Of Perl Jobs

So I've been on the receiving end of a couple of unsolicited emails regarding open positions in a couple of companies. And it is odd to get these kinds of emails, especially when they aren't from recruiters, but from the hiring manager themselves. It is a little flattering, to say the least.

That said, the one thing these emails/companies/etc have in common is that the culture that makes me the most productive just isn't there, mentioned, or encouraged. Now, one could say my workplace is a little unorthodox since we are all virtual, but in the grand scheme of things, it isn't the virtual part that matters the most. What matters the most is that our company isn't isolated from the community.

We actively participate on CPAN, IRC, message boards, and most of the major modern Perl projects mailing lists. In our day to day, our communications circle encompasses the community. We contribute to important projects. We release generic solutions to problems we've solved in the course of our business. And we make use of others' solutions as they have released them. Frankly, I don't see how we could get much done if we /didn't/ invest as heavily in the community as we do.

So when I get emails or see job postings from companies that fail to mention any level of community participation, they are placed into the round file holder. And I am not alone in this. The people that I would consider my peers, other community members, the "rockstars" for which these job postings are seeking, aren't about to jump ship from a culture of shared commons and productivity to one of isolation and take-but-not-give-back.

So in the future, if you recruiters or hiring managers wish to cater to truly senior level Perl developers, Perl developers working with the state-of-the-art, please take the time to understand that there are deeper motivations than merely salary, location, or even the business domain.