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.