Wayne Anderson's profile answers

Highly virtualized leading edge Microsoft environment.

I was technically titled as a Technician however the actual job was essentially the duties of a Junior Network Administrator, working with the Network Administrator in maintaining and implementing systems. There are a wide variety of systems in the environment from the normal infrastructures (including many legacy components) to custom in-house software test servers, inventory systems, as well as supporting a full training environment....

Manugistics, at the time that i was involved, really was looking for multi-discipline talent willing to work at relatively low market rates. Since manugistics has been purchased, my colleagues still working there have indicated that the hiring process has changed significantly to be driven far more by HR and less by endpoint technology managers....

For fun, I like to read. I am quite the fiend for reading new books but unfortunately devote very little budget to it. It is true that I spend much of my time re-reading popular fiction authors like Clancy and Grishom, Dan Brown, et al, however I enjoy a good romp through WEB Griffin, Charles Dickens, Tolkien, and others as well. Additionally, online I like to develop security related blog postings, create new website material, and play computer games.

Lately I have become engaged in several professional forum and networking communities....

Probably my best or favorite interview was the 4th stage interview with a Director at Avanade, Inc. He came to the lobby and retrieved me and like an oaf, I proceeded to drop a paper from my development portfolio on the floor. We went through the odd and awkward dance of trying to both pick it up at once. With this potentially awkward and devastating event, he chose to laugh it off and open a line of discussion about the pressure of interviewing. It was a real ice-breaker for me.

In the ensuing interview in his office, we discussed my background, my interests, my experience, the standard fare. and then we started a general discussion of technology. My thoughts on various bits of virtualization, competitive positions of Microsoft products against offerings in Linux and the roadmap for each side going forward. It felt more like an open and candid technology discussion between two technologists than it did an actual interview. He was up-front with me and told me outright that his job during this interview was to make the final determination of whether or not Avanade should hire me, and if so, what level I should be brought in at.

The personable, approachable, technology oriented approach to this senior interview was well appreciated and enabled me to sustain a higher level of confidence and animation than I think would otherwise have been the case....

Once ,while interviewing for an IT position at a medium sized family-owned publishing company in Wheat Ridge, CO, I was given a full tour of the publishing and editing facilities. At the end of the tour and discussion with various members of the team that I would prospectively work with on a daily basis, I am led into the publisher / owner's office and am asked to sit down for an interview. While we begin discussing the position, the potential responsibilities, and begin getting in to my history, she actually takes off her shoes and puts her foot on the edge of the desk! To make matters worse, she proceeds to begin clipping her toenails in the middle of a position interview!

Needless to say, I indicated respectfully that I do not believe that I was a good fit for thier position after my experience that day. The absolute disrespect of doing a personal grooming task in the middle of an interview certainly indicated this is a potential boss that I could see there being some professionalism issues with. I would not willingly want to put myself in that sort of environment.

To all future interviewers (of me or anyone else): Please do not start personal grooming in front of an interviewee. If you are bored or uninterested, thats fine, an interviewee cannot expect to connect with every single interviewer but stare at a freckle on my forehead, or make a show of going through my paperwork, or hide the comics behind my resume....

I would love the opportunity to work as an investment advisor. I follow the stock markets and the news assiduously as part of my daily routine. I enjoy taking the time to research a stock or a mutual fund, and managing my own portfolio.

I think taking those skills and experiences, supplementing them with training, study, and professional licensure, and then leveraging that into a professional opportunity helping others work on thier investing is appealing....

About 5 days before graduating high school, I was hired as a 'technician' to act as a junior system administrator for Mangustics Group, Inc, at the time a nasdaq listed company specializing in supply chain management software.

I am most passionate about the interrelation of technology integrations. Any time you have a complex migration or the development of a multi-tiered infrastructure, the possibility exists for multiple teams to work together on an overall complex system goal. There are opportunities for networking, network administration, training, support, security, and its an opportunity to learn a little bit more about some of the other segments that are going into the project that you are not directly responsible for but which knowledge might prove useful down the line.

It is these opportunities to broaden your perspective that serve well when one is able to move into a management opportunity....

My career path has been rather varied. I had my first part time job in the IT field as an intern at 13, unpaid. Hired paid part-time at 15, hired full time out of high school by a nasdaq listed company at 17. Since then, I attempted college while working full time but when I realized that I was more current in much of the IT subject matter and programming than the instructors were, it was difficult to motivate myself to continue what I viewed, at the time, as a waste of my time.

My career has essentially been a conglomeration of varied IT experience. While this has presented some difficulties from time to time, it has served me very well indeed as I do consulting now. This varied background of computer experience accross diverse companies allows me to take a step back and at times understand more of the business drivers and individual pieces of a project that my direct responsibilities impact and inter-relate to.

The cost of which is that I have not yet fulfilled my expectations of a degree. This is still a milestone that I have posted on my personal development goals in the 5-to-15 year plan but does not appear immediately attainable in the short term....