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  • #2172243

    What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

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    by vmjosh ·

    Hello Everyone,

    I have a phone interview tomorrow for my friend’s company. I have met a few of his coworkers who all like me on a personal level, and then realized that I was in IT, and realized how much they don’t like their only IT support staff. He is just a difficult person to get along with from what I understand. Having people skills is just as important in having computer skills.

    Currently, I have a good job as a helpdesk tech. I have lots of learning opportunities, I get along with everyone, not just my other fellow IT colleagues, but the user community that I support. But, the ability to move up is not so likely. I wouldnt want a management position, nor am I qualified at this time. But my company is expanding, so it may be possible for other roles and positions to become :

    How are these remote locations connected to the central office?
    What VPN is in use, if any?
    What remote utilities are in use, if any (RDP, Dameware)
    Do you have a local exchange server/domain controller/file share/DNS/Blackberry server or is it outsourced?
    What is the current hardware refresh policy?
    is there a standard laptop/desktop and iamge?
    Do you have a PBX or do you use VoIP or is it outsourced?
    How are data backups performed?
    what kind of encryption is being used to secure personal health information?
    what is the physical network like or do you have wireless?

    I can’t think of everything that goes on in being a one man show for a company, but i wanted to ask the community what their thoughts are, and possibly some other concerns that i should have that i didnt think of. It would be a good thing to accomplish for career growth if i can do it well, or i could be shooting myself in the foot for not doing well, and also leaving a good job. Thanks for your help, i really appreciate it.

    -josh

All Answers

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    Replies
    • #2809533

      Clarifications

      by vmjosh ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Clarifications

    • #2809525

      It’s both very good and very bad

      by tony hopkinson ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Good points
      Loads of stuff to learn and do, a great deal of implicit authority, you can really put your stamp on the place.

      Bad points.
      You never know enough, rarely any explicit authority, learn how to say no constructively, you become indispensable, always on call, expected to respond immediately and management will resent you like crazy.

      I learnt more doing it, and did more than any other point in my career, they binned me without a second thought as soon as I trained up a suitable replacement to keep the job ticking over, once I’d got systems in place for just about everything.

      As well as learning how to say no, find ways to say yes, soon. Automation, preventative maintenance, get efficient.

      I really enjoyed setting things up to my own satisfaction, I jumped up and down on a lot of toes to do it though, and the limping f’kers paid me back eventually.

      Key point if you go for it, make sure they’ll let you do the job, if some MBA type twonk is going to be seciond guessing you all the time (feel free to rephrase at the interview :p )
      don’t touch it with somebody elses…

    • #2809517

      Well the obvious I suppose

      by oh smeg ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      That management will allow the setup of a Suitable System or have a Suitable Budget.

      The current Guy/Person may be limited in what they can do by Management.

      The easiest way to get a Bad Rep by the Staff is not doing what they want. If Management Prevents the IT Person doing what the End Users Want you’ll not be in any better position than the current worker.

      But as Tony mentioned above I would expect a position like this to be very short term and rocky.

      Col

    • #2809515

      Depends

      by cudmasters los ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I am the only it person at my company. when i first started i only knew how to map drives, fix a printer here and there. but now, being able to work by myself, with no one watching over me, possible being kept from working on certain projects. We have gone from 1 location, to 5 locations, i am still the only it person. Logmein.com, life saver. Since i have started, i have set up a terminal server, domain controller,ftp site, set up 3 cisco 1800 routers, installing sql server 2008r2, updating servers to r2, working on installing exchange server, have a site to site vpn, and like the post before, put a stamp on my entire network community. All from Trainsignal.com, buy the videos, teaches alot.
      What bothers me the most is i do not speak the it language. So speaking to an IT person, it could be thought that i don’t know what i’m doing, but put me inftont of a computer, that’s a diffrent story. Tony Hopkinson definately explained the overall reality to a tee. I just got lucky, my suggestion, take it, you instantly have something to put on your resume, and i can not put into words how much you will learn, BECAUSE YOU WILL BE FORCED TO, WHICH IS A GOOD THING!!!!! Meaning you will want people to know that you know what you are doing.
      I have a good personality, but you have to be carefull, people do not understand IT, they think if your IT, you are supposed to know every single thing about every dept. because they don’t understand how complex computers are, they are perfect, and they should NEVER have a problem. Like i wrote before, on what i can do, if i can’t connect a laptop to a projector quickly, knowing that every manufacturer syncs up diffrently, then in the employees eyes, you don’t know what your doing at all in your feild. Frustrating!!! I can go on and on about the negatives, but in the long run, my knowlege is becoming greater and greater. It’s a good assumption that the employees views will never change, i.e. alot of GOOD doctors “don’t know what they are doing in patients, family and freinds eyes”.

