Careers in Drupal

LECTURER:
Alright, so who am I and why am I qualified to talk about this? So I have had experience in web development for over 20 years. I have started out my career at the very, very beginning where there was, you know, there was HTML, there wasn't a lot of CSS, and there was scripting languages. And over the years, I've learned Java, I learned .NET. And then 13 years ago, my husband, who's here, and a friend of ours, decided to start our own business. And so when we started this business, Spry Digital, 13 years go, we looked around at what we wanted to accomplish. And, you know, we were coming from different venues, from marketing, from development, from business processes, and we really wanted to make a difference and make an impact to the clients that we were wanting to serve. So what better opportunity than to use content management systems in order to allow clients to manage and have control over their content? So that's where I found Drupal. So I've been in the Drupal community, using Drupal for almost all of those 13 years.

My Drupal username started to exist over 12 years ago, so I've seen the evolution of Drupal over those past 13 years. And what I love as much as the aspects of Drupal, the technical abilities of Drupal is I love the community. I think this is one of the most friendly, diverse, supportive communities I've ever come across. So I am thrilled to be part of it, both in our local environment when there was more activity prior to COVID in Saint Louis, but also attending camps and DrupalCon as well. Let's see. So over the years at Spry, when we first started, we were all doing all of the things. So I was there building websites. And as we grew, our roles expanded. So I've led teams building Drupal websites. I've architected systems using Drupal as a content source. I've managed a lot of developers. And now as Chief Purpose Officer at Spry, I oversee a lot of the aspects around supporting our employees, supporting our clients and supporting the community. So one of those areas in particular is overseeing recruiting and hiring at Spry.

So, you know, in all of my roles at Spry, I have interviewed and hired a lot of people. So I'm sharing with you some of the things that I've seen, both in my career as I've been working on, you know, getting hired myself, but also as my role in hiring developers for Spry. Oh, (INAUDIBLE) that. There we go. And a note for what you're seeing on screen and on YouTube. Just the overall theme of my slides. I debated whether or not I should go with like silly tips on hiring. But I thought, "Let's make it nice and calm and relaxing." So just have a general vibe of nature in purple. So most of my images are not meaningful in some way. So just from an accessibility perspective, they're just to kind of set a stage of calm and serenity. But I wanted to stop and talk about who you are. So maybe a show of hands, if you don't mind. You know, I just want to know if you are like starting out your Drupal career. Maybe a show of hands if that's true for you. It helps me kind of guide the way we're going.

Is anybody here more further along in their career? Awesome. Thank you. Welcome. If you have suggestions as I'm going, please share because this is... You know, the more voices we get in supporting people, beginning their journey, the better. Alright, so I thought I'd talk a little bit about the job landscape because it's good to have an understanding of what you're embarking upon as you figure out what you want to be doing. So the Drupal Association with its organizations conduct a survey every year of CEOs and other business leaders that use Drupal as a significant portion of their business. They've been doing this for several years, and this quote is from the analysis of the 2021 survey. And this rings absolutely true for me. The lack of Drupal talent is one of the biggest challenges the Drupal business community is facing. So while that is a challenge, if you're a business owner or hiring Drupal talent, it is greatly in your favor when you're looking for a Drupal role. And you might think, "OK, that was 2021, but what's going on, you know, lately?

Things are changed. Everybody's very concerned about the economy. Are we going to go into a recession?" So this slide is one that is actually containing information in an image. But again, it's just echoing the fact that even in the last year, business owners are still, by and large, looking at hiring. They might be in constant hiring mode or they definitely plan on hiring Drupal developers. And the reasons for that is mainly business growth. So even though there was this like surge in development around the beginning of COVID, that is still continuing. Also because a lot of sites were built around that time, they all need support and enhancement. So the downturn, I am not an economist, but I don't see a sharp downturn in the need for Drupal talent any time soon. So knowing that the job market is in your favor, one of the next things to think about are what industries is Drupal popular in? So again, this list is from that survey and these are the top ten industries where Drupal is popular.

