Advocate – Groningen Rain

10 April 2021

Call Guinness?

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Eighty Seven]

Over the past four weeks I applied to thirty opportunities – twenty-one companies spoke with me sixty-seven times and six extended offers.

How?

Besides luck?

Good question.

But first the news:

Most all of the jobs I applied to without knowing someone first were rejected. Almost all of the interviews were from opportunities found within my network. Built over many many years.

It starts with interpersonal communication and networking over many years. Which, sure, feels overwhelming. But start now. And in a few years you’ll have an extensive network, too.

Put your resume online.

With samples.

Like https://rainleander.github.io/cv/.

7 April 20219 April 2021

Do You Have Time Or Money?

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Eighty Four]

If you’re thinking of going the open source route because it’s #FreeAsInBeer take a hard look at your resources and tell me which you have less of – time or money.

Because if you have very little money, but plenty of time, then, yes, explore the open source version.

However, if you have very little time, but plenty of money, then get the enterprise version.

These are the strongest indicators for whether to go the open source route or the enterprise route.

But first the news:

When I was the community liaison for RDO Project one of my responsibilities was demonstrations and talks and a LOT of people were interested because they wanted to save some money.

Which is completely understandable.

The popularity of open source over the past few years is driven in part by the global economic recession – when you don’t have money, then open source IS fiscally cheaper than enterprise.

However, you MUST have time to learn the technology, to troubleshoot, to administer, to hack, to play, to experiment, and PLENTY of time to fail.

Because you will fail.

And you must persevere.

And when you do, yes, you’ll have a project that cost you less money.

But more time.

And how much is your time worth?

2 April 2021

Forty Two!

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Seventy Nine]

Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash

This week’s interview total is eleven bringing the grand total over the past three weeks up to forty two interviews.

Considering I took two entire days off of interviewing, I’m rather impressed with this week’s numbers.

Also, I’m super tired.

But first the news:

Next week I also have eleven interviews already scheduled with four different companies, but I’m also expecting to hear from two more companies eminently.

But this weekend?

This weekend I’m totally going to get a towel to celebrate forty two interviews. And focus on creating a magical time for a pair of minions who still totally believe in the Easter Bunny and First Minion who totally does not, it’s our parents, there is no Easter Bunny, my friend told me so.

And remember that after all this I still have two to three weeks staycation in my future.

You can do this, Leander!

I hope you’re doing well, Warriors.

If you see me running around like a chicken with my head cut off over the next week or two, please remind me to breathe.

26 March 2021

“So Tell Me About Yourself, Rain”

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Seventy Two]

Photo by Robert Zunikoff on Unsplash

Within my CV you may have noticed that I have an undergrad in Dance and a Master’s in IT which is very much who I am.

I was a professional dancer in the United States and if you’re a professional dancer in the United States, you need to have one or two or three OTHER jobs in order to pay the rent and bills and survive, which is sad, but neither here nor there.

I taught myself to code, HTML, CSS, and javascript and would barter for services I needed to perform – rehearsal spaces, performance venues, lighting services – I build you a website, you give me what I need.

It never occurred to me to do that for actual money.

Instead I was a receptionist, a waitress, a data entry specialist, a temp and while that’s great for some people, I was miserable.

I was working as a receptionist at a tech company when 9/11 happened and we watched live as the plane flew into the second building and my brain helpfully asked, “What if you were a receptionist at the top of that building right this second?”

I quit my job immediately, went back to school and grabbed a Master of IT.

My first tech job was Windows thin client support and I was in heaven.

I got to dance AND code.

I got my cake and ate it, too.

My plan with dance was to get a BFA, dance professionally, get an MFA, join Academics, tra la la.

During my MFA dance program, my assistantship was the webmaster for the University.

I loved my assistantship. And hated dance.

Soon after, I joined Red Hat and here’s how I got to DevRel.

25 March 2021

Big Things Happening #HUGE

[Dutch Lock Down Day Three Hundred Seventy One]

But I still have to be quiet about it.

I don’t like it, either.

#SOON

But first the news:

My core principles are to embrace radical transparency and fail often; while I sometimes struggle with one, I’m rather successful with the other.