Meeting tomorrow

Well I am meeting with a VP tomorrow and should have finalized a position tomorrow, so for the first time in almost 6 years, I am going to wear a suit (anyone want to tie my tie for me lol). This is for a weekend job as a Network Support Tech (basically NOC work). Later on today I should find out about 2 other positions (1 in my city, 1 about 90 miles away). The first is a Network Engineer position and the Second is a backup admin. The later said they were willing to train someone up (which would be cool) but they both pay about the same amount of money. I would rather have the one in my city just because I don't think it would be good for me to move right now. Hopefully by the end of the week I will pick them both up and starting working like crazy to get the bills back in order. Stay tuned!

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earweed

knwminus wrote: »

* Does anyone know if you can write off gas for job hunting on your taxes?

Not sure but keep good records (log book) of miles driven, your cars mileage since you've done so much it adds up. I know if you have a long commute to work, forget exact miles, it's deductible (or at least was, it may have changed) I know I used to have a 38 mile drive to work and it wasn't far enough.

With all these interviews you're getting you should soon be known a Master of the Interview. Wonder if there's a cert for that? Good luck on this one!

Bl8ckr0uter

Turgon wrote: »

They want an all rounder for that job and I think you can expect to be doing a lot of running around as you will be the first line of defence for the network administrator. If it still suits you I would try to emphasise all the hands on support you have presently done and be sure to get across the physical side of the work, patching etc. Also be sure to explain how you dutifully kept all the records upto date for that...

That's what I was thinking. I just realized how non traditional my career path has been. I never had to be a MS jocky. Besides a few adds and changes to accounts, the majority of the time I have worked with odd turn modems (dsl) switches, routers, concentrators and other things of that nature. Maybe I need to be rounded out before I jump into Security. . .

Turgon wrote: »

Don't downplay your ambition to get into more senior work but be sure not to talk about your future career plans at the expense of your immediate sales pitch to be a reliable grunt.

I actually had a hiring manager tell me that he thought I would be bored with the job. He was probably right but since then I always scale back my "where do you see yourself in five years" reply. No one needs to know I want to take over the world. Opps I mean, moving on...

Turgon wrote: »

Telephony and Novell..

Not a deal breaker if you dont have these but a possible deal clincher if you do! If you have *any* experience in telephony however menial be sure to get it across. Same for Novell. If you dont have Novell get yourself upto speed on NDS, ZEN and groupwise via the Novell website. Essentially what it is and the utilities to admin basic things. You could post questions on suitable introductory texts on the support forum there (helpful people) or here on TE. Some basic awareness of Novell concepts is better than none.

good luck!

I have some experience with Telephony (we had to work very very lightly with Call manager on my last full time job) and I have even less Novel experience but I can learn.

Turgon

knwminus wrote: »

That's what I was thinking. I just realized how non traditional my career path has been. I never had to be a MS jocky. Besides a few adds and changes to accounts, the majority of the time I have worked with odd turn modems (dsl) switches, routers, concentrators and other things of that nature. Maybe I need to be rounded out before I jump into Security. . .

I actually had a hiring manager tell me that he thought I would be bored with the job. He was probably right but since then I always scale back my "where do you see yourself in five years" reply. No one needs to know I want to take over the world. Opps I mean, moving on...

I have some experience with Telephony (we had to work very very lightly with Call manager on my last full time job) and I have even less Novel experience but I can learn.

Well based on your responses you have a lot going for you. Regarding the where do you see yourself in five years time thing, its essentially a fly trap question. Respond positively enough so they are satisfied you have ambition to go places and so will be sufficiently motivated to do a good job but at the same time pragmatic enough to confess you need to knuckle down and grow into the job at hand, something that always requires time.

There are however situations where a response along the lines of 'I want your job in two years time' goes down positively. This is particularly true if your line manager has plans to move on up or out creating a gap he wants to fill in before he moves. Energetic corporates like this attitude. At the same time it's wise to be cautious of being *this* bullish upfront because if your manager has put in over 10 years it's highly unlikely he's going anywhere soon. He just needs a b1tch.

