Hello I am Emmanuel Conde also known as Eman to my clients and network. I have developed an international industry based upon helping CCIEs and future CCIEs, by assisting them in developing their careers. I have been very fortunate to have been selected as a participant in the Cisco Partner Talent Portal (there is only one genuine talent portal though imitators do exist) and a proud member of the SRS program at Cisco Systems. Where once I was the only Cisco Authorized CCIE Recruiter I am now the First to have been bestowed that distinction. As the SRS program grows we will see more participation in this very successful effort. I am happy to enjoy an international network of CCIEs that spans the globe and includes over 3,000 members. Not all CCIEs are looking for jobs but whenever I get a call from one I do help with recommendations and contact with Cisco Channel Partners. I am very fortunate to have taken my career focus and turned to CCIEs. My background includes managing one of the largest pools of CCIEs back when there were fewer than 3,000 on the planet. I started in IT in the early 70s before it was called Information Technology. I have spoken at Network Academy, High Schools and other educational venues where kids can use a hand in discussing their careers.
At Bridge Resourcing Solutions where I am employed as the Client Director located in North America I have the pleasure and creative freedom to support my on-line glossy the CCIE Flyer, (www.ccieflyer.com) write for ITWorld, and support a very popular blog. We are now offering through Bridge CCIE Contractors and Consultants internationally for hourly billable projects and support.
I am conducting the CCIE SUMMER Salary Survey because I have never seen a survey that was directly supported by CCIEs and focused solely on their compensation. As the CCIE Agent I have spoken with thousands of CCIEs and when discussing their compensation I was often at odds with what I had read about Network Engineer salaries. So in an effort to set the record straight I have begun to collect this information directly from CCIEs, some I have not spoken with and some that I have via my blog. I am delighted by the participation and the fact that so many blogs are carrying the link to the questionnaire on theirs.
I hope you enjoy this information and I hope if you are a CCIE or a future CCIE you take advantage of my services since they are free! Only my clients who are Cisco Channel Partners are billed for my support.
My Lunch with CCIE # 1026 Terry Slattery
A very long time ago in terms of years and CCIEs,the first certifications were earned by some ground breaking individuals. When Cisco began the CCIE certification program only a few understood what the value of the certification was and how it would affect the careers of so many. We have all read about how the first certification was awarded to the lab in San Jose where the qualifying first began and still today CCIE # 1024 awarded to this room is mounted on the wall serving as both an inspiration and a reminder to those future CCIEs of this successful program. I have read Terry Slattery’s blog and some re-posts of his writings on the internet. He is considered an authority by many on various subjects like training, testing, routing and switching, and as an entrepreneur he is regarded as a pretty sharp individual. When Terry Slattery contacted me while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I was happy to learn he wanted to help in the planning of a CCIE Mixer in the Washington, DC area. We exchanged emails a few times in the past and this new opportunity to collaborate with him added to my enthusiasm for organizing the next Mixer. Previous mixers have featured Cisco representatives who are part of the Cisco Talent team and discussions were generally focused on CCIE careers, experience and Cisco’s efforts in regard to several aspects of the talent challenge. I have learned that in these previous gatherings it is important to establish some discussion points which interest CCIEs. Terry has an interest in helping establish some of these discussion points with me and I am delighted to have his support.
I jumped on the Amtrak out of Wilmington and met him for lunch; here is what I discovered about CCIE # 1026.
First of all he does not have a glowing aura or wear saintly robes, but don’t let his mere mortal appearance fool you he is a really sharp CCIE. He picked me up at the Amtrak station and we ducked into a local eatery where we spent a couple of hours getting to know each other and talking about o lot of different subjects. I was delighted to learn he thought what I was doing was good work on behalf of CCIEs. I learned that he is the founder of Chesapeake Computer Consultants and Netcordia, a company that has been successful in the Network Health space. It was a real education to learn about their NetMRIproduct. Wow. In the old days my gang ofCCIEs would use a sniffer and then have to go through mounds of data to manually analyze the findings. I know that often times the collating of the information was so daunting that a parallel effort would sometimes spring up from another engineer who would be shot-gunning the same problem in hopes of resolving it sooner. He also spoke with me about his years of taking the recertification exam and how that process for him has changed over the years. I asked him to put together an article for the CCIE Flyer due out in September and he agreed. This was good and bad since now I have to let him tell you about some of what we discussed this day. I will feature this and other interesting content on learning a couple of weeks.
Terry has been interfacing with Cisco for a while as one of their touch points when asking about various concerns of CCIEs. He enjoys a solid network of CCIEs internationally and has earned their respect through his efforts and achievements. We discussed the CCIE Mixers and he wanted to know why the first was in London. I explained that the company I work for is Bridge Resourcing Solutions and they are headquartered there. I guess I am surprised that a lot of folks don’t realize I have a boss in London. We have now settled on a tentative date for the next CCIE Mixer and I will be sharing the details as soon as we hash them out. I may even have to go back on my rule to refrain from training since a presentation may be in the offing which would occupy the first half hour or so greasing the skids for further chat over drinks.
