What’s Sexy?

Justin Rufo — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:14:55 +0000

As a recruiter, I frequently get asked this question. In this context the querying party is requesting my thoughts regarding compelling job opportunities in enterprise technology and not-unfortunately-my views on more titillating subject areas. Just as well, I am probably better qualified to address the former these days anyway! Anyway, how would I respond to the question these days? To use a fashion industry metaphor, retro is sexy.

Is sexy still cool? If we’re measuring by sex appeal on the basis of topicality, innovation and having that “new car smell” then I would posit that today sexy isn’t cool. Themes such as mature and safe are the new sexy. From a salespersons perspective, sexy is increasingly being defined by any opportunity where one has a reasonable quota, can make a decent income, profit a bit off a territory producing a “run rate”, and not live in fear of being released for not being able to deliver a few million dollars of revenue in virgin territory with a new technology–in a 9-12 month timeframe.

I am reluctant to call this mindset a “flight to quality” as that is a great disservice to the innovative startups so prevalent and important to the technology industry. Perhaps it’s better defined as a “flee from risk”. It wasn’t too long ago when job candidates were most intrigued by and gave priority attention to any pitch including words like; Silicon Valley, Sequioa Capital, Sand Hill, Stealth Startup, etc.. In fact, a good recruiter would know to lead with such opportunities and capitalize on the emotional qualities of certain keywords in print and conversation.

Times are different now–for a variety of reasons. I think the most visceral of which is the putrid state of the global economy and what this portends for launching or sustaining a new, or small, resource constrained technology venture. In this current market, presenting opportunities with companies fitting this description to candidates usually elicits the viability objection. A credible objection handler can deftly diffuse this objection, but it’s getting increasingly more difficult. These days the presentations/presenters are more circumspect in positioning statements. For example, you’ll hear terms like “growth based” used to describe a startup situation. The word “mature” carries a more reverent tone and no longer connotes undesirable images in the candidates mind. It produces feelings of secure paychecks and career stability these days and not its earlier, tired and boring reflection.

So, is this just a temporary condition? It has to be! Is it justified? Yes, but not in all cases and it’s nuanced. I’ll elaborate in my next post. Right now, I have to attend to my hideously full Inbox of unread email…which definitely isn’t sexy!

The name WootGigz!

Justin Rufo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 05:45:16 +0000

So, what is W00t, or WOOt? The term originated as Internet slang and has come to be defined as-an interjection of joy, victory or satisfaction. The precise lexical origins for the term are debatable but most research suggests the term was first used by early online gamers and hackers.

Below are a few cited examples.

Wow loot! (popular Dungeons & Dragons phrase used to express excitement when finding treasure)

“We Owned the Other Team” or “Wonderful loot” (Everquest gaming slang)

“Rooting boxes” from the Unix Root command (A celebratory cry after hacking into a server)

I felt it would be cool to incorporate the term into the sites name because of its potential resonance with my audience and the “feel good” connotation it evokes. It also seemed to fit well with the concept since we are introducing something new and hopefully desirable to our intended audience.

Is it the right domain for a job board from a SEO standpoint? It does seem most sites have gone literal in their naming conventions (e.g. jobsfortheterminallybewildered.com or fishscalingjobs.com)? Perhaps not, but I seem to learn most of my lessons the hard way and it sounded good to me.