      Hope this helps.

      • #2809861

        Reponse To Answer

        by 2rs ·

        In reply to Depends

        I’m the only workstation support & very fortunate to accept the tutelage of the person who built the network. so, haven’t accomplished as much as you – kudos! What I really wanted to comment on was the last paragraph regarding the assumption that you surely must know about every techie gadget! Yes, even though they don’t know either (why are they asking you??) I do feel that I’m being seen as ineffective.

    • #2809513

      thank you

      by vmjosh ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I appreciate the feedback. Being a one man show is a learning opportunity, but i value the learning opportunities i have from my colleagues currently. Learning a little bit of everything is great. but we have people that excel at different areas right now. So yes, i am a jack of all trades, but not an expert in any. i like the thought of helping the company to expand in a healthy manner. i dont want someone to replace me and think what the hell was he thinking? So i am nervous in accepting a role (if it comes to that) because i think about what happens in the previous positions i have worked in. (first company had 60k employees, 5k IT, now i am in a 500+ site with 7 IT employees). Thank you for the feedback, i appreciate it. any other concerns i should bring up on the interview tomorrow?

      -josh

    • #2809473

      O/S and Beyond

      by sslevine ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Basic Info I’d Ask for (similar to Site Survey)
      – HOW MANY USERS will be supported (industry standard is 1 tech to 50 – 100 users)
      – map of network (should include connection types, i.e. DSL, fractional T1, etc. & bandwidth)
      – ISP (internet provider)
      – what type of router, switches, firewall will be supported
      – how many nodes (PC, laptop, printer, misc. devices) are to be supported
      – O/S server platform (version & service pack)
      – client O/S & service pack (XP? Win7? Mac OSX?)
      – list of applications and versions supported
      – what functions do the different depts. do
      – what measures are in place for disaster recovery (backup you mentioned; antivirus/internet filtering are important also)
      – is there vendor support in place for proprietary systems
      – is there budget $$ for additional consulting support ( you will need this at some point)
      – will YOU have some control over your budget
      – how much user training will you be expected to provide

      So much happens in a one person show. I am “IT” right now for a complex law enforcement environment. I’ve also done site surveys as a consultant, and you can never get too much info before taking on a job. Get a good description of the duties you will be expected to perform, and ask what the biggest challenge is currently – or, if there are plans for any major upgrade.
      Forewarned is forearmed. the company culture is important also – pick your friend’s brain as to what the heirarchy is and how knowledgable the users are. This is only a start – go with your gut. I did an interview for a peach of a job (supposedly) and interviewed with the manager and a minion, both exhausted, distracted, and on edge. That’s all I needed to see to say no.

