careers

Did you vote for your favorite Cisco certification logos?

Cisco Subnet — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:29:21 -0400

Cisco certified folks have been invited by Cisco to vote on potential new logos that will "represent Cisco career certifications on learning materials, as well as on promotional items such as shirts, hats, and jackets," writes Tassos (CCIE # 19858) in his blog. There are two choices - view them on Tassos blog. Between the comments on the blog postings of Tassos, CCIE Pursuit, and Carl Project, the preferred choice by Cisco certified folks seems to be split.

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Microsoft is developing a new, super hard certification test

Randy Muller — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:08:43 -0400

If you do a little scouring on the Internet, you can come across snippets of information about new Microsoft tests that are in development or in the beta process. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, taking a beta exam can be a boon, yet frustrating, as the exam developers are still working out all the kinks with the test. So what you see for a beta test is still a work in progress and could be aggravating to the test taker – but still well worth the experience.

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Dos and don'ts of IT job seeking

Jeff Caruso — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:32:16 -0400

Looking for a job ain't what it used to be. There's all this social media to consider, stuff that's publicly available. Any perspective employer is bound to check out your Facebook page, for instance. We recently spoke with Rona Borre, president and CEO of Instant Technology, an IT recruiting firm in Chicago. She shared some tips for navigating this brave new world. My favorite:

How could personal beliefs hurt a person's chances at getting a job?

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The double life of today's IT professionals

Denise Dubie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:21:15 -0400

IT professionals not only keep networks and systems humming along smoothly, but they are also expected to couple high-tech know-how with business acumen. But that's the norm in today's economy where IT budgets continue to be squeezed for every drop.

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The Real Job Description

Mary Finlay — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:20:28 -0400

I am currently gearing up to hire a new director to oversee a major portion of our infrastructure. The job description has been written and posted. The interview team has been selected. And the first set of resumes have been received and scrutinized. During all of this prep work, I have been mulling in my head the characteristics I want to see in the candidates. To help me think about this, I pulled out the document I had written a few years ago when I was hiring another director level position. I thought you'd appreciate seeing what I look for in senior level staff:

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HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

Ron Nutter — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:50:29 -0400

Day 76

This will be my final blog post. I was approached earlier this week by a company that I had interviewed with shortly after I was laid off in February. They inquired if I was still available and wanted to have a sit down talk with me. That culminated in an offer being extended to me yesterday, which I accepted.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 73: Two new applications

Ron Nutter — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:14:53 -0400

Day 73

Found 2 positions on Craigslist and applied for both.

Got a call and email from a recruiter about a position with a local CLEC. Left a message for the recruiter about the position and my qualifications for it. Will probably talk to the recruiter tomorrow.

Got a call from a company that I had interviewed with several months ago. They wanted to talk to me again. Scheduled a time to talk with them tomorrow.

Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 71: A strong interview

Ron Nutter — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:30:47 -0400

Day 71

Went to the interview this morning with a nearby County Government IT department. Sat down with the department manager and then was joined by three people in the department. Was asked questions by all of them in a round-robin format.

The position is not as "hands on" as I am used to but that isnt anything that I couldnt make the adjustment to. The interview went for a little over an hour and then came to a close.

I seem to have been the first person they talked to, since I was told there were others that they were going to interview and that would take about two weeks to get done. At that time, they will make a decision who to bring in for a second interview.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 70: New leads

Ron Nutter — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:24:59 -0400

Day 70

Got an email from Sarah Anderson at Balancepoint about a position with a local utility. From the information she sent me, the salary range is what I am looking for and I have the qualifications to match the requirements for the position. I sent back the required information. Sarah will get me submitted for the position today. Hope to hear something in a few days.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 69: All's fair at the job fair

Ron Nutter — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:22:21 -0400

Day 69

Went to a job fair this morning sponsored by CareerBuilder. The assortment of vendors was a little better than the Monster sponsored job fair I went to a couple of months ago.

Most of the companies there seemed to be recruiting for entry level positions such as gas station attendant or phone collections person. I recognized one company there as a major customer of Cisco gear. I approached them to find out what open IT positions they had. They handed me a business card and directed me to the company Web site.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 68: Much ado about nothing

Ron Nutter — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:23:24 -0400

Day 68

Got a call from the Teksystems office in Omaha, Nebraska about a position they are looking to fill. Explained to him that I was not looking to relocate and thanked him for considering me for the position.

