July 29, 2008, 10:40 PM — In my home we have a table central to our kitchen. I am proud to say that I built it by hand from raw South American Mahogany about 6 years ago. This piece of furniture is central to our family life. We gather around it after school to do home work, repair or build the kids' gizmos, eat and several times a year we feast at this table.
When my kids are at the table I sometimes remind them to respect the table. Regardless of where you might be, you should always respect your host's table. My old-fashioned upbringing and the manners my parents taught me are evident in all that I do, I hope. So when passing these along to my kids, I waste no effort in reminding them to be socially aware of how their words, actions, and appearances effect others -- basically to be aware of what they bring to the table.
What do you bring to the table?
I have found most CCIEs to be made of the right stuff for professional discourse and work. Sure, the occasional primadonna pops up, but for the most part, CCIEs are level-headed professionals with skills and experience that complement their teams.
Previously, when recruiting, I had to worry about whether candidates would even show up to the interview. I now must worry about what they bring to the table. An epidemic under-recorded is the trend of IT engineers who do not show up for or call to cancel a job interview. (See this article - Employers increasingly jilted by job seekers ).
Since becoming the only Cisco Authorized CCIE Recruiter in the world I no longer deal with that problem so much anymore. CCIEs show up or call, but mostly they show up. Some of my preparations include asking them the following questions:
- What are you bringing to the table for the interview?
- Are you wearing a suit? (Yes guys, women have suits too).
- What are you going to ask? (Use the same series of questions for each prospective employer and it will help you make a decision based upon the same criteria)
- Have you practiced your 30-second elevator speech? (A 30 second speech about who you are and what you can bring to the company is all you need. Any longer and you are selling yourself too hard). The problem for a lot of CCIEs though, is confidence. It can be delivered as something else, so be careful because there are about 17,000 other CCIEs and they all want a good job too. So don't be too cocky!
Beware - Confidence can equal attitude
It could be real or just perceived by an interviewer, yet it should remain a concern for a CCIE when interviewing that confidence can be perceived as attitude. Many times I have heard feedback from HR representatives (more from them than from technical peers) that the CCE had an attitude. I was told on one notable occasion that the CCIE would not answer questions about the 7 layer OSI model. His response was that OSI questions were too basic and that all CCIEs have already proven a mastery of these layers through certification. He went on to ask the interviewer to "Please move on to more appropriate questions for a senior network engineer".
A new term was born of this conversation, the "CCIE Tude". It's funny how recruiters reminisce and how we can stumble into new terms for describing our craft and the pitfalls inherent in our labors. Yes folks the term "CCIE Tude" has been born and added to the pile along with mercenary, Propeller Head, Pin Cushion, Golum, real Deal and Contender.
Your delivery as a CCIE must include as little attitude as possible and confidence is sometimes perceived as attitude. Really, it can and often does include the misinterpretation of body language, attire, answers, questions and feelings. Sure your smart and your skills are essential to the fabric of many companies but don’t wear that knowledge on your sleeve. This is a very important point since I have heard in a few post interview debriefs that the CCIE came off like a primadonna or after they started working for the company performed socially amongst the rest of the staff like one.
What they brought to the table for the interview was not what the company experienced after they began to work for them. I often discover that as CCIEs move from employer to employer they treat the moves as promotions. Ideally feeling that the level of work will next exclude some part of the common CCIE experience, like cutovers and upgrades being performed 9 to 5 instead of 5 to midnight. I was surprised when I heard this verbalized by a recent CCIE candidate. He felt that if he was going to move, the next employer would give some guarantee that the CCIE would not be used after 5. Wow, I had work to do here! I explained the attractors for this company and the reasons making a move might be a good idea even with his desire to limit after 5 activities. Instead, making a point about quality of life considerations the employer offered. It seems that the CCIE's current employer did not reimburse or accommodate some down time after working late hours, instead choosing to move the CCIE directly on to the next project. So our conversation moved over to the employer who I shared concerns about quality of life and retention strategies with.
But the issue on the table is attitude! I do my part as the CCIE's agent to make sure they are interested in the new job and not just going through the motions to please me. If I begin to detect an attitude, I ask them how they feel about the company or the process; to try and prevent the development of a CCIE Tude.
When spending time with members of my CCIE network I like to listen, after I have said my piece, if there is silence, I worry (Yes, I know I talk too much sometimes too). Maybe the international connection is dead, maybe the CCIE fell asleep on me, maybe the pregnant pause is a message that there is a concern. It’s not easy being me. I will admit throwing CCIE Mixers and showing up at Networkers to hoist brews with the natives does earn me some pride, but where the rubber meets the road the CCIE has to be happy. I like to make a point of this because it’s about the CCIE, not the client for me. I don't need to start getting hate mail. I prefer the love letters and yes I have received pictures as well, but I digress. My real point is; be careful when interviewing for the new job. The words you choose can speak volumes in the wrong direction. We all know you are making a six figure income that you shelve the CCIE Tude for other venues. I know that you spent years getting the certification and I know that you have a lot of pride in that accomplishment, but the poor HR person with no technical knowledge and who can hardly tell a CCIE from a CCNA should still be treated with respect.
Remember the table? When you are in another’s, home be respectful of the folks who have invited you there. HR and the front desk admin will talk with the hiring manager. So your dealings with everyone at the interview table will result in a snapshot of who you are and what you are like.
Leave no doubt about your expertise and skills with your interviewer and please leave the CCIE Tude at home!