      • #2809859

        Reponse To Answer

        by 2rs ·

        In reply to O/S and Beyond

        wow – great list! Thanks

    • #2809468

      A Good Organization

      by cdhscott ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I was the sole I.T. person for a law firm consisting of a medium sized group of generally terrible human beings. I worked for 10 years there and I was on call every day except for 1 week (my honeymoon) It was a nightmare obviously.
      Since then I’ve moved on (law firm merged with another) to an organization where I am once again the only geek on property. The organization here is world class and what a difference in my life it has made to come here. We have a budget! I can get training! If I don’t take my ridiculously generous vacation or a myriad grab bag of other delicious benefits, management worries about me.
      So to sum it up, it’s where you work that will make your life as the lone geek survivable or not. I still have more stress than the average I.T. guy, but it’s expected that not all the answers will be in my head. Money is there for outside help if needed. That is a huge must have if you’re sailing alone. Good organizations also frown heavily on I.T. Guy abuse, a crime endemic in offices everywhere.
      How will you know if you’re going into a good environment? Asking to see their benefits and policies is a good start. Have they won any awards as good employers? Take the receptionist aside and ask probing questions. Receptionists are chatty.
      It’s more than possible to stay sane in a single geek environment as long as they have respect for you and your value to the team. If they don’t, being alone is going to hurt. Trust me.

    • #2809462

      This depends as much on you as the job

      by nwallette ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I worked as the sysadmin for a datacenter by my lonesome for a couple years. I loved it. The only reason I’m not still there is because the contract ended and the project was dismantled. Technically, we did have one additional helpdesk guy, so I wasn’t the only “IT” person, just the only admin. This was the perfect situation, really. With that difference in mind, here’s my advice:

      This situation has two primary influences: Your technical abilities, and the work environment. All the rest of the stuff (budget, software, hardware, etc..) is details. I’ll explain…

      You are going to be *the* authority. This is awesome and horrible all at once. The good part is that you will never get stuck with some hare-brained process or convention. It’s up to you to get the machine running smoothly, both figuratively and literally. For me, this meant: Keep the cabling clean and well-labelled. Document logins and passwords for service accounts, administration, vendor websites, etc. Get your backups in order. Document warranties and service contact information. Figure out where your software media is kept, and organize it. Save all your hardware configs somewhere safe, then study them.

      This is your lifeblood, and will inevitably be in bad shape when you start. You’ll need a good month to “catch up” before anyone makes any (substantial) demands. That’s a proviso you should discuss during the hiring process. If people start requesting changes on day one, you’re going to appear inadequate. Anyone would. This is reality.

      You will be the only expert, though. This is tough when you don’t know the answer. If you have support agreements in place, there are resources available. Use them.

      Be honest with yourself: Can you research a problem and find the solution, or do you more commonly need to rely on a more experienced tech to solve problems? Don’t get in over your head TOO deep, but if you learn quickly and understand the concepts as well as the steps, you’ll surprise yourself how much you can accomplish. If you’re the type of geek who spends time at home tinkering with things, that’s a good sign. If you “get away from computers because you work with them all day”, you may not be cut-out for the one-man show. Nothing wrong with that. Know it up front.

      Now, the environment.. Some of the comments here have touched on this, but you can tell everything you need to know by taking a tour. Look at the employees. Attitude is everything. If your management suffers from any personality defects, it’ll be miserable for you.

      Watch for: Obsessive intervention; inability to delegate control; micromanaging; inordinate stress; total ambivalence to employee well-being… My boss said to me: “I believe in giving everyone just enough rope to hang themselves.” By that, he meant, “This is your baby. If it works when I need it to work, I don’t care how you do it.” I kept things running, and the management was supportive, satisfied, and generally good to work with.

      But, you have to be able to organize your time and priorities, and see what needs to be done and do it without someone telling you how/when/why. If you need someone to point things out for you, don’t take this job.

      All the individual questions from the previous posts can be ascertained by looking around. Check the age of the hardware. Is it cobbled together from scraps, or is there obvious attention to lifecycles? This doesn’t make or break a job, but it can be a source of stress. Analyze how you feel about it.

      Look at the software environment. If there is a lot of specialized software, that’s going to take time to learn. Not a problem most of the time, but be conscious of what you’ll have to balance in the meantime. If you have to learn a bunch of proprietary stuff, you don’t want to nurse a network back to health at the same time.

