December 3, 2025 at 2:02:43 PM UTC

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Free idea:

A developer conference (née job fair) where all of the speakers are folks that aren’t employed and are looking! Speakers would really benefit from the authority that conference speaking provides and employers looking to hire can send their own devs in to learn (and recruit)!

Also posted to Mastodon.

33 replies

Zach Leatherman Bluesky 2 min later

I wanted to do this for an @11ty.dev conference but haven’t had the bandwidth yet 🫠
Zach Leatherman Mastodon 2 min later

I wanted to do this for an @11ty conference but haven’t had the bandwidth yet 🫠
Mike Aparicio Bluesky 5 min later

I thought about doing a weekly stream if/when I get laid off called The Funemployment show that’s basically this crossed with Learn with Jason. 😂
1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 7 min later
  
  ohhh yeah I really like that idea. A Learn With Jason but exclusively for job seekers to talk about cool stuff they’ve worked on previously
  1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 7 min later
    
    a cheeky cc to @jason.energy (just in case he’s itching to do more things 😅)
    1. Dave Rupert Bluesky 12 min later
      
      20 unemployed devs, 1 rich billionaire… who will win the final rose on this season of The Bachelor’s Degree is Not Required but is Recommended!
      1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 21 min later
        
        oh no
        
        Dave Rupert Bluesky 51 min later
        
        Zach, I had a real nice time with you in the Pair Programming Room, I felt like we were really vibing… but… [commercial break]… we were really vibing, but your lack of React/Tailwind experience and unwillingness to move fast and break things is hard for me to invest in, so… [commercial break]… so…
        
        Zach Leatherman Bluesky 1 hr later
        
        …for this reason I am out
        
        (this went full Shark Tank so quickly)
      2. Mike Aparicio Bluesky 48 min later
        
        Jubilee but the 1 is a billionaire and the 20 have blunt instruments.
        
        Dave Rupert Bluesky 52 min later
        
        Billionaire gets DESTROYED by 20 machetes
        
        Erik Vorhes Bluesky 54 min later
        
        Billionaires hate this one sharp trick
    2. Mike Aparicio Bluesky 1 hr later
      
      Like Jason needs any more ideas. 😂
Zergling_man Mastodon 22 min later

@zachleat That's just fedicon
1. Zach Leatherman Mastodon 25 min later
  
  @Zergling_man is it? I did a cursory look at the web site
  1. Zergling_man Mastodon 27 min later
    
    @zachleat Fedicon has a website!?
    I am joking about how fedi is mostly a place for NEETs.
Sia Karamalegos Bluesky 24 min later

Can we add freelancers always looking for clients?
1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 27 min later
  
  As the arbiter of nothing here, I vote yes 😅
  1. Den Bluesky 29 min later
    
    Ready to be the first speaker! 😀
Private reply Bluesky 35 min later
Private reply Bluesky 1 hr later
1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 1 hr later
  
  a good problem to have though
Michael Bluesky 1 hr later

Workshops include "Things stakeholders just don't understand" and "AND ANOTHER THING!".
Jack Harner 🚀 Web Developer Bluesky 2 hr later

Do it Kill Tony style where you draw speakers out of a hat and they get 5 minutes to talk followed by 15 minutes of questions. 😂
1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 2 hr later
  
  we both lose 2 internet points for knowing what Kill Tony is
  1. Jack Harner 🚀 Web Developer Bluesky 5 hr later
    
    To be truly terminally online, one must embrace all sides of the internet.
Private reply Mastodon 4 hr later
Aaaaaallan Deutsch Bluesky 5 hr later

I’ve never had any issues with getting talks into conferences when a student or not traditionally employed, and it always results in inbound inquiries about my availability for work. Really effective way to find roles!

Why make a whole separate conference for it though?
1. Juho Vepsäläinen Bluesky 5 hr later
  
  Maybe it would need a related theme like a job fair. It would restrict speaker choice a lot, though.
Keith Henry Bluesky 8 hr later

So rather than pay the speakers for their expertise and work building the talks you offer them the chance of a job if they impress? This rather feels like paying the band with exposure.
1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 8 hr later
  
  for the record I’ve helped organize six different conferences and we’ve always paid speakers a stipend and paid for expenses
  1. Keith Henry Bluesky 8 hr later
    
    Fair enough and good to know, but then isn't the conference itself the paid gig? As a recruitment fair it would be rather imbalanced? Why pay to attend/sponsor a showcase (and possible auction)?
    It is an interesting idea though!
    1. Zach Leatherman Bluesky 8 hr later
      
      I think probably the missing context here is that I was thinking about using this as a filter for speaker selection for an existing conference, see bsky.app/profile/zach...