How did you find your way into your current role?
Discussion
I find this sort of thing fascinating. There are absolutely millions of different jobs and careers out there and I often wonder how people get into them. The obvious way is to study, gain qualifications, start as a trainee and work up the ladder. However I'm sure there are a lot of people who just fall into jobs by making contacts or ending up in a strange situation.
Tell us your story!
Tell us your story!
I went for a 3rd line server support role.
I had 11 years of experience in IT and had recently finished an integrator role so my documentation and low level design skills were pretty good.
Part way through my interview I started to realise that the agency had fibbed and I was down for a Technical Architect role. So I just went with the flow and got the job. Big daily rate rise and I'm still here 20mths later with a lot more confidence and job satisfaction. Also I have the knowledge that I can be a good TDA.
Lucky yes, took a bit of immediate padding of ability but I am now the lead TDA for 3 sites so it has worked.
I have no qualifications at all, except a C grade in Chemistry.
I had 11 years of experience in IT and had recently finished an integrator role so my documentation and low level design skills were pretty good.
Part way through my interview I started to realise that the agency had fibbed and I was down for a Technical Architect role. So I just went with the flow and got the job. Big daily rate rise and I'm still here 20mths later with a lot more confidence and job satisfaction. Also I have the knowledge that I can be a good TDA.
Lucky yes, took a bit of immediate padding of ability but I am now the lead TDA for 3 sites so it has worked.
I have no qualifications at all, except a C grade in Chemistry.
Sat at the bar in a mate's pub in Venezuela, pissed, right down to my last 0.02p on Earth. A fishing boat Captain came into the pub, effing and jeffing about not being able to get any hardworking crew for his boat that will work offshore for 3 weeks at a time.
Hello.
Guess which knobhead stuck his hand up and said "Me please, Boss".
Within 6 months, I was running the Tuna boat.
Hello.
Guess which knobhead stuck his hand up and said "Me please, Boss".
Within 6 months, I was running the Tuna boat.
I've always found engaging full bulls
t mode in interviews has helped get the various contracts.
It's a bit like being in the boardroom of the Apprentice,. They ask a question and you have to come up with some kind of bks that kind of half answers the question whilst desperately trying to deflect any more detailed questions aside.
t mode in interviews has helped get the various contracts.It's a bit like being in the boardroom of the Apprentice,. They ask a question and you have to come up with some kind of b
ks that kind of half answers the question whilst desperately trying to deflect any more detailed questions aside. I appear to be one of the only people in the World who have worked out that computers are piece of piss to make work.
st in, st out. Tried 3 of the 4 options, and still not working? It's probably the 4th.
Happily, people are prepared to pay me to carry these things out for them on a daily basis while they fanny out being ignorant and going on 3 hour lunches.
s
t in, st out. Tried 3 of the 4 options, and still not working? It's probably the 4th.Happily, people are prepared to pay me to carry these things out for them on a daily basis while they fanny out being ignorant and going on 3 hour lunches.
I was working for a well known high street ethical cosmetics pedlar when on a paragliding trip one of our mates who runs a low rent ski hotel in the Alps asked me to run his bar on the basis that as a friend, I wouldn't steal from him.
Never mind that I'd not poured a pint in my life, the not nicking was the clincher. I chuckled & turned him down, pointing out I was back in the groove on Monday.
Then I got made redundant on the Friday & a phone call later was on the road & did the season from the outset. riding every day & pissing it up every night.
Now I'm in a totally different world, but that I can safely say was a very good decision.
Never mind that I'd not poured a pint in my life, the not nicking was the clincher. I chuckled & turned him down, pointing out I was back in the groove on Monday.
Then I got made redundant on the Friday & a phone call later was on the road & did the season from the outset. riding every day & pissing it up every night.
Now I'm in a totally different world, but that I can safely say was a very good decision.
HereBeMonsters said:
I appear to be one of the only people in the World who have worked out that computers are piece of piss to make work.
st in, st out. Tried 3 of the 4 options, and still not working? It's probably the 4th.
Happily, people are prepared to pay me to carry these things out for them on a daily basis while they fanny out being ignorant and going on 3 hour lunches.
On a similar vain I've always found being just 1 page ahead in the manual from anyone else to be advantageous.s
t in, st out. Tried 3 of the 4 options, and still not working? It's probably the 4th.Happily, people are prepared to pay me to carry these things out for them on a daily basis while they fanny out being ignorant and going on 3 hour lunches.
My role was advertised on the website of the employer. I noticed it after I put out an alert to tell me when new jobs came up - job came up after a few months and I applied.