      Prevenative maintenance is the key here. You want things to work smoothly while you’re away, so you can BE away. I had evenings and weekends to myself (most of the time — power outages and off-hours maintenance notwithstanding.) I could leave for a week and expect things to keep humming along while I was gone. My management respected vacation time and tried to ensure I got it.

      On that note, if your business is 8-5, you probably don’t have to chain a beeper around your neck. If it’s 24/7, so should be the support. Know which it is and set your expectations accordingly.

      That’s about it, I think. I walked in knowing Windows, a touch of Linux, and had a general understanding of networking principles. I left knowing Windows, Linux, Solaris, FibreChannel, Cisco IOS and PIX/ASA; and having a good understanding of datacenter technology (ISPs, HVAC, monitoring, etc…)

      • #2809858

        Reponse To Answer

        by 2rs ·

        In reply to This depends as much on you as the job

        also a great answer! I always learn something just by lurking & reading. I really appreciate how much knowledge the TechRepublic members share. Thanks

    • #2809460

      May I see your network’s hardware and software documentation?

      by oldbaritone ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      There’s a great question for an interview, and if they do have something to show you (most won’t) the logical follow-on is “How close is this documentation to the actual network and IT infrastructure today?”

      All of the preceding questions were excellent, including your list. But this one sounds so innocent – from a presumption that every good organization has documentation about its infrastructure, and will often expose a major shortcoming in their organization. For you, the less they know about their own organization, the more leverage you have in negotiation.

      If you’re going in as the new-hire to run the IT operation, they should be able to discuss it during an interview. And if they don’t have an answer, or are unwilling to discuss it, they already know they have a nightmare – that will belong to you upon accepting the position. Be sure that the compensation is commensurate with the long hours, headaches, and battles you will need to fight for resources to deal with their nightmare, before you inherit it.

    • #2809422

      You Are IT

      by drwain ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      The biggest downfall I have found in my many years as the only IT support in several businesses is you are IT. And you are expected – even if not officially – to be on-call 24/7/365.
      I remember taking Annual Leave that was accrued, owed to me and my right as an employee, and being told to have my mobile phone on and be able to return to work if needed. Alas, I found myself out of mobile phone range for the holiday period and searching the jobs ads on my return.
      The role also finds you doing unplanned late night and weekend work – possibly with no extra pay if you are on salary.
      Another big no-no is having the IT managed by the Finance department as quite often happens due to natural progression. The dpeartment needs to be reporting directly to the same managment with direction from the top, which is overseeing all other departments, and can prioritise to best benefit the company as a whole, rather than individual departments.
      drwain

    • #2809382

      lots of info, thanks

      by vmjosh ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      The phone interview went ok. and like you said, they know it is a nightamare. most of the questions that I asked didnt have answers. It sounds like support and budget will be there. Their current IT person is a bad stereotypical IT person, who holds all the keys, and knows it, and does not interract well with others. They do want someone that they can bring to the executive staff to speak with others, and they can’t do that with what they currently have. The company is a non profit organization, so a lot of their computers are old and struggling. This is what the HR director told me. She is not sure how data backups are performed, or even if they are. documentation of the current network seems light, if any.
      And i have my doubts about my abilities to deliver. like someone had mentioned before, going into the mix, they knew xx and yy and now know the whole alphabet. i am comfortable with exchange, and ADUC, i know a decent amount of server 2008, and its uses, and then all the day to day little things. i don’t think they are going to be needing anything too intensive for hardware. They are also in the middle of going paperless for their customer information, and need to make sure they have someone that can work with outsiders being brought in.
      on top of all that, it would require me to move. cost of living is different, so the comparitive salary, is decent, but does not sound worth it from my compensation currently at this time. (i haven’t tried any negotiation yet. i dont want to ask for money, unless i feel comfortable that I am a good match for them). Again, thanks for all the feedback.

