On January 2, I announced that I was looking for a job. Since that announcement, I’ve talked with >65 companies. I’ve had actual interviews with >30 of them. Most of them are based out of Belgium, some were remote. Many were Drupal shops, several were start-ups (some of which from Belgium, but most of which from the U.S.) but there were also many different types of companies. From very small to very big. So much choice!

(Also see The Paradox of Choice.)

Startup

Whenever I felt that a company was interested in possibly pursuing the start-up idea that I have had for a long time, I pitched it. The few times that I did this, there was a lot of enthusiasm. But only one company really pushed forward in pursuing this: Nascom. Funny enough, this also happened to be the company that offered me the most interesting, versatile and challenging job. This made me realize that a start-up (in Belgium!) might not be as unrealistic as I had first thought.

I had been talking to an American serial entrepreneur/investor/business angel/CEO/visionary for more than a year. My internship at Facebook forced us to postpone any start-up plan. But then it was revived. So, for a while I was talking to these two parties about doing a start-up. I even considered doing it solo for a few months to check the viability. Eventually, I decided a start-up was not the best possible choice for me at this point in my life12.

Decision

After 8 weeks of interviews (up to 6 interviews a day!) and start-up considerations (several weeks), deep thought and considering as many factors as possible (I can assure you that this is very exhausting), I’ve made my choice: Nascom. I’ll be a Web Architect there.

Why did I choose Nascom?

• They do Drupal (and they do it right — they have many contributions, but hopefully even more in the future), want to do more with WPO and are open to exploring data mining opportunities — a perfect match with my areas of interest.
• I’ll be able to spend a very significant chunk of my time on researching future technology, to be able to serve clients better and faster. They’re the only company that offered this, and this is obviously a major plus for them :)
• With my WPO (and Drupal) expertise, I will accompany Nascom’s sales people and I will be able to grow in the sales/business aspect.
• They’re based out of Limburg (my home province), on the awesome C-mine site3 — which is where a former coal mine used to be; a technology hub is growing here, including a GameHUB. Besides that, they’ve got offices near Brussels and in Antwerp, which will come in handy in the future, as my girlfriend continues her medicine studies.
• And of course, they’ve got a kick-ass team and an impressive portfolio!

This really is the best of both all worlds: Drupal, WPO, data mining, research, sales, Limburg, excellent colleagues to learn from and big clients to work with!

I can’t wait to start! :)

1. For a variety of reasons, ranging from short- & long-term financial risk, as well as my lack of (in my eyes) sufficient business experience. ↩

2. Also see “Startups Are Hard. So Work More, Cry Less, And Quit All The Whining” & “Watch a VC use my name to sell a con.”. ↩

3. Unfortunately, C-mine’s website is not yet available in English and it’s hard to find good photos. I’ll make sure to post some later. It’s awesome, and they’re currently making it even more awesome. ↩

• Drupal
• Hasselt University
• Nascom
• WPO
• life