Comments on: How to separate the wheat from the chaff? https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/ technology, networking, virtualization and IP telephony Sat, 30 Nov 2013 18:20:03 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: Information Technology Certifications – My Opinion https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-19457 Sat, 30 Nov 2013 18:20:03 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-19457 […] as a Certified Network Engineer (CNE). In February 2011 I wrote an article entitled, “How to separate the wheat from the chaff” on this blog. The purpose of that post was to provide hiring managers some basic non-vendor […]

]]> By: Dominik https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3918 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:49:20 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3918 Often you get some people that are certified at a proffesional level and have no clue about the equipment at that they are certified.
It is very hard to find some candidates that have good skills for the hardware setup you have in your network. Especially if you have some equipment that is not from cisco…..

]]> By: Michael McNamara https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3908 Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:05:35 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3908 In reply to Dominik.

Hi Dominik,

I stumbled across that picture and couldn’t resist… that was probably me at some point in my schooling.

I usually stick to vendor agnostic questions since not many people have worked with Avaya/Nortel equipment.

Cheers!

]]> By: Dominik https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3892 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:41:30 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3892 The picture on top of the post is really nice.
You can compare this with your candidates.
In my expierence it is also good to ask about some vendor specific stuff, it shows if somebody really have worked with some equipment or not.

]]> By: Andrew https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3821 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:41:19 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3821 Great post, we just had a CV today that was practically all acronyms and it read like the exam objectives from a Cisco test. CVs like that almost always get rejected as they don’t show that you know how to apply what you’ve learnt

]]> By: Michael McNamara https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3816 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:40:45 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3816 In reply to Flintstone.

You are very correct Flintstone… it’s definitely more about who you know today that what you know.

I think there’s a question in there for a good poll, it’s time to replace that Avaya poll anyway.

Thanks for the comment!

]]> By: Flintstone https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3808 Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:34:24 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3808 Michael,
A great post. Like you I once was a QNE, as in the early days you only needed 2/3 years experience to get a good Networking position. A good few years ago I found myself out of work and things had changed significantly, especially in the UK where you need the required certification to just be considered for the position. Luckily enough I had the foresight to get on the certification ladder and once you get through to the interview process then all those years of experience allow you to shine. Now adays when I get the chance and more significantly the time to do a certification, I find that I am always learning something new that I probably would not have had the chance to learn if I was not doing a certification?

CheerZ

]]> By: Michael McNamara https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3767 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:03:13 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3767 In reply to MisterAG.

There’s an idea… might be a little too aggressive for some organizations. How would I react? I would probably start probing the network, seeing what I had access to… suggesting some best practice configuration changes, etc. :)

I know some organizations that have a day long interview processes where they try to asses not just the technical abilities but the personality traits as well. I’ve enjoyed some of those but others left me wanting to literally run for the door.

I do see a problem with how some employers forget to “sell” the job to the candidate. While I understand the current job market is in the favor of the employers you still need to clearly define the job responsibilities and then sell the position to the strongest candidate. I had an interview a few years ago where I walked into a very simple one story office building with cubicles and offices. The offices had folding chairs and card tables… when they asked if I had any questions I should have asked if they bought the chairs and tables new or refurbished.

Cheers!

]]> By: MisterAG https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3755 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:33:30 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3755 We’ve actually taken to a small lab test. Two switches with two laptops serves quite well to test very basic principles like building a trunk or turning POE on a switchport. Even though the goals are very simple, the lab tests a candidate’s ability to learn a new CLI/GUI quickly and gives a good overview of their intuitiveness.

The best thing to see in one of those labs is someone just typing ? and working their way through a CLI. You can certainly learn a lot about someone’s actual thought process by watching them work in an unfamiliar setting.

]]> By: Michael McNamara https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3737 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:26:11 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3737 In reply to ChristianT.

Hi Christian,

You most certainly have my permission, although I’m not sure that you really need it but it was very nice of you to ask. These questions have served me pretty well over the years although I will admit that I’ve held a few in reserve. Thankfully the folks that I’ve given my recommendation to have all turned out to be very successful.

Thanks for the comment!

]]> By: ChristianT https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3734 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:50:48 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3734 Great post. A couple of them stopped me in my tracks, but I felt comfortable with most. I’ll have to go do some reading on those topics that tripped me up a bit.
Do we have your permission to use these questions in part or in whole for our own interviewing purposes? In the next couple of months I’ll be hiring the first person I’ve ever hired and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to gauge their actual knowledge, and these questions are great.

Thanks again.
ChristianT

]]> By: Tweets that mention How to separate the wheat from the chaff? | Michael McNamara -- Topsy.com https://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/2011/02/how-to-separate-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/comment-page-1/#comment-3733 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:05:36 +0000 http://blog.michaelfmcnamara.com/?p=1684#comment-3733 […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Shamus McGillicuddy, Matthew Norwood. Matthew Norwood said: How to separate the wheat from the chaff? http://t.co/fwrDOht via @mfMcNamara […]

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