Need some help ->

sharptech

OK great thanks guys. I have no problem writing something up for HR. I will def. not leave on a bad note, I am leaving for personal reasons but can explain it better to them. They really like me here and I have been able to do of great stuff including project management for some of our higher end projects. They def. gave me every opportunity I wanted.

New job should give me a lot of growth opportunities as well which is important.

Again thanks to this board for all the help - it was needed! I will keep you updated as to how things are going.

snadam

sharptech wrote:

The official offer came through - start date is September 15th.

Question - for a 2 week notice, do you guys type something up or just give it verbally?

Thanks

congrats!!! Must be nice moving on to bigger and better things

sharptech

snadam wrote:

sharptech wrote:

The official offer came through - start date is September 15th.

Question - for a 2 week notice, do you guys type something up or just give it verbally?

Thanks

congrats!!! Must be nice moving on to bigger and better things

Thanks! Will be a good move - glad to be moving back to to my hometown!

sharptech

Anything you guys do to prepare for a new job? I have a few weeks at my old job and then start the new one. Should I email the director and ask if there is anything I can do to prepare or just wait until the start date.

Thanks

TechBoy22

I wouldnt go calling right away, i would maybe call a week before you start. maybe ask him/her if you would need specific tools with you. I know back in the day when i installed burglar alarms some companies told me to bring my own hand tools and some companies said dont worry about it, share with the other tech. I guess what Im saying is it depends what kind of questions still linger in your head. If you don't think you need anything to prep, then maybe call a few days before to varify the starting time and thank them again for giving you the opportunity to work for them. That should look good. Itll show youre eager but not too eager. Ive done that a few times and it never went wrong.

sharptech

Update:

Well its been a few months on the new job and unfortunately not impressed. I am more or less doing a lot more helpdesk work then project management and I did find some unpleasant things from others who have worked their.

First job where I am not happy to go into work everyday and that is a problem for me. However I have only been there a few months so leaving look bad and probably tarnish my name in the IT field around here.

Should I just stick it out for a year then start looking - or keep my eyes open now? What do you guys do in this situation and best way to handle it?

networker050184

sharptech wrote:

Update:

Well its been a few months on the new job and unfortunately not impressed. I am more or less doing a lot more helpdesk work then project management and I did find some unpleasant things from others who have worked their.

First job where I am not happy to go into work everyday and that is a problem for me. However I have only been there a few months so leaving look bad and probably tarnish my name in the IT field around here.

Should I just stick it out for a year then start looking - or keep my eyes open now? What do you guys do in this situation and best way to handle it?

I'd go ahead and start looking for something different now. If you are not happy just find something else and let them know the job isn't what you had thought it would be. If you think it will be that big of a deal to future employers just leave it off your resume.

If you aren't happy in the job it is probably just a matter of time before you end up leaving so you might as well have something lined up.

nel

Sorry to hear that man. I would stick with it for the time being. Keep gaining more certs and experiance and it may work out in the short term. Where i currently work it was crap for the first year but now ive moved into a better position and its great! you wouldnt even think it was the same place i was working!

Is it just the fact your doing more helpdesk? if so and you are looking to move up dont move into another sidestep job. If you are going to move again (regardless of the timing) make sure its to a job you want!

Have you spoke to your manager about your concerns? do it in an approachable manner and not abruptly. Ask if you can have some projects to work on (guess it depends on how much goes on in your workplace) otherwise suggest things which you could improve and see if you can implement them etc?

sharptech

networker - thanks for the advice - yeah its been a rough few months, I will probably keep an eye out on key jobs for now and might apply to a few. I also might try to stick it out one year - get my MS Certs going etc..

Nel - its a lot of different apsects of the job itself, - I mean its not all helpdesk, but at this point in my career I am passed that - I managed a helpdesk at one point ;p - but I see what you are saying - thanks for that as well.

sharptech

Hey guys,

Well its been over 7 months and still not much has changed. I will more or less stick it out one year and start a new search ;p

I was also contacted by a former recruiter and they wanted to know if I was interested in them passing opportunities my way. I think it may be a good idea, however I wanted to know what you guys thought about it.

Hope all is well w/ everyone.

sharptech

Hey guys,

Have a question for you. In an interview I received a pretty good technical question and wanted to know how you guys would answer it to compare on how my answer was.

Question is: You have 3 months to complete a project with full authority and umlimited budget. You are setting up a new infrastructure for a small group of users (around 40) for this new company. This company needs email, internet, and data storage needs. What is the most effective way to do this.

I will post my answer or close to later tonight as well.

Thanks guys!

drainey

First question you need to ask them is what might be the potential for growth in this company (one that needs infrastructure). If they have 40 users and no plans to grow very fast or soon, then a Windows Small Business Server 200x would provide, email, and domain part of equation, a separate server for storage, and a good business class firewall would satisfy the rest without being overly greedy with the budget. However they did say unlimited budget, so you wouldn't neccessarily be out of line to suggest 3 servers, One as a primary Domain Controller, the second as an Exchange server - backup DC, and one as a file server / data storage server. And of course you still need the business class firewall. Not to mention switches, cabling, etc. But I'd stick to the basics in answering the question, X number of servers and their roles, and a business class firewall.

You might ask about what kind of data storage needs this company would have. You might end up wanting to suggest a SAN as well.

sharptech

Drainey,

That is a great answer and similar to what I had in mind. I as well suggested the small business class server, but I also got involved with virtual machines as well as that is cost effective. Other than what you said I had talked about a backup solution to tape instead of on the server.

Thanks for your response, always good to compare, especially for future interviews.

sharptech

When writing thank you notes after interviews for females, do you put Mrs. or Ms.? Of course I am not sure if they are married or not, but what is most appropriate to do if you do not know?