Member Spotlight: Carole Olinger

Carole joined the WordPress community back in 2016 and has been working with key companies in the industry ever since.

As the Culture & Recruitment Strategist at Yoast, she’s dedicated to taking team culture and recruitment marketing to the next level.

Carole is also the Head of CloudFest Hackathon, which sets benchmarks for open-source projects at the biggest and most prominent cloud computing conference.

Furthermore, she is a strong advocate for diversity, inclusion and positive mental health in tech.

Carole and her husband, along with their adorable dog #BuffyTheDog, reside in a rural area of Germany. They have a semi-nomadic lifestyle and travel the world together. While doing so, Carole’s appearances at WordCamps around the globe have inspired many individuals along the way.

What do you enjoy most about working in WordPress?

Many people say that they came for the software and stayed for the people when talking about their experience with WordPress. But in my case, I was first introduced to the amazing community surrounding WordPress, and they sparked my curiosity about the software itself. It was a life-changing experience that opened my eyes to new possibilities: WordPress provides a platform for people to raise their voices, create a different type of lifestyle, and make a living, regardless of their background or where they come from.

The democratization of publishing is a significant aspect, but to me and many others, it was the gateway to a whole new career and a more balanced work-life situation. The opportunities in tech are boundless, and the most beautiful part is that you can make a positive impact on the software and its community, becoming an example of sustainability, diversity, inclusion, and positive mental health (to name only a few) for other communities and society in general.

What do you love most about your Post Status membership?

Whenever someone asks me about the best way to connect with other WordPress professionals, I always recommend joining the Post Status network. In my opinion, no other platform brings together such a significant number of thought leaders, business strategists, contributors, and WordPress enthusiasts.

While social media is great for casual connections, Post Status is the perfect platform for professional outreach, recruiting, and job referrals. It’s my go-to resource when I need advice from other WordPress professionals.

One of the things I appreciate most about Post Status is that it provides a platform for business-related conversations within the WordPress community that aren’t necessarily directly related to contributing to the open-source project.

In today’s industry, it’s more important than ever to have discussions around sustainable contributions, but also sustainable business plans to be able to give back to the community in the first place! We need to discuss win-win scenarios for all parties involved here.

By opening up to this type of conversations, we can hopefully ultimately give back to the project in a more meaningful and sustainable way.

Post Status provides a valuable and safe space for these important discussions to happen.

What business/web/WordPress advice do you have for others in our industry?

When working within the WordPress community, it’s important to find the right balance between aiming for excellence while also being respectful of the volunteer nature of the project. This means striving for professionalism and high-quality results – which I am all for, while also remaining open, empathetic, and collaborative with others.

The solution is neither one party lowering their drive nor the other being under pressure.

When representing a business, keep in mind that not everyone in the community is a potential customer, and instead approach each interaction with the goal of building meaningful connections and supporting each other. By doing so, we can create a positive and productive environment that benefits everyone involved, setting the foundation for brilliant business opportunities at the same time.