Episode 22

Last updated Sep 4, 2022 Edit Source

Welcome to episode 22 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 2. 

Original Recording Date: 2019-1-19 

Topics – Nick’s 1 Year Check-in at VMware, Part 2, John’s Questions 

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• How has the new role affected the frequency of and type of engagement in community groups? 

• Nick is still the co-leader of the DFW SpiceCorps, a group that has no affiliation with VMware. 

• Attending VMUGs when possible 

• Presented on vSAN in October 2018 in Dallas (video is here) 

• Posting in Spiceworks and MangoLassi when possible 

• Nick was nervous about losing technical skills coming into the role. 

• There are some aspects of IT operations he misses. 

• Meeting with and learning from customers is fun! 

• Are you technical enough?  It depends. 

• Tailoring the technical level of the conversation to the audience is very important. 

• How has carrying a quota affected Nick’s honest opinion?  You decide. 

• In past roles… 

• Most folks in same department in same office 

• Worked with folks in other offices and saw them now and then 

• Current Role 

• First conversations with people (everyone but manager) were via phone / e-mail / chat 

• Face-to-face interaction creates a deeper rapport with co-workers 

• John’s aside on Matrix organizations 

• Frequent communication is important when working with remote peers 

• Some people may work better when in a face-to-face environment 

• Nick’s previous employer had a learning platform Lesson.ly, but it was not as regimented as the quarterly training plans. 

• Some of the training must be done on your own to ensure effectiveness. 

• Online communities can help you stay relevant as can learning from other customers. 

• Nick wasn’t sure what to expect here and had to get past the “walking into the principal’s office” feeling when a manager calls unexpectedly. 

• The management style is different than it was when Nick was in an operations role. 

* It’s been more like having a coach. 

* Listen to our episode on effective 1-1s with your manager 

• Managers can give feedback on things you don’t notice.   

• John describes a manager as someone to guide you on your journey. 

• This was Nick’s first time to work for a manager in a different city.  Consistent 1-1s are key. 

• Still adjusting to the flexibility 

• Networking – not a routing and switching guy (despite the NetworkNerd community name). 

• Containers – need to be deeper on this  

• Presentations – do more of them, continue  

• Had to ramp on industry-specific regulations 

• Is John moonlighting as a developer? 

• John cites presentation skills as something that needs to be well practiced.  You will be bad at it when you start. 

• Gearing the presentation for a specific audience is much like education.  The ability to pivot at any given moment is something to master. 

• Nick didn’t really know what a SE was for a long time or that it was a potential career path for someone in IT operations. 

• Nick cites the Geek Whisperers episodes about the Silicon Valley VMUG (listen to this episode first followed by this episode).  Knowing the types of roles that exist as a logical next step from where you are is a helpful first step. 

• Nick’s VMware experience was extremely limited when he applied in 2016.  His experience grew considerably throughout 2017 after a job change at the end of 2016.  Using more of the technology, blogging, and speaking on the technology helped to build a body of work someone else could use to evaluate Nick’s experience more than what is merely on a resume. 

• Don’t sell yourself short.  See what jobs exist.   

• Consider your relatable experience. 

• Start building a body of work today.  Use online / in-person communities to help you get there, and include these on your resume. 

• There is no chance to get a job to which you have not applied.  Reach out to peers who do the job you think you want to get their feedback on whether you are qualified.   

• John beats Nick to the punch again! 

• Contact us if you need help on the journey.