So it looks like Terry and I are working on an agenda for the next Mixer in Washington DC. If you are interested in discussing this effort as it develops whichis targeted for late October please send me an email or call me. We are considering various formats even the use of guests who will lead discussions about concerns focused upon CCIEs in R/S, Security, Voice, S/P and Storage over drinks. We are also working with Cisco reps as usual who will help kick off the evening’s festivities. As we build the interest in this next CCIE Mixer all suggestions will be considered.
An update on Karam our friend in the refugee camp. This email came in while I was troubling myself with the blogger item below. I felt better knowing that the good I am doing cannot be undone by a smear campaign based upon nothing but testosterone.
Dear Eman,
Dont bother yourself with a reply to the silly articles posted on networkworld, in the past year I was doing a Google search about improving job search for Cisco professionals and I saw your article and It was amazing, this is how I knew about networkworld.com, I mean I found networkworld.com through you, I did not reach Eman through networkworld, your article added a big value to networkworld.com and gave me a new habit which was visiting networkworld every day looking for a new articles written by Emmanuel Conde thanks God now we have the CCIEagent.com and CCIEFLYER so we dont have to access other websites looking for your articles, anyway the writer in the networkworld was gossiping in the articles about if Eman is an authorized CCIE agent or not, there is no doubt about you being the only authorized CCIE agent but also I think for me its all about how much supportive the agent is and at this point you are the no.1 agent, you always supported me with your phone calls, advancing my job search, linking me with some Cisco partners in my area, you also helped me in my CV writing and you did all these things without any fees which is a thing that I really appreciate, you are above all the bloggers gossip, by the way I am looking for your news about your journey to San Jose, any new articles about the CCIE trainers there?
Best regards
Karam Hanna
Lebanon, Jbail
When Bloggers Attack or Bloggers Gone Wild You Pick!
When bloggers attack we get some real entertainment in the virtual space. This is a great place for us to sit ringside and witness some real doozies. It comes as a real disappointment to me though, that Network World has allowed one of their writers to once again make outlandish accusations in their forum. The last Network World blogger attack was recorded and recounted by me, when a certain hard working and accomplished CCIE was viciously mauled by another self-serving; blogger gone wild. In the article http://www.itworld.com/opinion/53299/thanks-ethan-banks-sharing-your-quottouch-greyquot, I shared his story in IT World. In writing this, I hoped to reveal how the Network World blogger intent on attracting traffic to his personal blog by besmirching someone who has actually accomplished something, had attacked a CCIE. While this activity does result in great traffic to the blogs involved it did not make the accuser look good. In that case the outpouring of support for the CCIE was unprecedented and the accuser was vilified mercilessly. So in this latest recounting of “When Bloggers Attack” I reveal that I have become the victim of another Network World writer. Bloggers Gone Wild will reveal how another Network World blogger in his rush to reveal his “Man Boobs” instead bared his ass publicly.
Recently this Network World writer and blogger turned his arrogant focus to me. In the past three weeks more than four articles have been released in Network World that I have chosen not to respond to on his forum. These accusations are being leveled by a Network World representative whose stated goal is to “take me down”. When Network World publishes lies and character attacks with the goal of putting someone out of business, I think they should realize they are outside the interest of their readers and beyond the boundaries of good journalism. What Network World expects to accomplish by this attack on my character I am completely unaware of, but when bloggers attack there really is nothing we can do but shake our heads and chalk up another loser in the Network World column. This Network World writer will remain the troll waiting and living beneath a bridge in his trailer park being paid by Network World to create readership by telling lies and deceiving readers in order to promote himself as more than a loser.
When Network World started out the stories on my efforts, they were linking to my CCIE Summer Salary Survey which was generating some great traffic and additional submissions to the survey. I was then asked to respond to questions that are considered confidential between Bridge Resourcing Solutions (my employer), my clients and me. Some of the details are available on-line to the Cisco Channel Partners on the Cisco Partner Talent Portal. (Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations there is only one Cisco Partner Talent Portal and it can be a great place for a Cisco Engineer to ensure their resume is reviewed by the Cisco Channel Partners without being associated with a site that does not meet with Cisco’s support or approval.) When the attacks on my character and ethics began I was happy to see my blog and the CCIE Flyer getting a lot of great extra traffic. I was receiving new enquiries for my support from CCIEs and future CCIEs that I had not corresponded with before. What this Network World dolt did not realize was that he was actually bringing me more business. CCIEs that enjoy my sites and trusted their careers to me as their agent were again aware of my presence and several responded to me about how much they appreciate my support in their careers. So, the old adage that there is no such thing as “bad press” holds true even on the internet.
