I checked this out with Cajun Man, and he said “hiring Dopers is a good thing” so here goes.
I work for the online arm of a major retailer headquartered in the Twin Cities (that’s Minneapolis and St Paul for the uninitiated). I run part of the business operations team, providing support to the people who make the website happen. I just lost a team member (to another position internally, which is good for her, but bad for me). So I am hiring.
I need to hire two positions, actually.
First is a short-term contract position, helping provide “level 1” support to about 200 users. We do application support, not workstation support, and we support only our own applications (so no “how do I format a document” questions). I need someone who can hit the ground running, who can carefully follow documented procedures, who can get along in a big corporate (but fairly cool) environment, and who will not get bored doing basically the same thing every day. And I need that person right now if I can get them, because I am losing another team member (wedding, again good for her but bad for me!) next month.
The second position is a full-time, salaried position, doing a mix of level 1 and level 2 support for the same systems. This position requires familiarity with enterprise-level content management systems, ecommerce, the Internet and the like.
I realize I am being a bit vague. Sorry about that. If you’re in the Twin Cities and are interested in either of these positions, drop me a line at my gmail address – brainiac4 at gmail.com – and I will get you more information.
Bumping my own thread is generally frowned upon, but I hope in this instance it’s both understandable and permissible. If not, maybe I get to be Skipmagic’s first official admonishee.
I am nowhere near the Twin Cities, so this is absolutely of no use to you. I did want to pop in and say that I think it’s awesome that you would offer a job opportunity for someone in the Doper community.
Move the whole shebang to SouthEast Georgia and I will totally reconsider.
Damn. Too bad I a) aren’t in the Twin City’s area, and b) wouldn’t be available until the end of summer at the very earliest. (I’d be willing to relocate, but you need someone a heck of a lot sooner than I’d be able to get up there.)
Hopefully you’ll get a few nibbles, Brainiac4!
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I know a law student who is looking for some work - don’t really know what her hours would be as far as availability is concerned (at least until the end of finals, which end the second week of May)… but I will send her your way. She used to work in custserv for DR… probably would be a good fit for what you are looking for…
Thanks, Elenfair. I do need someone full time, but I could put up with a couple of weeks of part-time if necessary. As I mentioned, I’m looking at a serious staffing problem in mid-May, so I want to get someone in place and trained in by then.
The short-term is for 60 days, with the potential to extend. I wouldn’t recommend leaving another position for it, unless you’re qualified to do level 1 support and are currently waiting tables. I have a couple of folks in contract positions now that have been here for a long time – one for more than a year – but the whole point to hiring contractors is that, if our workload drops, we can drop contractors. So there’s no guarantee that it will extend past 60 days.
And I can’t discuss salary, other than to say we are competitive. If you’re interested, let me know what your salary history and expectations are (in email, preferably, as that’s a rather private discussion), and I can tell you if we can afford you.
Given some training on your internal applications, I think I can do that.
I work fairly well in a ‘sink or swim’ environment
Check.
No worries there. I’ve worked with corporate vice presidents and Air Force generals, and have developed good working relationships with all levels of personnel.
No worries there. I like diversity and challenges, but it’s also nice to know what’s on the plate every day.
I’m currently unemployed, so I’m ready to start!
I’ve done little Internet marketing, but not much.
Whoops. Now, if it were a position that would allow telecommuting, you could count on me for getting the work done and not ‘taking advantage’. But corporations don’t seem to be ready for telecommuting.
Actually, we’re working towards that. We have a program launched company-wide aimed at encouraging alternative work schedules and telecommuting. Unfortunately, for this position, we need to spend a couple of weeks doing fairly intensive hands-on over-the-shoulder-telling-you-what-to-do-oh-my-god-don’t-click-there-this-is-PRODUCTION training. So yeah, the distance would be a problem. Other than that, you sound like a great candidate.
“Level 1 support” is computer helpdesk work, basic problem resolution following documented procedures. In most instances, it means answering the phone and telling people how to attach files to Microsoft Outlook emails. In our case, we’re not supporting MS Office, we’re supporting custom applications used to manage our website.
So if your friend has worked in computer support before, he might be what I am looking for.
He doesn’t have a title regarding computer support, but he is the go-to guy in his current office for computer questions. An unofficial help desk for the department. He’s currently in customer service in a non-computer field.
Would that potentially be enough experience for your position? I’m trying not to waste everybody’s time if I can avoid it.
Well, yeah. But at this point, you’d be telecommuting to Mumbai, since that’s where most corporate helpdesks have been outsourced to. And the pay kind of sucks.
I was made redundant at my job in California after the Indian company Tata sent ‘consultants’ over.
(On the other hand, the cost of living in India is lower, and I really like Indian food. Now if only they could do something about the heat and humidity…)