[TriLUG] hiring linux admins

[John Vaughters via TriLUG]

 Steve,
That is great advice. I came close to replying as well, but since I didn't I will support your statements.
Condensed:
1) Never let them see you sweat.2) Present your knowledge let others decide.3) Do not apologize if you do not know you offended.
I have stories from my career that taught me all these rules as well. Technical folk often underestimate their skills, and business folk often prefer confidence and lack the understanding to sort through what they perceive lack of confidence.
I will relay one story for item 3. In college I had a professor that allowed appeal to grades on tests. It had to be in writing and it had to present your case for why you felt you should get additional credit. So I felt wronged on a test and made the effort. In the writing I apologized over 10 times for making a mistake. Technically I had a strong case. My professor felt soooooo strongly about my need to apologize, he made a point to share with the class why he rejected the plea, but not giving names. He stood in front of a class of over 100 people and explained if you are trying to convince somebody that you have a strong case, DO NOT apologize for your mistakes in your case. And in this case over 10 times. He even read some excerpts while shaking his head. "This is NOT how you convince", he said. Oh the horror, even though nobody knew but me. In fact, I doubt he even knew my face and name as he dealt with over a thousand students every semester. Maybe he could see me slinking in my seat, or my eyes wide opened in fear that he may call my name. It makes you wonder what he thinks as he does these things. He probably did this on purpose to help technical people with resolution writing as this is clearly a common issue with technical folk for the reasons you have outlined.
None the less, it was a great lesson and item 3 got checked. I never did that again, EVER.
Items 1 & 2 took much more time an experience to understand and in item 1 actually build the skill to master.
Thanks for Sharing Steve!
John Vaughters


    On Friday, October 12, 2018, 1:50:59 AM EDT, Steve Litt via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:  
 
 On Tue, 9 Oct 2018 12:33:33 -0400
Kolanthia Gail Edmondson via TriLUG <trilug at trilug.org> wrote:

> Daniel,
> 
> I am in desperate need of a job. My Unix skills are not as strong as
> they once were. I have applied. I would like to be in a setting like
> this where I can grow. My apologies if this goes to everyone. 

Kolanthia,

Please do me 3 favors...

1) Never again say you're desperate for a job. I guarantee you that
  doesn't make you more desirable. If you're really desperate, just be
  accommodating in salary negotiations, but don't tell anyone of your
  desperation upfront.

2) Never again say you're not strong on any skillset. What you consider
  "not strong" might be considered "great, knowledgeable candidate" by
  an employer. Let the employer make the determination of your
  strength. Don't forget, in the current economy, employers who really
  want to fill a job cannot insist on 20 years of Javascript with
  Oracle and UMENU.

3) Don't apologize for something and then do it anyway. Truth be told,
  it would have been fine if it went to everyone, IF you had shown
  yourself in a better light. That way, hundreds of people would have
  known you were available.

Everyone: If you need a Linux admin, give some consideration to
Kolanthia. She obviously needs to improve her job market networking
skills and improve her self-confidence, but that in no way means she
wouldn't be a great Linux admin.

By the way, according to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect , it's
entirely possible that she's actually quite skilled but, like many
skilled people, underestimates her qualifications.

 
SteveT

Steve Litt 
September 2018 featured book: Quit Joblessness: Start Your Own Business
http://www.troubleshooters.com/startbiz
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