Hate *some* IT managers

laptop

As you may know, I am looking for my first IT job at the company level.

I had many interviews lately. I can pass the HR stage most of the time. I also get panel interviews once in a while with potential co-workers which I can pass this stage as well. When it comes to the final key decision maker which is usually the department head/IT manager/IT Director, they tend to destroy my chance of getting into the company. Based on my observation with IT managers, most they tend to be very unprofessional and cocky. Went to many interviews from small-large companies and all they wear is jeans, runners, etc. When I meet the IT manager, some are jerks from my opinion. Trying to be cool by asking me tough questions as if I am going for an executive level interview. I am not saying that all IT mangers are crap but a majority are. IT managers should respect me as well. Some tend to be drinking coffee in front of my face/walking in the conference room/looking elsewhere/not paying attention/ during the interview process. Some IT managers think they are at the top and have power to fool around with the bottom IT guys.

Quite upset lately.

Paul Boz

No offense dude, but your small potatoes to that guy and its inconvenient to have to interview someone. Seriously, you get offended by someone drinking coffee in front of you?

Perhaps you should take the chip off your shoulder and not be so easily offended. You have a very narrow-sighted view on this industry. IT managers ARE at the top. It sounds like you have a problem with authority. It sounds like you're the one that's destroying your chances.

wweboy

I don't think he has a chip on his shoulder. I do agree he shouldn't seem so wound up about it I think it really depends on the company too. My last manager wore nothing but dres pants, shirt and tie everyday no matter what.

But he was in the corporate location where presentation was key. Yes some manager can be jerks and whatever but respect is a two way street and more then likely they are in their position for a reason.

The bottom line too is the IT manager takes the heat if you screw something up so it may be too that the IT manager wants to test you and see how you react in different situations it may feel like hes a jerk but maybe the manager has their reasons.

Of course you may be right and they just don't care and feel as interviewing you is not important.

Good luck.

jamesleecoleman

Whats wrong with tough questions? If you don't know then you don't know. It's not the end of the world. I haven't seen anything that you wrote that showed that the IT manager disrespected you.

What are you going to do when someone majorly disrespects you??

Monkerz

You are interviewing for a position, whether it be an entry position or a department supervisor, you will be working under the Manager or Director interviewing you. They may be harsh to see how you react. To see if you handle yourself appropriately or cave under pressure.

Think of it like this, he is hiring someone he believes has the skill set to get him his next promotion.

Don't get me wrong, I have had my fair share of, what I thought were, useless managers. I've also put my self in their shoes.

One thing to remember, they'd rather be doing ANYTHING besides having to interview someone. Try to spice things up a bit, make them remember your interview, because your's is one of 20 or so they will see before making a decision.

sambuca69

laptop wrote: »

Trying to be cool by asking me tough questions as if I am going for an executive level interview.

You know, they will ask you those types of questions knowing full well you can't answer. They are looking to see how you react and handle it.

If you have a conniption fit, well then that's pretty much it for the interview.

CompuTron99

Most of those questions are used to "gauge" your knowledge. Not knowing an answer is not always a bad thing.

Don't get discouraged.

chmorin

I can only speak for our chancellor of IT, but he is what I would like to call a respectable jerk. He gets mad, and I mean MAD, when people under him mess up. That is because it gets brought back to him. Put into the situation side by side with you though, he will actually help defend you. Good guy, but a stubborn boss. Most managers have to be like this, and if you can't take the heat from the big guy, you shouldn't work for the company.

