Episode 21

Last updated Sep 4, 2022 Edit Source

Welcome to episode 21 of the Nerd Journey Podcast [ @NerdJourney]! We’re John White ( @vJourneyman) and Nick Korte ( @NetworkNerd_), two VMware Solution Engineers who are hoping to bring you the IT career advice that we wish we’d been given earlier in our careers. In today’s episode, we discuss Nick’s 1 Year Check-in at VMware, Part 1. 

Original Recording Date: 2019-1-19 

Intro 

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• John couldn’t remember the name of the AeroPress coffee maker. 

• Nerd Journey 001: Career Advancement and Nick’s First Week at VMware 

• Nerd Journey 010: Seven Month Check-In and Impostor Syndrome 

Topics – Nick’s 1 Year Check-in at VMware, Part 1 - Nick’s Observations 

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• Nick went from math teacher to business analyst to IT operations to pre-Sales Engineer.  The observations are meant to be about the transition from operations to pre-Sales more so than to be an advertisement for VMware 

• Adjusting to working from home instead of going to an office every day 

• Coordinating lunch with a homemaker spouse 

• Training children to adjust to a parent working from home can be challenging. 

• Being present at “home” during the day is for work.   

• Listen to Nick’s daily routine.  If you work from home, what is yours like? 

• John mentions pre-planning meals as a pro tip. 

• Don’t work through lunch.  Put it down while you eat (away from your desk) to have a mental break. 

• Working from home lends itself to working more.  Can it wait until tomorrow? 

• Should the daily routine be strict or flexible? 

• Nick cites exercise classes as a forced work stoppage 

  * Local, out of state, special functions) 

  * Expense reports were new to this role.  It took practice to make them routine. 

    * John mentions that he uses Automatic to track business mileage 

    * Have a system, and stick to it 

    * Consider the aggregation of marginal gains from Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron 

  * Travel to special trainings events can be voluntary 

  * Planning meals and customer visits takes time and effort 

  * Administrative catch up is necessary after travel days 

• Read Nick’s blog post about the process involved in getting the job at VMware 

• Nick was so focused on getting in the door he essentially had no expectations for day 1 

• You can’t know all the questions to ask if you have never done the job 

• John and Nick work in different segments and regions even though they have the same title, and their day-to-day experiences are different as a result 

• Control what you can; be prepared for what you cannot control 

• Nick was initially concerned about his product knowledge coming into the role (i.e. not knowing enough to be effective) 

• “Everyone here is as good as or better than you.” 

• Saying I don’t know is acceptable and can give insight into future areas of personal development 

• John gives an analogy of the general contractor vs. plumbers, electricians, etc.  

• Sitting in on specialized conversations is a way to learn new things 

• Staying on top of new products and releases is challenging 

• Meeting a co-worker who lives in the same area 

• This is a good networking tactic, even if people are outside your immediate / extended team, in a different role, etc. 

• Connections with others inside the organization (whether local or remote) are important to nurture 

• Influence in a field facing role 

• Influence on customers and products 

• Feedback from customers can be passed to product teams to improve the products 

• People in the technology field may be unaware of the various roles at companies that produce and sell a product (i.e. product managers, etc.) 

• John talks through deal registration as it relates to the purchasing process in channel sales