Thursday, December 9, 2010

Limbo

Laid off after only two short months. There was a lot of "it's not you, it's us" during the discussion. In my case I believe them since recruiting is always the first to go when a company isn't hiring, so can't say I didn't see it coming...

Luckily for me, VMware really is like my family, and are welcoming me back with open arms. For others affected like myself, I'd have to say they're less lucky, and I'm doing what I can to connect them to others in my network to help them out.

If your company is hiring, now is a good time to reach out to me if you're looking for great talent because I know of some great people looking for work!

More to come after a weekend in Vancouver!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Back to social gaming!

Yup I've done it. I've moved on yet again!

Tomorrow I will start at CrowdStar (a social gaming start-up, you may have heard of some of their games, ie Happy Pets, Happy Aquarium, Zoo Paradise, check out www.crowdstar.com for a complete list) as their Staffing Manager. They've risen quickly as a major contender in the social gaming industry.

I've had a chance to play a part in participating in and shaping many different types of staffing infrastructures and processes, and now I've been given the chance to build my own. Definitely feeling that bit of IC-transitioning-to-management anxiety right now.

I can't thank my team at VMware enough for the support, encouragement, and the good laughs they've provided during my second stint. I shall be looking forward to the occasional catch-up sessions in the future :)

Having met with the intelligent and dedicated team that CrowdStar is comprised of right now, I have no doubt that I'm in for an awesome ride. My limits will be tested and pushed to the extreme (oh how I've missed start-up life!) and I can't wait to begin.

More to come after I find out just what I've signed myself up for!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Did I mention I'm now back at VMware?

Done it yet again! Someone read my blog and reminded me of how an update is so tragically overdue!

So let's play catch up! Between a trip to LA, Michigan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Maine, and Las Vegas, here's what I've been doing work-wise:

I went to Playdom back in July 2009, and left at the end of Feb 2010. Playdom was at over 400 people by the time I left (props to the recruiting team for a bang-up job!), and was just recently acquired by Disney.

I'm very proud of my Playdom Peeps, made a lot of great friends, and wish them nothing but continued success, but I just couldn't resist coming back to VMware to work with my old manager, aka my greatest mentor of all time. He popped the question, I said yes, and voila, full-circle, back to my old stomping grounds!

A few things have changed since I left.
#1, they now have this AWESOME gym! I still remember pitching the fact that VMware is in the middle of building this world-class gym to candidates back in 2007, and in the back of my mind calling BS, but they've done it! Place is run by staff from Club One Fitness, has the latest exercise equipment, and a basketball court which can also double as a volleyball court, a racquetball court, a fully manicured soccer field right outside, and instructors who come in to teach spinning, martial arts, TRX, and most importantly YOGA. (I've sort of become obsessed with yoga ever since my time at Playdom.)

#2. No more free lunch Wednesdays. But the snacks are as plentiful as ever, there is still on-site dry-cleaning, and Posh Bagel Wednesdays.

#3. Since Facebook is now headquartered about 2 blocks from where we are, I can frequently go visit and have nachos on Wednesdays.

Haha ok so my priorities are very blatantly exercise and food-related. But I will also add that the amount of talent I now see at VMware is tremendous! We're attracting many industry leaders to come work for us, and there have been some awesome product releases and major acquisitions. VMWorld 2010 just took place in SF two weeks ago and had over 17,000 in attendance!

I'm currently working on filling positions in the areas of Product Security, Cloud Services, Virtual Datacenter Flash Computing and Enterprise Management. Things are as challenging as ever, with me working hard to fill "purple squirrel" requisitions. (What is a purple squirrel you ask? They don't exist. Duh.) Keeps the brain busy!

Of course if you happen to be reading this and would like to make my life easier by referring industry experts or presenting yourself to me as an industry expert, please feel free :)

I think that covers the past year and two months!