Got a call from Trevor Martin of Comsys concerning the position they are representing me in with a local firm. Answered the questions he had that had been raised by the hiring manager. He apologized for not having been able to arrange an interview. Told him that I was more concerned about finding the right position than getting interviews quickly. He hopes to hear something on this position by later next week.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 62: No explanation

Ron Nutter — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:05:01 -0400

Day 62

Got a call from Justin at Modus following up on the client phone interview I had yesterday. He was a little concerned over how technical the interview had become versus what he had been told that I should expect. I went over with him the kind of questions they were asking.

With the way they were asking about different kinds of SQL experience, I told him that I probably wasn't the type of candidate they were looking for. He said the client had changed what they were looking for a couple of times so he was going to get with the account manager for the position to see what kind of feedback he could get about my interview.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 61: Missed signals

Ron Nutter — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:05:46 -0400

Day 61

Heard from the local HR person at the financial services organization that approached me yesterday. I got an email saying I was no longer being considered for the job they approached me for.

I sent back an email requesting clarification since they had approached me saying I was well qualified. The local HR person responded back in a very apologetic tone. Apparently there had been lack of communication as to one of the qualifications.

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First Impressions

Mary Finlay — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:44:50 -0400

Nineteen years ago I went for an interview for a project manager position at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The entire interview lasted ten minutes. My future boss asked me three questions and then he stood up, shook my hand, and thanked me for coming by. I was convinced I had blown the interview, but days later I was offered the job and my career in health care IT was launched.

Months later I asked my boss about the short interview. His explanation was simple-he sizes up people within a few minutes of meeting them. I was thankful I had made the cut.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 60: New leads

Ron Nutter — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:14:41 -0400

Day 60

Got a call from another recruiter about the AT&T position in St. Louis, Mo. Advised him that this was outside of the area I was looking for employment in.

Justin from Modis IT contacted me about a position they were pursuing for me. He was checking my availability for a phone screen interview tomorrow before 2pm. Talked with him about where things were with this.

The delay is related to the client just moving into a new building and getting a little buried in things related to the move. He will get back in contact with me later today to confirm the time tomorrow and who I will be talking to.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 59: Another country heard from

Ron Nutter — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:55:25 -0400

Day 59

Experienced something new today. Had a recruiter call from Canada for a contract position that every recruiter in the civilized world seems to be trying to fill. This is a position that is three hours away from me and well beyond daily commute range.

Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 58: A nice `no'

Ron Nutter — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:19:58 -0400

Day 58

Received an email from the HR person at US Central in response to my question about whether the position I had interviewed for had been relisted. Seems like the manager wanted to do another check of the available talent pool. I was promised a call this week with an update on the situation and whether I was still in consideration or not.

Received a nice letter from the HR person at Cornerstones of Care where I had interviewed for the MIS Director's position. They informed me that another candidate had been selected. As much as I had hoped to get this position, they at least gave me the courtesy of letting me know where things stood.

Nothing new on the job boards today.

Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 57: Rolling the Dice

Ron Nutter — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:51:21 -0400

Day 57

Found a position on Dice this morning and applied for it. Don't know how new the position is. With the way that Dice allows jobs to be reposted, you can't really tell how how new or fresh a position is.

Got a call from Mark Nagl at Volt Technical Services. He pitched the US Central position to me. I advised him I had already interviewed for the position. He said the position had just posted this morning. Going from my documentation, I laid out the sequence of what had happened so far. I encouraged him to get back with US Central for clarification. He said he would see what he could find out and let me know.

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Ron Nutter's Job Hunt: Day 56: A promising interview

Ron Nutter — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:36:02 -0400

Day 56

Had initial phone screen interview with Jon Sachram at Versent, which had been arranged by Grant Gordon at Intronix Solutions Group.

Jon stated up front he wasn't very technical. He described what the position was, and asked me if I could work in that situation. However, he did ask some technical questions.

Some of them were interesting, such as: Name the history and sequence of the different versions of Windows. He asked what port numbers were used by different protocols and services. The interview lasted a little over 20 minutes. He said he was going to call Grant Gordon and I should hear something after that.

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Women in Technology

Mary Finlay — Wed, 07 May 2008 20:45:00 -0400

The Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management (SIM) recently held a “Women in Technology” session. The session consisted of four female CIO’s sitting on a panel and sharing their experiences in climbing the IT ladder. The women were an impressive bunch and the room was packed with women and men.

Other regions have held similar sessions and the rooms are always packed full. Why? Why is there always such a draw to hear about the trials and tribulations of women CIOs?

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