Any tips for interview for an SAP job?

N2IT

I am currently a helpdesk employee for about 4 years now. I've made my way up through contractor > tier 1 > tier 2. Now I have been starting to get some certifications and have been putting my resume on the job boards.

Well...... I just got hit with a help desk position, but this one is unique. It is stictly SAP support and for one module. Sounds like a very good opportunity to get my foot really in the door in SAP. Currently I do about 5-10 different functions in SAP mostly low level like password resets and assisting users on which roles they should have to gain access. Anyway, anyone out there have any tips?

I could really use one, heck even a good luck would be nice I suppose

I am getting all my SAP transaction codes in order. Even the one I use once a month

eMeS

There's a limited amount of SAP knowledge/experience on this board, so you're not likely to get much response here.

If you're actively supporting SAP, then you're probably the most knowledgeable person here.

I'd recommend having a good idea of what all of the various modules are, and at a high level what they do.

Then specifically I'd have a good idea of common support requests for the specific module you'll be supporting. Really, some of the following things come up regardless of the underlying technology:

-Password resets
-Assigning and removing rights and privileges
-Restoring backups/lost files/information
-Creating new user accounts
-Any "remote control" type features where you can view the user's current state in the system
-Standard messages produced by the module and what they mean
-The meanings and uses of various screens within the system you're supporting

The list could go on, but many of these items will show up in a generic sense no matter what you're supporting.

I'm definitely not a SAP guy, honestly I've never touched it, but I have a customer that has a heavy SAP implementation of many modules. One of the things that we're working on with them is the act of moving some of these operational things related to SAP support from the development teams to a service desk.

MS

N2IT

eMeS wrote: »

There's a limited amount of SAP knowledge/experience on this board, so you're not likely to get much response here.

If you're actively supporting SAP, then you're probably the most knowledgeable person here.

I'd recommend having a good idea of what all of the various modules are, and at a high level what they do.

Then specifically I'd have a good idea of common support requests for the specific module you'll be supporting. Really, some of the following things come up regardless of the underlying technology:

-Password resets
-Assigning and removing rights and privileges
-Restoring backups/lost files/information
-Creating new user accounts
-Any "remote control" type features where you can view the user's current state in the system
-Standard messages produced by the module and what they mean
-The meanings and uses of various screens within the system you're supporting

The list could go on, but many of these items will show up in a generic sense no matter what you're supporting.

I'm definitely not a SAP guy, honestly I've never touched it, but I have a customer that has a heavy SAP implementation of many modules. One of the things that we're working on with them is the act of moving some of these operational things related to SAP support from the development teams to a service desk.

MS

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I am steadily going through all the modules and transaction codes. In my current job I don't have access to the 03 transactions which are read write, but I do have access to the 02 which are ready only. I'll be burying myself into that technology. Even if I don't get the job, my resume has been recreated to appeal to SAP positions. Which I really want to do anyway.

Just curious. I have office, itil, and iso certs. Do you know of any that mirror up to manufacturing and business? Something that might be entry level or intermediate?

forkvoid

N2IT wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I am steadily going through all the modules and transaction codes. In my current job I don't have access to the 03 transactions which are read write, but I do have access to the 02 which are ready only. I'll be burying myself into that technology. Even if I don't get the job, my resume has been recreated to appeal to SAP positions. Which I really want to do anyway.

Just curious. I have office, itil, and iso certs. Do you know of any that mirror up to manufacturing and business? Something that might be entry level or intermediate?

The VAR I work for actually works solely for manufacturing facilities... So, for what it's worth, our top contractors are all Certified Six Sigma Black Belts with many, many years of experience with our specific ERP(FourthShift) software. They are also master coders in various languages, which helps tremendously with the custom apps we do. I know one holds PMP, as well, and all have masters degrees in Business or Industrial Engineering. I know I'm not the guru like MS is, but I'm in your field, so I guess it counts for something.

earweed

All I can offer is to say Good Luck and hope you get it.

N2IT

forkvoid wrote: »

The VAR I work for actually works solely for manufacturing facilities... So, for what it's worth, our top contractors are all Certified Six Sigma Black Belts with many, many years of experience with our specific ERP(FourthShift) software. They are also master coders in various languages, which helps tremendously with the custom apps we do. I know one holds PMP, as well, and all have masters degrees in Business or Industrial Engineering. I know I'm not the guru like MS is, but I'm in your field, so I guess it counts for something.

Well, in this job I am currently in and the next job from what I can tell, you don't need all those degrees and certification, although I will agree it sure the heck can't hurt. I have 4 years of SAP experience working with several modules, infact the whole suite of R3, and CRM/BW. So I have experience which imo trumps degrees and certifications. After I complete my Service Operations ITIL certification I might look into getting one of the lower belts in Six Sigma.

