Need advice on a job opportunity

Azt7

Hey peeps,

A job opportunity literally fell on my lap yesterday through my in-laws. It is for an industry leader, really the type of company you do not say no to, if they have good reviews on glassdoor of course

First dilemma for me, my career is bringing me to a cloud solution architect position mostly on Azure (70-535 certification this month) and AWS. This company is a direct competitor and I wonder how that looks when I think about the next job.

As a hiring manager, would that be as weird to you as it is to me ? To basically be a Cisco specialist and then work for Juniper ?

I know Person A who works there and makes 70K and I have more experience, education and certifications than person A. So logic would recommend that I make more which I have been told to temper my expectations by one of the connections.

Am I crazy or does person A longevity (6 years) with that company means more ?

From what I'm told by my connections there, the job is mine to lose. And I feel stupid not taking the offer especially since they have been looking for someone for the last 3 months without success.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Will the job expand your skills? Will it look good on your resume should you decide to leave that company in 2-5 years to move up into the next challenging role that you want? Don't worry about what someone else is making at a company and focus on getting the pay that you feel you deserve for the role. Should you come in too high it could do one of two things.
1. They counter with something more in the mid-line of what their pay range is for the role.
2. You are way too high and they just go radio silent on you and move onto the next person without giving you a chance to say "Hey, I'd actually be fine making X".

I've seen #2 happen several times with interviews that I've been involved with and someone comes in with a request to be paid way above what the role would offer. When they make their offer to you, it will be somewhere in their mid-range for the role most likely. Now, that said you can counter by adding 10-15% and that won't insult them or make them go radio silent on you. If they ask you what you want to be paid during the interview you need to shift that question to them so that they give up and say what they are looking to pay for a role. Again, who cares what person A makes there because you aren't trying to take his/her position. And keep in mind that person A, if they are a high performer, is a known commodity and is more valuable to them in that example. Be smart about how you approach the offer and you'll be fine.

Azt7

Yeah, it will definitely look good and can lead to better positions in the future. That is for sure.

Your point about salary negotiations is very spot on. There's a difference between what I think I'm worth and what my value is to a company for a specific position.

I really don't know much yet about anything except me and Person A would have the same job title but work in different divisons. So my little mind used him as a reference point.

You seem to have some occult skills , as you're spot on on person A being a high performer.

I appreciate your valuable input.

MeanDrunkR2D2

That makes it even harder to compare as he is in a different division. I have the same title in my role as new hires that don't even know what a shell script is or how to manage an OS with a command line. And being that I'm in another department what I do is completely different than what they would do. I also make considerably more than those guys/gals would as well because of that.

Good luck with this potential offer. Just go in knowing what you need to be comfy making to start with and if they won't give you the promotion/raise you feel you are worth in a couple of years it's time to jump again.

Azt7

My mistake on using the term division. It's their internal terminology.

Internally, he will be in the english department and I will be in the bilingual one. We'll both work with the same industries and customer sizes, same products/services.

Yeah, I'm determining what is acceptable for me as I'll be there probably for 2 or 3 years before moving on if I end up getting it.

UnixGuy

Azt7 wrote: »

....

A job opportunity literally fell on my lap yesterday through my in-laws.

......

if the job doesn't work out or if you have to leave it later, would this impact your relationship with your in-laws or spouse?

Azt7 wrote: »

....

....
As a hiring manager, would that be as weird to you as it is to me ? To basically be a Cisco specialist and then work for Juniper ?

...

I see this as a big plus! you said cloud..most places I see they have more than one vendor, so it's worth it to know MS/AWS/Google...Broadening your experience is a plus.

Azt7 wrote: »

....

...
I know Person A who works there and makes 70K and I have more experience, education and certifications than person A. So logic would recommend that I make more which I have been told to temper my expectations by one of the connections.

Am I crazy or does person A longevity (6 years) with that company means more ?

....

I can't give an answer to this because it seems to be very random to be honest. There is no set rule. In some place longevity means more, sometimes it's luck or circumstances sometimes experience...negotiate the best pay you can get (and can be happy with) and don't worry too much about what's out of your control



Tough decision...Good luck either way

jcundiff

most places, bilingual tends to get a premium over just English speakers, knowing that they are looking for a skillset with a specific requirement above and beyond the standard set. We pay call center people 10-15% more for being bilingual, so I would imagine that a professional position should have at least that percent above base baked into the salary

yoba222

Azt7 wrote: »

. . . It is for an industry leader, really the type of company you do not say no to, if they have good reviews on glassdoor of course . . .

Rose-colored glasses and all . . . just be careful not to filter out any red flags on account of the company being so grandiose to you.

Azt7

UnixGuy wrote: »

if the job doesn't work out or if you have to leave it later, would this impact your relationship with your in-laws or spouse?








I see this as a big plus! you said cloud..most places I see they have more than one vendor, so it's worth it to know MS/AWS/Google...Broadening your experience is a plus.


I can't give an answer to this because it seems to be very random to be honest. There is no set rule. In some place longevity means more, sometimes it's luck or circumstances sometimes experience...negotiate the best pay you can get (and can be happy with) and don't worry too much about what's out of your control



Tough decision...Good luck either way

No impact at all with the in-laws. They just know somebody who works there and I happen to know somebody else .

For the vendor versatility, I looked at it a little bit that way but I guess I needed to hear it from somebody else too haha

Pay wise, I will get what I can if it ends up making sense.

Azt7

jcundiff wrote: »

most places, bilingual tends to get a premium over just English speakers, knowing that they are looking for a skillset with a specific requirement above and beyond the standard set. We pay call center people 10-15% more for being bilingual, so I would imagine that a professional position should have at least that percent above base baked into the salary

That's what I thought too but hey we never know nowadays

Azt7

yoba222 wrote: »

Rose-colored glasses and all . . . just be careful not to filter out any red flags on account of the company being so grandiose to you.

You are totally right.

Big thing for me is that I would work 90% of the time from home. Staying away from all the office politics and not commuting is too appealing .