I have developed and maintained a large data base of CCIEs and future CCIEs because I am trusted. I will not lower myself to the level of gutter journalism that Network World is pursuing. They have used tags of my name to draw traffic to their writer’s own blogs and with these stories it is happening once again. It is important to me that the real story be known, so if anyone would like to call me, please do. I will not be driven off the internet by Network World by their stories based on lies. You will see that once again tags using my name have been used without my consent to generate traffic to this blogger gone wild’s site. So don’t be fooled by these boobs they are in fact attached to a very bitter unaccomplished man!
Ethan I know you are out there I now feel your pain! Network World has been advised that their content in my regard is not cool. One of my professional contacts recorded their writer’s phone call and his intent to try to extract something negative about me included a threat to injure their business by dragging them down with me. Network World’s methods have included emails to Cisco Systems demanding comments about my relationship with them and my methods. These were an obvious attempt to deride my character and damage my income. Then a call to London to speak with my boss was made with the intention of trying to injure my employer’s confidence in my activities and their trust in me. Now I ask you, does Network World try to get others fired or put out of business for a purpose?
I have made myself vulnerable by allowing you to share my experience and I will continue to speak with and support engineers who are intent on bettering themselves and their careers. Over 80% of my time is spent on activities helping others and this is done gratis. The phone calls, blog, survey of training companies, school visits, research on immigration, and so much more are done to help others find a better life. This week I helped an Iraqi refugee in Lebanon secure an interview with a Cisco Channel Partner while I am in Orlando on vacation. This engineer was advised to post his resume on a site where resumes are posted willy nilly minus any career support or advice by this man boob baring blogger. I advised the engineer to use the Cisco Partner Talent Portal and I continued to help him gratis as he has suffered countless days in miserable circumstances. I have written about Karam several times in the past hoping to help him with his search. Please keep Karam in your prayers because I can only do so much!
To end this I will add that I have asked Network World to stop their attacks on me and to retract the articles. I know when I am mentioned in writings on this post their traffic increases. I have worked very hard to keep a high profile in the CCIE space I know that Eman stories generate additional traffic from readers. Network World you and your staff should be ashamed of yourselves for letting some silly troll reveal his man boobs at your expense. Instead you should make a corporate move and cover your ass.
Build a CCIE Workshop
I would like nothing more than to have so many CCIEs in my network available for new jobs that the entire planet would be able to satisfy its demand by calling me. Really, I mean I would love to have so many CCIEs available to me that I could retire while cornering the market on CCIE placements. I cannot dream like that and expect to scratch out a living though. Hell, I snore anyway so dreams like that are usually interrupted by an elbow from the wife. Really I snore like, a loud gnarly bear stuck in a trap, (but I digress).
I am delighted by the confidence I have found placed in my skills to match CCIE demand with CCIE candidates. But Cisco Systems and the Cisco Channel Partners are now in need of a place like the Teddy Bear factory in the US malls which builds custom made stuffed animals for kids. I took my sons to Build a Bear Workshop where they were able to select the bodies, features and accessories they wanted their new toys to have. Hey all you Cisco Channel Partners, just imagine that you could send your recruiting team to the mall and they could wonder down the aisle selecting skills, experience, certifications and other sought after attributes to build the perfect CCIE hire. Imagine even better if you are a network engineer and aspiring CCIE who could be picked from the pile and have someone attach the experience and certifications you needed to become a CCIE!
I am not writing this to send you off into a lala land, fantasy snooze; I am trying to make a point so WAKE UP.
A wealth of opportunity is being overlooked every day by Channel Partners. On the job market there are lots of skilled NETWORK engineers who are investing their own money and lots of time on certification training and testing. The Network Engineer who is working on their CCNA or CCNP certification is tomorrow’s CCIE. Any company that now has a CCIE on their staff is probably looking at a vacancy soon. Many CCIEs are fast approaching retirement age and others are calling me looking for a new job, it is time to build your bench. Invest in a CC__ (you fill in the next two letters) and watch your investment grow while the CCIE mentor is still on your staff. You can build a CCIE to your own specifications if you invest in a journeyman!
When I have work done on my electric or plumbing for the house I often see the technician with a journeyman in tow. Sure this kid is fetching tools, holding flashlights, or just keeping the licensed engineer company, but the important thing is that this shadow is learning the skills of the trade. We should be using this same concept in IT more than we do now. A perfect opportunity for any channel partner is making itself available during this economic down turn. Every day more talent is hitting the market that could be used to build the Channel Partner’s bench. These kids are the future and many of them will remain loyal to the company that makes a place for them. Cisco has invested time and money to provide advice on retention strategies and they are not hard to implement. This tactic combined with a long term investment in a talented upstart is a good recipe for a loyal CCIE. Today’s journeyman is tomorrow’s revenue generating animal! (I mean CCIE)
Where are the next CCIEs coming from? Who are the role models influencing the next generation to take the internet infrastructure to the next level? Channel partners need to step in here and raise their corporate hands high in the air. I have a crystal ball and I am going to share with you all one thought. Economic trends have dictated the loyalty of employees to companies in the corporate world. As these corporations work to make healthy the global economy worker loyalty will once again become the norm. The loyalty my parents’ generation had for their employers is coming around again. This loyalty was once built upon the investment those companies made in the under skilled worker. If we do it now we will see the return of loyalty.
