Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• Why you need to act quickly to secure the best jobs
• Tech View - a look at the skills needed for SAN/NAS solutions
• Specialist profile - Rob Allan, Senior Systems Consultant
• Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Paul Smith
• Current work opportunities
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Why you need to act quickly to secure the best jobs
Jerry Smart explains why there is no time to waste if you want to seize the best contract opportunities
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You may not always appreciate it, but you can lose out on an
opportunity if you are not proactive and timely in your
actions.
B & M always seeks to act promptly to give
candidates the best chance - but it's a two-way street...
- Keep your CV up to date. Make it comprehensive and technical (two
sides of A4 are not enough) - Technical Managers want detail, so be
prepared to add detail if we ask for it. We prepare your profile in
advance so that we can act promptly when an opportunity arises.
- Keep B & M informed of your next availability and current
contact details - if we think that you're working when you're not,
you may miss out.
- Paperwork can be boring but providing your company information, work
permit details etc. before an opportunity arises saves valuable
time later on.
- Applying promptly for jobs improves your chances. Tell us up front
about any circumstances that might prevent you taking a job. If you
agree to be proposed, then be prepared to answer the customers' queries
by giving
B & M prompt updates to questions on your specific
skills.
- Provide details of referees early on - the customer demands that we
check out everything before considering who to interview and B & M
delivers on this.
- Stay in touch throughout the process (even if you're on holiday) and
leave your mobile phone on! Remember, you are in competition with others
for the work. Being unavailable means that you may lose an interview
slot with the customer.
- After interview - give feedback to B & M at the earliest
opportunity. This allows us to strike while the iron is hot and to
pre-empt any issues that the customer may raise. Make your decision
quickly - hesitancy doesn't impress the customer.
- If you want the job, agree to start as soon as you are able - there
are project schedules to meet. The customer might go elsewhere if you
appear indecisive.
- Sign and return contracts straight away.
.... and good
luck!
For up to the minute information about opportunities, contact people@bmeurope.com
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Tech View: maximising your skills for SAN/NAS solutions
Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M looks at the types of technical skills that customers are seeking to implement and support their hybrid SAN/NAS Systems
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The need that is common to customers with a wide range of Storage Area
Network (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS) or hybrid SAN/NAS solutions
is a requirement for strong expertise in distributed and networked
solutions. This means that specialists need to be able to demonstrate a
good understanding of both hardware and networking, as well as having
skills and knowledge about the relevant managing software and (probably
lastly) the operating system in question.
In fact there are four main skill areas that B & M looks at when
seeking to fill contract positions in the area of storage:
- Software - SAN/NAS management
- Networking - protocols and technologies
- Storage Solutions - servers and arrays
- Operating systems - Unix, Windows and z/OS
The range of solutions found in large, complex organisations is huge;
so B & M will look to propose specialists with an equally wide range
of skills.
In the IBM arena, we are keen to hear from people with experience in
TotalStorage (including Enterprise Storage Server) often connected to
zSeries, iSeries, pSeries or pretty much any Wintel unit through ESCON,
FICON and fibre networks. We have also placed consultants experienced with
working with the Open Software family - the series of protocols and
interfaces for software to use on systems including Tivoli, DFSMS and DB2
for example.
Outside of the main IBM arena, we are often asked to provide people
with skills in solutions from HP (StorageWorks), Sun (StorEdge),
Symantec (Veritas), EMC Legato, Qlogic and so forth.
If you have relevant contract or permanent experience in any of these
areas, we would be interested to hear from you.
For information about assignments working with storage software,
contact people@bmeurope.com
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Specialist Profile
This month, we interview Senior Systems Consultant, Rob Allan
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Rob Allan has worked in IT for 24 years and is currently on assignment
at a large international finance organisation, where he is working on
building WebSphere architecture and implementing WebSphere v5
delivery software.
He has spent much of his career working all over Europe in the
international finance sector and his previous role was as a long-term
contractor for a large Swiss bank, where he used both his z/OS and Unix
skills to re-engineer a business application delivery process. Rob's
skillset includes knowledge of a wide range of architectures and
programming languages which he has put to use on projects including RACF
policy planning and implementation; planning, upgrading and supporting MVS
and VM related program products and capacity planning.
Rob chose contracting because he finds it gives him a greater degree of
control over what he does in terms of his long term goals. He is adamant
that contracts are seldom so precisely defined that they require only one
skill as he believes that there are always overlaps and opportunities to
learn new things and add new skills. As Rob explains, "This approach has
seen me change my 'core' skill several times in the past 21 years - I've
added new skills to my arsenal which in turn makes me more marketable and
more able to choose the direction of my next assignment".
His technical knowledge and experience are impressive, but according to
past clients, one of Rob's main strengths is his ability to perform under
pressure.
Rob believes that as contracting has become more project oriented, it
has required a change in the way contractors approach the job as they need
to use general business skills, as well as the technical ones that they
have been employed for. He concludes, "I appreciate the opportunity to
concentrate purely on one project, however complicated, whilst being free
from other tasks that are outside the project. This suits my work ethic
and I feel I produce a better solution because of it. It allows me to dig
deeper into areas that I may not have covered before which in turn may
open up new potential skill opportunities".
Why not tell us about your experience? Send your CV to people@bmeurope.com
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Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Paul Smith
Get to know more about our people. This month we profile Technical Manager, Paul Smith
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Twenty years ago, Paul Smith realised that he was one of the few
technicians working in IT who actually had a qualification in Computer
Sciences. Everyone else he met appeared to be a biologist, a
mathematician, an ecologist or - in one case - an ex-plumber!
He started work in the north of England with DEC/VAX equipment,
providing computer support to staff and students at a college of further
education and when the job demanded - occasionally drilling holes in
walls. Around two years later he left for the south to work at a research
laboratory, where he moved into the world of IBM mainframes. Subsequently
he worked as a freelance Systems Programmer designing and setting up
mainframe computer systems for a variety of clients throughout Europe and
in Australia, predominantly working with MVS, RACF and Assembler.
Paul joined B & M eight years ago as Technical Manager, tasked with
designing and installing a new Windows-based computer network. Paul is
responsible for advising B & M on technical developments across all IT
platforms, providing technical resources to the company and for
maintaining and upgrading computer systems and networks.
Paul also has a professional interest in the music business. He is a
director of a professional music organisation, works as a live sound
engineer and also finds time to run his own recording studio. He has
worked with a variety of professional and amateur musicians, poets and
voice-over artists.
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Current work opportunities
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If you are coming to the end of a contract, or are considering contracting in the near future, have a look at some of the current vacancies on our website at www.bmeurope.com - then just click on Vacancies to view opportunities in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe.
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B & M has specialised in delivering skilled ICT specialists to meet the needs of leading organisations throughout Europe since 1992. We focus exclusively on providing consultancy, technical services and support for z/OS, UNIX and Linux enterprise systems, including third-party systems software, open systems and networking connectivity. We add real value for HR and IT professionals by taking the time to understand their needs and applying best practice methods to deliver results. To find out more about our approach to providing the best skills for each business, go to www.bmeurope.com B & M Europe Limited
www.bmeurope.com
+44 (0)118 981 1880
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