IT jobs for anti-social people!
- Thread starter FoxEye
- Start date
As has been said plenty of IT jobs, including support type roles, that don't require the amount of end user facing time than say a service desk role.
Sysadmin or infrastructure support is usually a next step for people, but can be hard to move over depending on the experience.
Software testing is another good shout as you can often go in at a relatively junior level.
I can't remember if it was this exact set of workshops, but an old colleague of mine recommended one of these public speaking 'clubs' when I moved over into a role that meant lots more standing up and speaking to people as he really rated it to improve confidence. Didn't need it in the end but worth looking into.
Sysadmin or infrastructure support is usually a next step for people, but can be hard to move over depending on the experience.
Software testing is another good shout as you can often go in at a relatively junior level.
I can't remember if it was this exact set of workshops, but an old colleague of mine recommended one of these public speaking 'clubs' when I moved over into a role that meant lots more standing up and speaking to people as he really rated it to improve confidence. Didn't need it in the end but worth looking into.
I know the (very) basics in a couple different languages. Coded in Pascal when I was in college, made some crappy Windows board game
I've used Javascript too for making a crappy browser board game
But the stuff I know is the stuff you can learn in a month or two.I've even got some assembler under my belt too, having used IDA Pro and the like to disassemble and modify old '90s games.
But I know that basic hobby coding and commercial development are chalk and cheese. Without a lot of learning about software patterns, modern methodologies, etc, I would be very reluctant to actually apply for even a junior development job.
As for brain power, well I've mastered colouring inside the lines
I don't have Aspergers, I'm just a git
The only way to "address it" would be to lie on the application form. Because like I said, saying that I'm polite to people and aim to get the job done as quickly as possible does not cut it.
They want examples of how I "made a customer's day" or nonsense like that. Or an example of how I gave amazing customer service.
The only way to satisfy that kind of question in my case would be to make up a fictitious situation, and I'm just not prepared to do that. The only way I give amazing customer service is by doing the technical aspects of my job well and within SLA.
If they want more than that I have to lie to them :/
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OK, here's some feedback I got from one employer:
"You focused too much on your technical skills. You didn't tell us that you understand the customer needs, the customer requirements, the customer's perspective or the cusomter's experience."
Their needs: they need their **** to work, ASAP
Their requirements: they require their **** to work, ASAP
Their perspective: erm, they would like someone to come fix their ****?
Their experience: generally, if their **** gets fixed promptly, and the engineer didn't drop his pants, steal their phone, crap on their desk... it's a good experience!
But if you dig deeper, that's when they tell you "you should have mentioned a time when you were able to give excellent customer service, told us how you apply your customer service skills to increase customer satisfaction". And frankly I'm at a loss here.
"You focused too much on your technical skills. You didn't tell us that you understand the customer needs, the customer requirements, the customer's perspective or the cusomter's experience."
Their needs: they need their **** to work, ASAP
Their requirements: they require their **** to work, ASAP
Their perspective: erm, they would like someone to come fix their ****?
Their experience: generally, if their **** gets fixed promptly, and the engineer didn't drop his pants, steal their phone, crap on their desk... it's a good experience!
But if you dig deeper, that's when they tell you "you should have mentioned a time when you were able to give excellent customer service, told us how you apply your customer service skills to increase customer satisfaction". And frankly I'm at a loss here.
Man of Honour
If this has been a single occasion, I feel you're just experiencing the quirks of an individual employer's perspective on what is important about the role, or they just didn't want you and are just giving you an easy to swallow answer as to why you were rejected.
You can be the most technically astute analyst going, but if you haven't understood what the customer's requirements are, that may not matter. Or to put it in your terms, you may be great at fixing **** but if you fix the wrong ****, or if you fix **** and it still doesn't solve their underlying/primary issue, they won't be happy.
I'm not sure how you'd fix the wrong thing tho? It's never been remotely possible in my previous jobs.
The customer phones up, tells you the problem, how would you manage to fix the wrong problem...?
I mean, give me an example of how you'd manage to fix the wrong problem after the customer told you what the problem was. "I can't mail merge." "I've fixed your PC's date/time setting!" That doesn't happen!
I'm genuinely trying to think of a situation where I could have fixed the wrong thing, and it's never been a possibility.
And if the issue the customer described is still present after you're done, then you haven't fixed anything. So you're reply doens't make sense I'm afraid. The customer can't be upset because you fixed **** and her problem is still there. That just means you /didn't/ fix ****.
Again, this has never happened to me. Maybe I wasn't dealing with issues that were completely ambiguous, or I never had a call where it wasn't clear what the customer's problem was, from their point of view. "I can't type" doesn't identify the problem from a technical standpoint, but it makes very clear what the problem is, and what you would consider to be a fix for that problem.
It's a real stretch to think you could take that problem, and fix something not related to their ability to type... it just wouldn't happen, would it...
Of course it does. Maybe fixing the mail merge system is the wrong solution, and what they actually need is a system for emailing correspondence instead, because that will save them more money in the long run and generate more revenue for the support company because they get to supply the service. Or maybe they need someone to come in and do some in-depth training on how to mail merge because something has changed in the new version of Word. Maybe the date/time is wrong because AD is playing up and they need a consultant to come in and review the setup of it, prior to implementing some topology change that will prevent time-sync issues in the future.
Also think about the scale of the problem. If one person can't mail merge, then maybe that's a minor issue. If 100 people can't mail merge, then maybe there's something wrong with the process that the business uses, or the documentation, or the training that users have received.
You've got to think bigger. IT does not operate in a vacuum, it serves other business departments that rely on IT to function properly. Sometimes fixing something isn't the answer, and you need to think beyond the narrow situation to see the bigger picture and the opportunities that are there.
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Permabanned
Some junior developer places are not exactly after hiring the finished article. They often want someone who can pick things up quickly and is enthusiastic to learn. A position in a smaller IT company may suit better as often they have less of a focus on the various dev methodologies(for better or worse).
I am a developer and not exactly a "people person" but I do have to deal with clients quite a lot, not as much as tech support though. Its not a skill that comes easily to me but its something that can be worked on.
I am a developer and not exactly a "people person" but I do have to deal with clients quite a lot, not as much as tech support though. Its not a skill that comes easily to me but its something that can be worked on.
not really, you just need to present things better - take a look at the previous link for example, maybe look at other youtube clips, free advice on websites - there are probably some relevant books out there too
bottom line is if you're getting the same feedback from independent people then the problem would appear likely to be something you need to correct
OK, here's some feedback I got from one employer:
"You focused too much on your technical skills. You didn't tell us that you understand the customer needs, the customer requirements, the customer's perspective or the cusomter's experience."
Their needs: they need their **** to work, ASAP
Their requirements: they require their **** to work, ASAP
Their perspective: erm, they would like someone to come fix their ****?
Their experience: generally, if their **** gets fixed promptly, and the engineer didn't drop his pants, steal their phone, crap on their desk... it's a good experience!
But if you dig deeper, that's when they tell you "you should have mentioned a time when you were able to give excellent customer service, told us how you apply your customer service skills to increase customer satisfaction". And frankly I'm at a loss here.
as mentioned before you're going to have to play the game here - if you're unable to see it from another perspective then you might be better off trying to get some help elsewhere from a careers service or similar to write the application forms. It would probably also be worth trying to get some interview practice too at the same time because if you're unable to see beyond your own perspective re: the applications then you might well have some similar issues in interviews - some third party feedback/interview training could be useful.
Bottom line is - if your current approach isn't working then you clearly need to change it.
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