Now again, Drupal can be used anywhere, but this feels very accurate to me in terms of the job postings I see, in terms of the discussions I have with peers at other companies. And also a lot of the needs of these particular industries align nicely with the benefits and attributes of Drupal. So charities and nonprofits, they go hand in hand with Drupal. The ethos of open source aligns really nicely with nonprofit member-based organizations. And there's also a lot of additional toolsets that integrate really nicely with Drupal that are popular amongst nonprofits. Education, and especially higher ed, are big users of Drupal. And again, it is that open source aspect that is popular for some universities. Security aspect is also popular, but universities in particular are a little more distributed in their decision-making process. So once somebody brings Drupal in, it can be pretty sticky because there is often not some entity dictating what the entire university should use. You might have it within a school.

So that is one reason I've seen that Drupal, once it's in a university, tends to stick. The next several are around industries where content promotion processes and management processes are really important. So media, health care, and IT might be around legal reviews of content before it's published. And then also security. Drupal is highly secure. And there's a lot of reasons for that, but it makes it really attractive to any industry that cares a lot about security online. So obviously, banking and insurance falls into that, but government is also another reason why they value security highly. And Drupal is great at that. And the last one, consultancy. So I work for an agency, a digital agency, and we build websites and web applications for clients in these other industries. And a lot of the sponsors here today are also similar to Spry in that aspect. Alright, so you know industries to look at. You might think about ways you could use Drupal as a career. You might have a pretty good idea of what you want to be doing, but even if you do, and especially if you've been looking for a job for a while, you might consider something that is adjacent to what you're looking for, at least to get your foot in the door.

Having knowledge of Drupal, especially in the configuration area, is really helpful for a huge number of careers, including project management, business analysis, quality analysis, product management. There are companies that build web apps on top of Drupal. And having a really good understanding and knowledge of Drupal makes you stand out from that aspect. System administration or DevOps engineering. Knowing how Drupal works from the inside makes you much better at hosting Drupal sites so that it's scalable and performant, especially for Drupal instances that are serving really high loads. The more you know about Drupal, the better, the more attractive you are as a candidate. And then finally, consulting. If you have that knowledge, it allows you to guide your clients in a way that if you just have general computer science understanding or of other CMSs, you will stand out from that respect. Alright. So we've talked about the landscape. You know there are jobs out there. You know it's popular in a lot of industries.

Where are these jobs? Let's get down to like brass tacks. There are so many places to look for job postings. The first one I think about is Slack channels. This might not be obvious to you, but there are some Slack workspaces that constantly promote Drupal jobs in particular. Here are some screenshots. One is of the MidCamp Slack workspace. There is a jobs channel there, and people are posting jobs there all the time. It's a great one to look at. The other Slack channel I can think of is Drupal. Drupal workspace and Slack has tons of channels with job postings. There are remote job postings, there's job postings for areas of the country, there's consulting gigs, there's people supporting each other looking for jobs. So it is a fantastic source. Websites, but in particular, Drupal-focused websites. The first screenshot is of drupal.org, the jobs section of drupal.org. This is a really great source because if you are a company and you're a member, a supporter, of the Drupal Association, one of the benefits you get as a company are free job postings.

So this is constantly showing fresh new jobs, and it's for companies that are supporters of the Drupal Association. So it's kind of a win-win for everybody, but it's a great place to look for jobs. And as you heard this morning, there's a jobs board on MidCamp site. So again, if you were a sponsor of MidCamp, you get to post jobs there. So it's another good place to take a look at. Alright. Where else? We'll zoom out a little bit and zoom back in. There's general job boards. You know, you're Indeed, Glassdoor, LinkedIn. If a company uses an applicant tracking system, one of the features of almost all of them is automatic publishing of job postings in those areas. So you can always take a look at that. There are specialty job boards, especially for development-focused jobs like StackOverflow. Company or organization websites. Now, this might take a little more work on your part in order to research the companies that you would want to look for, but especially some entities like universities might only, or primarily, published jobs on their own website or job board.

So it takes a little more effort, but especially if you know the types of companies you're looking for it, you know, it's worth taking a look that way. Your network. So this is the first time I'm going to talk about LinkedIn. But LinkedIn is something that I'll continue talking about over the next few slides. When I first started out... Well, when LinkedIn first started out and I was a developer at companies, I hated LinkedIn. And I hated it because it was nothing but a venue for people wanting to hire, you know, from placement agencies. And, you know, all we would get was spam. So I ignored it for a long time. And I think that was a mistake. And the reason why I think that is that LinkedIn, while you do get those contacts, something you might not like, you know, dealing with that, the real benefit and value of LinkedIn is building a network of people you know. And those people know people, and those people know people. So the value is in building those connections so that you can find out information about jobs that you might not otherwise understand or hear about.

