[geeks] RHCE advice

[Sridhar Ayengar]

Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
> The interviews usually went a lot like this:
> 
>    me:  So, why should $company hire you as opposed to anyone else.
>    he:  I'm -certified-.
>    me:  That's nice--certified for what?
>    he:  I'm a certified Linux admin.
>    me:  Okay, great, there's a Linux box.  It can't get on the network.
>         see if you can tell me why.  I've blanked the root password for
>         you.
>    he:  That's not a Linux box.  That's a DOS box.  There's no GUI.
>    me:  *punt*

I've come across people like this, as well as people who have an A+ and 
can't take a PC apart to board-level.

> Or this:
> 
>    he:  I'm Linux certified.  I'll work for $amount.
>    me:  Cool.  We mostly run SunOS here, though .  How good are you at
>         learning new things?
>    he:  Excellent.  I only studied for two nights before the test.
>    me:  ...
>    me:  Okay fine.  There's a SunOS 5.6 box.  Given an hour, do you think
>         you could set up Apache (already installed) to display something
>         other than the default page, set up BIND to serve a demonstration
>         zone, and tell Sendmail to route all mail through our main
>         mailserver?
>    he:  Sure!
>    me:  Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes to see how you're doing.
>    ...
>    he:  Hey, are you sure this box it loaded correctly?  I can't find
>         control-panel anywhere!
>    me:  You're probably right.  Why don't you come back tomorrow?  I'll
>         call you later to set up an appointment.

I got my current job because I correctly solved a problem like this with 
an AIX box.  It went something like:

Boss:	Here's an AIX box which has just been installed and logins are
	taking way too long.  Fix it.  The root password is blank.

Me:	Ok.  I'll just go in and add an entry to the hosts file for the
	machine's name and voila!

Boss:	When can you start?

> Experience trumps paper--Every Single Time.  If a place doesn't believe
> you know what you know unless you have a piece of paper saying so, you
> probably won't be happy working there anyhow, as that mindset will
> permeate everything else that goes on there.

Unfortunately this attitude seems to be prevalent among headhunters, so 
you'll have to do your own job searching.  Monster.com just won't cut it.

Peace...  Sridhar