Never did a formal interview, but received job offer to work from home as Linux SA

I am at a job I started a few months ago. I like it a lot and I like the people and everything. A recruiter from a large IT staffing firm contacted me about a remote/work from home position supporting the DoD so I figured I'll send in my resume.I expected an interview of sorts but instead the recruiter called me and told me they would like to offer me the position and they are offering around 10K more than what I currently make.I find it kind of strange there was no interview, but the recruiting agency and the actual company are 100% legit and well known. I like where I'm at now but a 10K pay bump and being able to work from home is certainly appealing.The position being offered is to be a RHEL Linux Engineer, essentially a Sys Admin for their Linux platforms. My current position is working as a Sys Admin. I asked to be able to speak with the Project Manager next week so I can get a better feel for the position as I am not even sure myself if I am really qualified for this position since I never got to get a feel for that in any interview. I wouldn't want to take a job I dont feel comfortable doing.Suggestions?

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networker050184

I don't think I'd work at a place that doesn't even interview candidates. Do you even know what you'll actually be doing if you didn't have an interview to ask someone? Imagine the quality and turnover of employees at a place like that.

dhay13

My interview for my current position was via phone and lasted about 10 minutes. The recruiter contacted me and asked about my interest. The next day a manager from my company called and his main questions were about my computer forensic education and if I knew anything about SNMP. The next day I had an offer. It seemed shady but I didn't have a job at the time and had no other offers lined up. It took about 5 weeks to get everything set up before I actually stepped foot in the building but it all worked out in the end. I am still there and now work 100% remote. The program started about 6 months before I started and I was told that basically if you had a heartbeat and knew how to turn a computer on then you got the job. My company was just awarded the contract and they needed people fast. They are more picky now when bringing on new people but when they needed to hire about 200-300 people almost overnight it was a pretty simple process. Oh, and I don't actually do anything that was listed in my job description but I am happy with that. The job description was basically a gopher, imaging laptops, installing printers, etc., but my unemployment was close to running out so I had to take it. I actually do vulnerability assessment and remediation. The problem is that my pay was in line with the job description and fairly low for what I actually do so you may want to verify what you will actually be doing. Another thing, it seems the ones brought on at the initial onset were paid much higher, likely due to the desperation to fill spots. My pay is substantially lower than those brought on in the initial hiring frenzy, and it seems those hired after me are also at a lower rate.

volfkhat

LOL
Seriously Dude??

mikwelque wrote: »

The position being offered is to be a RHEL Linux Engineer, essentially a Sys Admin for their Linux platforms. My current position is working with IPTV as the Sys Admin. I asked to be able to speak with the Project Manager next week so I can get a better feel for the position as I am not even sure myself if I am really qualified for this position since I never got to get a feel for that in any interview. I wouldn't want to take a job I dont feel comfortable doing.

Sounds like you kind of answered your own question.
If you are Not qualified for the job... then you will probably Not be able to perform the job.
after all, How far does a 10K increase last... if you get fired in 3-6 months?

how familiar are you with linux?
If the recruiter found your resume.. then you must have the linux work/experience on it, correct?

And what about this recruiter;
WHy does a recruiter hire without "interviewing" them?

Answer:
It's temporary. They are probably throwing "bodies" at some kind of short-term problem/deadline.

or, Maybe it's like dhay13 describes:
They are a government subcontractor; somehow they won a contract... now they are scrambling to fill it.
But even in that scenario.... they are probably hiring a bunch of coworkers just as un-quantified as yourself $:\$

If you had years of experience with Linux, and feel completely capable of solving issues on your own; then maybe you should consider it.

But "if" you are still in the learning/growing stage...
then how can you honestly accomplish that while "working from home"?

Edit:
i don't know if my post provided any value.
lol
I guess all that i can say: have a thorough conversation with that PM :]

DatabaseHead

Maybe you can study for your redhat certification......

UnixGuy

You will continue to get paid after you leave...

mikwelque

volfkhat wrote: »

LOL
Seriously Dude??

Sounds like you kind of answered your own question.
If you are Not qualified for the job... then you will probably Not be able to perform the job.
after all, How far does a 10K increase last... if you get fired in 3-6 months?

how familiar are you with linux?
If the recruiter found your resume.. then you must have the linux work/experience on it, correct?

And what about this recruiter;
WHy does a recruiter hire without "interviewing" them?

Answer:
It's temporary. They are probably throwing "bodies" at some kind of short-term problem/deadline.

or, Maybe it's like dhay13 describes:
They are a government subcontractor; somehow they won a contract... now they are scrambling to fill it.
But even in that scenario.... they are probably hiring a bunch of coworkers just as un-quantified as yourself $:\$

If you had years of experience with Linux, and feel completely capable of solving issues on your own; then maybe you should consider it.

But "if" you are still in the learning/growing stage...
then how can you honestly accomplish that while "working from home"?

Edit:
i don't know if my post provided any value.
lol
I guess all that i can say: have a thorough conversation with that PM :]

I mean judging by the job description I'd say I'm qualified for most areas but there are some items that I have never done. It's the type of thing where I feel like I could learn and pick up some of the requirements on the job if I was working with some other people. However, given it's a work from home position, I'm guessing they would expect me to know almost everything and not need much help at all. This is the biggest reason I want to talk to the PM because I don't want to take a job I'm not up to par for.

There are some other items of concern. My current contract is a 2.5 year contract with some option years. This new offer is 18 months with option years. Also, my current employer is currently putting me through for a top secret clearance. The new offer says they may eventually have a red for TS but not right now. How much of a boost would that be for me career wise? Because if it's significant that's more than enough reason to keep commuting and making a little bit less

anhtran35

Don't do it! Been there...done that...it will NOT end well.

volfkhat

YAh....
i see what you mean.

I gotta admit; the 10K increase is the secondary reason for taking the gig.
My top reason:
Getting an additional 1.5 hours of my life back (per day).
There's the real value.

But.... I do think getting a TS clearance is worth staying around for.
The TS will definitely get you more options for future gigs (with shorter commutes too).

I guess... if you like your current gig... and the commute is still manageable... then stick around for the TS.

Reevaluate from there :]

cowill

I call those "Warm Body Contracts". they source a few people in to meet contractual requirements. I had one of those when I needed job and it worked out for me for 7 Months.

If I took that offer, I would at least have a plan B & C just in case.