IT BS thread

IT f-up stories - That's pretty much my job, trying to stop people from screwing up in the first place and then un-f'ing stuff up when I fail at the first task.

So true

I do this with all candidates. People often talk themselves right out of a job, or seal the deal with their answer to this question.

My personal favorite is the tech that won't own up to messing up. Our phone system vendor applied a patch that broke several external system interfaces (change control - What's that?) Being the chief un-fucker-upper I'm asking everyone, network, phone, interface owners, did you change anything? It was working this morning and now its not, what changed? After hours of troubleshooting I proved that the phone system was at fault, and only then did they fess up. To say I was pissed is a complete understatement.

But I digress -
The question that I went with is "tell me about your most complex computer repair." The "winning" answer was about a piece of proprietary hardware that wasn't working and how he learned the nitty gritty details of the device and got it working again.

 

All very good stuff. If I fuck up, I tell it straight to the boss, I fucked up, but I'll fix it and make it right. Always own up to my shit. He seems to like it. Do I care that I fucked up, yes, do I care what he thinks, no, but being one of the lead techs in my area along with highest tech rating says it all.

You sir @jsi are on spot on.

 

Hello IT people,

I am finishing a project for school, we are supposed to be a consulting team and here is a summary of the case:

Background: Jeff is Controller at GBI Company. His company has already implemented SAP for operating his business, however Business planning is still being performed with MS Excel. As Excel for planning has several shortcomings, GBI Company decides to implement a new solution that includes forecasting, planning, and an integrated dashboard.

Requirements: Jeff wants to explore how BI Planning is integrated in SAP with the Business Intelligence platform and Business Explorer. Your solution will require a complete plan as per the syllabus.


I have Googled what a consulting team like this might charge, and we are supposed to try and get close to real life costs.

Everything I find says "Free Consultation."

What would a consulting team like this charge? Does anyone have real life experience that could give me an idea of what a a team like this might cost?

Per Hour?
Per Project?
Per Project + percentage of revenue and savings?

Thank you

 

Entire project...."I am a server guy. That sounds a lot like an app problem"

 

LOL. And I don't do workstations.

Been a long time since I have been in the field doing pre sales Engineering support. Like back when I got my MCSE on Windows 3.51 although last couple tests were on NT 4. But very few used Windows then anyhow. Business process improvement consulting was $125-$175 hour depending on size of company. Think now we pay any of the Big 4 $225-$250 an hour but that is not in the manufacturing vertical, should be pretty close though. And no those in the field don't make anywhere near that.

You can do Per Hour cost but not Per Project without needs analysis and business process mapping first. And you can make a RFP sing any numbers you want with enough experience. Software cost is dependent on number of seats and platform.

Tell them you need more information and aren't into doing Sophisticated Wild Assed Guesses.

 

Any iOS app developers out there?

The spam callers are out of control. I've implemented a strict personal policy that if a caller isn't in my contact list I won't take the call. But, my phone is ringing off the hook and I have to look at it each time to see if I need to take the call.

What i need is a simple app that looks at my contact list and if the number isn't there it sends it directly to voicemail. I've tried the so called "call blocking" apps but they want to be all fancy, by comparing the incoming number against their database of spammers. But, they still ring the phone with a warning that it's a spammer. Just what is the point of that? Hell, I'm fine with missing a few legitimate calls to get relief from the spam.

 

Hello IT people....

Where do you guys look for jobs? I think I have applied to every job on Indeed for help desk or technical support positions.

Why does entry level in IT mean 5 years experience?

How does a person switching careers get a foot in the door?

Thank you.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaR6aqL-L3Y

 

Eventually jobs find you. Look for a help desk position somewhere doing desktop stuff. That's the best way to get in. Then you can prove yourself and move to server, network, or storage... Or database administrator.

 

Who you know can be the best way into IT. Find someone that you already know in IT and see if they know of anything.

 

All good suggestions on here. Another is look for a contract job or internship. It could lead to full time employment if you prove worthy. I know, not steadfast, but when entering the field you'll have to take some chances.

 

Look for Helpdesk or Datacenter operations this is as entry level as it gets, try temp agencies also. Try Dice.com, Monster.com, Glassdoor.com and even Linkedin.
**Edit
Certifications could help you break into an entry level position in lieu of job experience, especially CompTia A+ and Net+

 

This is more a generalized measurement of job difficulty than a hard rule. Prove your current experience is transferable. I worked for an engineer at Intel who had a degree in hotel management.

