Tag Archives: jobs

February 2nd – Open House and Spirit Showcase at The Nerdery

In 2011 we logged over 426,000 project hours on 292 projects, added 120+ nerds and even kicked through the walls of our office to find places to put them. This year, we want to do it again and we need the help of nerds like you. So, whether you’re looking for a job, or just want to say “hi,” head on over to our house on Thursday, February 2nd from 5-9pm and enjoy yourself at The Nerdery’s Open House featuring our Nerd Spirit Showcase and Talent Show. We’ll show off what life is like for our 300 nerds, including what kind of things they work on, their random talents and what they do when they’re not coding.

A collection of our many clubs – including the MakerBot Collective, Binary Knitting Club, and the Footbag Posse – will be running demonstrations throughout the evening for our Spirit Showcase. At 7pm the Talent Show, where everyone is invited to show off their random and obscure talents, will begin in the Nerditorium with confirmed acts such as a traditional bagpipe performance, recital of periodic table of elements and rubik’s cube speed challenge. It’s true our nerds have some pretty remarkable abilities but we’re really looking forward to seeing what you, the public, can bring to the competition. Winner by audience choice will receive some sweet, sweet Nerdery swag. If you’re interested in participating, let us know what you’re planning to do below and come prepared!

For those of you who know you’d like to pursue a career at The Nerdery, our Nerd Hunters will be conducting fast-track interviews throughout the evening. Fast-track interviews include a basic skills assessment and a chat with a Nerd Hunter. Impressive fast-track applicants can go right to the next step of the application process, the code challenge, without having to come in again. If you’re not so sure about working for us but still want to learn more, feel free to come in and ask a few questions with no obligation. We’d love to meet you either way. Sign up for an interview or consultation time-slot on arrival.

RSVP and feel free to invite your friends or anyone else who wants to spend a Thursday night hanging out with nerds. Look forward to seeing you all!

A few answers from last week’s #NerdJob twitter chat

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s twitter chat. It was a rousing success based solely on how long it takes to scroll through the #NerdJob hashtag. If you have some time, you should take a look at all of the great questions and answers (especially if you want to see how the Nerds feel about dogs). If you don’t have a lot of time, here’s a small list of some of the highlights. If you like what you’re seeing, get on over to the Jobs section and apply.

101 reasons I love my job @ The Nerdery

I often gush about my employer because I’m currently working my dream job! I am so proud to be part of such an amazing phenomenon, and I don’t take any of it for granted. Here are just a few of the reasons it’s awesome to be a Nerd!