So my advice is to connect with everybody you know. Connect with people you went to high school with or college with. Connect with your coworkers, obviously. But connect with people that you know in the community. If you're involved in a church or a community organization, connect with those people. Connect with people here, just anybody you can think of. It is kind of a low key way of expanding your network. And it's not that you're like talking to all of these people, but the more you expand your network, the more chances you have of finding out about opportunities with Drupal.

STUDENT:
(INAUDIBLE).

LECTURER:
Yes.

STUDENT:
I find that because of the demand on Drupal jobs that once you've put it out there, it's very sticky. And people like acknowledge that and recognize you as somebody who works (INAUDIBLE). And so that network and the second and third degree relationship seems to be the thing where it's like, "Oh, hey, (INAUDIBLE)." So it could be very fruitful avenue.

LECTURER:
Exactly. And my last point is meet friendly Drupal folks. You have a built in way of doing that just by attending MidCamp. But that's not the only way. And again, it's another plug for the Drupal community. Everybody I've ever met through a Drupal event has been not only friendly, but supportive and wanting you to succeed in whatever way you are (INAUDIBLE). So, you know, if you are here and you have time, you know, over lunch or at break, meet somebody you haven't met before. Just introduce yourself. You know, it is not about just, you know, coldly networking, it's about building relationships within the community. OK. So you've searched around, you've talked to people, you've built up your LinkedIn network, and you found jobs that sound interesting. Well, now is when, you know, the next phase of looking for your first move in Drupal kicks in.

STUDENT:
(INAUDIBLE). (LAUGHS)

LECTURER:
Thank you. So this is where, you know, I think researching makes you feel productive, and so you've gotten to that point. But when you have a job that you want to apply for, at least in my experience, that is where, you know, anxiety can start to build up and you might start feeling, yeah, just anxious about where you are in relation to, you know, what that job listing says. So this, although is silly, it is absolutely true. Nobody is born with Drupal experience. Everybody you meet here started exactly where you are. So just, you know, have that mindset in place that we've all started somewhere and in order to become who you want to be, you have to start at the beginning. So the first thing you might notice when you look at job postings is that hardly anybody is advertising for a position with no experience. They're always going to say, "One to three years, three to five years, five plus years." Don't let that stop you. I see, especially and this is true in studies, I read that especially people who are underrepresented in technology, people who identify as women, tend to read the job description and feel like if they don't meet 80% to 90% of the criteria listed, they shouldn't even bother to apply.

And I am telling you as somebody who writes these job postings and interviews, ignore that. Experience can be defined in a huge number of ways. Sometimes they are looking for somebody with professional experience, but you don't know that by just reading the job posting. So please apply. We'll talk about ways to show experience in a lot of different ways. And it doesn't have to be professional experience at a prior job. So it is true that some larger entities, larger companies, might have systems that scan resumes and auto reject if certain keywords aren't there or certain levels of experience aren't there. So that is not true for the majority of jobs, but it is true for some. And if that is something that you're worried about, if you found a job posting that sounds really great but that you're worried about that, don't necessarily let that stop you. Again, go head back to LinkedIn and see if you know anybody who knows somebody. It might be a second degree connection or a third degree connection.

There's likely a way you can find somebody who has a connection to that company. And they may not know anything about the job, but if you can even just a brief warm introduction via LinkedIn or another means just to ask about it, it might be enough to get your resume into the hands of a human being and get past those scanners. So it doesn't hurt to ask or at least look. And so that would be, you know, the primary way I would recommend to keep going forward on something that makes you think that you would be really happy at that job. Alright. So, yes, you might not have any professional experience. What are you going to put on your resume? Number one, your drupal.org profile. And if you don't have one, I'd recommend just spending a few minutes today popping over to drupal.org and creating an account. If you are interviewing at a company that appreciates the Drupal community and supports it, they're going to be interested in the fact that you are too. And one of the easiest first ways to demonstrate that is by creating an account.

