Rentention Part 5 - Finding Your Job
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Comments posted to this topic are about the content posted at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/sjones/rententionpart5findingyourjob.asp
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Great article! My only comment comes out of the grooming section. It is generally accepted to not wear perfume or cologne to an interview, as more and more people are developing allergies to even light amounts of fragrance.
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I agree - superb article. All good points - must remember them if I am ever in such a situation in the future
(owning portion of own business means I probably won't be any time soon).Recalling the huge furore generated by another "how to not muck up an interview" article a month or two ago, this one was much more on track and obviously not as amusing.. One of the two controversial points was touched upon - hopefully in a way that won't offend anyone
For the record, I happen to agree with the point made...
I look forward to seeing if a fire is started 
However, in any case, very useful article. Thank you for writing & posting it.
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Nice article.
On the topic of looking to see if they have a blog. I've developed the habit of doing a google search on people's names we're thinking of hiring, even consultants. If they post out to web sites & newsgroups, you can see the type of assistance they offer or when and how they call for help. It can help you gauge if you're really looking at a senior level person or not. The downside is, of course, you may see their church membership, fraternal affiliations, political views, etc., which are all best ignored.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore RooseveltAuthor of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning -
Agree about "nice article" and most of what's been said...
Comments:
"I should mention that you do want to be somewhat realistic in your search. It's ok to shoot a little beyond your experience for a position, but you have to be somewhat in the range. If you've had less than a year of experience, you aren't ready to be a senior DBA. If you've never managed people, you aren't ready to be a director of managers."...
What about hiring companies who look for 15 years' experience, a degree, a pedigree and hands-on experience with everything from clustering to replication to optimization - do they not need to get realistic in their search....back when I was a novice at job-hunting I would never dream of sending my resumes to companies that wanted you to know everything about everything but I soon learned that even if you have 2 out of the 5 required skillsets, you go ahead & send in your resume (IF you think the job sounds like something you'd want...)
The other thing I wanted to comment upon was the "important list"...
"Flexible Hours" - I have that but choose to work fixed hours everyday since it's much easier!
"Minimal Commute" - almost zero commute since I go in to work only about once a month.
"Good Team Chemistry" - GREAT chemistry - since our team was disbanded due to budgetary constraints and I'm now the sole survivor on the project..- it's now "me, myself & sushila"...
"Salary and benefits" - very generous!
And now for the "BUT" that's been straining at the leash....the work now is more maintenance than development - not much scope for expanding my knowledge - a kind of stagnancy has set in where I have to whip myself out of inertia just to ensure that I put in at least 8 hours of work....In other words my job still has all the "dream-job" qualities except for the vibrancy and excitement of doing something new to keep all those grey cells from wasting away into a numbing atrophy..
- at this point it's reduced to "six of one and half a dozen of the other" but I've gotten so spoilt by all these months of complete autonomy that I'd rather keep my present job and complain about its lack of "vim & vigour" - guess I'll be like a minister without a portfolio until my contract is terminated...
Ian - "I look forward to seeing if a fire is started"...don't hold your breath for Steve couches everything in diplomacy and it's hard to stoke a fire without the necessary fuel...
- still - there're all kinds of people "out there" and I'm sure many have been enraged by much less, so one can only hope...
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
Also, you must be careful that you are getting the correct info on the right person. Sometimes that can be difficult with the Internet.
For example we goggled a friends name a year or so back. Well it came back with another guy same name that was guilty of numerous major drug infractions as well as some other illegal activities. Hate for someone to make a mistake like that because they didn't verify the source/person.
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That was a good article. I found extremely beneficial right now since I am interviewing. The only thing confusing to me is that I've always heard that you should not ask about salary, benefits, etc...That sort of thing in interviews- always wait until you’ve been offered the position. Is that changing now? I have an interview next week and I would love to know how much they're offering, is working from home an option? What the hours in office are...do you think it's appropriate?
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Anita - for the answer to this, you must read the other "do you discuss salary" article & the ensuing posts..
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
I always clarify the salary range. Sometimes the interviewer has no control or info on that and will tell you, but present it to be sure you are in the range. If you have to make 60k and they are limited to 40-50k, then you might not want to waste everyone's time. Or point that out and see if they have flexibility.
One other note, I try to get this squared away in the phone interview before I come in to be sure we're somewhat compatible.
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Really nice article. How about an article on "Going for First Job"?
Thanks
Balaji
bm21 -
not sure I can write that one. It's been too long
I'll think about it.
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I'd say that depends, but generally you should make some effort to ensure that your salary requirements are at least in the same range as their salary window.
When I was first starting out, I never discussed salary until after an offer was made, and usually it was to verify and/or accept the offer. I knew that I didn't have much leverage for bargaining so why try?
Now, however, I am always very upfront about where I am (sometimes revealing my actual salary). Why? Because I don't want to waste my time-or theirs-interviewing for a job that I would never accept.
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If most people are not willing to see the difficulty, this is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this. -Friedrich August von Hayek
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Ur valuable suggestions based on ur experiences are appreciated. Share ur thoughts !!!
Nice article. Keep it up.
Neetu
Kindest Regards,Neetu Sharma
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