User Groups are tech meetups run by technology enthusiasts and industry leaders to come together to discuss and investigate technology and their various entrepreneurial ideas. It’s a great place to collaborate and create a forum for debate, whereby sparking interesting conversations.
How often do these meetups occur?
Meetups generally take place once a month at the same time and geographical area. Most user groups will have a website to keep you informed of upcoming talks, a newsletter to sign up to and a Twitter page for regular updates.
What topics get featured?
User groups are organised so that a variety of technologies can be discussed. The user groups that we sponsor have talks on PHP, Agile, .Net and SQL where speakers present their chosen topic on stage to an audience of around 15-40 people. Some groups offer lightning talks which last no more than 15 minutes. This is a good opportunity for the inexperienced speaker to get some practice on stage in front of an audience and also to help others by sharing your own knowledge.
Why do Spectrum IT support these user groups?
Spectrum IT sponsor a number of local user groups so that you can attend them for free. We want to give something back to the IT community and this is just one of the ways that we do this. We are also involved in yearly tech conferences, like PHP South Coast Conference which we sponsored for 3 years and exhibit at local University careers fairs.
How does sponsoring the groups add benefit to our clients?
We have an active presence in the user groups and regularly attend all groups building a passive candidate network. We have made a significant number of placements by working closely with candidates via the user groups that exclusively register with Spectrum IT. Candidates who are selective when looking at positions will approach us to look for specific positions that match key criteria.
What type of people attend these user groups?
These groups are open to all. You will find graduates, techies, people interested in tech but don’t know where to begin. Attendees tend to be the type of people who always want to go above and beyond to expand their knowledge and capabilities.
What are the benefits of attending?
There are many reasons to attend a user group from networking, learning, sharing knowledge, finding a job, finding candidates and don’t forget the free food, swag and discounts available.
In any technology field, complacency does not lead to a successful career. To be the best we can be, we have to learn, learn, and learn in order to evolve more so in this fast-paced technology industry. User groups not only benefit you as a professional but are also great for employers looking to recruit.
Nowadays, more and more employers are encouraging their employees to be in the public eye (i.e. social media, GitHub, StackOverflow). Becoming an organiser in the user group community can provide a certain credibility that is otherwise difficult to obtain.
Ready to learn about your industry and socialise at the same time?
Why not join a user group today to find out what they do and how you can also stay ahead of the curve.
Get started now. Have a look at the User Groups we sponsor or head to Meetup.com to find a tech meetup near you. RSVP to an event and then just turn up.
