jobs

London's Tech Start-ups have banded together to better compete against big banks and huge recruiting budgets.

Job opportunities for computer science graduates and experienced software developers looking for their next career move, should not be limited to corporate banks or consultancies anymore, London's tech start-up community say.

The Silicon Milkroundabout event will try to stop the brain-drain of skilled software developers to big corporations by highlighting the opportunities and benefits of working for innovative, entrepreneurial businesses.

If you're in the mood for a change or want to try a new direction, this is the place to be.  Below are some of our Featured Jobs, if nothing takes your fancy, there are plenty more opportunities to be found on Chinwag Jobs.  Happy hunting!

As a result of organisations becoming increasingly aware of the burgeoning power of social media and consequentially seeking to grow their online presence, a new breed of candidate has emerged.

The self-proclaimed ‘social media guru’, but with no bench mark set to aspire to and no qualifications to back up this status, couldn't anyone call themselves a Social Media Guru? And what effect will this have upon the industry as a whole?

In 2009, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport reported that 1,978,400 people were employed in the creative media industries and that this sector accounted for over seven per cent of GDP – a contribution of £60 billion per annum to the British economy.

In recognition of the sector’s importance, last year the Labour Government set out in Digital Britain its developing strategy to ensure that the UK remains a global leader in the creative industries.

In the last few months we have seen a marked shift in the number of clients requesting cutting edge programming languages like HTML5, Ajax and CSS3. This is great news for candidates but how many can capitalise on this burgeoning area?

As a recruitment company we're lucky enough to get great visibility on what's going on in the digital sector as a whole - where the demand for talent is greatest, which roles attract the most interest, and more besides.

We thought that a lot of the information we see would be useful to a wider audience, which is why we recently published our inaugural Digital Salary Survey. Using our data from the second half of 2009, and the first half of 2010, it shows some interesting trends in the sector - some of which I thought I would share here on Chinwag (thanks for the invite guys!)

Last week, a student on the hunt for work experience, posted to Chinwag's uk-design email discussion list:

"I am looking to do a web dev / usability / UX type internship but the results of my search thus far have been disappointing. Most of the places I have been in touch with seem to want a general office bod who will do menial tasks for free under the guise of "work experience". I'm aware that most of these positions are unpaid, and I'm happy to do that, as long as I'm learning something along the way.

Fortunately, the good folks on the uk-design list responded en masse and we later heard that she'd found a suitable spot in under 24 hours. What followed, was a flurry of firms asking for interns.

We're big fans of intern programmes at Chinwag and have had a few successful candidates pass through Chinwag Towers. Seeing such a strong interest, we've decided to gather the information together, and summarise in a blog post, or something more industrial, if necessary.

If your firm, or you know people looking for real interns and not just office juniors, please do get them to fill out the form below.

There's some exciting positions that have been added already from the likes of Pharmiweb and Adidas, so add yours. We'll leave the form open for a few days.

There are many reasons why the strategic use of social media can advance your career, building your reputation, garnering links with key contacts amongst others.

Hot on the heels of the digital placement program, news reaches us of another initiative in the North West for recent graduates looking for careers in the interesting world where new media meets TV and radio, North West b.TWEEN TV Platforms.

This Autumn could be a testing time for some of the 400,000 graduates looking for a digital career, with the number of vacancies taking a dip, competition will be hotter than ever.

Internships and work placements, when well executed well, can be a fast-track way to getting a dream job as well as providing employers with seasoned recruits.

We're big fans at Chinwag with two interns currently learning about the industry and providing valued help in a busy environment.

News of another great scheme has reached Chinwag Towers. Creative digital support agency Northwest Vision and Media are working to help make the region’s new talent make the right start - and partnering with agencies keen to find them.