We don’t think you can separate networking with finding a job and advancing your career. Sometimes your immediate network of friends and work mates is not sufficient to take your career where you want it to go. This can be especially true for those looking to move to Denver or for those who have recently arrived.
As the number of different startups and companies blaze their way onto the Denver and Colorado scene, various organizations, companies, events and tools are springing up (or continuing to make history) in ways that are not only helping technology folks find jobs and network, but are also doing great things to put Colorado on the map of global technology hot spots.
Here are five such examples… in no particular order:
1. Built In Colorado
Started in 2012, Built in Colorado is Colorado’s online start up community. It attracts “innovators, makers, founders and creatives” to their ‘for Denver entrepreneurs, by Denver entrepreneurs’ platform. This platform is designed to facilitate communication, promote up-and-coming businesses and to play an integral role in the startup conversation in Denver and throughout Colorado. Signing up is free. Functionality exists to post a blog, add an upcoming event or your company information, and to post or find jobs. The community that is forged through Built in Colorado is festive, supportive and just very real and honest…
2. Denver Startup Week
Denver Startup Week is a weeklong annual celebration of entrepreneurship. With a focus on technology, design, social and business, it aims to bring together Denver’s entrepreneurs to discuss leading innovations and ideas that people and companies in the Mile High City are bringing to our region and the world.
Denver Startup Week is both business and socially minded, and it is on a rocket ship to prominence and significance. Presentations, panels, job fairs and workshops support the professional interests of entrepreneurs in Denver, while happy hours and social events allow for the opportunity to unwind, chat, mix and mingle. The founders, sponsors and volunteers for Denver Startup Week are exceptionally passionate and incredibly influential, and they have created something beyond community that is part celebration, part education, and that wholly spurs motivation.
3. Colorado Technology Association
Colorado Technology Association has been key in putting our state on the map as “a globally competitive nucleus for innovation, technology and economic growth.” Technology is one of fastest growing segments of Colorado’s economy, and Colorado Technology Association is as an advocate to tech companies throughout the state. It helps to develop strategic relationships to continue to grow our state’s position in the global technology space. It also creates and fosters a community within technology professionals throughout Colorado, and if you want to network and be on the inside for great new opportunities, being involved with CTA is key. Their website has a Job Center to look for and post jobs, and they have an exciting new leadership team that supports the resources listed here, and so many more.
4. Techstars
Techstars is considered by many to be the best startup “accelerator in the world.” They unabashedly admit to having selection criteria more stringent than Ivy League schools, but those who make it in with Techstars often go on to make it - big. For this reason, watching, understanding and interacting with Techstars companies is almost a guaranteed way to get on the inside edge of the most innovative companies and the most compelling jobs, and it is most certainly a fantastic way to be engaged in what is so exciting about Colorado.
5. BWBacon Group
There are several strong staffing firms in the state, but with total bias, BWBacon stands out as one of the best recruiters to find an amazing new job or killer contract. BWBacon is heavily involved in the Denver startup scene, and is heavily engaged in supporting new entrepreneurs, as much as it is in staffing some of the most iconic brands in the state. Additionally, they have spearheaded Agile Recruitment, with a 100% scrum-certified recruitment staff, and just launched a beautiful new website to boot, www.bwbacon.com. Started in 2001, BWBacon is the Denver technical recruiter both companies and candidates seek when looking for the best, the brightest, the most fun, and the most reliable. If you are looking for a job that you leap out of bed to get too, or if you seek a candidate that will help take your company to the next level, you should try some of the suggestions above, and most certainly, you should contact us.
