MEeting with CEO for IT manager position

So this will be my second interview at a company for an IT manager position (in charge of their IT dept. of 3 people). This time I will be interviewing with their CEO. Does anyone have experience with this type of interview as this will be my first?

Their company is small like 80 person small and from what I gathered in the first interview their IT infrastructure is a mess and needs to be re-done but on the cheap. What should I focus on and what ideas to bring to the table? I'm no networking guru more a systems guru so that part is what has me worried...

Thanks!

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shodown

If they have to do it cheap and you don't know how to do it, it maybe best to recommend using a cisco partner that specialize in building out small businesses. They make get you out of a job, but better than Egg on your face.

Option 2.

For 80 people you can buy a UC560 which can support over 100 users, give VPN access, telephony, and wireless. All from a GUI which you should be familiar with. They also have small business switches which are all GUI driven which can keep you looking at the top of your game.

qwertyiop

I actually have experience was something similar. I interviewed with the owners of my current company for and IT Manager position that I currently hold. Understand that as this places so depending on how the company may be setup you may have extra duties. For example in some cases they call me the CIO simply because I manage just about everything including security(physical/technical) and a few other duties a little outside of my job description that ultimately are for the companies good. Thought your primary duties may be to manage the companies technical resourses you wont have anything to manage if your company shutdown.

thegoodbye

Remember during the interview that you're talking to a CEO. It's very likely that he/she won't have a very technical understanding of the situation, so do your best to explain some of the details in simple terms. If you know his/her name, I'd do some research on their background, maybe take a look at their LinkedIn so you can understand the type of knowledge they'll bring to the interview.

If they want their infrastructure done cheaply, I'd talk about the various open source solutions that are available for what they're trying to accomplish. Best of luck.

qwertyiop

I agree with thegoodbye, during my interview I showed that I was knowledgeable in what the company does and even though he stressed that they weren't in start up mode anymore that they now want the right equipment put in I was still able to show that you can put the right equipment in and still save money.

loxleynew

Good posts thanks for the advise. Yes I was thinking about talking more on cloud products and saving money that way as that seems to be a big thing now with smaller companies as there is no equipment overhead.

qwertyiop

loxleynew wrote: »

Good posts thanks for the advise. Yes I was thinking about talking more on cloud products and saving money that way as that seems to be a big thing now with smaller companies as there is no equipment overhead.

Thats exactly it, mine currently has hosted VOIP and hosted exchange. It sucks having to call them for every little thing that I could fix in seconds if I had access to the server and not the very limited admin web page that they have. I'm currently crunching the numbers inorder to findout at what point it becomes cheaper to bring some of those services internal.

Rosco2382

We use hosted exchange servers and VOIP. It is fine if you have limited man power and resources, but when you have to depend on them for trouble calls and outages it sucks. It has its Pros and Cons, but it is a good solution for being cheap.

JustFred

Good luck with the interview

ptilsen

Four-person IT department for an 80-person company? That seems like major overkill. Typically, companies of that size either outsource to an MSP or have one do-everything guy. It must be a real mess. I would suspect that as "manager" of a three-person team you will have to actually fix most of the infrastructure yourself.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the networking stuff. Definitely fill in some knowledge gaps, but for an 80-person company, the network needn't be overly complex. If it's one site, it will be very simple.

Either way, good luck!

RouteMyPacket

Ok, first off you are talking to a CEO who understands the bottom line, not the "Well if we install a core 6500 series switch and redesign the IDF's in a L2 running back to the core over fiber we will bla bla bla"

Here is some of the things I would focus on

Prepare a PowerPoint and highlight

1. Current environment layout/design
2. Show any potential exposure to the business "Downtime = Loss of Revenue"
3. Now offer several solutions ( I would offer 3 solutions, from a "this would be heaven" option (most expensive) to
what will improve business continuity at a lower cost. Also stating the pros and cons of each option

Make sure to get your quotes on each option so you can hand those over if needed.

Let us know how it goes...show your value and vision for the environment.

loxleynew

ptilsen wrote: »

Four-person IT department for an 80-person company? That seems like major overkill. Typically, companies of that size either outsource to an MSP or have one do-everything guy. It must be a real mess. I would suspect that as "manager" of a three-person team you will have to actually fix most of the infrastructure yourself.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the networking stuff. Definitely fill in some knowledge gaps, but for an 80-person company, the network needn't be overly complex. If it's one site, it will be very simple.

Either way, good luck!

