Office 365: The Official Enterprise Platform of CNN!

Justin Bieber - The gift that keeps on giving. 

Another Option for Business Users

So... you're a SharePoint power-user in your company, and let's say that you don't do programming, but you understand relational data models, queries, and application security models. What are your options for writing relational data-driven apps that you can publish to SharePoint? I was doing a freelance project for someone and it became obvious to me that my old stand-bys of InfoPath and custom lists with lookup columns just wasn't going to be enough. The data model was truly relational in nature and called for a little more of a heavy hitter.

Enter Access 2013 Web Apps... And a completely new experience.

It took a good textbook and a little time to catch on, but once I got the ball rolling, I was really able to make a truly mobile-friendly app that has a ton of functionality. Among the books that I purchased on this topic, here is the best one, in my opinion:


The application was easy to build, until I started using macros. Even then, the book I purchased (above) came in handy and I started getting more done. My client understood relational data models and eventually took over his own work on the project.

PROS:
1. Easy to build, once you figure out the navigation.
2. The data and all schemas are stored in SQL server and are able to be accessed and reported on by any SQL-compatible reporting / analysis tool.
3. The resulting application is EXTREMELY friendly to mobile browsers on both iOS and Android.
4. Includes several app templates to get you started.

CONS:
1. Little to no control over style sheets, which means...
2. No control over printer-friendly views.
3. Queries built in the application are read-only. I repeat: READ-ONLY. To replicate the functionality of UPDATE queries, data macros must be built with triggers to update existing records or create ancillary artifact records behind-the-scenes if you're not editing the active record on your screen.
4. I read somewhere that each app only has a 1 GB storage limit.
5. The only file type supported as a table field is an image file. You can try to upload any file type in an image field, but the web app will try to force it into an image file type. Not sure what the reasoning behind this is, especially when SQL supports just about any binary file type.

Overall, I like this product, but it is definitely in its infancy. It will need some work when it comes to ease of customizing security beyond the external SharePoint permissions, file types, and scalability. Be on the look-out for improvements in future versions of this application! It looks like Microsoft intends on putting quite an investment in re-inventing Access and using it to build effective cloud apps!

Freelance Recruiting

Attention Recruiters:

There is another way to find top SharePoint talent: freelance exchange websites.

One that I have recently come across is http://www.freelancermap.com

Check out my Freelancermap profile.

This site had a number of remote work possibilities that I found interesting, so I definitely inquired.

Another is http://www.elance.com Easy to use time sheets, proposals, and project workspaces. If you can imagine it, it's here.

The third is http://www.oDesk.com References (like certifications) are checked and verified.

The forte of these sites is finding specialists for short-term assignments or projects, though you can recruit for full time work, and you can recruit world-wide for affordable talent. Two unique features about using this forum for recruiting is that these sites is that you can see (to varying degrees) the actual availability of candidates you are looking to hire, as well as feedback from previous projects on which the candidate has worked. The workers are competing for your business, so you will also be able to keep your costs fairly low. True market price will prevail in this environment, however, be ready to pay more if you want someone whose primary language is English :-)



 

You Don't Have to Be a Weatherman To Know Which Way the Wind Blows.

Which direction is the wind blowing in terms of SharePoint?

Answer: JavaScript/JQuery (read "function") and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets, read "look and feel"), if you want to do anything above and beyond out-of-the-box with SharePoint 2010 and 2013.

With every new release of SharePoint, Microsoft is allowing SharePoint to be more flexible, but at the cost of becoming less user-friendly for non-developers. The newest release of SharePoint, SharePoint 2013, makes heavier use of "apps" that can be customized through script.

SharePoint Designer 2013 has taken away its Design view, and thrown the form customizations over the fence to InfoPath 2013.  InfoPath 2013 has some limitations, and so the most effective way to change the function of your SharePoint sites is to use JavaScript and JQuery. This means that even a Site Collection Administrator would be well-served to have knowledge of JavaScript, JQuery, and CSS.

