more insightful observer, the event was a signal of how the Philly suburbs remain an important component of that abstract idea we keep referring to as the “Philly tech scene.” Companies along the Main Line, in King of Prussia, Conshohocken and beyond have established a nifty tech corridor, which, if our jobs fair (or board) is any indication, is positioned to become prime real estate for those elusive millennial devs.
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