After nearly three wonderful years with KForce, I'm packing up my desk....

And relocating with the rest of the KForcers to our new office in Maitland!!! (What, did you other firms think you were finally rid of me?? So sorry to disappoint!)

Today marks the last day in our quasi-fabulous office downtown and it is one of mixed emotions. One one hand, I'm sad to say "goodbye" to the place where I got my start and learned what it really meant to be obnoxious and pushy...and to help people. I fondly remember my interview at KForce (one where I arrived 15 minutes late because I went to the wrong building...SunTrust, AmSouth...same difference), my first candidate interview (where the candidate had a seizure and I thought I was being punked so I just sat there and giggled), my first "team" meeting where a disgruntled KForcer (no longer with us) threw a chair because he wasn't happy with his ISM list, my first experience with lay-offs (where I was the last man and least tenured person standing), and my first placement (and subsequent first HR showdown). I will never forget the many natural disasters that we have faced in this building (fires, floods...seriously, folks) and I will always remember the time I got stuck in the elevator fondly. Or not. I will miss the scary (female) building manager with the mullet, having to pay for parking ($75.00 a month!!), and the continuous fire drills (that didn't involve nice looking firefighters), and getting locked in the stairwell for nearly an hour.

Ahhhhhh memories.

I will miss the happy hours-true story. I am fortunate to work with a great group of people and many a happy hour have been enjoyed (and much needed) after stressful (but fun!) days at "The Force."

After cleaning out my desk, it is amazing what a person can accumulate over the course of a few years. Some fun artifacts that were discovered include: a full Lenox set of serving utensils (I'm talking six pieces, people, and two cake servers), a wine bottle opener (actually, that can probably be explained rather easily...I do work at KForce after all), tanning lotion (I'm Irish, yet still so disillusioned), three belts, one pair of shoes, glasses (I wasn't aware I wear glasses), pictures of cats (yet I own zero cats), and a small child. Kidding about the child. Maybe. Cleansing my cube office of clutter took far longer than I expected...four hours to be exact, but now I feel ready to go and get a fresh start in Maitland.

All kidding aside, I am excited about the move to Maitland (even though I have no idea where to take my happy hour tomfoolery). Our "scouts" spent a lot of time searching for great office space that will be both convenient for our clients and candidates...and more economical for all. (read: free parking for candidates and KForcers) The space should be finished this Sunday (just in time for us on Monday) and will be a welcomed change. We can now bid farewell to our call center-ish looking space and embrace something much more classy. Regardless of this location change, KForce is going strong and still striving to be the firm most respected by those we serve. We have three healthy business lines in Orlando (and now Jacksonville, too) and have some great people spreading the good word 24/7.

Our new address is:

2301 Lucien Way
Suite 130
Maitland, FL 32751

(407)667-4000

I promise: Though the new digs do not boast the beautiful view of I-4, nothing else is changing. The same awesome talent remains and we hope that even though we are trekking it to suburbia, you will come see us for all of your career/staffing needs.

And Then I Saw Her Face, Now I'm a Believer

So a while ago, I blogged about Twitter and wanted to know what all of the hype was about. I had been hearing about it more and more through candidates and at various User Group meetings, but I was very skeptical. How in the world could I improve my business or make more valuable connections just by updating my status every time I had some random thought or did something somewhat cute, but oh so quirky? We had discussed it a few times in the office (mainly because it is blocked by KForce) and the general consensus was Twitter was just another fad. I was not a big believer. I thought Twitter was bunk.

I was incredibly stupid.

Fast forward a few weeks.

It was a normal morning; I was running late, grumpy, and in serious need of some coffee (black). I walked into my office, sat down at my desk, and was instantly alerted to two emails from my co-worker, Ryan. My first reaction was to get annoyed that he was emailing me with work so early in the morning. I was, after all, still waking up. Begrudgingly, I opened the emails and saw that they contained articles about Twitter. I was intrigued. Kind of. (I partially read them just because I knew he’d ask me about them later.) In any event, the article (below) was from the Orlando Sentinel and was about a girl named Brittany Ward that lost her job and used Twitter and Facebook to broadcast that and drum up some publicity.