There are people doing the same job as me who came in as temps for other depts and then moved over.
I have also worked for agencies and A LOT of jobs are agency only.
There are people doing the same job as me who came in as temps for other depts and then moved over.
I have also worked for agencies and A LOT of jobs are agency only.
I've never really had any sort of 'plan'. Everything I've done so far has just sort of 'happened'. I don't regret any of it at all (apart from one bird I knew many years ago, but that is a different story...).
I'm currently sat in the sunshine about to order another beer while catching up on emails in Far Eastern Russia.
I'm currently sat in the sunshine about to order another beer while catching up on emails in Far Eastern Russia.
They rang me to see if I was available, I am a Senior Global Infrastructure Engineer.
I was at the time just coming to the end of a contract and as luck would have it I was available. That was for a 3 month contract and we are now at the 16th month stage but they has rung me a few times over the last 8 years to work for them.
I have had 1.5 years out in the last 8 working for them (I say them but the Director has taken me through 3 companies in those 8 years) but then I get other contracts.
I was at the time just coming to the end of a contract and as luck would have it I was available. That was for a 3 month contract and we are now at the 16th month stage but they has rung me a few times over the last 8 years to work for them.
I have had 1.5 years out in the last 8 working for them (I say them but the Director has taken me through 3 companies in those 8 years) but then I get other contracts.
While working for a company owned by Private Equity firm i presented to the Executive Board of that Private Equity company.
During the presentation I disagreed with some valuations and assumptions everyone had made and was later proved correct.
Three years down the track the Chairman of aforementioned Equity Group sent me an email asking to meet him. He offered me a job at his new firm, rest is history.
Prior to that I've been lucky to have got all my roles through contacts, had 6 senior roles over the last 15 years and only done 1 interview to date. The saying "who you know not what you know" certainly rings true for me.
During the presentation I disagreed with some valuations and assumptions everyone had made and was later proved correct.
Three years down the track the Chairman of aforementioned Equity Group sent me an email asking to meet him. He offered me a job at his new firm, rest is history.
Prior to that I've been lucky to have got all my roles through contacts, had 6 senior roles over the last 15 years and only done 1 interview to date. The saying "who you know not what you know" certainly rings true for me.
My role is quite an easy one to apply for and it seems to be the most common occupation in the country.
Just get made redundant with no hope of finding anymore work live in an area with high unemployment and a high immigrant population and bobs your uncle every two weeks pop down to the dole office.
Just get made redundant with no hope of finding anymore work live in an area with high unemployment and a high immigrant population and bobs your uncle every two weeks pop down to the dole office.
I fell into my current role because I had just returned from travelling and needed steady work
Suffice to say 7 years down the line I have learnt a lot about business as well as myself.
I have also learnt that credit control is not something I want to eek out the rest of my days doing.
So I have undertaken an IT degree over the past 18 months.
On the upside, i have just been offered an IT support role for an expanding civil engineering company and am extremely happy with this. Just the small matter of negotiating a salary out off them.
Suffice to say 7 years down the line I have learnt a lot about business as well as myself.
I have also learnt that credit control is not something I want to eek out the rest of my days doing.
So I have undertaken an IT degree over the past 18 months.
On the upside, i have just been offered an IT support role for an expanding civil engineering company and am extremely happy with this. Just the small matter of negotiating a salary out off them.
I was a customer service monkey for 5 years. Company starts a new project, my mate/colleague goes off to run it, I get pulled out of my CS role to do some ad-hoc testing and 2 years later I am still on secondment, being paid a lovely overtime rate to test software as it's written.
Currently sat here twiddling my thumbs as we broke this mornings build in an hour, and it's not fixed yet. Lazy developers...
Currently sat here twiddling my thumbs as we broke this mornings build in an hour, and it's not fixed yet. Lazy developers...
I too find this thought very interesting.
I just applied for a random Admin role for a company I'd never heard of doing something I knew nothing about. Had an interview and an aptitude test, got a better job based on my score and A levels, as a Data Management Coordinator.
Couple of years down the line I unsuccessfully applied for an Account Manager position but got offered the role of Energy Procurement Advisor instead.
Now desperately want to leave with not much of an idea what to do!
I just applied for a random Admin role for a company I'd never heard of doing something I knew nothing about. Had an interview and an aptitude test, got a better job based on my score and A levels, as a Data Management Coordinator.
Couple of years down the line I unsuccessfully applied for an Account Manager position but got offered the role of Energy Procurement Advisor instead.
Now desperately want to leave with not much of an idea what to do!
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