[19:17] <sprung> hello Linden940
[19:17] <sprung> i almost became your coworker if you are Linden Labs
[19:18] <sprung> i am a Racker
[19:41] <Linden940> lol
[19:41] <Linden940> no i am not linden labs
[19:41] <Linden940> i do own a company tho
[19:47] <spridel> sprung: where in TX are you a racker?
[19:49] <sprung> spridel, San Antonio
[19:49] <spridel> I'm in Austin and just applied to a position up here
[19:49] <sprung> spridel, thats excellent
[19:50]  * spridel hopes to not get the standard Rackspace reject letter
[19:50] <sprung> there's a standard rackspace reject?
[19:51] <sprung> i let them know i was a racker and i just needed to be officially be called one
[19:51] <sprung> the fanatical support is not just a slogan
[19:51] <sprung> it's how they do everything
[19:52] <sprung> and yeah, really, it's not just a job, you're a fanatic
[19:52] <spridel> yep, "Thank you, your skills and abilities are impressive, however we have chosen to pursue more closely qualified applicants."
[19:53] <spridel> I've seen it 2x, hoping this is the one that gets me an interview
[19:53] <sprung> basically, we're not a job, we're a lifestyle
[19:53] <sprung> if you're going to need to be here 20 hours to fix a problem you're going to do it, voluntarily
[19:53] <sprung> because you need to and because this is what you want to do
[19:54] <spridel> What function are you in?
[19:54] <sprung> not that 20 hours ever happens
[19:54] <sprung> thats just an extreme example
[19:54] <sprung> i operate part of the cloud.
[19:54] <spridel> cool
[19:54] <sprung> beyond that, i am a linux admin.
[19:54] <sprung> i cannot tell you more.
[19:55] <sprung> the culture is incredible.
[19:55] <sprung> managers that are actually managers
[19:55] <spridel> linux admin would have been acceptable, i figured hosting
[19:55] <sprung> managers that help rather than control
[19:56] <sprung> spridel, all we do is hosting
[19:57] <sprung> spridel, so you're in austin? i have heard we are expanding
[19:57] <sprung> into austin
[19:57] <spridel> you have a small office here in Austin
[19:57] <sprung> i dont know in what way exactly
[19:57] <sprung> yeah i just started here 2 weeks ago
[19:57] <sprung> im from kansas city
[19:57] <sprung> by way of omaha
[19:58] <spridel> i think it is a small datacenter actually, I applied for a Network Security Admin
[19:58] <sprung> so i moved from omaha to san antonio two weeks ago
[19:58] <spridel> San Antonio is an awesome city
[19:58] <sprung> spridel, what are your credentials?
[19:59] <spridel> BBA MIS/CIS
[19:59] <sprung> spridel, i just saw Tron on the company dime, three rows had pieces of paper on the seats saying "reserved for rackers"
[19:59] <spridel> If hired I need to get a CCNA in 60 days, which i'm already studying for whether or not i get the position
[19:59] <sprung> of course it got packed
[20:00] <spridel> a company that gets making your employees happy, awesome
[20:00] <sprung> i need an RHCE, no deadline but im going to get it fast as shit
[20:00] <sprung> yeah in Rackspace they usually don't do deadlines
[20:00] <sprung> they expect things done before they need to set deadlines
[20:00] <spridel> Security division they do
[20:01] <sprung> yeah because they are security division
[20:01] <spridel> We want you to know what the ____ is going how
[20:01] <sprung> they plan and limit everything
[20:01] <sprung> which is great
[20:01] <spridel> s/how/no
[20:01] <spridel> s/how/on
[20:02] <sprung> well that goes into the Racker spirit
[20:02] <sprung> Transparency
[20:02] <sprung> thats a big part of it
[20:02] <sprung> we let you know what you are getting into
[20:02] <sprung> no surprises
[20:03] <sprung> i want you to understand this is not just a job it is a lifestyle
[20:03] <sprung> you are becoming a racker
[20:04] <spridel> everyone i know in the security industry is the same way, Learn it, Love it, share it, repeat.
[20:04] <sprung> and if you really want to be a racker, and they are taking a while to respond, send them an email in pseudo-essay form about how you are already a racker
[20:04] <sprung> i did that
[20:05] <sprung> spridel, rackspace is not the rest of the security industry
[20:06] <spridel> thanks for the tip. My previous experiences is that the form rejection letter was in my inbox in about 2 days, if I don't see anything by end of business monday I'll hope I've passed under a Lucky star
[20:07] <sprung> spridel, i applied for a customer facing support position, but i stutter and while that's something i can't help it's also something they can get away with ignoring even though it's a disability
[20:08] <sprung> so they put me on server side
[20:08] <sprung> where i wouldn't face customers
[20:08] <sprung> thats actually a way better deal
[20:08] <sprung> that put me in ops
[20:08] <sprung> i skipped support
[20:09] <sprung> its funny, i did call center, customer facing etc for years and years
[20:09] <sprung> i stuttered but i always had high rankings
[20:09] <sprung> here they let me skip all the phone shit
[20:09] <sprung> i'm like "okay!"