This is all supposed to be advice, some of the replies seem a little offensive. When you are given something you cant handle. Take a deep breath, analyze it for a few moments, and give the best answer you can. Usually how you would find out how to solve the problem, even if you don't already know how.

subl1m1nal

I agree. They're asking tough questions to not only test your knowledge, but see how you respond when you don't know. The last job I interviewed for, I had a hands on lab and had to fix a few problems. I did alright with that, but when they got to the technical questions, my brain froze up. I'm not an answer the question guy, I'm a hands on guy. I told them that and they accepted it. They asked what I would do if I didn't know the answer. I'd say that I'd look it up, ask a peer, or call the vendor. Got hired. Sometimes it's not about what you know, but how you go about finding an answer.

shodown

I did have a lead IT guy answer his phone during a phone call and it wasn't a work or family emergency and he stayed on the phone for about 2 mins of my interview. Also during the interview he was asking why we deployed a certain technology and he thought it was stupid that we could have done it better(I was a NOC worker at the time). I did answer all his technical questions, but I never sent a thank you letter or didn't even follow up as I didn't want to work with him cause I thought he was a DB. I've also had a panel where one guy did kinda day dream and asked me the same question another guy had already asked me. So I do understand what you mean, but drinking coffee is pushing it. You should be able to deal with that fine.

RobertKaucher

laptop wrote: »

... they tend to destroy my chance of getting into the company.

There is only one common factor in all of these interviews and that is you.

If I might make the suggestion, be a little more introspective about this. Talk to your recruiter and see if you can get any feedback.

In the current economic climate there may be a large number of candidates with much more experience than you going up against you. But there being some sort of pattern among IT managers that makes them not want to hire you is unlikely. It is more likely the issue is with you. And it may not be your personality or skills. In a normal economic climate, you might be fine for the job. It may just be that you have less knowledge or experience that those who are competing with you. But that not the IT managers' faults.

tpatt100

I think most are like that especially the last interview I went on that resulted in my current job. The manger was a former Army Ranger and had all the "Hooah" pins and posters in his office and tried to intimidate me with a slew of tech terms he read in some magazine. I could interpret that he was a jerk or come to find out later he wanted to see if I would get upset under stressful situations which I did not flinch (probably because I was in the Marines and National Guard so military types dont scare me much)

Also the drinking coffee is no big deal imo. Your the one that is trying to get a job, he already has one and your trying to get into his organization. You should be the one under pressure not him.

sambuca69

tpatt100 wrote: »

I think most are like that especially the last interview I went on that resulted in my current job.

In my previous job, I sat in a few interviews with my boss. Part of his "weeding out" process was to ask ridiculous questions and see how they reacted and how they would go about finding the answer. He said it was great way to see who the BS'ers and Joe Smooths(whatever the expression is) were, and to an extent, he was right.

NetworkingStudent

laptop wrote: »

As you may know, I am looking for my first IT job at the company level.

I had many interviews lately. I can pass the HR stage most of the time. I also get panel interviews once in a while with potential co-workers which I can pass this stage as well. When it comes to the final key decision maker which is usually the department head/IT manager/IT Director, they tend to destroy my chance of getting into the company. Based on my observation with IT managers, most they tend to be very unprofessional and cocky. Went to many interviews from small-large companies and all they wear is jeans, runners, etc. When I meet the IT manager, some are jerks from my opinion. Trying to be cool by asking me tough questions as if I am going for an executive level interview. I am not saying that all IT mangers are crap but a majority are. IT managers should respect me as well. Some tend to be drinking coffee in front of my face/walking in the conference room/looking elsewhere/not paying attention/ during the interview process. Some IT managers think they are at the top and have power to fool around with the bottom IT guys.

Quite upset lately.

I haven’t gone on any IT interviews, but I have attend other interviews in other industries, and I have found myself annoyed a few times. I remember one interview, where the interviewer said “you worked at Wal-Mart for 5 years, so you must be doing something right.” I’m not sure why, but this bugged me; however, I let it roll off my skin. Maybe he was trying to give me a compliment, but I didn’t see it that way. I was offened for awhile, but eventually I forgot about , and of course I was offered the job the next day. You need to have a tough skin, and remember that you’re in a job interview, and you’re an inconvenience to the person that is interviewing you. The manager might be a jerk, but you have to look past all that, and focus on make yourself shine, and getting that job. You have to show them that you’re worth their time, investment, and money. I think there is a time limit when concerning interviews like 60 seconds- 1 minute, and the hiring manager knows if they will hire you or not. This is how I see things, and I know that it is very similar to what others have said.
Here is my advice, watch these videos:
Advice by Susan Morem
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"The Job Seeker" 05- Liz's Interview
"The Job Seeker" 06- Jillene's Interview
"The Job Seeker" 07 - Chris' Interview
These videos briefly show what went wrong in the interviews.
A great Dice Tv Video!
DiceTV: 'Performing' at your Job Interview
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Work Shop Detail
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Good Luck!!

eMeS

laptop wrote: »

As you may know, I am looking for my first IT job at the company level.