So go stand in line at the Build a CCIE Workshop and watch your investment grow! (If you are a CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, CCDE or CCIE written and I can cast you into the Build a CCIE Workshop pile please send me your resume!)
The CCIE Flyer for August 2008 was released on the 8th. I have received some nice complments and I hope you will follow this link to the site www.ccieflyer.com
Here are some of the comments I have received so far;Here are some of the comments I have received so far;
I appreciate the perspective that you have provided on the U.S. Economy in your most recent CCIE Flyer. The article offered a fresh perspective and alternative solution in leveraging the strength of the Channel. Even with the struggling economy, VAR's identify new ways to find growth and generate profit. Key to their growth strategy is the ability to locate skilled and experienced CCIE's. Our ultimate goal is to match our growing partners with your CCIE's.
Friday, August 8, 2008CCIEFLYER.COM - Check it out!!! Hey everyone! So, I have been chatting with the ever famous "CCIE AGENT" Emmanual "Eman" Conde over the past several weeks and he mentioned his CCIE FLYER that he has been putting out. Eman also just released the CCIE Salary Survey which you probably have seen on many other blogs. I surfed on over to www.ccieflyer.com to check it out. Eman has developed a way to keep his clients updated on his activities while still dispensing advice about some of their career and professional concerns. His third issue of the CCIE Flyer is devoted to the economy. The September issue has the perspective of 3 educators from grade school through university level. In this issue he will be reviewing training companies and sharing his findings with his readers. Yes, this does include IPexpert.
Eman stops by IPexpert next week, which he will be meeting up with IPexpert Vice President Matt Brooks and IPexpert Instructors Vik Mahli and Jared Scrivener, along with dozens of aspirin CCIE's who will be attending class at our San Jose, California location.
So, shoot over to CCIEFLYER and check it out! Bookmark it! It is a monthly update with tons of great articles!!!
That´s interesting! For the last couple months I´ve been receiving the CCIE FLYER from the greatest (if not the only) CCIE AGENT , Mr. Emmanuel "Eman" Conde. He was conducting the CCIE Salary Survey some time ago (you can see this post here in the Blog), and helping many, many companies and CCIEs around the world!
I´ve exchanged a couple emails with him, but due to my calendar I wasn´t able to talk to Eman yet, this is one thing I´ll try to fix ASAP! He seens to be a very nice guy, and I can´t wait to get to know him better!
I love the content. Great articles and very relevant to CCIE's. I will post about it in my blog.
Arden Pakeer
Good afternoon Eman.
I just got done reading your blog, Work, Work, Work. I must say, I'm still laughing. You are a very talented writer.
Hope all is well!
-Kristy
Looks great Eman
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Great articles...this is fantastic..how many participants in the survey?
CHG
Eman,
I went to your URL (www.ccieflyer.com), and the magazine looks awesome. Congratulations. You said it: Work, work work!
Keep it up.
Best,
Bob
CCIE Training Companies
On August 13th I am flying out to San Jose to meet with the good folks at ipexpert. My first real look at CCIE Training companies starts with my gracious hosts from Cisco Live last month. I have been asked on many occasions what training companies I recommend. Until now I had no idea how to answer this question. So I am going to visit with those that will open their doors and let me in. I am going to chat with current students and lunch with those on-site for training while I am there. I will spend time looking at materials like training manuals and the facilities. I will also sample the cuisine and give you my thoughts on food and trainers. So if you have any suggestions please feel free to write and keep me honest. So far my criterion is based upon the following;
(1) Cost
(2) Local accommodations
(3) Quality of trainers
(4) Accessibility of trainer
(5) Quality of training material
(6) Rack equipment
(7) Food
(8) Training philosophy
(9) Location
(10) Retake policy
(11) Student-teacher ratio
I hope these write ups will help in some way with your journey to become a CCIE and if you have any feedback or information about trainers, training companies or if you have questions you want me to add please reach out and let me know.
The table in our kitchen is our family gathering place.
What Do You Bring To The Table?