Hey well 3 of those guys are help desk/desktop supp in 3 different states. I would be the manager and the all in one guy you were talking about.

gabypr

Im the IT manager of a 200 employee company. Im running my department with a programmer/help desk assistant, full help desk assistant, and a technician (go figure). I wont deny that I disagree on how the top management sees my department, they simply dont understand our importance to keep the company growing, avoid audit failures, and so on. To be even honest its been hard for me to keep with the pace, I have to supervise, attend consultants, work with proposals, respond to emails, and be all-in-one (technician assistant, provide support to the helpdesk, and resolve any other system problem). I think that you will end something like I am, which sometimes can consume you. If you decide to take the opportunity you have to think ahead how to approach your CEO plus how you are going to fix the mess.

Good luck!!!

ltj8765

I have talked with many CEOs of large companies and one common trait I have observed is that everything is about the bottom line. Thus (in most instances), when a CEO is talking with someone in regards to a position, it is a good idea to keep in mind what their focus is and direct your conversation and responses on how you can affect that bottom line as a manager.

First off, let this person (the CEO), explain to you about the company he runs. Come right out and ask this person what their goal for the growth of the company is! Most CEOs I have met love to talk about their company and the strategic direction of the company and will give you a ton of information that is relevant to your interview. You can get a lot of information right up front of what motivates this person. Take notes on this as well. Thee is absolutely nothing wrong on writing down notes to yourself on what you might consider import topics brought up by this CEO!

After this, the conversation will shift towards you and the position he is discussing with you. Do not explain to him specific equipment you would like to use or recommend for his company. Instead you need to focus on the process to "Determine" equipment and application (software) changes and how you going about to determine this. Explain your ideas based on your experience and give some examples of how you did this in the past.

As a manager, you will need to understand the issues behind CAPEX (Capitol Expense) and OPEX (Operating Expense) and how those two areas affect the bottom line of the company in regards to your position and what your responsibilities will be. As an example, one of the sayings I use and have found to be very successful is this:

"When I look at upgrades, I look at two areas, infrastructure and applications. In each of these two areas I have three rules that I follow when I determine requirements; 1) Whatever I choose / engineer must be Dependable; 2) In addition to being dependable, what I choose / engineer must be easily Maintainable; 3) The third rule is what I choose / engineer must be easily "Expandable (upgrades path, etc.). These three areas taken into together and applied, will have a direct impact on reducing the overall OPEX. While the CAPEX in support of any changes may vary, the long term goal is to lower the OPEX through improved efficiency which in turn affects the bottom line profits of the company!!"

The point I am trying to make here is that when one is interview for a management position, one needs to understand how the decisions you make and how one goes about making those decisions affects the bottom line of the company. If you can communicate this to any CEO and communicate how you can help them reduce cost, then that will win BIG BIG points in an interview!

Not everyone may agree with my points above, but as you climb in management, your focus must also shift to the costs involved and how to manage those costs.

paul78

ltj8765 wrote: »

First off, let this person (the CEO), explain to you about the company he runs.

^^^ Absolutely agree ^^^

I was reading the various responses and I have to agree with @ltj8765.

I would never walk into an interview assuming that I know what the goals or the internal business plans of the company was. It's good to have answers about cost-savings and cost-avoidance measures. But you cannot really assume that the bottom-line is the most important factor in a company. It could be the top-line that more important for the next 3-4 years. And they may be more interested in finding someone to be aligned with that objective. And depending on the company, different solutions like cloud-providers or out-sourcing may not be a viable option.

IMO - you would be a more successful candidate if you explain how you would align with business requirements and understand the business goals. And then make a determination for an IT strategy and plan. Coming in and assuming that you know how to run IT without understanding and aligning with the business goals may be too assumptive.

ltj8765

paul78 wrote: »

IMO - you would be a more successful candidate if you explain how you would align with business requirements and understand the business goals.

Absolutely and you did a lot better job explaining this! It really is almost an all encompassing approach on what one can bring to a company and it starts with understanding what the CEO's vision is! Thanks paul78 for refining that further.

RouteMyPacket

ltj8765 wrote: »

I have talked with many CEOs of large companies and one common trait I have observed is that everything is about the bottom line. Thus (in most instances), when a CEO is talking with someone in regards to a position, it is a good idea to keep in mind what their focus is and direct your conversation and responses on how you can affect that bottom line as a manager.

