Cisco Systems Administrative Ambassador Interview

Interviewed Dec 2008 in San Jose, CA (took 4 weeks)

Upon notification that I would be interviewing, I was surprised to have no contact with the business unit itself. only that of the person whom I'd discussed to opportunity with as a consultant. It appeared at first that the position was slightly unstructured, whether it be the culture of the organization, the department, or the group requesting a new hire; I could not tell. Most important feature of the interview was the face to face discussion of experience, adaptability, general work ethic, and how I found my skill set could function in an uncharted and defined position. The most difficult part of the process was the uncertainty with the economy. As I saw it, the function of the position was not set in stone, but it was needed to compliment and enhance the current team and reduce the excess work load that received little attention without having a new hire to fill the void. The 2 face to face interviews with direct supervisors was in one sit down, while a third would be by phone later. The people team in general seemed eager to hit the ground running, get feedback on how a candidate saw the position being utilized and I was shocked that ideas were directly requested as if I had been a piece of the team already. In many situations that would make me wary of divulging my value without ensuring my future hired status, but unlike those same situations from other positions, I felt a sense of innovation and a collaborative culture that may have been only that department, but I LIKED IT! I found myself being more and more excited about the position as I was interviewed and even as the market fell, and hiring slowed, I was persistant and it paid off when I began 3 months later!