Fortunately, there are many good books available on both subjects, and even books focused on using JavaScript, JQuery, and CSS within the context of SharePoint 2013. I would highly recommend also getting a book on the use of InfoPath 2013 and even Office 365, Microsoft's cloud-hosted SharePoint solution.

For an all-in-one book, I recommend "Pro SharePoint 2013 Branding and Responsive Web Development". "JavaScript and JQuery: The Missing Manual" is also a good read if you're starting anew with any type of development/programming and has good cross-references within.

Best of luck, and happy coding!

Hard Truth #3: Taleo = Turn-Off

Let me take a moment to be like the rare woman who is actually brutally honest with a guy and explains to him why he's just not attractive to her, which, I know, rarely happens, but it's a defining moment of true epiphany when it does happen and the guy can improve himself 1,000 times over than if a woman doesn't give the guy some tough love. With that said, here's my tough love to my beloved recruiter community.

If you're REALLY interested in finding quality candidates, be more personal and save the formal application until after the interviews are completed and an offer is accepted. Taleo and other lengthy online job applications are an impersonal turnoff. To use this step as the first impression to your candidate is nothing but a hassle for the applicant for a job that they might not want after interviewing or that they might not be hired for, especially when other recruiters simply accept and review résumés by e-mail. To make matters worse, many Taleo sites require a separate login and repeated entry of the (mostly) same information over and over again. While Taleo offers a Universal Profile, many companies simply do not use it. If a company simply refers a me to a lengthy Taleo application, 99 times out of 100 I will simply move on to the next job posting unless there is really something in that job or company that I want very much (with SharePoint professionals, there's usually not much that makes a particular position stand out above others. The Taleo application is just not worth my time or any other applicants' time UNLESS an offer has been made to the candidate and the candidate has accepted. If I have already interviewed, been made an offer, and I have accepted the offer in writing, I will gladly take the time to fill out the formal application.

So, what's the answer? A simple email address for sending a searchable résumé to or some other SIMPLE résumé uploader, along with collecting only basic contact information (name, address, phone, e-mail, and the standard citizenship question) is tolerable. A company named Tribridge has successfully implemented Taleo in this way, with just basic contact information and a résumé upload... and I gladly applied for their available position. The same can be said for McDonald's, who posts some of their corporate jobs on LinkedIn, with a fast, simple application initiation with résumé upload. If collecting résumés by e-mail, the recruiter can simply collect a few days worth of some e-mailed resumes, enter them into a searchable repository, then search the group of attachments for key words to find qualified candidates.  Use Taleo as an on-boarding step, not a recruiting step.

Leave the lengthy application form to those applying for government security clearances.

Do You Have SharePoint Telecommute Positions Available?

If you have SharePoint Telecommuter positions available, you can post them here. Gain an edge on your competition by posting your jobs through a targeted website and audience. Except where an organization's network is not accessible through Internet / VPN connectivity, most SharePoint positions can be supported remotely, from home. Get qualified candidates now!

If you have any other telecommute / telecommute / Work-from-Home positions (anything not related to SharePoint), you can post them here.

If you post your positions through one of the two links in this post, your position will appear prominently at the top of the page.

Happy Recruiting

An Important Milestone Plus a Friendly Reminder...

First, the good news... SharePoint Recruiter Central has now reached over 1,000 visitors!  People are finding us through Google searches, and the stats show that the most visited page is the Definitions #3: Site Collection Administrator page. I am glad this definition is getting the attention it so desperately needs. This role is vital to a positive ROI of any enterprise's implementation of SharePoint.

And now, the bad news... I am still seeing waaaaaaaaay too many job postings that simply say "SharePoint Administrator" or "Senior SharePoint Administrator" for positions that have a heavy developer component to them. Someone please slap these recruiters around for me and direct them to my blog and to the Administrator and Developer definitions pages. :-)