Very smart, very creative girl. I liked her approach. A lot.

So much in fact that I felt compelled to help. I put on my staffing cap and thought for a moment about who I knew that could use someone with her background. And then it happened. I had a moment of pure genius (it doesn’t happen too often). After stalking her on Linked In and getting her resume, I forwarded it to my friends over at Nature’s Table. My instincts were right because they liked her just as much as I did. After a week or so of interviews, they offered Brittany the job and she accepted.

Like I said, before this happened, I was very anti-Twitter. I hate the constant updates (about what you are eating, color underwear you are wearing, etc.) on Facebook so I made an uneducated assumption and assumed Twitter was the same way. After seeing how it can be utilized, I am a big believer. In fact, I created my profile (OrlandoTechNuts) last night and have joined in on the action…so now I can alert everyone that cares to my every move.

To learn more about Brittany Ward, the girl that opened my eyes to the powers of social media marketing, check out her blog at: http://beholdalady.wordpress.com/


Brittany's Debut: Her Article

Lose your job? Tell your Facebook, Twitter friends
Etan Horowitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
April 21, 2009


Brittany Ward, at her Orlando apartment, has kept up with job prospects with help from online friends after being laid off. (Roberto Gonzalez, Orlando Sentinel / April 17, 2009)

Just minutes after she was laid off from her job earlier this month, Brittany Ward pulled out her cell phone and typed a short message.

"Needs a job."

Ward, a 23-year-old account manager at an Altamonte Springs marketing firm, hadn't even told her family.

But when she hit enter, more than 2,000 friends, family members and strangers learned of her plight via Twitter and Facebook.

In the past, victims of layoffs used to share the news with a close circle of family and friends. You might only learn of a co-worker's job loss if you saw him packing up his desk.

But today, thanks to social-networking tools, the newly unemployed are coming out of the dark.

For those accustomed to sharing news of breakups, car accidents and other major life changes, revealing a layoff online comes naturally.

Those who have used online tools to tell the world they're out of work say it's a more effective way to communicate news that might be too difficult to verbalize, and doing so instantly brings a stream of supportive and helpful messages.

It can also be a good way to jump-start a job search.

Ward, a 2006 graduate of the University of Central Florida, said posting online saved her the unpleasant task of having to repeatedly tell friends and family she was laid off.

"You end up feeling worse after retelling the story many times in a row," said Ward, who lives in Baldwin Park. "With Twitter, all of a sudden, they hear the story, and you don't have to keep repeating it."

Oops, I Did it Again...

Did what, you ask? I just couldn’t help myself…

In addition to ONETUG and DotNetNuke, KForce is now sponsoring all of Lakeland’s .Net User Group meetings.

How did this happen you ask?

It was a dark and stormy night…

And I had the pleasure of attending the Lakeland .NET User Group where Fabio Honigmann was speaking (again, because he is that awesome, seriously).
This was my first time venturing to South Central that is Lakeland and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have heard mythical stories about country folk and good BBQ ribs, but I didn’t have too much else to go on. I was nervous.

As we arrived at University of South Florida Polytechnic and embarked on our long walk to room 1125, my mind was racing. I wondered, “Who would I meet?" and “How would this meeting compare to the other User Groups I attend?”

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to meet a tremendous group of people that shared a love for all things Microsoft and are extremely talented (and normal). My partner from Tampa, Michael “Miggy” McCarthy, was there, too, so that made things even better. It was going to be a good meeting. My anxiety waned…until I was alerted to something that I thought was just unfair…and well, for lack of better words, crappy. It seemed that this fine group had been overlooked and needed some sponsors to provide some food, drinks, and some lively entertainment that only a staffing firm could provide. It didn’t seem fair to me that Orlando and Tampa get all the love and Lakeland gets left out in the cold like the redheaded stepchild. Michael and I were deeply troubled and were hell-bent on doing something to help. (Maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but you KNOW me…) In any event, my mind was racing throughout most of the meeting as I feverishly exchanged emails with my Director, Brian “BC” Coffey.

