Job interview but unsure ...

Hi Guys,

I've got a job interview Friday morning for a Network Managers post at a specialist Computing school and sixth form. I'm currently a network manager at a primary school looking after 130 PC's/Laptops 15 IWB's 4 Printers/Photocopiers 10 WAP's and 4 servers.

All the servers run server 2003. Currently look after all the usual educational apps, MS office 2003, CMIS, WSUS, Policy Central, Ghost Solution Suite 2...

The networks ticking over pretty nicely and there has never been a problem that i can't fix. (so far)

Now, i'm going for an interview at the highschool and they have 12 servers, 400 workstations + a load of other stuff IWB's etc. There is a team of technicians to support the network too. Their a Microsoft partner and a Cisco academy. Now the daily running of the network doesnt phase me but they use some software that i have absolutly no experiance with. They are:

Exchange
Sharepoint
The schools VLE

obviously having experiance of these applications would put me in a better position but do you think they are easy enough to pick up in a few weeks?

The interview starts in the morning with various IT tasks and the the applicants are shortlisted again and those successfull go on to be interviewed by the head in the afternoon.

Now, i'm currently working (very slowely) through my MCSE but have no IT qualifications or a degree under my belt. I have a very basic GNVQ in IT and about 7 years experiance working in schools with IT Networks...

What do you honestly think my chances are? I honestly dont see myself getting through to the interviews in the afternoon. What do you think?

You obviously did something right to get an interview! The most important thing is to relax... stressing out and worrying will definitely rule you out!

You will find that many employers don't want the complete package, prefering somebody that will stay with them for a few years and can be trained up to their requirements... after all, you would simply move on if you were sufficiently qualified.

Make sure that you show that you understand that learning is the most important aspect of school life. Give examples of how you've done things in the past and quantify results where possible.

Just go for it... you may be right and not get any further than the morning but you'll gain some valuable interview experience which will stand you in good stead for the future - and you never know - you may even walk it! Good luck...

thanks guys, Just making a list of things i need to brush up on and reading some older threads.

Need to look at RIS as i currently use ghost and have never used RIS.

As others have said - just go for it. You got the interview so they must have liked what they read and now you're on the same playing field as all the other candidates.

I've landed jobs in the past where I didn't know all they needed me to but I soon picked it up. To be honest it's part of what makes a job interesting.

Relax, good luck and let us all know how you get on.

Just get stuck in :) I did at one and as has been said they are clearly thinking you could do it if they have called you in for Interview :)

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Originally Posted by jamin100

thanks guys, Just making a list of things i need to brush up on and reading some older threads.

Need to look at RIS as i currently use ghost and have never used RIS.

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If you can brush up on the benefits of WDS compared to RIS then that might be good - you can then show that you're always looking to move forwards :-)

If they're currently running Exchange then you don't have to worry about setting it up - if anything goes wrong you have your normal fault finding tools to sort it out (Google, MS KB, event logs etc) and the same is true for Sharepoint. If you can find out what the VLE is then that helps; that's more likely to be the "big" area - people want to do new things with a VLE which they tend not to do with (say) email.

Good luck :-)

Can only repeat what others have said. Go for it. You have a team there ready so they should know how to keep it all going until you get up to speed. Also being a NM post then don't forget you are managing so as long as you have the skill sets within the department then you just manage them to sort stuff out.

Yeh there is a team of technicians but i don't know how many at this stage.

I've asked if i can phone the current NM before Friday just for an informal chat and ask things like what platform is their VLE running on just so that i can do a bit of research before I go into the interview. I think i read somewhere that it may be moodle but not 100% on that so im going to ask anyway.

Here are some questions i've got so far to ask the NM. Can you think of any others that could be benificial? Don't want to keep him on the phone for ages but would like to get some decent info off him before Friday if possible.

1. How many Technicians are there in the team
2. Is it a Windows Vanilla network or is it managed (ie CC3)
3. What platform is the VLE running on
4. What does a typical day consist of ?
5. What backup software do you use?
6. What client OS do you use (XP Vista OSX etc)

Thanks

Might be worth checking to see if they are integrating their VLE into Sharepoint. I think you can get Moodle web parts for Sharepoint.....

If this is your first job where you will be managing people, then make sure you have thought about how you would answer questions dealing with management. I recently got a technical job where the interviewers had no idea about the technical aspects but as it was my first step into management they concentrated their questions there.

You have 7 years experience with IT and are already a network manager, I wouldn't worry about the technical side too much, how you manage your team will be equally as important in their eyes.

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Originally Posted by skunk

If this is your first job where you will be managing people.

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Well it kind of is but kind of isnt too..

Whilst i was at college i worked at MCd's (i know but i needed to money) and I made it up the chain to floor manager and had to actively manage the restaurant on a shift basis and manage and locate the staff where needed.

Thats the only management experience i have.

Any management experience has got to be good.

Hope everything does well, let me/everyone know how you got on..

I am sure you will be fine, you clearly have the urge to learn.. :)

Good Look Pal.. I have my fingeres crossed on friday :D lol

James

cheers James