First off, let this person (the CEO), explain to you about the company he runs. Come right out and ask this person what their goal for the growth of the company is! Most CEOs I have met love to talk about their company and the strategic direction of the company and will give you a ton of information that is relevant to your interview. You can get a lot of information right up front of what motivates this person. Take notes on this as well. Thee is absolutely nothing wrong on writing down notes to yourself on what you might consider import topics brought up by this CEO!

After this, the conversation will shift towards you and the position he is discussing with you. Do not explain to him specific equipment you would like to use or recommend for his company. Instead you need to focus on the process to "Determine" equipment and application (software) changes and how you going about to determine this. Explain your ideas based on your experience and give some examples of how you did this in the past.

As a manager, you will need to understand the issues behind CAPEX (Capitol Expense) and OPEX (Operating Expense) and how those two areas affect the bottom line of the company in regards to your position and what your responsibilities will be. As an example, one of the sayings I use and have found to be very successful is this:

"When I look at upgrades, I look at two areas, infrastructure and applications. In each of these two areas I have three rules that I follow when I determine requirements; 1) Whatever I choose / engineer must be Dependable; 2) In addition to being dependable, what I choose / engineer must be easily Maintainable; 3) The third rule is what I choose / engineer must be easily "Expandable (upgrades path, etc.). These three areas taken into together and applied, will have a direct impact on reducing the overall OPEX. While the CAPEX in support of any changes may vary, the long term goal is to lower the OPEX through improved efficiency which in turn affects the bottom line profits of the company!!"

The point I am trying to make here is that when one is interview for a management position, one needs to understand how the decisions you make and how one goes about making those decisions affects the bottom line of the company. If you can communicate this to any CEO and communicate how you can help them reduce cost, then that will win BIG BIG points in an interview!

Not everyone may agree with my points above, but as you climb in management, your focus must also shift to the costs involved and how to manage those costs.

Game over! /thread

I can tell someone has spent many hours sitting in front of a cross eyed deer in headlights looking CEO/CFO. lol

Been there, done that. Great explanation.

DevilWAH

I agree as far as the CEO is concerned all he wants to do is make his company successful and profitable. And as you move up in management money becomes more and more important.

Like ltj8765 said its not about the specifics of how you would do things, and any decent CEO will know that the specifies are worked out as you go and the goals are always moving. Its all about demonstrating an understanding of how your decisions will affect the business, what responsibility you would take on.

They will want to see that you understand the needs of the business from an IT point of view and that you will be able to set out plans and develop the systems/department to meet those needs within the constraints of policies and budgets. They will want to see that you are a "thinker" not just a "doer". Thinkers ask lots of questions so they get the facts needed to make decisions, so don't be scared to ask question of the CEO, as you move up in positions, interviews become more of a discussion than a question and answer session.

chmod

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

Ok, first off you are talking to a CEO who understands the bottom line, not the "Well if we install a core 6500 series switch and redesign the IDF's in a L2 running back to the core over fiber we will bla bla bla"

Here is some of the things I would focus on

Prepare a PowerPoint and highlight

1. Current environment layout/design
2. Show any potential exposure to the business "Downtime = Loss of Revenue"
3. Now offer several solutions ( I would offer 3 solutions, from a "this would be heaven" option (most expensive) to
what will improve business continuity at a lower cost. Also stating the pros and cons of each option

Make sure to get your quotes on each option so you can hand those over if needed.

Let us know how it goes...show your value and vision for the environment.

I used to do that, until i faced a CEO that said i want straightforward answers not a list of options.

RouteMyPacket

chmod wrote: »

I used to do that, until i faced a CEO that said i want straightforward answers not a list of options.

Absolutely, everyone has their own flavor for sure. There is never a cookie cutter way of handling IT business, flexibility comes with experience though so we want to throw multiple options at him.

instant000

Do you have time to read this book?

"The New CIO Leader"

I have a review of the above text on my LinkedIn profile somewhere, and ... I can't find that feature right now ..

Regardless, the tips in this thread saved you the time of reading that book.

PurpleIT

chmod wrote: »

I used to do that, until i faced a CEO that said i want straightforward answers not a list of options.

I LOVE when that happens. Give me the ball, let me run with it and do a project the way I want to. Love it!

I am actually wrapping up a project like that right now; we are building new offices for the bosses along with a training/conference center and other than an initial Q&A session where I got the bosses around a table and was able to clear up what they wanted and I presented a non-technical summary of my plans they have been hands off.

chmod

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

Absolutely, everyone has their own flavor for sure. There is never a cookie cutter way of handling IT business, flexibility comes with experience though so we want to throw multiple options at him.