The (very professional) exchange went something like this:

Me: “My little wheels are turning. This group has been meeting for a long time and they don’t have a sponsor. WTF. This would be an awesome opportunity to take care of some .NET folks. We have to sponsor them! I will even do it out of my own pocket! What do you say, BC??? Pretty please?”

BC: “We’ll talk manana”.

So what is a girl to do with “We’ll talk manana”? I pulled the typical Megan and just went ahead and did it anyway. Some people say I’m pushy (and when I say some people, I mean pretty much everyone, including my parents)…I just think I’m a girl that goes after what she wants. In any event, I broke the news to Brian while I feasted on wings and beer with some of my new .NET friends, and he, thankfully, hopped on the Lakeland .NET train right along with Miggy and me.

KForce is very excited about our partnership with this User Group and we look forward to helping the .NET community in anyway we can. Personally, I’m a big fan of the .NET community and I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to extend my network, meet some great people, and make some new friends.

Last night’s presentation (on MVC) was awesome and Fabio did a great job. He will be speaking at Jacksonville’s meeting next month, so please get with me if you want some info on that meeting.

For more information on Lakeland’s .NET User Group community, please check out: http://www.lakelandug.net/

Fabio bids adieu to sexy romances….and takes up programming?

Ok, ok...not that Fabio, but close. Kind of.

Be prepared to be wooed by the words and web developer ways of Fabio Honigmann at tonight’s meeting of the Tampa ASP.NET MVC Developer Group. In this presentation Fabio will get down and dirty as he describes his experience developing a MVC Website for the 2009 Orlando .NET Code Camp. He will be holding nothing back as he reveals the good, bad, and ugly about using Microsoft MVC framework from a Web Forms background perspective.

Fabio will also tell the tales of team interaction, and all of the palpable tension that grew…while developing in MVC. If that isn’t sexy, I don’t know what is. Oh, wait…yes I do. Raw, uncensored...real world code. There will be full exposure as Fabio puts his code samples on display.

All of this filth will take place at the Microsoft Office in Tampa, Florida from 6:30pm-8:30pm. KForce will be sponsoring this event (Ohhhhh yeahhhhh) and will be providing tantalizing treats (pizza and coke, folks…easy does it, fellas).

To learn more about this Fabio-lous event and the speaker himself, visit: http://www.tampadev.org/.

It promises to be an unforgettable, mind-blowing experience that you won't forget.

Day of DotNetNuke...The Best Thing to Hit Tampa Since KForce Corporate!

Mark you calendars, boys and girls! Day of DotNetNuke is coming to Tampa. This fantastic event is being held on June 13th from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the Microsoft Office in Tampa, Florida. The floodgates open for speakers on May 2nd and all spaces are expected to fill up quicker than Britney Spears can…pop some pills, lose her kids, shave her head…you get the point.

I’m sure some of you are wondering, “What exactly is Day of DotNetNuke?” Well don’t feel bad. After all, there is no such thing as stupid questions, just stupid people.

The Day of DotNetNuke is very similar to Code Camp. The objective is to provide valuable information about DotNetNuke to the local DNN community, provided by local DNN community members. The Day of DotNetNuke is being organized by the Orlando DotNetNuke Users Group, or ODUG, which is lead by the All Mighty Will Strohl.

For those of you that think nine hours of DotNetNuke fun just isn’t enough (ME!!), you will be pleased to know that there will be an after party, too. The venue for DNN After Dark is not decided yet so be sure to cast your vote on the Day of DotNetNuke website. KForce (Orlando and Tampa Tech) will be there all day and into the wee hours of the night (of course!) and will be showering the DNN followers with as much sponsor-love as they can handle. Feel free to hunt us down with any questions or just to chat…we really are friendly, I swear!

I am very excited about this event and Will and the rest of ODUG are putting a ton of work into it. It should be a great one and I hope to see everyone there!

Make sure you visit: www.dayofdnn.com for more information on the event and to register.

It is a Beautiful Day to Earn Some Good Karma!

To everyone out there that had too much fun and made bad decisions this weekend, I have some great news for you; there is still hope. You can score some points with the man upstairs by giving back to a great organization by helping someone out who is dealing with something far worse than a hangover.