 

^this^

From the hiring side of the table, I just closed an entry level tech support job. We got 12 applicants, 5 who were qualified. So, what do I mean qualified for an entry level position? I'm looking for some evidence that the applicant wants to be in IT. An A+ cert is a good start. Also I'm looking for initiative, does the applicant do tech support for friends and family? Customer service skills (gained anywhere) is a plus, because at the end of the day IT is a service organization.

Of 3 of the 5 qualified applicants were internal people who are currently in part time positions that they took to "get their foot in the door." The other 2 were an interesting mix. One had a year under his belt and gave a solid interview. The other one, with 15+ years of experience, gave the WORST interview of all time. I've interviewed hundreds of people over the years and his interview was a textbook example of what not to do. I thought I'd seen everything, but nope, I guess not. We hired one of the internal part timers for the spot.

There's a lot of competition for these entry spots. Get some certs, help your friends and family, build your own computers, and setup your own servers and networks. You're going to be doing that for the rest of your career, so might as well get started now.

Oh, and I got 4 applications for the part time job created by promoting the internal guy. Not a one of them was great. I wish I could make the part time positions full time, but that's a whole other problem.

 

I wouldn't hire someone who has a B.S. in something IT Related, but no other experience. Sounds harsh, but a few years' experience and no degree is more valuable in my eyes.

 

Probably been a while since he'd had to do an interview. What did he do wrong? Just curious.

 

Yeah, not having any certs is something I have been thinking about the last couple weeks. I'm gonna knock out A+ and Network + cause I know I can get those pretty quickly.

 

Well . . . lets count the things he did wrong:

1. He didn't fill the application out all the way. I would have put him in the no interview pile on that alone, but the other screener liked his resume. My feeling is that filling out the application is the first assignment of the job. If you can't do that simple task correctly how in the world can I hope you can do any, more complex, assignment later?
2. He was late to the interview. Really?
3. After showing up late he interrupts the introductions, and challenges the CIO to an arm wrestle for the job. He seemed serious.
4. We do a troubleshooting role play with one of the interviewers playing the part of a technically challenged user. This question covers two areas, how well he can trouble shoot and how he communicates with users. The question sounds like, "my son, who is really smart with computers, was helping me yesterday. When I came in today my computer doesn't work." IMHO this is a softball question that should be so simple to troubleshoot. But no, apparently checking cords and drivers is too hard for this guy. His solution is to replace the computer and let someone else figure it out. (BTW that question comes from a real life trouble ticket.)
5. Dropping of the f bomb and other swear words. Really, it's a professional environment and you're swearing? Oh, I can hardly wait to get the complaint calls about that!
6. Not listening to the questions and then trying to BS the answer.
7. Not answering the question and telling long winded racist stories that complained about former employers.
8. Being difficult when I tried to pull the stories back to the interview. I love me a good story, but you were late and now we are running behind.
9. Being unable to explain his work history as it is shown on the resume. Something wasn't right, and a little creepy in the way he answered.
10. When asked when you can start (like there's a chance of that happening) saying the next day. Leaving your current employer high and dry. Oh yeah this guy had a job. Will he give me the courtesy of a 2 week notice? It doesn't seem like it.

When some people blow an interview, I feel sorry for them. This guy had me looking for a hidden camera to record our reactions because he covered all the bases, BS, late, incomplete work, swearing, racism, laziness and incompetence. Afterwards the CIO and I couldn't quit laughing, nobody could be that awful could they?

 

Someone with 15 years of experience interviewing for an entry level helpdesk position should have been a huge red flag.

 

Wow, I have no words. And I thought I interviewed poorly...

 

All things being equal I'd agree with you, but that's hardly equal. I'll take someone with a degree and no experience over no experience and no degree. A BS degree shows that a person can start and complete something hard. And getting a degree and getting experience is not mutually exclusive. I did it and there are 5 people in my group doing it right now. A BS degree vs certs with no experience is a harder question. Both would tip the scale to getting an interview. In recent history I haven't had that happen because the BS degree people have all had certs too. However, a cert, degree or killer resume only get the interview, they still have to know their stuff in the interview.

If you want to be an idiot and go into management degrees are pretty much a requirement.