I have a job interview on Thursday and I need some advice

qwertyiop · September 2009

I have an interview for a Sysadmin position for a small software company on Thursday and I wanted to know what I could do to impress them besides getting a fresh haircut and going in with freshly ironed shirt and slacks.
I was thinking of putting together a little portfolio but have no idea what to put in it.

Here is a little info about myself. I currently work as a junior net admin for a bigger company and im responsible for all aspects of support, maintenance and vendor relationships. I have about 3 years of IT experience, I have a AS in CIS with an emphasis in IT and ill have my BS in Network Administration within the next year.

The position that im going for in a small company with about 15 users. They had the job ad posted on Craigslist and they got about 75 applicants. They cut that down to 30 and now to the top 8.

bgrablin · September 2009

Dress like your potential boss's boss. i.e. Where a nice suit. You won't be able to have it fitted by Thursday, so get one as close as possible. A person can decide if they are going to hire you in the first 30 seconds. So start off on top.

Bl8ckr0uter · September 2009

qwertyiop wrote: »

I have an interview for a Sysadmin position for a small software company on Thursday and I wanted to know what I could do to impress them besides getting a fresh haircut and going in with freshly ironed shirt and slacks.
I was thinking of putting together a little portfolio but have no idea what to put in it.

Here is a little info about myself. I currently work as a junior net admin for a bigger company and im responsible for all aspects of support, maintenance and vendor relationships. I have about 3 years of IT experience, I have a AS in CIS with an emphasis in IT and ill have my BS in Network Administration within the next year.

The position that im going for in a small company with about 15 users. They had the job ad posted on Craigslist and they got about 75 applicants. They cut that down to 30 and now to the top 8.

In high school we made career portfolios and I have been using one ever since. What I do is get a clean copy of my resume, summery letter, certs, diploma, and put them in a decent portfolio. I have had many employers comment on this (in a good way).

Aduro · September 2009

I would try to get some background information about the company and make sure they know you’ve researched them and are interested in what they do. Two months ago I graduated from college, no experience or certs but applied for this junior network admin position and after I was hired they basically said I got the nod over more experienced people because I went and researched what the company did. By showing them your willing to take time and research their company instead of going in blind and having them tell you what they do goes far I think.

CompuTron99 · September 2009

IMO...

Dress nicely (suit / tie). Study up on the company. Employers like to see that you have done some work researching the company. I also make sure I have several copies of resumes, cover letters, references, copies of my certifications, and a copy of the job description you applied for. I usually write down a list of projects I'm working on (no need to details), or have completed.

Good Luck!

networker050184 · September 2009

From your description of your current and perspective positions the new one sounds kind of like a step backwards to me. If you are currently working in a large environment and you are responsible for all aspects, how is going to work in a 15 user shop going to expand your knowledge and experience? I understand the job title is junior at one and may not at the other, but those large environments with lots of responsibilities look pretty good on a resume.

Good luck on the interview though.

RouteThisWay · September 2009

networker050184 wrote: »

From your description of your current and perspective positions the new one sounds kind of like a step backwards to me. If you are currently working in a large environment and you are responsible for all aspects, how is going to work in a 15 user shop going to expand your knowledge and experience? I understand the job title is junior at one and may not at the other, but those large environments with lots of responsibilities look pretty good on a resume.

Good luck on the interview though.

I was kind of thinking the same thing.

KPWright · September 2009

They are going to be less impressed by what you know about yourself than by what you know about them. Learn about the company and as much as you can about the job they have open. If they are confident you can fit in to their organization and help them solve their problems, you're hired.

I think the dress situation varies. The best advice I got was to dress one level up from the normal attire. If everyone normally kicks around in bluejeans and polo shirts, you may make them uncomfortable showing up in a fitted suit. They need to be confident you can become part of and work well in their group.

Good luck.

qwertyiop · September 2009

networker050184 wrote: »

From your description of your current and perspective positions the new one sounds kind of like a step backwards to me. If you are currently working in a large environment and you are responsible for all aspects, how is going to work in a 15 user shop going to expand your knowledge and experience? I understand the job title is junior at one and may not at the other, but those large environments with lots of responsibilities look pretty good on a resume.

Good luck on the interview though.

My current junior admin position is in a company that has about 50 users, I technically run everything myself and reccomend any necessary upgrades or purchases directly to the President, the problem is that there only giving me part-time hours with no benefits and still expect me to get everything done. Mind you im the only technical person there.

The new position that im going for will give me fulltime hours plus benefits.

Paul Boz · September 2009

qwertyiop wrote: »

The new position that im going for will give me fulltime hours plus benefits.

And that's why this is a better opportunity for you. As others have said, dress nicely, be well-spoken, don't be shy about socializing with the interviewer before and after the interview, and actually ask THEM questions. If you ask them questions about the organization / network you will be managing it makes you look prepared to start working on day 1.