Maybe eMeS can respond on that idea.

N2IT

earweed wrote: »

All I can offer is to say Good Luck and hope you get it.

Thanks Earweed!

Turgon

N2IT wrote: »

I am currently a helpdesk employee for about 4 years now. I've made my way up through contractor > tier 1 > tier 2. Now I have been starting to get some certifications and have been putting my resume on the job boards.

Well...... I just got hit with a help desk position, but this one is unique. It is stictly SAP support and for one module. Sounds like a very good opportunity to get my foot really in the door in SAP. Currently I do about 5-10 different functions in SAP mostly low level like password resets and assisting users on which roles they should have to gain access. Anyway, anyone out there have any tips?

I could really use one, heck even a good luck would be nice I suppose

I am getting all my SAP transaction codes in order. Even the one I use once a month

Go for it. SAP is one of those things like Solaris and IBM Mainframe/Midrange that passes lots of IT Professionals by. Unless you are working with it you are often not even aware of it. Circa 1998 there was a feeding frenzy in the UK on SAP with thousands of people simply desparate to get in with the program and ride the SAP wave as it was rolled out across many large companies. A lot of people missed the boat however because while they may have been selected to join the 'in-house' team their role was primarily one of gopher to try and pull together the internal information flows to help the external SAP consulants who would do the actual design and implementation of various modules. Looking at the smug lot who pushed themselves into the SAP team in my very first shop I think they ended up being outclassed and outgunned by the external people. They did the impressive work while the inhouse team gathered the information they needed. The SAP project was over budget and late from what I remember.

Design and implementation experience pays well in the SAP world and you can travel internationally and earn a good deal of money if you can get the experience of leading and delivering SAP module rollout within a company. However your milage will vary depending on your role within SAP environments, your knowledge, the courses you have completed and your accomplishments.

While Im sure some support roles do fly well I would imagine others are less good as career changers as you are at the end of the food chain. It might be a stepping stone to bigger things though.

N2IT

Turgon wrote: »

Go for it. SAP is one of those things like Solaris and IBM Mainframe/Midrange that passes lots of IT Professionals by. Unless you are working with it you are often not even aware of it. Circa 1998 there was a feeding frenzy in the UK on SAP with thousands of people simply desparate to get in with the program and ride the SAP wave as it was rolled out across many large companies. A lot of people missed the boat however because while they may have been selected to join the 'in-house' team their role was primarily one of gopher to try and pull together the internal information flows to help the external SAP consulants who would do the actual design and implementation of various modules. Looking at the smug lot who pushed themselves into the SAP team in my very first shop I think they ended up being outclassed and outgunned by the external people. They did the impressive work while the inhouse team gathered the information they needed. The SAP project was over budget and late from what I remember.

Design and implementation experience pays well in the SAP world and you can travel internationally and earn a good deal of money if you can get the experience of leading and delivering SAP module rollout within a company. However your milage will vary depending on your role within SAP environments, your knowledge, the courses you have completed and your accomplishments.

While Im sure some support roles do fly well I would imagine others are less good as career changers as you are at the end of the food chain. It might be a stepping stone to bigger things though.

Well said.... And I am in agreement.

I will not be part of the BASIS team, but supporting a module or several modules on a functional level is a start. Then hopefully I can move into the technicial side of things. Doing mass updates. They did specifically ask if I knew SQL, which I do from a querying standpoint. I know how to create joins, subqueries, and unions, so hopefully it starts functional and goes into a more technicial role.

forkvoid

N2IT wrote: »

Well, in this job I am currently in and the next job from what I can tell, you don't need all those degrees and certification, although I will agree it sure the heck can't hurt. I have 4 years of SAP experience working with several modules, infact the whole suite of R3, and CRM/BW. So I have experience which imo trumps degrees and certifications. After I complete my Service Operations ITIL certification I might look into getting one of the lower belts in Six Sigma.

Maybe eMeS can respond on that idea.

Oh of course, those credentials aren't always requirements. Our consultants are the best at this product, acknowledged even by the software vendor(they are all former senior engineers from the company). As such, we command a premium. Their credentials help set us apart even more from the competition(for which there is very little already).

eMeS

N2IT wrote: »

Well, in this job I am currently in and the next job from what I can tell, you don't need all those degrees and certification, although I will agree it sure the heck can't hurt. I have 4 years of SAP experience working with several modules, infact the whole suite of R3, and CRM/BW. So I have experience which imo trumps degrees and certifications. After I complete my Service Operations ITIL certification I might look into getting one of the lower belts in Six Sigma.

Maybe eMeS can respond on that idea.