Sometimes with a hire they are looking for someone who will bed into a role and hold the fort while the commanders make their own plans to move on up. In order to do that they *manage out* responsibilities to someone else i.e you. In this case they may need someone who's going to stick around beyond a point where they are no longer stretched, someone they can count on who will be there for a while holding things together so they dont get pulled back in. In this case too much ambition may put them off.

In your interview you really need to be reaching to see what you can learn about the companies plans so you can pitch this stuff accordingly!

The only other advice is to avoid saying what sounds good in the interview. Im afraid the plethora of self help books out there really dont help candidates at all in this regard. Just get over what you do have to offer at the time and dont oversell. Many years ago I said when interviewed for a junior role that I was good with people, which was bullshit at the time as I was so inexperienced. A couple of months later I was reminded of what I had said by my line manager when a few issues flared up, as they do when you are green. Somewhat ironic as my line managers people skills were even worse than mine. Everyone hated that dork.

impelse

Turgon wrote: »

There are however situations where a response along the lines of 'I want your job in two years time' goes down positively.

I never thought to tell this to an interviewer, jajajajaja

Bl8ckr0uter

Interview today for the Network Security Job. I honestly don't think I am going to get this one but if I did, I would be extremely happy. The interview is at 1pm.

earweed

Good luck, and if nothing else it's more interview experience.

impelse

Let us know, any interview that you go, it will give you a new exp for the future.

After going to many interview I learned what to say and what not to say or when is the right moment.

Bl8ckr0uter

I think it went pretty well. The job is going to be cisco/linux/vpn support mainly so that would be right up my alley. There is currently no one on site who knows much about *nix so I would (fairly quickly) have to familiarize myself with a few major open source tools (nagios, squid, firewalls, etc) and work with a few linux boxes. They have a few pix firewalls in place and will need to move to the ASA platform later this year. It would be very interesting as it is a small shop (5 people on the IT staff) so I would have to learn fast. I might have a shot at it, who knows....

Another place that I applied called me and now I have two interviews tomorrow and 1 on friday. Sigh lets see what happens next....

earweed

Good luck! Again
With all the experience you've been getting doing interviews you'll probably make one hell of an IT Hiring Maanager one day.

Bl8ckr0uter

Manage (acquire, install, configure, upgrade) LAN/WAN and report performance to management; Ensure infrastructure and critical applications are operating optimally

Establish and implement standards for computer systems for compatibility between hardware and software according to specifications.

Support remote connectivity to corporate network systems

Develop procedures for installation, use and problem solving for telecommunications software and hardware

Administer company’s telecommunications system

Maintain inventory records of hardware and software licenses and plan for equipment retirement

Troubleshoot and resolve application software, operating system, network, printer, etc. problems in a timely and professional manner

Perform and monitor regular system backups and perform data recovery as required, along with regular testing

Provide 24/7 on-call rotation support

Provide backup customer support to external customer base

Bachelor’s degree in IT or Associate’s Degree with minimum of 4 years direct experience in related duties or comparable experience.

Minimum of four years experience in LAN/WAN Administration

Working knowledge of system security techniques

Hands-on experience with software support tools and scripts, configuring workstations, printers, servers and tape devices.

Ability to provide technical help to system users

Strong inter-personal skills, good judgment and ability to communicate effectively with a diverse range of individuals.

Ability to work unsupervised and adapt to the rapid corporate changes

Ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple tasks

Basic understanding of Cisco routers and switches perfered

Cisco and Network+ certifications preferred

I don't know what to make of this position. On the one hand it seems pretty typical but I noticed that they didn't mention any MS certifications or anything like that. They mentioned N+ and CCNA (which I have) but I am wondering if it is more Windows/*Nix or both. The place is very close to my house so I am going to try to pick it up. Lets see what happens tomorrow.

Bl8ckr0uter

earweed wrote: »

Good luck! Again
With all the experience you've been getting doing interviews you'll probably make one hell of an IT Hiring Maanager one day.

You know I really want to own my own company so this is all good "experience".