1. There is no dress code. I can be me!
2. I don’t have a dumbass boss (or really any boss, for that matter).
3. Our doorbell is “The Jetsons” doorbell.
4. The wallpaper in our kitchen is a level from Super Mario Bros.
5. We have several free old-school arcade game machines.
6. Our company logo is a pocket protector!
7. We have have coolers stocked with free soda, juices, and energy drinks.
8. We have no less than 3 kegerators full of free beer at all times. At least two of them are craft beers! You heard me: FREE BEER!
9. Everybody has toys at their desk. . . usually Nerf guns and action figures.
10. We can bring our dogs to work.
11. We have a conference room that is wallpapered with classic comic book covers!
12. We have our own employee forum for discussing everything from company strategy to brewery tours.
13. We get free breakfast every day.
14. We have the option to order take-out lunch every day that gets delivered to our office!
15. We can get professional massages right in the office!
16. Every Friday, we hang out, drink beer, and talk about a bad-ass project we just launched!
17. Once a month we have a “Mind Meld” town-hall-style meeting where the executive staff answers our questions and makes sure we’re all on the same page.
18. We have a huge auditorium with beanbag chairs!
19. Nearly every wall is a whiteboard. We use it for everything from planning cool projects to scribbling nerdy graffiti!
20. I don’t have to justify my job to my boss or some kind of committee.
21. I don’t have to use a metaphor to explain the project I’m working on. Everybody speaks the same language!
22. I can pick my own hours, so long as everybody knows them and I communicate any changes.
23. Sick days do not get subtracted from my vacation time.
24. If I’m sick, I can take as many sick days as I need to.
25. Anybody and everybody can work remotely via VPN. I don’t need some kind of special clearance.
26. I don’t have to work in a cubicle if I don’t want to.
27. I can join (or start) clubs that suit my interests.
28. I get to play board games at lunch!
29. I get to watch movies on a massive screen after hours!
30. On Fridays, we BBQ, and play Rock Band on the big screen!
31. Everyone loves working here, and nobody really wants to leave. Some of us stay late every day, or even come in on the weekends! Why not?
32. My co-workers are my friends. No, really. Everybody here rules.
33. I can talk to the CEO just as easily as the dude sitting next to me.
34. Twitter is our water cooler.
35. If it’s important (or hilarious) a company-wide email is not out of the question.
36. I get to sit on a fitness ball instead of a chair if I want to.
37. During the holidays, the executive staff personally hand-delivers a card to each and every employee.
38. Santa shows up at Christmas!
39. The media frequently stops by to interview us about how awesome it is to work here. . . and they’re jealous!
40. We have a bathroom with photo of Jeff Goldblum in it.
41. If I have a programming problem, I’ve got a team of bad-ass developers on staff who can answer my question faster than Google!
42. I can expand my technical knowledge by attending presentations or club seminars that happen almost daily!
43. I am not stuck in my job. I have advancement options galore!
44. If I have a question about anything, we have a Yahoo!-style answers forum.
45. We have a conference room that is full of bad movie posters. . . like “The Net.”
46. Nobody here is deadweight because every single employee is elite. We’re talking a bad-ass strike force!
47. I don’t have to wear a badge with a terrible photo of me on it.
48. If my car has problems, a local garage will pick it up from the office, work on it, and return it to me!
49. Senior developers frequently buy us lunch or take us out to lunch.
50. I can drop a “StarWars” reference and everyone gets it.
51. We have ridiculous Photoshopping contests.
52. If I feel something about the company process or technical practices are sub-par, I can help change that.
53. My opinion always counts, because we’re all experts.
54. Even though I can work at home sometimes, I’d rather work in the office because the people are so cool.
55. I wake up every morning and I can’t wait to get to work!
56. We have a conference room that is full of “Star Trek” memorabilia.
57. Our lobby has a couch with Atari pillows.
58. You can ride a Razor scooter around the office.
59. We are largely a paperless office, because our online tools completely rule.
60. I can do yoga in the office in the mornings with other people who are into it.
61. We have a kick-ass website with some awesome, nerdy stats.
62. Here, women are truly respected and treated just as equally as men. No, really.
63. Everybody in the office is on IM all day.
64. I can get my work email on my home computer or my phone, if I want . . . or not!
65. We have a bathroom that Tweets when somebody is in it.
66. Our lobby has a coffee table with comic books on it.
67. We have a conference room named after an obscure “Wayne’s World” reference.
68. You won’t get fired for looking at Facebook. In fact, if you’re looking at Facebook, it’s probably because you’re developing an app for it!
69. We have no less than 4 chess boards to play on anytime you want.
70. We have a hacky-sack club that meets in the afternoon in the parking lot.
71. Practically everybody here is a Rubik’s Cube expert.
72. We have a system for giving shout-outs to other employees which automatically enters them in a chance to win a free lunch!
73. We stage skits which are taped and played for everybody on Fridays.
74. We have impromptu human pyramids in the office.
75. Our kitchen has a cookbook titled “101 things to do with Ramen Noodles” and enough ramen to try it out!
76. We have a conference room that is full of Legos that you can play with during conference calls!
77. Our profiles on the company website are arranged as the periodic table of the elements.
78. Somebody wrote 144 characters of Pi on the office wall.
79. Everybody’s profile on the company website is hilarious.
80. We have a “Dr. Who” conference room!
81. In the winter, we find a big snowbank and have a Lego luge!
82. The CEO is just as much of a badass developer as the rest of us!
83. We have a massive, oversized NES controller. . . that works!
84. We have a 3D printer. You’re damn right we do!
85. We can Tweet our snarky quips and colloquialisms straight to the big screen in our auditorium.
86. We have pint glasses with the company logo on them.
87. We have a conference room that is modeled after “The Simpson’s” living room.
88. We each have company T-shirts and hoodies that everybody wants.
89. Our company business cards are old-school computer punch cards, where the holes are our office phone number!
90. I am a co-president of the Nerdery. . . and so is everybody else. Really!
91. We have 200+ 401K investment options!
92. Somebody in the office high-fives me every day.
93. I am treated like a bad-ass that everyone wants on their team, every single day.
94. I don’t have a single purpose at my job. I’m encouraged to learn, grow, and adapt to the latest technologies.
95. I was interviewed and am frequently reviewed by my peers, not a manager.
96. I get to use top-of-the-line equipment that is kept up to date for me.
97. We get to work for very high-end clientele on huge, awesome projects!
98. I can get projects done faster because I never have to work alone.
99. I work with people I actually admire and aspire to.
100. Our office has a wall painting of Charlie Schmidt’s Keyboard Cat
101. Everyone agrees that IE is the devil.