Though this post has nothing to do with technology (I’m such a rebel), I was recently made aware of a charity that I feel compelled to tell everyone (and their mother) about that benefits an awesome cause. The charity is called Dorothy’s Family. Dorothy’s Family was founded on May 18th, 2007 by my friend’s brother to honor their mother, who fought the good fight with lung cancer with optimism and courage. This charity was established in order to serve children affected by cancer. All money raised is used to make their lives a little brighter by providing video games, DVD players, and other toys. Since the charity was established, there have been several Dorothy’s Family events in Illinois that were very successful. Because of this success and the opportunity to serve the local Orlando community, a Dorothy’s Family Trivia Night is being held this Thursday evening downtown. (Please get with me if you would like additional information on that event.) This event is being held to benefit the pediatric oncology ward at Arnold Palmer Hospital.

As with any charity, any contribution helps and goes a long way. Anyone interested in serving this tremendous cause can make independent donations. Independent donations should be sent to PO Box 4203 Lisle, IL 60532. In the near future, Dorothy’s Family will also have a PayPal link up on the website, too. The website is: www.dorothysfamily.org.

I lost my father to cancer in 2007 and I’m pretty certain that everyone knows someone who has struggled with this terrible illness and that is the reason I feel so compelled to help. Please do not feel obligated, but rather inspired by an incredible organization that is giving back in spite of tremendous loss!

Let Us Not Forget About the Little People: Tampa Tech Hosts Day of Ruby!

So I’m very (VERY) good at talking about myself (you can’t spell Megan without the “ME”), the KForce Orlando Tech Team, and all of the spectacular things we do for the IT community (Code Camp, champion for ONETUG, DotNetNuke UG, SharePoint UG, ISSA, etc.) but sometimes I get so caught up in my own greatness that I forget to mention the other people in KForce that are head and shoulders above the rest. So, without further ado, let me introduce the KForce Tampa Tech team and tell you about the great event they are hosting on Saturday, May 16th.

As many of you may (or may not) know, KForce is headquartered in Tampa and we have a pretty ridiculous (ridiculously good, that is!) and tenured technology team in place. Jason Maroney (Market Vice President) is the fearless leader and he rules, I mean runs, the Orlando and Tampa offices. Kim Bohinick is the Tampa Tech’s Market Manager and one of the best Account Managers Tampa has to offer. Tampa also boasts the following Account Managers: Craig Brooks, Kevin Melchin, Kris Katelman (Tech Perm), and Nicole Stephenson (Tech Perm). Collectively, this team has one of the most impressive books of business around, consistently put the competition to shame, and wears the KForce jersey proudly. On the recruiting side, Tampa Tech has four rock stars putting people (consistently!) to work and building partnerships with the best IT talent and User Groups in town. If you are looking for an awesome IT opportunity in Tampa (or Lakeland and other surrounding areas) Brian Dodd, Lauren McClernan, Michael McCarthy, and Adam Hodz are the only people you should be contacting!

In addition to just being plain good at what they do, these folks are also huge advocates of the local IT community. The latest example of their unwavering commitment to the local market is their participation in Day of Ruby.

What exactly is Day of Ruby, you ask? Well, I’m so glad you asked. A Day of Ruby is a *free* one day event to get your hands on and up to speed on Ruby, Rails, and all the goodness of dynamic programming. All of this fun and excitement will take place on May 16th. Sessions start at 9:00am (sharp!) but plan to get there a little early to get situated and meet the awesome Tampa team! There will be several sessions offered and this event is limited to 100 people. Spaces are filling up fast so make sure to register so you can be a part of the action.
Check out the event at: http://tampa.dayofruby.com

This event would be a great time even if it was held in a third world prison (Ruby really is that great, folks!) but fortunately the team in Tampa has arranged for accommodations that are much more comfortable. Like many other tech events in Tampa, this event is going to be help at the KForce corporate offices because KForce is that awesome and cares that much! If that isn’t a sure sign of commitment, I don’t know what is!

For more information on this event (or if you just feel like talking to someone really, really cool) contact Lauren McClernan at (813) 552-2917.