One of the main questions we get at Proven Scaling is “Where do we find MySQL DBAs, Architects, and Developers?”

Next week is the MySQL Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, California. Inspired by the success of our impromptu job board at MySQL Camp last year (although whiteboards with no moderation tend to get messy), we decided to make a more formal job board this year. Something much more prominent, more organized, cleaner, and easier for both employers and job seekers to use. With great thanks to Solid for allowing us to use some of their Expo Hall space, we will have a formal job board in the Expo Hall, which is open April 24th and 25th.

We will have several “wall” panels at the edge of Solid’s Expo Hall space, and a kiosk (with Internet access) where you can enter your own job postings on the spot. Each posting will be printed out as a nice PDF, which will be mounted on the wall, and take-away cards will be printed with your contact information for candidates to take with them.

Posting your open jobs is completely FREE as a service to the community.

If you’re not going to the conference yourself, you just want to get your posting in early (please do!), or you want to post from the comfort of your own computer, head over to ExpoJobFair and sign up to post your open jobs!

It was a tough decision, but after much deliberation, the Proven Scaling Free Ride panel has made their decision, and the MySQL Conference & Expo 2007 Free Ride winners have been chosen. To recap, each of the winners will receive:

• Round-trip airfare from their location to SJC, SFO, or OAK airport
• Transportation from the airport to hotel/conference
• Hotel accommodations
• A meal stipend
• A full conference pass, provided by MySQL AB (Thanks, MySQL!)

Without further ado, here are the winners and their stories:

Jan Lehnardt, a student from Münster, Germany

Asked why we should choose him, Jan says: “I’m not a one trick pony. I’m a computer science student, but I attend classes in English literature and linguistics. I’m a freelancing open-source consultant by night, so I can pay for my studies. I like to improve user-interfaces by making them more humane. I want to make the web accessible and good looking to not only the 14 to 40 generation.”

J.R. Bullington, from a non-profit in Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA

J.R. had this to say about the opportunity: “I know that this section isn’t long, but it really does come down to money. I can get the time off and I have the support of my superiors. However, as we do not gain a profit and only gain enough capital to keep the lights on and the water running, training and conferences are not in the budget unless I pay for them myself.”

Carlos Proal Aguilar, from a non-profit in Puebla, Mexico

Carlos is concerned about the community in Latin America, and wonders why there is so little action on an international scale coming from the area. Carlos also says: “I have been a big MySQL fan for several years and have contributed with the mailing list and some bugs/patches and right now i have a couple of tutorials that I want to share with the community (after translating from Spanish to English).”

Thanks for all the entries, and I look forward to meeting Jan, Sean, and Carlos at the conference in just about three weeks.

Update: Sean Walberg couldn’t make it to the conference due to some scheduling conflicts, so we have chosen J.R. Bullington to replace him.

In just about 12 hours, we will close Proven Scaling‘s Free Ride to MySQL Conference and Expo 2007 form to new entries, and start deliberating on the winners. Get your entry in now if you want a chance to go to the MySQL event of the year for free!

So far we have received 16 entries for the Proven Scaling Free Ride to MySQL Conference and Expo 2007, which will be in Santa Clara, California, April 23-26. (A recap: We are providing free airfare, hotel, meals, and a full conference pass to three people who impress us with their submissions.) A few of the submissions so far have had the panel laughing hysterically (and we DO appreciate a bit of humour in our judging). A few of you have not tried at all. I thought I’d provide some tips on what helps and what hurts as you submit your entries:

• Helps: Showing that you have a sense of humour, and can tell a good story.
• Hurts: Leaving all of the entry blanks empty.
• Helps: Showing some humility, and that you will appreciate the free ride.
• Hurts: Not knowing what the conference is about.
• Helps: Telling us a little about how you intend to spend your time at the conference if you are chosen.

Submit your entry today! The deadline is this Friday, March 23^rd at midnight PDT (GMT-7)!

Proven Scaling will sponsor three people to attend the MySQL Conference and Expo 2007 in Santa Clara, California, April 23-26!

That’s right, we will pay for your airfare and hotel, transport from the airport, and even a stipend for meals! MySQL AB has graciously provided us with conference passes for the Free Ride winners, so the winners will each receive a full conference pass.

Go to Proven Scaling Free Ride to enter. The deadline is midnight PDT (GMT-7), Friday March 23^rd (just over a week away), so do it soon!

I look forward to reading your entries — and I hope to see you there!