I went from a position, as you, half hands-on, half administrative to a more technical position and It's the best decision I've taken in years. In the beginning you can be less quick than a person that is normally doing this kind of job but your IT muscle will develop quickly, plus you have the overall understanding that a management position always gives, so you can always put on the table ideas of how to improve and be more efficient. Managers usually love that since also you bring in new ideas and ways of doing things!
One question that they might pose could be why you are moving from a more management position to a more technical position. In my current job I went from being the sole IT administrator/helpdesk of a 60 people company to become the helpdesk part of an organization of 300 people within a 10 people group that manages 300 servers, Netapp appliances, Backup robots, etc. My answer was that being exposed to such a big environment will help me to grow as a professional since the issues which I would face were going to be different (and in fact they have had). Hope this helps Miguel On 19/07/2010 06:22, James Hill wrote: > > First of all, don't be afraid! The hard part is already done, you > have found a new employer that is interested in you and even better, > you have a good existing relationship with them. A new role will be a > breath of fresh air for you in so many ways. > > Before the interview:- > > 1. Get as much background knowledge as possible. Every company wants > someone who has taken the time to understand what they are about. > > 2. Clearly define what is important to you. Pay rate, hours of work, > what tech you want to work with, do you want to manage people, what do > you want to be accountable for, where do you want to be in 5 years etc. > > 3. Ask for a position description and title. Use this to research the > going rate for a similar role (you have to take in accountability, > size of the firm etc ). Have a look at job vacancies that are listing > the salary available. Some of the recruitment firms post yearly > figures based on job titles etc. I wouldn't say how much you are on. > I hate how they want to know that. To me you should be paid whatever > the position would normally be paying based on its requirements plus > extra if you happen to be more than suited for the role. > > 4. Ask to see an organisational chart and where this role fits in. > > During the interview:- > > 1. It's important to know who reports to who and how that will affect > you. Presumably your future manager will be there. Do you like them, > could you work with them? > > 2. Ask for a walk around of the workplace. Where would you sit, meet > the people you would work with, get an understanding of the > infrastructure. > > 3. What are your working hours, is there on call support, are you > expected to do 70+ hours a week? What kind of work/life balance do > they offer? > > 4. Are there are other people under consideration? If so ask when > they intend to complete the interview process. > > 5. Be honest > > 6. Be yourself J > > By the sounds of things you already have a good relationship with this > company. It's really about the details now and what you would be > happy with. In turn its for them to understand the details about you. > > Good luck! > > *From:* C64/DEC Baby [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Monday, 19 July 2010 2:03 PM > *To:* NT System Admin Issues > *Subject:* OT: Advice please - re-entering the IT job market after > more than a decade in the same IT position > > Hi Everyone, > > I respect so many of you who have spoken up on this list on technical > and non-technical issues alike. I am humbly seeking non-technical > advice if you are so inclined to provide it. If not, I understand. I > won't hold it against you. :-) > > I've participated in this list for a while now, but am sending from an > alternate, unknown address for reasons that will be obvious if you > continue reading. I'm also being vague, for those same reasons. I cut > my teeth on a Commodore 64 and a DEC Rainbow 100A with one whole Meg > of RAM, hence the pseudonym C64/DEC Baby. > > I have been in my present position for more than a decade, and haven't > (seriously) interviewed in more than a decade as well. I built my > present IT infrastructure from literally nothing (two servers, a > handful of windows workgroups, Frame Relay, no Internet or email, to > a sizable network (well over 500 workstation and server nodes, > Exchange 2007 for hundreds of users, Citrix XenApp, VMware, Metro > Ethernet, Cisco 802.11n with 802.1x authentication, etc). Along with > that growth, I've grown the department from just me, to a fairly > robust/talented group over the years, spanning 24x7 Help Desk, > desktop, application, server, and network support. I finally feel it > is time for me to move on and I believe that I have grown the > department and the organization to the point that, with appropriate > notice for a transition, I would be leaving them in good hands. > > I actually have a lunch meeting with a prospective new employer this > week, who also happens to be a long standing vendor (I approached > them, and they responded that they were interested in speaking > further). I've already had an initial conversation with one of their > hiring managers face to face, and the gentlemen to whom I would be > reporting directly has invited me to lunch to speak further. I know > there are tons of questions I should be asking, but I'm not sure where > to begin. While money is certainly a factor, it is only a part of the > equation. If I'm asked to provide my salary requirements, I'm hesitant > to offer that without knowing what the entire compensation package > would entail. I'm not greedy, but at the same time I am essentially > the sole income earner in my family, and I don't want to leave money > on the table. I would be moving from a mainly administrative, partly > hands-on position, to a full time IT engineering position, which I > believe would keep me more interested and engaged than the > administrative work I have been doing in recent years. I also want to > gain more depth in Network and Server administration, and this role > would likely be a good fit for that goal. > > I'm interested in any advice you all are willing to offer in terms of > questions I should ask and how I should prepare for this > meeting/interview. It is somewhat interesting, as I've been working > with this person for many months, and the organization in general for > nearly a decade in a client/vendor relationship. I have a great deal > of respect for many of the people in the organization from the top > down, both personally and professionally, and I believe (and hope) > that the feeling is mutual. > > Thanks very much for any time, insight, and advice you are willing to > offer, no matter how large or small. > > Humbly and respectfully yours, > > C64/DEC Baby > > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
