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!

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!

Social Gaming

Having moved onto my latest residence at Playdom, Inc. I'm now seeking software engineers with experience in Java and MySQL, PHP, etc. As well as Linux Sys Admins, QA engineers and UI designers.

Yes I'm doing tech recruiting again!

So what happened with FB? 10 months, finished the Dublin quota, so therefore it was time to move on since there were no more heads to hire. Ironic but I guess I did a good job, haha.

Playdom is a pretty neat place. Roughly 80 people, most crazy about online games, and are doing a bang up job by taking over MySpace, and now FB. Time will tell how long I'll call this my home :)

Yay!!

I guess I really really really need to work on keeping this up to date! It's always exciting when someone contacts me and tells me it's because they saw my blog :)

Of course as usual I have a GREAT excuse for why I haven't been doing this. The past two months has by far been the most dramatic and crazy in terms of my personal life for a looooong time...lots of heartbreak to say the least. But as usual, life goes on, with or without me, so I'm hopping back on the train before it leaves me behind!

As far as recruiting, Facebook Dublin is doing well! The team is growing, making their office more like home, like a little happy family. Seeing their pictures on Facebook always make me smile, and it's always a good feeling knowing I've contributed to its growth.

The madness continues! I'll continue to recruit for Online Operations folks that are bilingual in Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, etc etc. I welcome anyone to reach out to me regarding openings because as the office grows our needs will grow as well. Again I apologize to those who have reached out regarding English-speaking roles, since that's just not our priority right now.

So here's to you, 2009! I'll hang onto my optimism and hope everything else falls into place.

In anticipation of Valentine's Day

Ludgwig van Beethoven - Letters to the Immortal Beloved

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all...

No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never -...

Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together -

Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell.

Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine

ever mine

ever ours

Wrapping up my week

Wow just like that and it's Friday! 17 interviews, the last one going on right now, then one more day for me to be a total tourist and take a bus tour around Dublin.

I honestly wasn't sure if I could pull this off on my own, haha. Tuesday was by far the most challenging since I was facilitating interviews and meetings for a different group with back to back interviews and meetings that started at 9 30am and lasted all the way through to 6 30pm. I sort of "fake calmness" when I'm stressed, so I think I managed to convince others that everything was ok when inside my stomach was doing cartwheels.

I think I really like Dublin! The people are extremely friendly, and the whole city has this rustic yet modern look and feel to it. Tons of brick everywhere, meat pies and Guinness, traffic is scary and no one seems to pay attention to stop lights, not to mention despite the "look right" and "look left" signs on the ground I'm still confused about which way cars are supposed to be coming from. Also the weather is not nearly as bad as everyone said it would be, the sun is actually shining right now, I guess you appreciate what you get when you're prepared for the worst :)

Tonight I'm accompanying part of the landing team to watch their speed-dating escapade, I'll just sit back with one of the other guys and drink beer and heckle them from afar :)

I'm excited to see beyond Graftston Street and St. Stephen's Green tomorrow! Guinness Factory here I come!!

Then Sunday, leaving on a jet plane, back home to the complications of real life again...

Facebook Dublin

It is so embarrassing when candidates tell me they've looked at my blog, and the last time I updated was over 3 months ago...

The latest and greatest will be Facebook Dublin! I'm currently hiring for Online Operations in language specific markets. If you'd like more details regarding our openings, please feel free to contact me!

Excited about going to Dublin next week and freezing :)