In my home we have a table central to our kitchen. I am proud to say that I built it by hand from raw South American Mahogany about 6 years ago. This piece of furniture is central to our family life. We gather around it after school to do home work, repair or build the kids’ gizmos, eat and several times a year we feast at this table. When my kids are at the table I sometimes remind them to respect the table, regardless of where they might be you should always respect your host’s table. My old fashion up-brining and the manors my parents taught me are evident in all that I do, I hope. So when passing these along to my kids I waste no effort in reminding them to be socially aware of how their words, actions, and appearances effect others, basically to be aware of what they bring to the table. What do you bring to the table?
When working with CCIEs I have found most of them to be made of the right stuff for professional discourse and work. Sure the occasional pre-Madonna does pop up, but for the most part CCIEs are level headed professionals with skills and experience that compliment their teams. Where in my past, when recruiting, I had to worry about candidates even showing up at the interview, I now have to worry about what they bring to the table. (Truly an epidemic under recorded I think, is the epidemic of IT engineers who do not show up for the interview or even bother to call or to cancel. See this article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21656355/) since becoming the only Cisco Authorized CCIE Recruiter in the world I have not had to deal with that problem so much anymore. CCIEs will show up or call, but mostly they show up.
Some of my preparations include asking them the following questions. What are you bringing to the table for the interview? Are you wearing a suit? (Yes guys, women have suits to) What are you going to ask? (A series of the same questions you ask each prospective employer will help you make a decision based upon the same criteria) Have you practiced your 30 second elevator speech? (yup a 30 second speech about who you are and what you can bring to the company any more time and you are selling yourself to hard) The problem for a lot of CCIEs though, is their confidence. It can be delivered as something else, so be careful because there are about 17,000 other CCIEs and they all want a good job too. So don’t be too cocky! (See the rest of this article in IT World http://www.itworld.com/career/53913/what-do-you-bring-table )
With the bull on Wall Street
How CCIEs can Survive These Economic Hard Times
We have all heard the bad news about high gas prices, a mortgage crisis, recession scenarios, pandemics and layoffs. None of us are immune to the economic blues, but CCIEs are able to cope if they stay on their toes. I would like to share some of what I have learned about how CCIEs can better survive and even thrive in this economic turbulence.
Here’s what my Career Diva, Eve Tahmincioglu has to say about the current economic climate and how it might affect you; “…… if we think the sky is falling we may be apt to make rash career decisions right now. We may be convinced to accept less pay or benefits because everything is falling apart, and oh, aren’t we lucky that an employer has offered us a job at all.” (see her complete article on the current state of things on her bloghttp://www.evetahmincioglu.com/web/blog/)
I have recently been contacted by CCIEs who are feeling threatened by the economic downturn. It’s true that Retail, Mortgage, Securities, Real Estate, Banking, Automotive, Pharmaceuticals, and some global partners have been affected by the economic strife. A few months ago several large financial institutions hurt by the Mortgage crisis began downsizing and several CCIEs contacted me when they were told they would be losing their jobs. Even this past week I had calls from a few more CCIEs who were on the cutting table from a major pharmaceutical and they were worried about the future. The stories are mostly the same. The size of the companies they worked for made them feel secure in their positions, after all enterprise network engineers are essential to any enterprise IT department. Some of the CCIEs had been lulled into a false sense of security because of their roles and the size of the enterprise they supported made them feel secure. Several were actually contractors who had contracted for just a few months and found themselves still on the site 3 – 5 years later. I asked questions like; “Why did you wait so long to get your resume together?”; “What have you done to prepare for some unemployed time?”; “Do you have a job search plan?”; “What are your career goals?”; “Have you let this situation change any of your career plans?”
It comes as a real shock to be told you are being let go, especially if you have been with the same company for a few years, but don’t let it get you down! Not everyone is prepared to hit the job market with a fresh resume and some rainy day money. The next decisions you make could help or hurt your career. Many CCIEs think it will be easy to simply pickup a contractor role and to interview on the side in their spare time this may or may not work. Old wisdom said you needed to pound the pavement and scour the want ads, even post your resume on job boards. Remember to keep your career goals in mind as you make decisions of your targeted employers. Keep the eye on the prize and if that prize is to continue to recertify or add new certifications to your resume then give this next idea some thought. Cisco Channel Partners usually provide financial support and incentives for CCIE certifications and training. If you are planning to keep that CCIE then a Channel Partner can usually keep your hands dirty in the technology and in different environments. So the hum-drum of supporting the same old gear every day is avoided and you keep your skills sharp. Many CCIEs think that working at a Channel Partner comes with living in hotels and airports; this is not the case for most of the roles I represent. Many channel partners are local and keep their resources within driving distance of home and the office. My advice is to check out the Cisco Channel Partners and see what they have to offer. Keep in mind that while many large corporations are feeling the pain right now, most Channel Partners are still growing. Also consider that the US government expects that economic recovery will ride squarely on the backs of the entrepreneur and small businesses. Regardless of the down turn many Cisco solutions can save companies money and that keeps the demand up for the Channel Partners’ resources, namely CCIEs.