If you join in our contribution events and your contribution is noted, that will show up on your profile. So it's a really easy way of building out a list of activities that demonstrate your experience with Drupal. You could, especially if you were looking at developer positions, put a link to your GitHub account or your GitLab account. Have some code there. It doesn't have to be a full project. It could just be something that you're playing around with. What I see a lot are code examples from online tutorials. And that is OK if you make a significant change to that in some way. So when I'm looking at a GitHub account, and I'm looking at code there that somebody sent in, it's pretty easy for me to see if it came from, you know, a popular online tutorial. So what I look for is what did they change, or are they just copy pasting from that source, or were they trying out things to see what happens. And I really value putting in the effort to make it your own in some way. Definitely put your LinkedIn profile and we'll talk a little bit about what to... Oh yeah, let's talk about it now.

Let's talk about what you put on your LinkedIn profile. You are going to obviously list whatever experience you have, but if you're worried that you don't have Drupal experience, list some projects. Maybe it's not even a Drupal project, but if you have a web development project at all in some way, list it. Or if you're looking for a project management job, list kind of some projects that you've done from that perspective, it can help build out your LinkedIn profile if you don't have a lot of 'professional experience' to list. On your resume and in LinkedIn, highlight any related experience, whether it be professional experience, from a volunteer perspective, or otherwise. Highlight anything where you have learned new technologies quickly, anything where you've demonstrated critical thinking skills, systems, level thinking, troubleshooting thinking, anything that helps demonstrate that while you don't have, you know, one aspect of what they might be looking for in that job description, you more than make up for it in all of these other attributes about you.

A link to a portfolio site. Now, while this might not be achievable by everybody, I want you to think a little bit about maybe putting it some time into building a very basic portfolio site. It could be with Drupal, it could be with something else. One of the things that I've done recently is been a mentor for a mentorship program through the Drupal Association. And the second half of that program has been helping the students build out a portfolio. And the goal being that this is something they can demonstrate to potential employers. So if you have time and the ability, you know, it can be a work in progress. That's OK. I think some people get hung up on the need for it to be the most beautiful, perfect portfolio website ever. Put out what you have. Talk through what you have, you know, you've achieved and what you are still working on. The portfolio site can even be useful if you were focused from a content perspective. If you are a writer, you know, you have links to places where you have written, you know, blogs or whatever.

You can list those in the portfolio too. And then any other website that you might have helped with. So, you know, this is something to think about. If you have an organization that you're passionate about, see if they have opportunities to work on their website or a web app. It might be something where you could work with others who are helping us support it. And that will, one, demonstrate your skills, but also expands your network in a new way and helps you learn from others. So it is a really great idea. It's not for everybody. It takes time. So, you know, and there's only so many hours in the day. So don't look at this list as something that you must do from A to Z. These are just ideas, and pick and choose what makes sense for you. OK, so put your resume in. And you've been contacted to come in for an interview, whether it be on Zoom or in real life. This is really where, for me, my anxiety definitely kicked in every time. This was true for my first job interview, but all the way through to my career.

And, you know, I think some of it is just the nature of the interview process. Some people excel at it. It always made me very nervous. So if this is true for you, I completely identify with it. But let's talk about how to work through it. First off, I want you to just think about the fact, from a mindset perspective, that somebody saw value in you at this point. They looked at your resume and your work and they were like, "We think this person could be a really great fit." So keep that in mind when you're starting to feel a little anxiety about talking to somebody about a position where this is completely new for you. But there are actual steps I take, and you can take, to work through that anxiety in productive ways. So the the first thing is research. Research the company that you're interviewing for so that you can prep questions to bring with you and then also prep for answers about why you want to work for that company or you want that particular job. That research should include, you know, the obvious things like, you know, the company size and what they do and what you would be doing.

But also take a look at, you know, does this company have a set of core values? Do they have a mission statement? What can you find out about the culture of that company? Because, you know, it is very exciting to get an interview, but you want to make sure it's a good fit for you. And so you don't want to work for a company that you are opposed to ethically or you feel like might be, you know, asking way more of you than you want to give of yourself. So do some research. It'll help you understand if it's the right fit for you, but it also helps you for that interview and have questions to bring. So if you see core values, add a list, add that to your list of questions. Tell me a little bit about your core values and how that impacts what you do from a day-to-day perspective. I think that's a great interview question, and I get so excited when people ask me about that. OK. Practice, practice, practice, practice. This, by and large, will help you get over some feelings of anxiety. Who can you practice with?

