Topic: RAWK IT professionals - any career advice?

[Buck Pete]

Have you asked the recruiter what sort of culture they have?

To be honest Paul. Without googling. I don't quite understand what 'culture' in a workplace means.

But I hear you.  I need to give myself an edge and find out what their culture actually is before I can decide if I fit into it

[Graeme]

LinkedIn might be an absolute cesspit in parts, but it’s also very useful for stalking companies and recruiting managers. You can get a lot of insight from seeing the posts shared by both current staff and the organisation themselves. If he or she is big on certain work ethics/cultures there’s a fair chance they post about it. Use a throwaway E-mail account though so you don’t look like a stalker if they have profile viewers enabled.

[Buck Pete]

LinkedIn might be an absolute cesspit in parts, but it’s also very useful for stalking companies and recruiting managers. You can get a lot of insight from seeing the posts shared by both current staff and the organisation themselves. If he or she is big on certain work ethics/cultures there’s a fair chance they post about it. Use a throwaway E-mail account though so you don’t look like a stalker if they have profile viewers enabled.

Already done it, mate    On that subject, what's your (and everyone else's) view on connecting with the hiring manager on LinkedIn?

I have seen conflicting opinions of "hell no" and "yeah go ahead it shows initiative"

To be honest, re: Culture.  Surely there's either a "toxic" culture or a "happy, we all love each other" culture.  I am sure he isn't big on promoting a "toxic culture"

I'm gonna go in there and stress I'm a PM who welcomes innovation and listens to my Project team.  Which is pretty much true actually.

[Graeme]

I wouldn’t personally connect with someone I hadn’t actually worked with. I’m 8 months into my role and have still only added a handful, I tend to add once I’ve worked with them on a couple of things and ensured they’re not an absolute clown.

[Buck Pete]

I wouldn’t personally connect with someone I hadn’t actually worked with. I’m 8 months into my role and have still only added a handful, I tend to add once I’ve worked with them on a couple of things and ensured they’re not an absolute clown.

But Graame. I want a huge LinkedIn audience to be informed when I pass my Level 1 certificate in IT Fundamentals

Look. Look!  I know how to switch my Laptop on!!

[SP]

Glass door is also interesting.

The trouble with judging culture is that most companies will make pronouncements, very few actually mean it and back it up. I have had a culture shock at my current job - when they actually meant what they say...

[PaulF]

Good shout on glass door.
I think some places have a more relaxed culture. Others are more 'corporate'. Neither are necessarily bad.
Some are probably bigger on teamwork and sharing thd knowledge, others just want stuff done fast.

[Buck Pete]

Cheers Guys.  I have done some digging on the company and there are numerous articles online on how their call center is one of the best in the business in regards to looking after their agents and making sure they enjoy their work.  This does not look like some nightmarish hell-hole call center environment I have seen in the past.

It looks like the company culture as a whole is a kind of "Look after your employees and they will deliver results"

I'm going in with a huge team player attitude, so hope it will be ok.  Gonna over-stress that aside from the actual customer calling in, the Contact Centre transformation needs to always respect and take into account the very people (agents and supervisors) that will be using it day in and day out.  They need to be firmly at the forefront of our plans.

Change and workforce acceptance have been at the top of my Risk plan for the last few if these I have done. Agents simply HATE change.

[PaulF]

Good luck Pete. You've certainly put in the ground work. I'm guessing from your description you aren't applying to hmrc or virgin media 🤣

[Draex]

If this guy shows up.. Run a mile..



I think you've got it spot on, all about team building, business change, stakeholder management, engagement etc. Might be worth having some prepared answers about resolving conflict without upsetting the apple cart and what your post go live structure into continous improvement bau etc.

[Buck Pete]

The interview was all done and dusted on Thursday Draex.  It went well and I'm happy with my performance even if I don't get the contract.

Hammered home how I am prepared to roll my sleeves up and get stuck in and sit with the agents and supervisors to explain the change and how it will affect their daily work.

The last PM interview I did was 2.5 years ago (I got the job).  They didn't do competency questions, so all this is quite new to me.  Hence all my annoying questions.

How I felt during the interview on Thursday afternoon was a world away from how I felt during the one for the Nuclear industry job a week or so ago.  The way I handled answering the questions was so much better than from the first interview.  All about experience I guess and being more comfortable with the job description. 

The hiring manager of the retail contract says they historically move quickly with projects and this needs to be in for August.  Looks like they need me (hopefully) to be the PM presence dealing with the MSP who are tasked to complete the transformation.  They couldn't reveal who that MSP will be as they are still going through the final selection process of who gets the deal.  I've dealt with most Telco MSP's in my time so won't be a shock.

They currently have a 'Genesys' on-prem CC and are moving to the cloud.   Hope they are sticking with Genesys (The Rolls Royce of CCaaS , In my opinion), as I really want a full-blown Genesys project for a major retailer on my CV.  Although, if they go with Five9 or Ring Central, that wouldn't be a bad thing.   

Find out early next week if I've got the role.  Must admit, can't lie, will be a bit gutted if i don't get it.

Love this thread btw.  Thanks.

[Buck Pete]

BTW - who is the guy in the Call Centre pic above?

[Draex]

BTW - who is the guy in the Call Centre pic above?

There was a shit bbc series about a call center in Swansea.. He's like a welsh David Brent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mtjjh

Hope you get the job! I did say you'd already covered what I'd suggest

[Buck Pete]

Well over a month from that interview (which I didn’t get) and still not got anything.

Job market is really tough out there guys.

Been doing the CompTIA Security+ certification study to keep me busy. Always had an interest in cybersecurity so thought…why not.


Redundancy money is disappearing fast. Hoping things pick up soon.