See the rest of this article on IT World follow this link;
When you go into the market looking for a job put your best foot forward, keep your chin up and be prepared to answer technical questions as well as sharing your personality. The technical and professional stuff is good but remember a team is built upon people and you want to open up and see your interviewer do the same. Always remember the ZZ Top song about sharp dressed men. Just like the girls, employers are crazy for a sharp dressed man!
Clean shirt, new shoes And I don’t know where I am goin’ to. Silk suit, black tie, I don’t need a reason why. They come runnin’ just as fast as they can Coz every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man
ORLANDO NETWORKERS 2008
Eman at Cisco Live 2008
What a trip my pilgrimage to Networkers was! I drove from Delaware thinking it would be a good idea since I had a stop in Raleigh for meetings in RTP at Cisco HQ. Heck it was only 1,000 miles or so! I would spend the night Sunday in RTP and have my meetings on Monday then travel on to Orlando pumped up from the positive discussions I was planning with the Cisco folks I had on my agenda. Monday turned into a single morning meeting due to some scheduling issues I found myself free before 10:00 AM!
WOOHOO! I was off to Networkers much sooner than I thought.
The nature of my business has me on the phone constantly so I was still scheduling interviews and processing offers and bugging the help in London. So a productive drive down Interstate 95 South kept me very enthused about my trip and this was just Monday! Soon I was feeling the miles and received an email from Scott Morris, who I had told I was going to look for him when in Orlando. I got an email from Scott asking me if I had made to Networkers. I responded that I was on the way and about 3 hours out. He got back with me letting me know he was at ipexpert’s get together for CCIEs at Ker’s Wing House, and a few exchanges with him on my iPhone (in my best one-handed driving the car at 80 miles an hour style), resulted in me being added to the guest list. Thanks to an email exchange between Wayne Lawson, the founder and president of ipexpert, and Scott I was ready to rock. When I arrived in Orlando I drove directly to the Wing House and was thrown instantly into the CCIE Agent’s dream come true. A large gathering of CCIEs I was truly in heaven! Most of these gents were eating wings and drinking a variety of libations. The crowd included a whole bunch of CCIEs who already knew me from the internet, ITWorld, LinkedIn, Network World, my blog and my CCIE Flyer! I had one of those great experiences where faces and names were connected, from introductions that originated across the virtual landscape. What a great time I had making new contacts and meeting old ones. The gals serving up the suds were giving the Hooters’ Girls a run for their money. I was even served one ice-cold Heineken delivered from the cleavage of one friendly young lady who could make a pin-up model blush. The folks at ipexpert did a great job attracting a nice crowd of CCIEs. I met Matt Brooks VP of ipexpert, who along with Scott Morris were logging folks into the party, handing out T shirts and shaking hands. The event lasted into the night and I will go on record as saying it was a stupendous success and a wonderful event to start my first trip to Networkers with.
Ramy, Me and Scott at ipexpert Wing House CCIE Social
Inside the ipexpert CCIE social at Ker's WIng House
I had a fun meet with a CCIE in my network, I am happy to now call a friend. Ramy Sisy who used to be a trainer at CCBootcamp and Dual CCIE was at the Wing House and our encounter started by my asking him why he was dressed like a pimp. It was all good fun and continued into the next day at the Main hall of the convention and the evening’s Cisco sponsored CCIE social at the Nascar Sports Grille on Main Street, Universal Studios. The convention floor was a real nice layout. There were many companies represented and a lot of great information. I was not registered for any classes so I was enjoying the event for the spectacle it was.
CCIEs at the Nascar Sports Grille Universal Studios Orlando
CCIEs at the Nascar CCIE Social
The CCIE social at the Nascar Grille was another CCIE Agent dream event. I was told I could not recruit while there or I would risk expulsion, so rather than risk being tossed out on my ass I complied. I had a wonderful time meeting even more CCIEs. I was very pleased to speak with Charlene, the first female voice CCIE. She is a very smart lady and I am happy to have learned that her career is a rewarding experience. There were groups of CCIEs dressed in company colors and they almost looked like middle aged baby boomer, gangs. They hung out together and some even seemed aloof to the other CCIEs gathered at the event. I guess not all CCIEs are created equal. After the Nascar event I hosted 10 CCIEs for drinks at the Hard Rock Café. We took over one end of the bar and had a great dialogue about CCIE salaries and each of their towns. One of the guys was from Alaska and three were from Germany. We all had a lot of fun swapping stories and then called it a night.
CCIEs and me at the Hard Rock
I departed Orlando Wednesday morning for the long drive home. I had accomplished what I had traveled there for and did not see any reason to stick around for much more. I did not manage to hook up with my friend Erik the proctor from Brussels or Ken a Florida resident in my network, who I exchanged voice mails with several times those 2 days. Sorry I missed you maybe we will hook up next time.