I had many interviews lately. I can pass the HR stage most of the time. I also get panel interviews once in a while with potential co-workers which I can pass this stage as well. When it comes to the final key decision maker which is usually the department head/IT manager/IT Director, they tend to destroy my chance of getting into the company. Based on my observation with IT managers, most they tend to be very unprofessional and cocky. Went to many interviews from small-large companies and all they wear is jeans, runners, etc. When I meet the IT manager, some are jerks from my opinion. Trying to be cool by asking me tough questions as if I am going for an executive level interview. I am not saying that all IT mangers are crap but a majority are. IT managers should respect me as well. Some tend to be drinking coffee in front of my face/walking in the conference room/looking elsewhere/not paying attention/ during the interview process. Some IT managers think they are at the top and have power to fool around with the bottom IT guys.

Quite upset lately.

I'd agree, except to add that what you're experiencing isn't limited in any way to IT.

That's part of what often happens in hierarchical structures. It's more of a human nature thing than it is an IT-specific thing.

The other point to be made is that part of being an employee that someone wants to have is demonstrating that you can effectively deal with people, whether or not they are jerks and whether or not you like them.

Basically, whether or not you become upset is a choice. It's easy to say, but often hard to do: Stay calm; don't let someone knock you off your apple cart....

MS

sprint100

laptop wrote: »

IT managers should respect me as well.

Entry level, the IT manager should be the least of your worries when it comes to respecting you. Wait until you have to take crap from the end-users:)

I would have to say that you should just keep sucking it in and don't get frustrated at the managers. Reasons for not getting frustrated at them are noted in above posts, but mostly they are judging character, morale, etc. If there was an unbiased look into how you acted during the interviews would be a good start.

My interview with the Director of IT lasted about 5 minutes. The Director and my immediate manager said they liked my attitude more than anything or anybody else. Believe me when I say I was kicking myself thinking I bombed on the interview since we only talked for about 5 minutes.

brad-

An IT manager interviewing you isnt there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. He's trying to see how you respond, because if he makes a mistake in the hiring process, he's got to live with that bad decision for however long you decide to stay there unless he has the power to fire you as well. So if he hires a bad employee, not only does that employee not lighten the workload on everyone else - the slot is already filled and he CANT hire anyone else until you're gone.

Are they cocky? Yes, they can be. They usually have the weight of a company on their shoulders. That doesnt mean they should be cocky, but you have to understand where hes coming from when you interview. Dont be so short sighted.

Hyper-Me

In my experience, IT Managers love you to death only after you've saved their butt on several occasions. Once they know they can rely on you (and often, NEED to rely on you) they seem to be much more easy going. (funny how that works).

Unfortunate as it is, higher level IT managers like to poo on entry-level guys

rsutton

My last IT manager wore jeans and a T-shirt to work every day, best manager I've ever had. Coffee? That upsets you? I'm genuinely confused.

networker050184

Paul Boz wrote: »

No offense dude, but your small potatoes to that guy and its inconvenient to have to interview someone. Seriously, you get offended by someone drinking coffee in front of you?

Perhaps you should take the chip off your shoulder and not be so easily offended. You have a very narrow-sighted view on this industry. IT managers ARE at the top. It sounds like you have a problem with authority. It sounds like you're the one that's destroying your chances.

Paul said it all right there. Nothing really to add.

Hyper-Me

Personally I assault anyone who dares eat or drink in my presence.