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Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:31 am
by warning_uk
Hi.

I was advised last week that this may be a good forum to post to...

Sense Internet is a web agency based in Leeds City Centre, and we're currently recruiting to grow our team... here's more info

The company
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Since its formation in the mid 1990s, this Leeds-based company has grown into one of the UK's leading new media strategy and development agencies, designing and building websites and intranets/extranets, and creating highly innovative e-marketing campaigns for clients.

The company delivers projects for a wide variety of market-leading brands and, as one of the UK's earliest web design companies, is one of a small number that has remained independent, unamalgamated and profitable throughout its history.

The award-winning company is passionate about the work it does, keen to maintain a good life-work balance for its employees and committed to working in a sustainable environment, while maintaining an element of fun. The company has a rare devotion to its staff, a team of great people and clients who are big enough to undertake projects of an interesting size.

The successful candidate
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The company is looking for talented programmers with first class credentials who would like to work somewhere that will allow them to make a difference.

You should be confident in your abilities, a good communicator and disciplined about completing work to a high standard. You should be self-motivated and committed to a long-term position with a successful web agency, while receiving good support from the rest of the team.

The package
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- 20 days holiday (rising to 25 days after 5 years' service),
plus 1 additional holiday per month
- A fixed 37.5 hour week (with paid overtime)
- Staff share / bonus benefits
- Stakeholder pension scheme
- DIS benefit scheme
- Income protection package
- Optional company medical scheme
- Flexible start / finish times
- Time put aside regularly for professional and technical development

For more about the specific role, please see

http://www.sense.co.uk/scale/#senior_web_developer_php

If you have any questions, just post them here, or email me directly.

Cheers for now
Dave Small
Software Development Manager
Sense Internet Ltd

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:20 pm
by jaoudestudios
Senior developer with OOP PHP, MySQL, Linux, HTML and potentially js, ajax for 23-25k. GOOD LUCK!

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:39 pm
by onion2k
jaoudestudios wrote:Senior developer with OOP PHP, MySQL, Linux, HTML and potentially js, ajax for 23-25k. GOOD LUCK!
Reading Job Adverts 101: If the salary spec is low it's because the expectations of the employer are low.

You'd be surprised how many developers see their role as someone who goes into the office, does what they're told to do, and goes home again, rather than someone who can come up with creative and exciting solutions, write frameworks, build innovative stuff, that sort of thing. If a company doesn't want another innovator on the team, mainly because those sorts of people cost a lot more, then they'll put out an ad with a relatively low salary spec. They want someone to whom coding is just a job rather than someone who's passionate about it.

Eg not someone who's helping people out on a PHP forum at 8:30 on a Sunday night. :)

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:54 pm
by jaoudestudios
Haha true :)

But even so, someone who just codes and all those languages is quite a specialist and deserves a decent salary. Its not like excel when one can lie and guess it all in the office by clicking a few options trying to get it to work.

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:28 pm
by onion2k
jaoudestudios wrote:But even so, someone who just codes and all those languages is quite a specialist and deserves a decent salary.
Well, £25k is about the national average, and it's in Leeds which is pretty cheap..

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 4:30 am
by warning_uk
jaoudestudios wrote:Senior developer with OOP PHP, MySQL, Linux, HTML and potentially js, ajax for 23-25k. GOOD LUCK!
Thanks for the feedback. To respond to this, Sense Internet believes in a good life-work balance, which doesn't require people to work more than 37.5 hours a week, and gives 35 (rising to 40) days' holiday a year. Unlike many companies, we believe that 37.5 hours/week should mean 37.5 hours/week, not 50 or more.

I do realise that we may need to offer more than 25k to the ideal candidate, but it's interesting how many people like the package that we offer (which includes a profit share, and a share ownership), but don't fully understand that the package has to be realistic when we're giving 8 weeks' holiday a year :)

This role is working with a team of 7, and is not a team leader role. I hope we've got the salary range right, within 2-3k...

Dave

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:16 am
by onion2k
That's a very interesting approach. It's not one that would suit me (I used a total of 1 day of my 20 days holiday allocation last year) but I can understand the appeal.

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 5:39 am
by jayshields
I hope people are still posting jobs like this in England regularly when I've finished my degree come July. Don't you require any sort of educational qualifications from the candidate? If not, then how would you know they are capable? Some sort of trial period?

Re: Senior PHP web developer/programmer Leeds - Sense Internet

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:12 am
by warning_uk
jayshields wrote:Don't you require any sort of educational qualifications from the candidate? If not, then how would you know they are capable? Some sort of trial period?
Hehe - yeah - we have a three-stage interview process, and a three month probationary period for any new-starters... we generally have a pretty good idea of someone's ability by the end of the interview process... so I don't want you to worry for us too much :)

Cheers