I was contacted by one of my clients during my drive with the news of Scott Morris joining Internetwork Experts answering my question about a comment he made to me in an email, about him no longer working for ipexpert. This was quite a move and commented on by a few of my network members it is also carried on the internet in a few articles. I think some really old song like Radar Love or Afternoon Delight was playing from some top 40 oldies radio station in Georgia when I had the call. If I ever hear either song again it will be too soon.
Cisco Travel Plaza on Interstate 95 (who would of thunk it)
A BIG THANKS TO CISCO AND THE GREAT PEOPLE WHO ORGANIZED THE NASCAR SOCIAL. YOU DID A WONDERFUL JOB AND I HOPE CISCO REWARDS YOU WELL FOR YOUR GREAT WORK! Many thanks to CCIEs 2879, 5804, 17706, 16810, 5804, 15770, 13229, 19709, 17844, 14432, 19153, 6374, 17321, 8759, 15255, 4713, Joseph, Charlene, Eric, Matt, Jeremy, Wayne, Robert, and there are many more names I cannot recall from Networkers. These and many more CCIEs have allowed me into their networks and I am humbled by their skills and spirit. To be a part of nearly 3,000 CCIE’s networks is a huge honor and I thank you all!
Thanks Ethan Banks for sharing your “Touch of Grey”
(Lyrics by Jerry Garcia)
Must be getting early, clocks are running late. Paint my love a morning sky, it’s all cold. Dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare Draw the curtains I don’t care, but it’s all right I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.
The internet is such a wide reaching and powerful medium that often bloggers do not realize its real strength. The fact is many of us find that our words carry some value to some audiences and they can come back to haunt us. When we convey or display our passions for something in a public forum there will be those that disagree and those who may even be hurt by our display of strong opinions. In the case of Ethan Banks I feel as many do that it is hard to cheat on the CCIE Lab exam. In many cases the lab is given in such a way that it prevents cheating from happening and the contents do change frequently. Yes I have been told that many locations are merely unsupervised closets where an enterprising person might be able to get away with cheating and that in some cases body doubles are used. I cannot prove or disprove this point but as a career agent I have spoken with several individuals who could not answer the simplest technical questions. I came away from these interviews feeling that the candidate could not have passed any of the Cisco exams and wondered how they received a CCIE number. Ethan however did not take the easy road to certification. He blogged his experience on a very well respected site and he shared his feelings about his many months focused on the goal of achieving his CCIE. He did it and he was delighted at his accomplishment and many of us were happy that he shared his accomplishment with us.
I see you’ve got your list out, say your piece and kiss off. Guess I get the gist of it, but it’s all right Oh well anyway, sorry that you feel that way. Every silver lining’s got a touch of grey I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.
I am amazed when I discover that some CCIEs don’t have a plan for their careers. A repetitive cycle seems to keep them nearly fully engaged. Life seems to be dictated by a two year cycle of work, study, test, and recertify, followed by work, study, test, and recertify. Two years is gone in no time when you are busy. The time for thinking and planning your career seems to slip past as the family grows and other priorities consume chunks of your time. What are you working so hard for? It takes more than thought; action is required to make your efforts a means to an end. As a CCIE there are many options for you to make money but sustaining your career growth is essential. Money can get better and responsibilities can improve. Any situation which can restrict your career goals should be dealt with before they become impediments to your growth. Take the story of a CCIE I have been speaking with for several years now as an example. He experienced a boost to his ego when he passed his lab. As a new CCIE bigger and better things were his destiny so he made a gift to his wife and himself of a pair of new BMWs. They quickly moved into a new home and started a new family. Trouble was that he over extended himself and became a slave to his bills. He had to find better revenue and his pursuit lead him to becoming an independent contractor. This put him on a cycle of being paid well dampened by weeks not billing causing him to act very mercenary. His aggressive search for the next better paying gig left his current assignments suffering for his attention, resulting in a bad reputation in his wake. I warned him of his downward spiral and the need to improve his situation and he told me about his divorce. We have no more interactions until he turns his life around.
Make your career growth plan simple by deciding on the steps you need to take and arranging them in a sequential order. Make sure to create reasonable annual goals that lead to successful accomplishments. You suffered enough when passing the CCIE written and then the lab sacrificing a lot of valuable time. Make that investment pay off by continuing to set aside time for your professional development. Make your goals known to your employer and get feedback on if or how they can support you. Work as hard on your goals as you do on the job so you don’t end up with Boney Fingers!
Me pictured here with my recently acquired 1967 Gibson J-45. This is like the one Bob Dylan played in the 60s and I love it man!