      • #2809855

        Reponse To Answer

        by 2rs ·

        In reply to lots of info, thanks

        Josh, I also work for a non-profit that is slashing the budget for the 4th year in a row. I keep being assured that I don’t have to worry, but in a company where bringing in business to contribute to the bottom line, I’m beginning to feel that my job may be the next to go….It took 3 years of convincing management that once all of the hardware was brought up to date, the worker bees could actually work more efficiently. I guess it depends how much you depend on a steady paycheck… Good Luck in whatever you decide.

    • #2809381

      ooher

      by tony hopkinson ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Hostile incumbent as well?
      That’s a damn nightmare all by itself.
      If you do think about it, you might want to get a professional security consultant in as well.
      No documentation, no procedures everything in one bloke’s head, and he has deity level access….
      What would concern me, is this chap could have been you a few years ago. Without a drastic change in operation, as in documentation, procedures, key dependencies etc, which requires management backing at all levels, it could easily be you.
      This sort of mess occurs all too often, and a good few times it’s an organisational failure. Having just one IT person doesn’t mean you set it up so they can make you a hostage, not to mention giving them reasons to do so….

    • #2809370

      Are you ready to be a leader?

      by it_help ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I wouldn’t have normally commented except that you mention that this job requires you to relocate and a commitment like that deserves a comment from someone who’s been there. There are 2 types of IT departments. Those that spend all of their time putting out fires, and those that spend (most of) their time developing new process/procedures. Usually, that is because the company that you’re working for doesn’t know what they need. They hire IT people like you’d hire a plumber (no offense to any plumbers!). Lowest bidder gets the job. They don’t see that an experienced person can actually save them money in the long run. In every job I’ve had, I’ve recouped my salary for the company in less than 1 year by streamlining processes and bringing new ideas to old ways of doing business.
      You mentioned that you know a decent amount of server 2008, which sounds to me as though you’d be a great asset to any company as an assistant network administrator. Take a job under someone else until you know your trade inside and out and are ready to take over your bosses job. Then, after doing that with an assistant under you so that you have someone else to lean on, try running a department on your own.
      Develop your skills in budgeting, project management, leadership, conflict resolution. Can you sway an entire board into buying into your plans for the company? What grounds do you have to do so? What proactive measures should you take to ensure the safety and reliability of your network? How are your MS Office skills? Can you stay on the forefront of new technology, and keep this place running smoothly at the same time? If there’s little documentation available now, does that mean that your predecessor didn’t know how to do it, or didn’t have the time to do it?
      Everyone in your company will rely on you for every little thing and needs to have the confidence that you can do the job. That requires a strong back, a quick mind, a gentle ego and a thick skin. You’ll get yelled at – people are stressed when their computers don’t work – there’s a deadline and that means pressure for everyone! And yes, you should know how to plug in every projector that every user wants to use. It’s the task you’ve accepted. And when they ask you do design a web page, you’ll take that on to. It’s part of the 1-man job. I often joke that I’m in charge of anything that plugs into an outlet. I have 14 virtualized servers, maintain our website, host Exchange, VOIP communications, remote offices on subnets, Citrix for those working at home, the works…but I still fix the printer, formulate excel equations and help people get their personal apps to work on our company phone. It’s what they want. And as you’re learning, if you won’t do it for them, they’ll start looking for the next guy. There won’t be any parties thrown for you when you do a good job and their computers turn on in the morning. It’s what’s expected. And yes, fires happen (in my case it was a flood, but same difference). In a well run shop though, fires should be the exception, not the rule. My advice: Go to a shop where you can be part of a team and develop your career. You may get the reins at this job, but if you run it into the ground, it could ruin your career.

    • #2809339

      I see you’ve never done one man shop

      by tony hopkinson ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Stay at the forefront of technology…

      More like figure out how to get another month or two out of this here aging crap.

      In a one man shop there are only two ways to move forward techwise.