RouteThisWay · September 2009

Paul Boz wrote: »

And that's why this is a better opportunity for you. As others have said, dress nicely, be well-spoken, don't be shy about socializing with the interviewer before and after the interview, and actually ask THEM questions. If you ask them questions about the organization / network you will be managing it makes you look prepared to start working on day 1.

Well of course it is a better opportunity then

Minor details are important

networker050184 · September 2009

RouteThisWay wrote: »

Well of course it is a better opportunity then Minor details are important

Agreed.

LarryDaMan · September 2009

bgrablin wrote: »

Where a nice suit.

Or you could even wear one.

Firemarshalbill.com · September 2009

After having read through this thread it appears you have received all the advice you will need. These days job qualifications include 4 things, A) Experience,

Certifiaction, C) Education and D) Interpersonal skills

I am in the process of hiring 5 -6 IT sales engineers and here is what I am looking for.

1. A clean, accurate and precise resume. Skip the fluff and make sure the spelling is correct nothn luks wurse then lotsa misteaks - see what I mean and DO NOT TRUST spell check - I am awful at spelling and often have someone else read my stuff

2. Like one of the first posts said dress like you are the boss - suit and tie.

3. Have references and if possible use Linkedin alot of companies look at it

4. Try and remain calm, professional and outgoing.

5. The comments about researching the company and asking questions are dead on - interviewers love to see that, it shows interest.

6. Be on time but not too early, if you have to arrive early and sit in the parking lot until 10 minutes or so before the interview.

7. Shake hands firmly and look people in the eye especially when answering questions

Good luck

Bill

qwertyiop · September 2009

Thank you all for the advice. Im about to go get a haircut and then go home to put together a portfolio to give to them and I have to research a few more things about the company.

Paul Boz · September 2009

Firemarshalbill.com wrote: »

7. Shake hands firmly and look people in the eye especially when answering questions

This is honestly the best advice in this thread. A firm handshake and looking a man in the eyes through the interview process shows confidence not only in what you know, but how you carry yourself. I've interviewed people who on paper were extremely qualified but stared at the window when I was talking to them.

Claymoore · September 2009

qwertyiop wrote: »

Thank you all for the advice. Im about to go get a haircut and then go home to put together a portfolio to give to them and I have to research a few more things about the company.

I brought a portfolio when I interviewed for my current job and it really impressed the HR manager. Here is what I had in the portfolio:

Resume
Copies of Certifcation transcripts
Visio diagrams of infrastructure projects I completed
Also, I had a USB flash drive containing copies of user instructions, process documentation, visio diagrams and power point presentations I delivered to senior management.

I don't know if she ever looked at the USB drive, but the fact I submitted one was mentioned by others in later interviews.

CompuTron99 · September 2009

Claymoore wrote: »

Also, I had a USB flash drive containing copies of user instructions, process documentation, visio diagrams and power point presentations I delivered to senior management.

I don't know if she ever looked at the USB drive, but the fact I submitted one was mentioned by others in later interviews.

Did you ever get the USB drive back? She probably formatted it and put pictures of her kids on it.

MentholMoose · September 2009

KPWright wrote: »

I think the dress situation varies. The best advice I got was to dress one level up from the normal attire. If everyone normally kicks around in bluejeans and polo shirts, you may make them uncomfortable showing up in a fitted suit. They need to be confident you can become part of and work well in their group.

It's hard to predict what will be "normal" if you haven't been there before. You could try to go scope out the place beforehand, just don't get caught by their security!!

Usually I wear a nice fitted suit, but if it's hot outside I will skip the jacket. I don't really worry about being overdressed since the result is up to luck. If one of the interviewers happens to think a collared shirt is too much, let alone a suit, then you are finished unless you're wearing a t-shirt!

Anyway, there have been a couple of times that I felt particularly overdressed. Once was at a large entertainment company. It was casual Friday, and I was just completely overdressed... the HR woman was wearing a tight tank top and jeans!! I still received a job offer from them. Another time at another large entertainment company, I wore a suit on a casual Friday, and was similarly overdressed. One of the interviewers actually commented that I was the only guy in the building wearing a suit who wasn't a lawyer!

I didn't get a job offer.

Paul Boz · September 2009

Dress like you want the job, not like you already have it.

remyforbes777 · September 2009

Look at a picture of the boss' wife/daughter and say "Damn man what a hottie".
Ha.

Paul Boz · September 2009

remyforbes777 wrote: »

Look at a picture of the boss' wife/daughter and say "Damn man what a hottie".
Ha.

"Dang dude, so YOU'RE who my girlfriend is married to!"

Claymoore · September 2009

CompuTron99 wrote: »

Did you ever get the USB drive back? She probably formatted it and put pictures of her kids on it.

She kept it. It was a free flash drive full of sales presentations from a vendor that I repurposed for a more noble cause.

qwertyiop · October 2009

Well I had the interview yesterday and I think it went pretty good. Now I wont know if I got the job till either the end of next week or the early the week after that cause the whole company is hosting some convention for all there clients next week.

I think I think I did pretty good, I even created a Portfolio to give to the interviewers.

I have a job interview on Thursday and I need some advice

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