Well, practice with yourself. You can ask yourself questions in the mirror. You can practice with your friends and family. And also you can practice with AI. Pull up ChatGpt. ChatGpt is more than happy to run you through an interview scenario and then give you feedback on your answers. So although it is written, it is a valuable, valuable experience. I just try it out for myself this morning and I was pleasantly surprised. So check it out. Alright. So some general strategies. You're going to be asked a question, at least one, that you don't know the answer to. Don't be afraid of saying, "I don't know." It's OK. Nobody knows everything. It can feel really scary to say that, but it's absolutely true. If you don't know it, say you don't know. But what's even better than saying, "I don't know," is elaborating. And elaborate on well, "Here is what I would do to figure it out. Here's the research I would go undertake. These are the sites I might look at to find the answer, or these are the types of people or types of roles I would talk to in order to get that answer." So that helps demonstrate your resourcefulness and is an even better answer than just, "I don't know." Don't be afraid of asking clarifying questions, especially if you feel like the answer is, "I don't know." But I don't know if I don't know.

It's OK to ask for an example to elaborate further or, you know, anything else that helps you get some more understanding. Make eye contact. Now, if it's a virtual interview, that's not the easiest thing to do, but look up and and, you know, engage in some way with your interviewer. Especially if it's virtual, it can be really hard to maintain that sense of communal conversation. But it's helpful and it helps you engage with your interviewer in a way that will help them think of you after the interview. And then as much as you can, approach the interview as a conversation and bring your curiosity and enthusiasm in however you express that with you. Now, I am an introvert and I am not necessarily one that would exude like extrovert enthusiasm. And I'm not asking you to do that either if that is not you. Be who you are, but demonstrate, in a way that is true to you, that you are excited to talk to this person, you're excited to learn more and that you feel... And this is true, if you're feeling this in the conversation, that you would be an asset to this company.

Yeah, so think about what that makes with... How that applies to you. And then, you know, even give yourself cues or sticky notes if it's a virtual interview just to remind yourself once in a while to bring yourself back into that mindset, 'cause especially as you're going through questions, it's easy to lose track of that. So some cue that brings you back into that mindset once in a while. You know, and I think of all of those aspects, that last one is what strikes me the most. I've interviewed a lot of people, like a lot of people. And even for a given position, I might talk to a dozen people. So I take great notes after each one. But no matter how well I take notes, it is hard to keep track of every conversation after you've gone through that many conversations. But what strikes me is when I'm having a real engaged conversation with somebody. That one will stick in my brain. And that is one I will talk to with the team, and I will advocate for that person. So I'm not looking for somebody who knows the syntax of, you know, how to create a custom model from scratch, from memory.

I don't care about that. I want to know that you're going to be able to figure out what you don't know, that you have the mindset and the thinking skills to succeed. And I want to know that you're going to be engaging with your team and that you are reflective of some way of our company culture. So think about that. Think about the impression you want to make overall when you're in that interview. So those are some of my interview tips. And just to kind of wrap this up, put a bow on it, remember, every career has a beginning and you're just beginning that. And it's a very exciting. You'll look back at this point someday and you'll remember the highs and the lows. So enjoy it even though it can feel intimidating. Research and expand your network. That's going to give you a leg up on finding jobs, a leg up on your interviews and, you know, help you move faster through this process. And yes. And then don't get discouraged. You're going to go through a lot of interviews yourself, and not every place is going to be a good fit.

So don't fall in love with one particular job. Keep looking, even if it's, you know... I don't know if you've ever gone through this, but, you know, if you're hunting for an apartment or a house, it is not in your best interest to fall in love with one in particular. Keep looking. You're going to find one that's a good fit. You know, and it may not be the first one that you see, but it's OK. Just keep going, and don't get discouraged. Alright. I'm going to pause, move to my next slide. Oh, yes, there's a link. We talked about it in the opening session, but there's a link to provide me feedback, so please do. I would love to know if this was useful for you. So that's the link. And then, yes, questions. And a reminder, this is my LinkedIn profile. Please connect with me. I am happy to share my network with anybody who is in the Drupal community. So questions. Yes.