      The wheels completely come off, this will be viewed as a miserable failure on your part, your warnings of impending disaster will be deemed as not strident enough.
      They’ll probably outsource to clueless cowboys, give you no oversight and you’ll be left with a pile of undocumented low quality drivel to maintain.

      Or you piggy back via efficiency, resiliency, ie make use of the fact that you aren’t really superman.

      There is no preparation for one man shop, it is always being thrown in the deep end, attitude then aptitude will be the way to go, and you’ll never get the former as a departmental drone.

    • #2809332

      Leader in a nonprofit

      by oldbaritone ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      Most nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers. Unfortunately the line between volunteer and professional staff can become blurry, especially when talking about expectations of the number of hours worked.

      If you accept the position, know that there will be a lot of extra hours and little or no extra pay. And as drwain mentioned, time off will be difficult, and if you actually take it (even though you have earned it) you may find yourself out of a job.

      Since you said, “Currently, I have a good job as a helpdesk tech … But, the ability to move up is not so likely,” you probably want to think a lot before you make a change. With a nonprofit, your potential for advancement is probably just as unlikely, if not more so.

    • #2809301

      growth beyond this company, and thanks again

      by vmjosh ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      True, obviously, being a one man shop, I am the IT Director, and the level 1 helpdesk associate. So the room for growth really isnt there. Is it wrong to view this challenge as a resmue builder? Are IT jobs still based on gaining experience and growing out of the company? Please don’t take that as me being undedicated to my company. I worked at my last one for eight years, and moved my way up some ranks, got laid off, and then got this job, and I have learned much more in this IT position than in the last. But ten years down the road, I don’t want to still be a helpdesk technician. Being with the company for ten years is ok. I am not even looking at other jobs, this one just kind of fell in my lap, and I can’t make the determination in my mind yet if i am experienced enough to be what this company needs. Growth here or there seems to be the same. Money here and there seem to be about the same. I can get more guided experience here, I can get a larger variety of experience over there, but it will be me teaching me. Being the guy that does everything at the company, is the experience gained worth it on my resume? Am I in the wrong frame of mind just to look for employment as experience for the next place? Having been laid off before, and almost being laid off two other times, i realize the volatility of IT, and that nothing seems to last forever.

    • #2809295

      Your career can grow, if you don’t attach it to

      by tony hopkinson ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      a particular employment / role
      If you aren’t learning more stuff, ie being challenged, time to start looking, otherwise you end like one of those poor nerks who did dumb terminal screens in cobol for two decades and then got replaced by a young foreign chap who once wrote a web page…

    • #2810644

      The other side

      by shepdog28 ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      You said the current IT person is not very popular – the question that comes to my mind is why are they that way? Is it because they are overwhelmed by user requests and just can’t keep up? You might want to check on how busy this environment really is before you jump in.

    • #2810627

      the other side-repsonse

      by vmjosh ·

      In reply to What should be my top concerns for being the only IT person?

      I spoke with HR manager about that exact question, and she gave me some answers. part of it seems like he got along with the old CFO, who was fired for overstepping his boundaries, and not including anyone, including the CEO, about what the plans were. So there is a lot of change going on. HR said that most days, he just sits there and plays solitaire. on her first day of meeting him, he had accused her of being incompetent. He is a retired Navy veteran, who is technically proficient, just socially inept.
      It doesnt seem like they are all that busy. i was able to look at a network map, and they have five remote locations with 2-4 workstations in them each, and they are connected with some WAN link to the central office. They have 180 employees, but no where that many work stations.
      to me, it seems that he may have had a self fulfilling prohpecy. He may be difficult to deal with because he feels excluded and unrespected amongst his peers. His exclusion is based on his inability to communicate well with others and not belittle them.
      But, on a positive note, i spoke with the HR director. The current IT guy is going on vacation shortly, and I suggested that she have one of her IT acquaintences come in, and survey what they have, and what needs to be done, and then talk to me, to see if i would be a good fit. She doesnt know what they need, just that I came with good recommendations from friends, who also don’t really know what is needed in IT.

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