Interesting, you say you would like to present multiple options but for example you are in charge of the new VoIP system implementation and you make your analysis and based on your judgement you know what best works for the company you attend to the final meeting with lets say 4 options and let them choose?, this is avaya very expensive, cisco also very expensive, asterisk not that expensive and a cloud hosted solution, this are the quotations and pro/con list so now is up to you. Isn't better to narrow down to one or 2 options turn the meeting into a quick meeting and just show them why is the best options how it fits their needs and just let them analyze the financial part.

Off course if the meeting we are talking about is with a sr infrastructure manager or the IT staff a bunch of options might work, also would help to have like a brain storm meeting, but if it is with management i can't see myself presenting and explaining 3, 4 or 5 options about something like that to a CEO or a financial manager, at the end of the story whatever they choose you are going to be in charge(you have to be very confident and completely sure about whatever you have chosen).

Just to remark, i'm not trying to argue or say you are wrong and i'm right i just think is interesting how we see the same scenario from different perspectives and by exchanging opinions i can learn form your point of view.

chmod

PurpleIT wrote: »

I LOVE when that happens. Give me the ball, let me run with it and do a project the way I want to. Love it!

I am actually wrapping up a project like that right now; we are building new offices for the bosses along with a training/conference center and other than an initial Q&A session where I got the bosses around a table and was able to clear up what they wanted and I presented a non-technical summary of my plans they have been hands off.

Sure that is how thing should work.

From my experience working with a Cisco partner a few years ago when i was 19-20yrs old and also working for some big companies i remeber the following quotes:

-Managers only want to know what needs to be done and how much it cost.
-Just tell me When and how much?
-You have given me all this options, i can afford all of them the prices are about the same and i'm not a technical guru, if you were me seating in this office with the budget to afford all this options, what would you do?.
-Every time i ask you something you come up with several answers please tell me how can we fix this, when and how much, you are the expert and you about this stuff, don't you?.
-You come here to ask me what to choose or to discuss about technical stuff, why don't you tell me waht to choose and just let me think about it i'll make my analysis and talk to you later.

What i highlighted from your post is what i think should be done in this cases.

petedude

[QUOTE=RouteMyPacket;726423. . .
2. Show any potential exposure to the business "Downtime = Loss of Revenue"
[/QUOTE]

RMP has lots of good points, but let me add. . . The downtime equals lost revenue argument may not be best for every situation. Internally, e.g. failed company intranet-- downtime means lost labor hours/lost productivity/lost wages. I once heard of an East Coast firm that lost basically two hours of productivity for about 36 people as their intranet went down late one afternoon after the eastern IT staff had gone for the day. . . thus leaving these dozens of line workers on the West Coast scratching their heads, unable to get at the CRM/ERP/etc. with nothing left besides E-mail and IM. You'd think their bosses would invest in some sort of multi-site failover, but nothing happened.

Everyone

It always cracks me up when small business owners give themselves the title of CEO.

f0rgiv3n

Everyone wrote: »

It always cracks me up when small business owners give themselves the title of CEO.

This^

Same here lol

PurpleIT

chmod wrote: »

Sure that is how thing should work.

From my experience working with a Cisco partner a few years ago when i was 19-20yrs old and also working for some big companies i remeber the following quotes:

-Managers only want to know what needs to be done and how much it cost.
-Just tell me When and how much?
-You have given me all this options, i can afford all of them the prices are about the same and i'm not a technical guru, if you were me seating in this office with the budget to afford all this options, what would you do?.
-Every time i ask you something you come up with several answers please tell me how can we fix this, when and how much, you are the expert and you about this stuff, don't you?.
-You come here to ask me what to choose or to discuss about technical stuff, why don't you tell me waht to choose and just let me think about it i'll make my analysis and talk to you later.

What i highlighted from your post is what i think should be done in this cases.

It is what should be done most of the time, but rarely is. I think we IT people are partly to blame since we tend to like to show off a little. It feels good to talk about all of these technical issues, show how much we know and dazzle management with our technical awesomeness. Not only do we know a lot, we know at least three different ways to do anything!

I like to go in with my main proposal which is typically a middle-ground type of solution. It will do what is required, it will be stable and scalable (at least a little) and it will be supported. I like to have options in my head that I can present if I am asked for them, the budget version (and what you are giving up) as well as the deluxe version if you want to know what else is possible (and a rough price). I won't have three FULL proposals in place, but I will have estimates and talking points.