Pretty much the advice you received from Fork is what I would have said. Basically that you might want to look into Six Sigma.

I'm not sure that you would need a black belt, but a green belt would be appropriate in a manufacturing environment.

A word of caution though; be very careful. There are a lot of shams out in the Six Sigma certification world. There is really no centralized governance of Six Sigma credentials, meaning that anyone can certify someone as black belt, etc..

If you're going to do it, then I highly recommend ASQ. Take a look at Certification - ASQ I would be very careful about pursuing Six Sigma certifications that are not offered through ASQ.

MS

eMeS

Turgon wrote: »

Go for it. SAP is one of those things like Solaris and IBM Mainframe/Midrange that passes lots of IT Professionals by. Unless you are working with it you are often not even aware of it. Circa 1998 there was a feeding frenzy in the UK on SAP with thousands of people simply desparate to get in with the program and ride the SAP wave as it was rolled out across many large companies. A lot of people missed the boat however because while they may have been selected to join the 'in-house' team their role was primarily one of gopher to try and pull together the internal information flows to help the external SAP consulants who would do the actual design and implementation of various modules. Looking at the smug lot who pushed themselves into the SAP team in my very first shop I think they ended up being outclassed and outgunned by the external people. They did the impressive work while the inhouse team gathered the information they needed. The SAP project was over budget and late from what I remember.

Design and implementation experience pays well in the SAP world and you can travel internationally and earn a good deal of money if you can get the experience of leading and delivering SAP module rollout within a company. However your milage will vary depending on your role within SAP environments, your knowledge, the courses you have completed and your accomplishments.

While Im sure some support roles do fly well I would imagine others are less good as career changers as you are at the end of the food chain. It might be a stepping stone to bigger things though.

This is 100% right on. SAP work tends to pay very well, especially in parts of the country where they might not have ready access to people with these skills.

You might also look into the SAP certification program.

MS

N2IT

eMeS wrote: »

Pretty much the advice you received from Fork is what I would have said. Basically that you might want to look into Six Sigma.

I'm not sure that you would need a black belt, but a green belt would be appropriate in a manufacturing environment.

A word of caution though; be very careful. There are a lot of shams out in the Six Sigma certification world. There is really no centralized governance of Six Sigma credentials, meaning that anyone can certify someone as black belt, etc..

If you're going to do it, then I highly recommend ASQ. Take a look at Certification - ASQ I would be very careful about pursuing Six Sigma certifications that are not offered through ASQ.

MS

Do you have to do a white belt, yellow, then green? I didn't see any exam or certifications for white or yellow on the ASQ site.

eMeS

N2IT wrote: »

Do you have to do a white belt, yellow, then green? I didn't see any exam or certifications for white or yellow on the ASQ site.

The belts aren't ordinal, they're more to designate different roles/levels of knowledge.

White and Yellow - Awareness only
Green - Works on Six Sigma Projects
Black - Leads Six Sigma Projects

ASQ does not have certifications for White and Yellow belts. Those are more like 2-day classes where you just learn high-level what Six Sigma is.

ASQ does have Green and Black belt certifications. You do not have to get the Green before the Black, you get the one that fits the role that you do and the experience that you have.

MS

N2IT

eMeS wrote: »

The belts aren't ordinal, they're more to designate different roles/levels of knowledge.

White and Yellow - Awareness only
Green - Works on Six Sigma Projects
Black - Leads Six Sigma Projects

ASQ does not have certifications for White and Yellow belts. Those are more like 2-day classes where you just learn high-level what Six Sigma is.

ASQ does have Green and Black belt certifications. You do not have to get the Green before the Black, you get the one that fits the role that you do and the experience that you have.

MS

Once again thanks for the information. Always appreciate it.

N2IT

eMeS wrote: »

The belts aren't ordinal, they're more to designate different roles/levels of knowledge.

White and Yellow - Awareness only
Green - Works on Six Sigma Projects
Black - Leads Six Sigma Projects

ASQ does not have certifications for White and Yellow belts. Those are more like 2-day classes where you just learn high-level what Six Sigma is.

ASQ does have Green and Black belt certifications. You do not have to get the Green before the Black, you get the one that fits the role that you do and the experience that you have.

MS

Do you recommend any particular reading/studying material? The green belt seems like a good fit. Again appreciate all the knowledge.

Pash

Out of curiosity which platform does SAP sit on at your site?

Best of luck mate!

eMeS

N2IT wrote: »

Do you recommend any particular reading/studying material? The green belt seems like a good fit. Again appreciate all the knowledge.

I'd say this is about the best:

Open Source Six Sigma - Belt training materials and templates resources for Lean Six Sigma


MS