Geoff's Blog: Tech talent in Iowa
Every Wednesday Geoff publishes "The Pull", a digest of the top news for the Iowa innovation community that week. The following is the introduction to issue #146.
A few weeks ago I participated in a panel discussion on technology and innovation at the Business Record (the story is here behind their paywall and the video is available for free on YouTube). Brian Waller, President of the Technology Association of Iowa, was also on the panel and he brought up the idea of an ongoing "global war for talent" that they are seeing through their members every day.
This week I had a little taste of that when I tweeted this for a friend:
"I have an experienced full stack software engineer friend looking to move to Ames/Des Moines from out-of-state. Who is hiring?"
The response was immediate and almost overwhelming. People sent direct messages on Twitter, Facebook and Slack and I received several emails. The messages came from across the spectrum—startups, Fortune 500 companies, one who had recently gone public and those in between.
The message is clear: if you work in technology and want to be in Iowa, the timing has never been better.
Geoff Wood is the founder, connector and space captain at Gravitate, a workplace community for entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote workers in the heart of downtown Des Moines. In addition to writing here, he hosts a podcast, speaks at conferences, organizes events and has been helping tell the story of the Iowa startup community since 2009.