Personally, I usually consult with my Cisco sales engineers for large purchases or when purchasing a new product that the staff is unfamiliar with. Other than that, I handle the majority of the stuff/research on my own.
As for documentation, I am a gov contractor and documentation is a big part of the job. A lot of people really harp on sharpening their technical skills, but seriously lack in their soft or written skills. The best thing I did for myself was to get a business degree. If you can write/communicate AND do the tech stuff well, you are a rare commodity in the IT field (IMO). All of the senior guys at work can do the tech stuff, and write really well. One of the smartest guys I ever worked with had a grammar handbook at his desk that he used almost every day. I worked at the Pentagon for a period of time and they required massive amounts of documentation for all engineering efforts. If you don't mind me giving my two cents about the interview process... NOBODY likes a cocky IT guy - nobody. One of the best skills I acquired was the ability to be knowledgeable, but at the same time not come off like I am trying to show my peers up. People will find out you are smart - you don't need to tell them, seriously. During interviews I always throw a "oh wow, what a great idea" in there when they talk about their environment or what they have done. That type of verbiage really smooths things over. They aren't just interviewing you on your tech skills. They are interviewing you to be part of their team. A lot of times there is extra money in the budget and upper management passes down that they want a new IT guy, but the rest of the staff doesn't feel the same way. IT guys are REALLY defensive and protective. I am sure you have seen this... If you can give them the feeling of, "Yeah...I can work with this guy day after day after day..." you are golden. Just my two cents! Hope this helps! On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 8:37 PM, Rik Ryder <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi guys, > > Thanks for your replies, your advice is invaluable. > > I'll certainly try and turn things around and be proactive in the > interviews from now. Prior to the ones I have had recently, I haven't been > interviewed in a while, so I'm a bit rusty! > > Even though i'm being upfront about my lack of real world experience, the > problem I have is that because I've never worked in the actual role, I get > those peering looks over the glasses & an uncomfortable silence. > > So I want to dazzle them with my awareness of what is expected of me. > > If somebody would be kind enough to help me with these questions: > > I was wondering how much documentation is usually undertaken by a network > engineer. For example, If you follow any anomalies, set alarms or triggers > does this usually all have to be be documented? > > Also, how often do you communicate with Cisco? for example, if you are > replacing end of life equipment or project their solutions is there much > involvement from Cisco? > > Thanks again, > > Rik > > > > > > 2009/10/12 <[email protected]> > >> When I have interviews, I usually get the tell me about yourself question. >> Normally after that ill do what joe says and own the situation. I normally >> ask the questions like what you presented first and reverse it so it shows >> my excitement. Not only that but showing off ethic integrity will go a long >> way so don't forget while its a technical/management interview you have to >> show clear and fair judgment. Back that up with examples of situations where >> you had to make a tough call. Remember tech geeks like us still have to talk >> to the business and act as liaison to the IT side of things, something I >> have had to do heavily......when I was employed .....but hopefully I get >> lucky soon and so will you. >> >> -nick >> >> >> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Joe Astorino <[email protected]> >> Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:20:05 >> To: Rik Ryder<[email protected]> >> Cc: <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [OSL | CCIE_RS] Day in the life of a Cisco Network Engineer >> >> _______________________________________________ >> For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please >> visit www.ipexpert.com >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > For more information regarding industry leading CCIE Lab training, please > visit www.ipexpert.com > >
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