Submitted by k1w1onoe on
in
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Hi,
I am in an interesting interview / work situation, that I wish to share with the team, and that I don’t seem to recall in the interview series.
Currently I am part of a Server (Windows) Systems/Engineer Team.
We have recently had a large number of our team leave in short succession for a variety of reasons, and our team has recently had meetings with the CIO and GM of Corporate Services, regarding the exodus of the team, and what plans are in place to stop this.
Due to the resignations, I will soon become the Exchange Administrator / Engineer for the company.
1st Question to the team – When is it too early to ask for a pay raise to represent this new role?? Now / 1 month / 3 months. I am currently on the same JR Systems administrator rate as when I started 4 years ago. (part of the reasons so many of the team have left)
Currently the recruitment drive is out there for replacements to our team.
My gut feeling is to get Head Down / Bum Up and ensure things tick over … then in a months time mention the extra work/pay dilemma
Part 2 of my post,
I have just been given an opportunity to interview for a role within the organization, but outside my team.
The interview will be next Thursday (28th) This Thursday (21st) I have arranged a quick 30 minute informal catch-up with the head of the Department. I aim to find out, what he is looking for to fill the role, what he expects the role to be, and where he sees the role heading.
The new role is a Business Analyst for an application that I currently am the Systems Administrator for. 1 of the questions will be if he feels that the Server admin and BA roles could be combined, especially due to our current team’s short staff issues.
Can anyone suggest any other great questions to ask during this informal chat ??
As Mike and Mark have often said (along with many other contributors within these forums) – “You don’t have anything until you have something in the way of an offer”. I currently don’t want to do anything that will jeopardies my current and future position in my current role.
Does anyone see anything wrong with applying for an internal position within the organization?
Many Thanks to you all,
Danny
Question #1
When I reached the first question my knee-jerk response was to ask your boss. Open up the dialog with her. There may be mitigating circumstances that she's aware of that will clarify the schedule for you. Be careful to avoid mentioning your speculation that compensation is the reason for the recent exodus. This will already be in your boss' head. It's not necessary to rub her nose in it. Simply ask her about the timing she expects related to adjusting your compensation to be commensurate with your new responsibilities.
--Michael
Now is not the time
It's too soon to talk about salary or comp. It will be interpreted as professionally immature, and you will be considered a flight risk ( which means you are unlikely to be given a key role).
As for your second question, do you have the interview series?
John Hack
Thanks John for your reply
Thanks John for your reply ...
Yes I do have the interview series .. but i don't recall anything about a pre interview situation ...
Many Thanks again,
Danny
Opportunity for growth
Don't raise compensation at this point. Too soon and I my initial thought when reading it and thinking if I was your manager was 'is he taking advantage of the situation' and can I trust him to stick around in the 'hour of need'?
Nothing comes for free - often you need to do the job first and prove competence before getting paid for it. This sounds like a great opportunity to grow in a more visible role. My advice is learn all aspects of the new role, produce a track record of delivery & results, build strong relationships and communicate well. Become a key person and be easy to manage. You may find by doing the above you will get recognized down the line and receive increased compensation.
That all said, if having done the above and down the line you are significantly behind market rates for the role, then you have a decision to make. By then though you will have the experience other companies may want and you will be much more marketable (your current firm will know this too) with the potential to pick up an increase in compensation when changing company if that's the way you decide to go.
"Pre-interview"
There is no such thing as a "pre-interview" - it's an interview. Maybe not structured formally like one, but you are being evaluated, for the job.
So prepare your questions for the "pre-interview" just as you would for the interview. Use the interview series guidance on questions, both the ones you plan and the ones that arise naturally in the interview/conversation.
Really, those are the questions you should ask: it's about you doing their job.
John Hack
An Update ... Thanks Everyone
Hi Team
A quick heads up on developments from my original post.
Unfortunately I was not successful in gaining the BA role that I applied for ( The internal Job interview ) – I have learnt from the experience ( as it has been my first Job interview for 4 years ! ) – but basically I didn’t sell myself enough. The person that did get the role is also another internal and I believe he will do an amazing job in the role.
I will investigate toast masters here in CHCH, and find a group that is still running ( I had one in mind .. but I know that after the earthquakes we have had .. that building is in the no go zone, and I believe it is 1 of the buildings due for demolition … ) – anyway off topic … Toast Masters .. I will investigate joining them.
… On to the 2nd part of the post … Taking on more responsibility with no change in pay etc …
This is now week 4 as the Sole Exchange Administrator ( I was the JR Sys Admin before our Exchange guru left ), and so far have implemented a couple of changes … plus a few more that I’d ‘like’ to do after buy-in from management.
I’ve documented what the new role entails, and also what I originally was hired to do/be ( the JR Sys Admin ) so will at the end of the week give the documentation to my managers …
Thanks again everyone for your help and feedback on this, I will keep you posted on details as they develop.
Cheers again,
Danny