Expert level knowledge

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Idunno, Sep 19, 2016.

  1. Idunno

    Idunno Bit Poster

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    I received a call from a recruitment agency recenlty for a position I was initially I was quite excited about, it was for a well compensated local position only the successful candidate must have expert knowledge in the the following subjects

    Windows
    Cisco
    VMWare

    After a few brief minutes I advised the recruiter that I had experience with each area but would not class myself as an expert in any of those fields and the call was ended.

    What would you suggest would be accepted as 'expert' level knowledge for each of those areas?
     
    Certifications: HND IT, MCP: 70-290, 073, 067, 068. Prince2 Foundation
    WIP: LFS101x.2, ITIL V3
  2. Apexes

    Apexes Gigabyte Poster

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    Windows is vague, are we talking about desktop platform, or server platform? you can be an expert in desktop enterprise management, or an expert in server management.

    Cisco is also vague. Cisco what - VoIP Systems, WAN's / LAN's ?

    VMWare too is also vague, VDI's? building out esxi infrastructure? managing virtual appliances?

    I'd ask exactly what they're looking for. From my experience when ever i've had skills listed which are one liners, they haven't been worth following up on
     
    Certifications: 70-243 MCTS: ConfigMgr 2012 | MCSE: Private Cloud
  3. SimonD
    Honorary Member

    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Actually looking at that skill set requirement I would read in to it that you're after a seasoned virtualisation admin that's moved up from a sys admin style role.

    I would expect someone with an up to date MCSE (2012) for the Windows work, experience with various Windows server components (DNS, DHCP, ADDS and Powershell as an example). The ability to be able to install and tune a Windows OS for virtualised environments.

    For the Cisco side of things I would probably expect they are looking for someone with current CCNA experience, a good understanding of routing, IP addressing, subnets and VLANs, troubleshooting skills etc. Perhaps the ability to write port configs etc.

    For the VMware side of things you would be looking at someone with VCAP level experience, the ability to build\manage and maintain a fully virtual environment with skills to include storage and networking, an understanding of various OS's (Linux and Windows) as well as other network connected solutions (IPAM solutions, firewalls etc).

    Now depending on salary expectations you're unlikely to find anyone fitting that bill unless they are paying say £400pd + or 55k plus on the perm side of things.

    As an example, I am not a current CCNA, I have a decent understanding of networking but don't write configs for a living, I understand Windows technologies (although I am not a current MCSE, my latest certification for MS was the MCITP for Server 2008) but my virtualisation exposure has been fairly epic as far as differing technologies are concerned (vSphere 3.5 - 6.0, vCloud Director and other tools \ servers). I am a VCAP certified engineer but don't know and understand everything (I recently had an interview where I shamed myself with the things I forgot, however it had been 9 months since I had sat in front of a production vCenter server).
     
    Certifications: CNA | CNE | CCNA | MCP | MCP+I | MCSE NT4 | MCSA 2003 | Security+ | MCSA:S 2003 | MCSE:S 2003 | MCTS:SCCM 2007 | MCTS:Win 7 | MCITP:EDA7 | MCITP:SA | MCITP:EA | MCTS:Hyper-V | VCP 4 | ITIL v3 Foundation | VCP 5 DCV | VCP 5 Cloud | VCP6 NV | VCP6 DCV | VCAP 5.5 DCA
  4. Idunno

    Idunno Bit Poster

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    @Apexes, I too felt this was incredibly vague and entirely subjective I could tell the recruiter felt I was wasting their time...

    I have over 15+ years experience administering a Windows network environment and felt although not certified to current standards I have implemented my fair share of Win2008 & 2012 r2 servers, I may just satisfy this requirement.

    From a Cisco perspective I've managed a network with Cisco, 3com and Brocade equipment and have rudimentary exposure but if you haven't secured Cisco certification you really can't claim to be an expert.

    As I'm now learning Virtualisation is also an extremely broad topic in its own right with atleast 5 distinct technology areas covering Server, Desktop, Cloud, Network and Storage topics to a significant depth.

    I really am begining to feel as though recruiters could benefit from a little more training.

    @SimonD your spot on about the salary range £55 - £60K perm.

    The job hunt goes on !
     
    Certifications: HND IT, MCP: 70-290, 073, 067, 068. Prince2 Foundation
    WIP: LFS101x.2, ITIL V3

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