Possible internal post. UPDATE: Got the job!

nel

Hi guys,

Well im in a bit of a pickle and wanted your advice

There has been an internal post created for a "network specialist" at my place. They are looking to basically train some one up on the cheap (which is good for me and them) and obviously that person to self learn. Although this is a primarily a network role it does have some tasks for our microsoft infrastructure (which i already do) and it also includes continuing doing helpdesk calls from L2 - L3. Here's some of the job role:

1. undertake new lan and wan installations (we have a few coming up)
2. Docoument divsional lan / wan (we have very little currently)
3. be lead for Voip project - working alongside the main Voip guru for the company
4. Monitor network and performance
5. Manage and maintain infrastructure - both ADS, dhcp,dns etc (along with others) and network/Voip (just me)
6. Planning and testing of infrastructure devices - DR stuff etc
7. Identify infrastructure improvements
8. On 24/7 call out for network issue's in our division
9. Give training when necessary

...and there a few others but those are the main.

Now there are a few people who are applying and looking at it i think i would be crazy not to go for it seen as though i want to get into the networking field and it comes with an approx payrise of £1500 - 2000. but there are a few things that bother me which are - we have heard several times in the past of these roles and they have never transpired (i moved country, in the UK, to a role which mirrored this and it never turned out to be) so im a little wary. also the fact that the position will have a 3 month notice period from my current 1 month. im just a little worried incase i sign on the dotted line, it doesnt turn out to be that job, then im stuck in a 3 month contract. My gut tells me this is an excellent chance and would be stupid to pass up just for the notice period but my head tells me i have been in this position before and it wasnt as rosey as it made out to be.

As a side note, if i decide to continue my degree (PT) and finish my Bsc(hons) (thats a UK 4 yr degree) i would be here for the next 16 months for sure at a minimum. The degree start in about 3-4 weeks!

So what do you guys think?

Cheers

Webmaster

With such a job description 'and' such a payraise, I don't see how it could get that bad that it's not worth the 3 months notice. I also think you shouldn't limit yourself or pass on this opportunity based on previous bad experiences with similar situations, you won't find that rosey job without taking opportunities like these. First thing I would want in your case is a clear job description, but you already have that and imo it sounds like a pretty cool job (apart from point 3 it would fit one of my old jobs ) that regardless of whether you do it more than 3 months will be a great addition to your resume as well. Second I would want is a clear overview of the environment, but since it's internal I assume you have that already. Seems to me your gut has enough info to base its feeling on. Good luck!

nel

Thanks for the reply Johan.

I was kind of thinking along the lines of what your saying but i guess it has a lot to do with the bad experiances ive had in the past although i am trying to put those to one side so they dont cloud my judgement.

They have also said the would pay for my 4th year of the degree too and seen as though ive done the 1st 3 yrs of my degree whilst being employed they paid nothing towards it, so im quite tempted by this also.

Also johan, the job you had which was similar to this, was it good by any chance? but seen as though im pretty much stuck on a helpdesk doing L2/3 all i think it would be a good stepping stone

I was informed that they could only do 3 month notice and not a 2 month due to HR reasons, is there are reason why HR would not allow 2? and would anyone recommend a way of negotiating this down to 2?

Webmaster

Also johan, was that job you had which were similar to this any good by any chance? but seen as though im pretty much stuck on a helpdesk doing L2/3 all i think it would be a good stepping stone.

It was and still sounds like the type of job many are aiming for, especially back then (not that long ago, in my case around 2000) when there was less specialization. Going from L1 (calldesk/helpdesk) to L2 support, to sys admin/L3 to LAN/WAN admin/specialist was probably the most wanted career path for the average IT pro, and still is a very common path. Lined up nicely with available certs as well (i.e. CompTIA->MCSE/CCNA->CCNP). Once you get to the end of the path and you want to clime higher up the ladder it's usually a matter of getting to work in larger enviroments (if you aren't already), after that project management (of infrastructure changes, you learned how much time and resources changes take) or training or specialization in one of the areas you like most. So it could be a good stepping stone indeed, but isn't your current job that in relation this new opportunity?

To put it in OSI perspective, I certainly enjoyed the increased focus on layer 1,2,3,4 and less tasks involving the upper 3. I had the similar job in a large company that was created from merging several smaller ones with different type of systems and 'being allowed' to change and expand the infrastructure (new servers, LAN equipment, WAN connections) as well as documenting them afterwards (loved Visio ), and with minimal negative impact to users (the real challenge), often kept me working on it when I got home so yeah I enjoyed it a lot. That said, the job description partly or as whole fits many WAN specialist, network engineers, net admins jobs that's why I said it's important to know in what environment you have to perform these tasks. And I don't mean just the technical environment but also coworkers/management, work atmosphere (it's a job where you can walk in to walls more often because your 'changes' influence a lot of people) and available IT budget.

I recommend against negotiating the notice period. Put yourself in the shoes of the one interviewing you, would you rather hire someone who wants to go for the job 100% or someone who conciders it a testdrive first. It takes weeks up to months to get fully settled in such a position during which they have to pay which they will rather not pay for again after three months. So I wouldn't even let anyone know it bothered me, I would be more positive about it (and show that instead) and hope that positivity turns out to be justified later on.

nel

Hi johan,

Its def a job role i have been looking towards for a while now and one im pretty eager to get as i would love to work on layers 1-4 and specialise in these in the future and like you say it would be a good stepping stone towards that goal or at least one in the right direction.

There's a few specialist roles but in different area's and pretty much everyone has been dismayed by the 3 month notice period. but like you said, ive stayed positive and not let them know its bothered me and im going to see how it pans out.

I guess the only doubts i have regarding the role is bad experiances in the past and the notice period i guess.

As for the environment, obviously i work here, so i know i once ive shown my ability i will have sole responsibility for that area and obviously training others and when you consider we are about to upgrade most of our wan/lan for the voip upgrade for our division i think it will be excellent experiance.

nel

Well guys. As you can see from the update i applied for the job and found out that i got the job as a "Network Specialist" for our division ....OK so im no "specialist" yet but i aim to be

Hopefully this will be a great stepping stone towards placing a firm foot into the networking arena.

I finally decided that a 3 month notice period is a small sacrifice with such an opportunity for someone in my position considering im still only 22 and it would be a great stepping stone seen as though i already have 6 years support experiance already.

Its going to be a busy year...i have another one and a half years to finish my Bsc Hons degree PT, plus all the projects/ work i will be doing, plus hopefully studying for a ccnp exam, plus trying to have some kind of social life . But my short term goals have shifted slightly as i want to finish my degree and graduate, get some good hands on with some cisco kit so at least if i cant fit in a ccnp exam i will be getting the hands on whilst reading the material anyway.

Hopefully this job role will work out as well as others around here this month!

Wish me luck guys and gal's of course!

laidbackfreak

good luck in the role fella it sounds like a top opportunity for you.....

i wouldnt worry bout the notice period at all, at this level its pretty much the norm... besides if\when you come to move on you can often negotiate then....
in the past I've done this and its ranged from a months gardening leave to leaving after 2 months (it was a 3 month notice period)

Webmaster

Congratulations and good luck!

nel

Webmaster wrote:

Congratulations and good luck!

Thanks, i think i'll need it