STUDENT:
(INAUDIBLE). I have a question about one thing.

LECTURER:
Yeah, please. Yeah.

STUDENT:
(INAUDIBLE). But one thing I'd like to add to the (INAUDIBLE) slide is you mentioned (INAUDIBLE). But one step that I've found useful for my alumni is interview the companies you're least interested in first because you get much better in subsequent interviews. Earlier, a lot of alumni would really want to work with this company. (INAUDIBLE), you know, study for a week or two afterwards. And they go there and they don't do well for whatever reason. A lot of time they're embarrassed. And, you know, they burn through all of their top places they want to work at. And now they're (INAUDIBLE) and then they start interviewing elsewhere. But (INAUDIBLE) kind of now part of our process. (INAUDIBLE) the places you want to interview at and start with the places you know you're at least interested in. And they get better and then they go (INAUDIBLE) better. (INAUDIBLE) some people don't care about you knowing how to do the modules. They care about you being someone that they could see themselves working with, that they can see growing and maybe yearning to learn.

So you also, you know, in the interviews, the things that we get used to are just not being (INAUDIBLE). Not being very free. Someone says, "How do you make a module?" In some cases, you can redirect the question. You could say, "Well, I don't know how to do that, but (INAUDIBLE)." So, you know, (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE) it's like, "OK, well you at least, you know, are willing to learn." Then, you know, you can also say, "(INAUDIBLE) I did this and that, and I'll definitely look into how to make a module after this meeting. It sounds interesting, so."

LECTURER:
Yeah.

STUDENT:
(INAUDIBLE).

LECTURER:
No. I think those are all fantastic. Yeah. It is true that the more you interview, every interview, you get better. So yeah, if you have the chance of synchronizing them in that way, definitely, definitely do that. And then yes, that is to... If you are going to say, "I don't know," elaborate. So yeah, give an example where you did learn how to do something and talk about that. Yeah.

STUDENT:
So going back to your point... Hi. I'm Christine. Sorry.

LECTURER:
Hi. Nice to meet you.

STUDENT:
Going back to your point about how the years of experience shouldn't necessarily scare you away.

LECTURER:
Yes.

STUDENT:
What percentage of requirements do you think someone should need to at least apply? Give me your thoughts on that.

LECTURER:
So I don't know that there is a perfect answer for that. So let's say you see a job posting and you're like, "That sounds amazing," but you don't have the level of experience. And then, you know, the question is, "Are there other things in there that you absolutely do not have?" You know, I would always err on the side of applying. I mean, there's no harm in sending your resume out for any job that sounds interesting to you. The worst they can do is, well, not respond to you or say you weren't, you know, what they were looking for. But the reason why that's hard is that, you know, depending on the company, whoever wrote that job posting might be completely removed from the process or even somewhat removed. So in a lot of cases, it's written by somebody who is, you know, underwater. They need somebody. They're like, "OK, this is everything I need. Da da da da da da." That's not really who they are going to hire, but you're not going to know, of all of those like wish list bullet points, which ones are really important and which ones are negotiable.

So just apply.

STUDENT:
It also feels like maybe the nature of the position.

LECTURER:
Yeah.

STUDENT:
If it's a developer position, you know, maybe some basic (INAUDIBLE) on this. Configurations, things of that nature, right? Knowing how to kind of navigate the community, (INAUDIBLE), the modules and things of that nature. I think just a basic literacy of Drupal. And knowing your way around the landscape of that is a great place to start. If you're a site administrator or content publisher, knowing how to work in the content architecture of Drupal and demonstrating that you know how to make site changes and improvements or modifications, I think, is also very helpful. So it may just depend on the position, but think showing your basic understanding of how the Drupal landscape works just goes really, really far to say, "OK, you may not technically be where we're at, but you're understanding kind of the model and the system of things."

LECTURER:
Yeah, thanks. Anything out there in the Internet?

STUDENT:
Nothing.

LECTURER:
OK. Alright.

STUDENT:
There are people. People are listening.

LECTURER:
Oh, thank goodness.

STUDENT:
No questions.

LECTURER:
No questions. Alright. Anything else? Otherwise we can wrap it up. Alright. Well, thank you. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.