For Leeds Digital Festival, LeedsJS will be running a special event in collaboration with WRKdigital - 'Giving your JS Career a Boost'
Please come along if you would like to take your JS Career to the next level or if you would like to share some of your experiences of getting that JS dream job or hiring brilliant talent.
Schedule
18:00 Registration: Pizza, drinks and Networking
18:30 Session 1: Crispin Read - Using AI and free tools and trials to boost your job search prospects
18:50 Break
19:05 Session 2: Joseph Thornton - How to pass a coding interview
19:30 Panel Discussion: Crispin Read, Mala Benn, Joseph Thornton, James Westwood
Speakers & Panelists
James Westwood
James, a co-founder and Director at WRK Digital in Leeds, has over 15 years of experience in recruiting for Software Engineering and UX roles. Known for partnering with and advising the tech community in the North, he is committed to helping Software Engineers thrive by providing valuable connections and opportunities. Passionate about career advancement, James actively contributes to the community through events, mentoring, and tech meetups.
Crispin Read
Founder and CEO of The Coders Guild, a training form with a mission to make high quality digital skills training available to all. A self-taught developer, he’s had multiple roles leading tech companies, products, projects and teams including the trailblazer initiative to create the Software Developer Level 4 Apprenticeship. Outside of work, Crispin enjoys cold-water swimming, fermenting things, and mucking about with his kids.
Gwen Diagram
Head of Engineering at Glean
Gwen Diagram is a technology professional from Leeds, with a focus on building high performing teams and enabling teams to create software of known quality at speed. She has worked in a variety of roles throughout her career, including Principal Tester, Test Manager, Tester/DevOps, Engineering Manager, and most recently, Head of Engineering at Glean. Her experience spans front-end development, database administration, API automation, agile coaching, engineering management, and platform engineering.
As a big believer in the tech community, Gwen co-organises the Leeds Testing Atelier, a free testing conference held twice a year, and is on the speaker committee for Agile on the Beach, an annual conference in Cornwall.
Outside of work, Gwen enjoys DIY projects, building eco-systems via vivariums and aquariums, and travelling, especially when it involves exploring her interests in mid-century design, biology, and psychology.
Joseph Thornton
Software Engineering Lead at BJSS
Joe has been involved in software engineering leadership at BJSS for several years and has helped establish the hiring process for JavaScript developers. He understands what the industry seeks in terms of talent and the problem-solving skills that make a software engineer effective in enterprise software delivery projects.
