December 27, 2023
Who is Val Vesa?
Val Vesa is a Romanian social media and community strategist with a passion for online security and education. Born in 1979, he grew up during the communist era in Romania and has fond memories of his childhood. After the fall of communism, Val embraced the Internet and became an early adopter of social media platforms. He is passionate about using social media to connect with people, build communities, and share knowledge.
Val Vesa is a community manager at Cloudflare and a prominent figure in the WordPress community. He strongly believes in the power of human interaction for positive impact and actively engages in helping others within the WordPress community.
His journey began with WordPress in 2009 when he created a website for a charitable project, Shoebox Romania, which involved gift-giving to underprivileged children. In his role at Cloudflare, he focuses on community building and engagement, advocating for direct human interaction over AI and automation. He emphasizes authenticity in social media presence and values helping people craft genuine online profiles.
Val is also a strong advocate for online security and education. He believes everyone should be aware of the risks associated with using the Internet and take steps to protect themselves. He has written extensively on online security topics and is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops.
In his free time, Val enjoys photography and traveling. He is also an avid reader and loves to learn new things.
What key skills and qualities do successful WordPress professionals possess, and how can jobseekers develop or demonstrate these traits?
Val Vesa:
I think that in the community of WordPress, where the very style of open conversations, constant adaptation to new project and challenges and due to the ongoing modifications to the Open Source work style, the number one skill a WordPress professional needs to possess is adaptability and, very important second: speed. Things move fast in the WordPress world, and you need to be at your best game to catch it all in.
Can you share a personal or professional setback you faced in your WordPress career, and how you overcame it? What lessons did you learn from that experience?
Val Vesa:
The scariest part when you start with WordPress can also be your best friend: the community. When attending my first WordCamp I had zero folks come up to me to talk to me when I got there, but that all changed by the time we got to the lunch break, when folks opened up and the “newcomers” were integrated in smaller groups and the community did its magic “adopting” process to allow the new folks to get familiar and to build trust to communicate with others.
What advice do you have for job seekers who feel discouraged or overwhelmed during their job search? How can they stay motivated and maintain a positive mindset?
Val Vesa:
Think that you are unique and that the perfect job exists if you keep looking. WordPress is a huge community and there is always a lot of work to be done. It may sound trivial, but patience is made of gold.
How can job seekers differentiate themselves in a competitive job market? Are there any unique approaches or strategies that you recommend?
Val Vesa:
I would say “be you”. Do learn and observe what others do, do search, do read up on how to present yourself for an interview or what the company offering the job you’re applying for does and what other projects they delivered, so they see you have done your homework, but also be honest, open and provide truthful answers to their questions. Also, post a lot of “this is how I fixed [X]” articles on LinkedIn, build your profile and your following, so that when a possible employer looks you up they get to see all that content as well, and the response you got from the community, not just your résumé.
What are the emerging trends or areas of growth in the WordPress industry, and how can job seekers align themselves with these opportunities?
Val Vesa:
We’re seeing a lot of shift from the larger community approach to a more team or company focussed growth, where several companies pretty much own the WordPress space. And to a point, that is normal. However, this may look to jobseekers as if those few companies “own” WordPress. And the most recent drama does not help either. We need to make sure we keep the community, the open source and the passion alive. And I do not think that by gathering around a few names, this will be possible. So the entire WordPress community needs to do more to circumvent this.
You can find Val Vesa on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, 500px, Steller, Twenty20, and Getty Images.
Thank you, Val! You are awesome!
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