Can Anything Go Wrong?

Xyro

A couple of weeks ago, this Monday, I had an interview at a local college. I was told that I will be hired & informed of the pay scale for the position. My responsibilities were described to me in a very basic format & I was introduced to two of, what will be, my fellow colleagues. I was also told that I would have to come in for another interview.

I'm now in the process of waiting for that second interview. On Thursday, he stated that he will call me to set a date for the interview after asking me if I would be available this coming week as he needed to "get in touch with", what I assume is, some type of team leader.

I realize I've already been told that I'm accepted for the position but what I'm wondering is, in the experience of others, can anything (aside of completely messing up the interview) go "wrong" at this point?



Thank you in advance.

About7Narwhal

The employee who interviewed you might not have the authority to hire you. A problem could arise if his boss does not agree with his decision. The position its self could freeze, meaning HR or a higher up has decided they cannot afford to rehire at the time. You could mess up the interview. You could be outdone by someone else. Or maybe the employees you met didn't like you.

Most of that is out of your control and I wouldn't waste time over it. If you are being called back for a second interview, just do what you did in the first as it obviously worked. Let us know how it goes and good luck.

Xyro

I never realized other employees not liking me could be an issue. I assumed that was mainly irrelevant.

Yes, I'm not scrambling over this lol. I was merely analyzing the possibilities for failure as to be able to understand the process better.

Thank you for the wishing of luck.

hoktauri

Don't forget rogue asteroids.

IndyLoveless

I happen to work at a university too, been working here for about a year. I can tell you, atleast in my case, the hiring process can be a bit long. I didn't hear from the university I work at for at least 3 weeks before they hired me. Hang in there, I'm sure you will get hired.

Xyro

Indy, I'm certain I will also as I've already been told that I was. Thank you though... it's very appreciated!

Qord

Xyro wrote: »

I never realized other employees not liking me could be an issue. I assumed that was mainly irrelevant.

That might even be more important than competency. Corporate culture plays a huge role in who gets hired where, especially in a smaller shop.

Xyro

Interesting, Qord ... & noted.



Update:

Ok, the guy called me this morning & asked if I was available to come in for an interview today, yes today. Talk about on the drop of a hat! I organized some papers to take with me, quickly shined my shoes, jumped in the shower... & went! I was there most of the day & must have walked the equivalent of about 10 miles haha, but it was great. I shadowed a fellow colleague & met the rest of the IT staff.

I start next week.

My only dilemma is that this position was initially part-time which functioned well for the rest of my schedule; however, today they offered me a full-time position (much to my surprise???), so I took it. This makes my ability to complete ICND1 before Sept. 30 even more difficult as I already still have another job & am in school.

I only hope I can finish by the above date but if worse comes to worse I'll just end up taking the new ICND1 instead of the old.

Qord

Congrats man, that's awesome!!! So now for the nitty gritty stuff....how big is the IT dept? What are you going to be doing?

On a side note, I love working for a college!

Xyro

Thank you!!

It isn't much, but I believe that I have another toe in the door haha. It's contract & I will likely be looking for another job come Fall. I say likely & not "definitely" because they were asking about my availability after Fall. I don't want to get my hopes up though. Even if they don't ask me to stay on, this will yet be another item I can put on the resume.

The greatest thing about this is I'm actually getting paid, unlike to my last IT position.

As for how big the IT department is, there are 4 aside of me & 1 guy everyone refers to as "the big man", plus 1 other contract worker... so that makes 6 ... or 7 of us, dependent upon how you look at it. It doesn't seem like the 1 guy does anything though.

What I'm responsible for is the installation of all new computers throughout the campus. Difficult to believe as I type that! I don't even have the totals yet, just heard some numbers thrown around ... 40 here, 20 there, 50 here, 10 there, etc. It seems like it's at least a few hundred. I need to get them all physically installed & perform imaging (separate images for each department). The specifics will be given to me next week. I did 2 lol when I was shadowing on Tuesday.

For some reason, my customer service skills were also tested. Like I said, I don't want to get my hopes up... but logic tells me they are looking to either add to (or replace a member of) the IT staff.

Xyro

They ditched the other contract worker & have hired me on a permanent basis. No cheers, the salary is extremely low lol. I'm very grateful for the opportunity though!

I am, however, wondering what would be a good period of time to remain in this position. Would 3 months be too short?? Should I aim for the standard 6 months instead?

It will be an environment where the learning potential is low & the salary is next-to-nothing.

I would please need some advice on this. Thank you in advance.

About7Narwhal

I generally TRY to give a place a year. This lets me learn everything I can and it is about long enough to determine if the company has a path in mind for me or if they were just looking to fill a position. They have moved stuff around to get you on the team, keep that in mind when you consider leaving.

That said, I wouldn't hold it against anyone for moving to bigger and better things. Tough it out as long as you see fit and keep your eyes open for other positions. Never quit without a plan. It is easier to find a job when you have one. Good luck.

Nemowolf

About7Narwhal wrote: »

I generally TRY to give a place a year. This lets me learn everything I can and it is about long enough to determine if the company has a path in mind for me or if they were just looking to fill a position. They have moved stuff around to get you on the team, keep that in mind when you consider leaving.

That said, I wouldn't hold it against anyone for moving to bigger and better things. Tough it out as long as you see fit and keep your eyes open for other positions. Never quit without a plan. It is easier to find a job when you have one. Good luck.

I would agree that a year mark is solid before looking to move on. I would recommend the following though to establish a clear path for yourself and set the expectations with your boss.

After three months of FTE, i would ask or expect a 90 day evaluation. Find out what you are doing good, okay and any areas that need improvement. They hired you with your strengths and weaknesses so find out if its worth it to them to shore up your weaknesses and improve anything else. Ask you boss if your performance has overall exceeded expectations based on their metrics/standards/etc to warrant a review of your pay. If they say no, counter and ask what would it take to have them review the salary. Often times your boss doesn't have the authority to just grant a raise, sometimes he has to ask for it and provide evidence to justify the modification. Make sure you document your achievements as this is a great habit to have and even more so when it comes down to negotiating salary and updating resumes.

You can also leverage your studies at this point too. Based on your actual work, see if there is a certification that would be inline with your job description and duties. Ask them if they would be willing to send you to a bootcamp/training, provide you with paid materials, etc to help you get that certification. See if they will pay for the test or reimburse for the test. It will not only make your resume look better but it helps the managers/directors help justify the IT cost when they can say they have more "expertise" on the team to the paper pushers. Thats another topic though.

If all goes well, you should either have a raise at 90 days or have a clear path set by your boss for what you need to achieve in the next 90+ days to earn a raise. If they don't seem to be willing to play ball within a year, have that frank and serious conversation that your needs as an employee are not being met and play hard ball then.

Tooms

The time is up until the point where you feel you're no longer gaining any useful experience. At that point you determine if the pay is worth staying, if not you leave and give yourself a raise.

Xyro

Tooms wrote: »

The time is up until the point where you feel you're no longer gaining any useful experience. At that point you determine if the pay is worth staying, if not you leave and give yourself a raise.

Thank you for this.

I'm in the process of seeing if any adjustments can be made in terms of actually gaining experience because at the moment, I'm gaining absolutely none as I'm not even doing what I was hired for.

I suspect I will be in the process of, once again, looking for employment; however, I will not leave this position until I do so.

Thank you also to all others whom replied. It's all very useful advice.