HR always moves to slow for my liking so I am doing interviews and the first one to bite I am going to bite back. I am really trying to work closer to home so I can build my funds back up.

erpadmin

knwminus wrote: »

I don't know what to make of this position. On the one hand it seems pretty typical but I noticed that they didn't mention any MS certifications or anything like that. They mentioned N+ and CCNA (which I have) but I am wondering if it is more Windows/*Nix or both. The place is very close to my house so I am going to try to pick it up. Lets see what happens tomorrow.

Sounds like a jack-of-all-trades job. You'll be dealing with desktops, telco, networking, etc., from what it sounds like Probably is a small shop.

If you're into that, definitely give it a shot.

chmorin

Do you have any advise for people struggling to get an interview?

Bl8ckr0uter

erpadmin wrote: »

Sounds like a jack-of-all-trades job. You'll be dealing with desktops, telco, networking, etc., from what it sounds like Probably is a small shop.

If you're into that, definitely give it a shot.

I have never been in this situation so I cannot say whether I am into it or not.

chmorin wrote: »

Do you have any advise for people struggling to get an interview?

Apply for jobs. Lots of them. I have probably applied for over 600 positions in the last few months. I have had 8 interviews. 1 a few months ago (lost out on the position due to exp) 3 this month with the same company (I start next week) and 4 others this week. I classify the positions I apply to as potentials, possibles, and probables. The probables have been help desk and Noc types of jobs. The possibles have been low level admins and jr security jobs and the potentials have been higher level admin/engineering jobs. To put it a different ways probables have require 1-3 years experience (I have this solid) the possibles require 4-6 and the potentials have required 6+ years. I follow up constantly and I tweak my resume to hit possible key words of the job posting. I Pray a lot. I use linked in and request all recruiters. I cold call/email sometimes. I drop off resumes in person (if the place is within 30 miles). I pretty much go after it like a horny teen, hard, strong, and like there is no tomorrow or next time*.

I have been somewhat successful in this approach.

* There is such a good joke in there about wanting to come first but that would be just to easy.

chmorin

Thank you for the advice sir.

Bl8ckr0uter

Well I did the interview for a Network Admin position. I really didn't like the vibe I got from the place. I think the description was deceptive. Why say that you were going to need help with routers and switches when it was going to be one or two of each. Why do you need a CCNA for that? It is almost 100percent MS related (not even anything open source) and their questions were odd. They guys themselves seem cool but the job gave me a bad vibe. Oh well. I don't think I am going to get it nor do I want it. Interview tomorrow for the job I really want, I think.

impelse

Sometimes you have a bad feeling for some jobs

Bl8ckr0uter

Yea.

I have the interview for the job I really want tomorrow so wish me luck!

ipconfig.all

Good Luck Kevin

I hope it goes well.

laidbackfreak

knwminus wrote: »

Well I did the interview for a Network Admin position. I really didn't like the vibe I got from the place.

Keep in mind your interviewing them too, and the purpose of the interview is to find out if YOU want to work there as much as they want to find out if your the person they have in mind for the position.
At least if nothing else you know you don't want this role however the positives are its all good practice for finding the job you do want

ipconfig.all

Well I did the interview for a Network Admin position. I really didn't like the vibe I got from the place.

Yeah I have being to alot of interviews where the interviewer has totally dissed me and disrespected me and miss judged me. Which has broken down alot of my confidence but you cannot get a job without you know going to an interview.

It's an unfair world out there !!!!!!!!

Bl8ckr0uter

Well I can't sleep so I figure I will go work in my cisco lab and go over some security stuff.

Bl8ckr0uter

Did the interview. I think it went very well. The guy talked like I was already hired, gave me a salary range (a bit lower than my previous job but much, much close to home) and so on. They use 90% cisco gear

. Unfortunately they only have a few lone Novell servers and a mainframe. Everything else is Windows

. How will I ever get some linux experience if no one seems to be using heavily around me. It is really making me think about studying towards the MCSA...MEH

They use some phone system by NEC (never heard of it) but he made it seem like they were a big deal. Guess that's something new I need to learn. He asked me to send him my references so I am going to do that now. Lets see what happens next.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Good luck.. Hopefully with them moving so quickly it will mean good things for you. I usually see it as a good sign if after the interview (and seems rather quickly) for them to ask for references it's a great thing.