[20:09] <sprung> it was not my favorite
[20:10] <spridel> That is win
[20:10] <sprung> yes
[20:10] <sprung> through being competent enough and what i do and being shitty enough and what i don't like to do i obtained advancement
[20:11] <sprung> my references helped too, my former two bosses had nothing but great things to say about me
[20:16] <spridel> sweet. Right now, I'm mainly working as a contractor for an acquaintance/friend of mine.  He says he'll put in a reference for me, he understands, that where I am, and where his company(startup) can't work together much longer unless his business picks up drastically.
[21:25] <sprung> spridel, get him to write you a recommendation on LinkedIn
[21:26] <sprung> our HR department is one of the most amazing parts of the company in selecting people
[21:26] <spridel> Good Call
[21:27] <sprung> they will look past some of education for personality fit and experience
[21:28] <spridel> technically I'm "overeducated" for the position
[21:38] <sprung> spridel, i would never say what you just said again
[21:38] <sprung> it sounded arrogant
[21:39] <sprung> spridel, education can never match experience, it can't even come close
[21:39] <sprung> you can never be overeducated to work at rackspace
[21:39] <sprung> everybody is learning all the time, and studying all the time
[21:40] <sprung> i hope this makes sense, and as you grow for a few years you will realize that education means a lot less than experience
[21:42] <sprung> one can cheat getting experience by getting lots of certifications
[21:42] <sprung> i did that
[21:43] <sprung> experience means you can solve hard problems
[21:43] <sprung> certifications means you can solve a hard test
[21:43] <spridel> what i mean is that they are looking for an Associates and I have a bachelors
[21:43] <sprung> they get you through the door
[21:43] <sprung> spridel, meaningless
[21:44] <sprung> i have nothing
[21:44] <sprung> i have 3 years towards a bachelors and no degree
[21:44] <sprung> what i am saying is all that stuff your mom and dad tried to prep you for just doesn't matter
[21:45] <sprung> we only hire fanatics
[21:45] <spridel> i agree with the education != Experience
[21:45] <sprung> i turned down a job that would have paid 13k more
[21:46] <sprung> to work here
[21:46] <sprung> because i'm a fanatic
[21:46] <sprung> that's how much this is not a job it is a lifestyle
[21:49] <spridel> I see
[21:51] <sprung> spridel, if you had an opportunity to work on the starship enterprise or something cool like that, would you lose money to do it?
[21:52] <sprung> well, i'm a trekkie and thats why i did it
[21:53] <spridel> to work at a place i felt comfortable, hell yeah
[21:53] <sprung> there you go
[21:54] <sprung> also there is, even in the winter, a 30 degree difference in temperature
[21:54] <sprung> no winters anymore
[21:55] <spridel> hehe
[22:00] <spridel> I've been trying to find a position in Security since May when I graduated, I've applied to a few higher Level positions, this is the first Entry-level one I've seen.
[22:09] <sprung> spridel, and one of the few in the entire country you could get
[22:11] <spridel> sprung: you are probably very right about that
[22:11] <sprung> spridel, even in this economy, the company is taking off
[22:12] <sprung> i cant tell you anything more than that
[22:15] <spridel> sprung: that's because businesses wised up to the fact that they shouldn't be in the business of running a datacenter when their core is Finance/acct/advertising/etc.
[22:19] <sprung> it is humorous you would say that
[22:19] <sprung> spridel, this company can't exist without great marketing/advertising/accounting
[22:19] <sprung> well actually lol
[22:19] <sprung> it can
[22:20] <sprung> it can't exist without a fanatical IT ops and support staff
[22:20] <sprung> This company can't be successful without great marketing/advertising/accounting
[22:21] <sprung> but in this company we have all decided we are fanatical in what we do and that's it
[22:21] <sprung> we give even our janitors and security guards the same benefits and they are fanatical too
[22:22] <sprung> and they're CONTRACTORS
[22:23] <spridel> that's awesome
[22:25] <sprung> spridel, just don't act like you already have credentials because you went to this and that school.
[22:26] <sprung> rackspace already has some of the best and the brightest, i'm not either but they picked me. what you need is to realize that you not only know nothing but can
[22:26] <sprung> rackspace already has some of the best and the brightest, i'm not either but they picked me. what you need is to realize that you not only know nothing but cant wait to have the opportunity
[22:26] <sprung> to know more
[22:34] <spridel> sprung how was tron?