But as Levar Burton would say, you don’t have to take my word for it! Here’s a video where you can find out what other Nerds have to say about working here!

Our workplace is awesome because the people are awesome. What’s more, the applications we design and the code we produce is nothing short of amazing. If you’re at the top of your game, why don’t you join us? We’re always hiring!

Editor’s note: This post was gleefully stolen (with permission) from Frost’s personal website.

Here there be animated unicorns flying through space

This is just a hint of what you’ll find over at the Minneapolis Egoist. The urge to steal their thunder is unbearable. But since they were kind enough to post a sneak peak of our awesome ad soon to be running in City Pages, we figure it’d be much kinder to link you over there to take a look. When you’re done, come back here and apply for an awesome job.

Can’t make it to Mankato tomorrow? We’ll tell you right now why you should work at The Nerdery

Hey, in case you forgot, we’re going to Mankato tomorrow, in an attempt to fill some of our ever-increasing Job Openings. If you can stop by the MSU Student Union for free food, some nerdy face time, and iPhone development training, you can you watch this video to see what you’re missing out by not working at The Nerdery.

Taking this show on the road

In our never-ending quest to hire the best and brightest nerds on the planet, we’re taking this show on the road. Wait, you do know we’re looking for developers, UX designers, Account Executives, and a bunch of other people, right? We are! Get over to our Jobs section to see what we’re looking for and apply right now (and don’t forget to tell your friends and random nerds you sort of know).

Okay, so to foster this effort we’re going to be heading to Mankato from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1st. It’s our first ever Nerdery Roadshow, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a student, professional web developer or just awesome at code, stop by the MSU Student Union to snag free pizza, learn about The Nerdery, and kick some iPhone butt in our iOS training session.

Get the full scoop and RSVP for The Nerdery Roadshow over on Facebook. We hope to see you there.

The perks of being an intern

Have you heard the lastest? The Nerdery is launching a summer internship program for students and professionals looking to learn about interactive development. We’ll be accepting interns for positions all over The Nerdery — development to marketing and QA to sales.

So what are the perks of being a Nerdery intern, besides working shoulder to shoulder with some of the best and brightest Nerds in the galaxy?

1. It’s a paid internship
2. You’ll get free lunch
3. A chance to compete in the Pentathanerd summer games
4. Friday Bottlecap Talks
5. Spending the summer at one of the best places to work in the Twin Cities

Sound good? Well, then you and your resume should come on down to Nerdery Internship Intake Reception on Monday, March 07, 2011 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (CT). Get the full scoop on the program and RSVP today!

Nerds in the News: Revenge of the Nerdery

Brendan Sullivan, Star Tribune

Head on over to the StarTribune to read the latest about Nerdery culture and how we like to keep nerds happy and engaged while they work. We told you this was an awesome place to work (and we’re hiring).

As such perks suggest, the company goes out of its way to be as nerd-friendly as possible. The goal at the Nerdery, founded by three programmers in 2003, is to attract other programmers who like collaborating and learning from each other as they tackle seemingly impossible projects. The results have paid off, including placing sixth among small companies, those with 150 employees or fewer, in the Star Tribune’s recent Top Workplaces project.

Go read the entire article so you can find out who called one of the projects we worked on “magic.”

$500 says The Nerdery is hiring

Under the influence of used car ads from night-owl Twins telecasts, some have said Tom should have called in Krazy with a backwards “K” today. Instead, he comes to you with this plea:

Krazy Tom in the mood for hiring from The Nerdery on Vimeo.

To clarify, if you send us your resume by Monday morning and we hire you, you get a $500 hiring bonus. If your Nerdery friend refers you and you’re hired, try getting your fair share of the bounty from said friend. To qualify for the loot, be sure to mention in your email or cover letter that Krazy Tom sent you (or at least refer to his video).

Do this before Krazy Tom comes to his senses. http://www.nerdery.com/jobs

That’s us, bucking trends

In case you missed us on KSTP News this afternoon (or if you live someplace other than the Twin Cities), here we are!