Even though the pay may be lower, it could really get you some great experience, plus be close to home.

Bl8ckr0uter

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

Good luck.. Hopefully with them moving so quickly it will mean good things for you. I usually see it as a good sign if after the interview (and seems rather quickly) for them to ask for references it's a great thing.

Even though the pay may be lower, it could really get you some great experience, plus be close to home.

They said they want to fill the position by the end of this month, early next month at the latest (which is fine by me).

MeanDrunkR2D2

As long as you can make the switch that fast it sounds like you'll know rather soon on where you stand. I normally hate long drawn out waiting games.

earweed

You still don't sound happy with it. Maybe getting the MS experience will help you later. Doesn't mean you need the MS certs (unless they require it). You've been building a well rounded skill set which obviously employers are wanting to see.
When are you planning your Sec+? I saw you have it marked as May goal.
Best of luck.

Devilsbane

Congrats on the interview. Getting some MS exposure is never bad.

Turgon

knwminus wrote: »

Did the interview. I think it went very well. The guy talked like I was already hired, gave me a salary range (a bit lower than my previous job but much, much close to home) and so on. They use 90% cisco gear . Unfortunately they only have a few lone Novell servers and a mainframe. Everything else is Windows . How will I ever get some linux experience if no one seems to be using heavily around me. It is really making me think about studying towards the MCSA...MEH

They use some phone system by NEC (never heard of it) but he made it seem like they were a big deal. Guess that's something new I need to learn. He asked me to send him my references so I am going to do that now. Lets see what happens next.

Good luck with this. It sounds like an all round support gig to me which actually isn't a bad thing at all. No linux there but you know very few people get to work with everything they would like to in the field. This is why the addage that you should only take cert tracks in things you work with is a nonsense.

Initially make a note of all the admin tools used to get simple things done across all the different platforms in the new shop. Just concentrate on being useful. If MS really isn't for you, learn what you need to learn on the job. Do get an MCP though to round off that exposure. Linux you will have to play with at home or wait for an opportunity to suggest it be tried out for something at work. Some kind of free monitoring application for the network might be a good project for you. For Novell, learn the edirectory admin tools well and see if you can pick up the CNA. The Novell self study kit will suffice for that. The admin tools are mostly web based, iprint, iManager etc. There is console one and a command line on the Novell servers themselves. You should find Novell interesting. Its powerful and stable.

The phone system you must get aquainted with.

Beyond all that, the Cisco exposure looks pretty good for you there. Pay attention to how it all hangs together and listen carefully to the people who assembled the network.

[Deleted User]

Turgon wrote: »

Good luck with this. It sounds like an all round support gig to me which actually isn't a bad thing at all. No linux there but you know very few people get to work with everything they would like to in the field. This is why the addage that you should only take cert tracks in things you work with is a nonsense.

Initially make a note of all the admin tools used to get simple things done across all the different platforms in the new shop. Just concentrate on being useful. If MS really isn't for you, learn what you need to learn on the job. Do get an MCP though to round off that exposure. Linux you will have to play with at home or wait for an opportunity to suggest it be tried out for something at work. Some kind of free monitoring application for the network might be a good project for you. For Novell, learn the edirectory admin tools well and see if you can pick up the CNA. The Novell self study kit will suffice for that. The admin tools are mostly web based, iprint, iManager etc. There is console one and a command line on the Novell servers themselves. You should find Novell interesting. Its powerful and stable.

The phone system you must get aquainted with.

Beyond all that, the Cisco exposure looks pretty good for you there. Pay attention to how it all hangs together and listen carefully to the people who assembled the network.

Incredible advice here. I have to agree with everything Turgon says. If it is a smaller company, they may not know of the possibilities with Linux. As Turgon mentioned, network monitoring is a good place to leverage Linux. Personally, I am going for my MCSA to round out my resume a bit. I find it really hard to get into the MS stuff, maybe the 291 will have some more interesting material but the 290 was a borefest for me. Just keep at it and something will come up eventually.