My Trip to Toronto
On the 22nd and 23rd I was in Toronto speaking with an interviewing several Cisco engineers and a couple of CCIEs with one of my channel partner clients. The trip turned up a few surprises and resulted in 4 finalists for their consideration. I was also very pleased to see interest in one of the three junior candidates who I scheduled to interview. My feeling was that if not selected they at least had a chance to interview and this will help develop their skills. It is not easy when you are young and breaking into a new career to feel poised for success in an interview. But as I stated one of them did make the final cut.
At the end of my stay at the Downtown Courtyard I hosted a few of these gents for drinks and a discussion about their careers. Two of the guys are CCIEs and they had plenty of wisdom and words of encouragement to share.
As always I also spent one evening at The Rex were livJazz music is king. The band and the venue ensured I had a great evening.
CCIE Friends and Faces
I have been blessed by making friends in many places around the world, since my days as a TAC manager for BANI in Pennsylvania. But none are as close to my heart as the team I used to manage in Frazer, Pennsylvania. Those were heady days with some of the team working in the lab to prepare for their CCIE lab exams, while others reproduced customer environments to chase down bugs, and still others were researching the viability of voice over IP with latency as the enemy. My crew was about as diverse as any in the IT industry and many of them remain good friends to this day. My true amazement remains with how excited they still remain about what they do. Though I still call them geeks they are not so easily categorized. Take CCIE # 2177 for example, an avid biker with a horse farm he jokingly refers to as his petting zoo. He rescues horses by adopting them through various programs and gives them a home, truth is he seems to be getting many animals left on his doorstep. Your bikers might be labeled as a rebels or drukards or many other things, but not as a geek. Yet there is grey matter between his ears that has met and defeated some of the toughest networking issues his peers have experienced. When you take into account the fact the first CCIE was awarded # 1025, CCIE # 2177 was in some very elite company for a few years. His number makes me feel old talking to CCIE #19,729 and some of the new CCIEs reaching out to me these days in the 20,1XX range! They are all different as night and day like CCIE # 2355 who is an unusual CCIE because she may very well have been the first woman CCIE. Her work as an independent contractor has allowed her the freedom to pick and choose interesting projects all over. I was joking with her about an opportunity she has to take a job in Bermuda that she is mulling over. What is there to think about? Let me see; Bermuda or Pennsylvania? Well it has been snowing less here in the northeast lately, but Bermuda? HE-LLO Bermuda! CCIE # 2582 is a home body raising his kids and doting on his wife.
CCIE # 2582 has a love for deep sea fishing and holds his CCIE in R&S. He has recently begun using his skills in support of his sales team; he is not too shabby a security resource either. CCIE # 4665 is a fun guy who likes to play golf and flip houses. With dual CCIEs in R&S and Voice he is in a small cadre of CCIEs which numbers fewer than 200 worldwide and he is a pretty smart guy. I was privy to an interview he had with a Cisco Gold partner while he was thinking about options for his career. He took off his jacket in the interview and stepped up to a whiteboard and made mincemeat of the CCIEs conducting the interview. They asked me to get him at any price! CCIE # 3955 reconnected with me because of the activities he read about on my blog. He is a triple CCIE and I recall talking to him when he failed the lab for his 1st CCIE on day two in San Jose. He was distraught and knew there was a problem with the test. I told him we would send him again and to take it easy on himself. On his next visit to San Jose he notified the proctor about the bug in the software. The proctor did not believe it when CCIE # 3955 pulled him over to his desk predicted the resulting error caused by the bug and then explained why it was happening. They immediately went up stairs to talk to the developers at RTP and the bug was resolved. Needless to say he received his 1st CCIE after preventing other lab attendees from failing the exam for the same reason he had. CCIE # 3955 is a WAN CCIE with triple certifications in R&S, Voice and SP and he has a patent pending on a new routing protocol. Not a bad guy to have in your court when the network is having trouble!
We all had lunch recently at Ruby Tuesday’s and had a good time catching up. Golf is on the schedule for us in the next couple of weeks. CCIE # 2177 and I have had a running joke between us; we call golf, for years now. We will be adding a few more CCIEs for this next round at Lock Nairn in Southeastern Pennsylvania. If any CCIEs reading this want to join us, just shoot me an email. ccieagent@verizon.net
I love my job!
My search is for CCIEs for Cisco Systems and their international Partners. I have been called a CCIE recruitment guru and recently began work with Cisco recruiting on a plan to help in locating CCIEs and Senior Network Professionals while remaining sensitive to the flight of these professionals between partners. Why a CCIE Agent? For starters, most headhunting in the IT arena is done by recruiters who do not focus in any one discipline. My efforts are focused on CCIEs and Cisco Network Engineers and the details that enhance their careers. There are many kinds of Agents who help develop their clients’ careers by advocating their needs and goals. I have gotten to know many CCIEs and I have also learned many companies’ CCIE retention and compensation strategies. By getting to know the details I can advocate for both the candidate and the hiring company. I can help both ensure a long lasting relationship, with all the wants and needs on the table.
For CCIE Jobs, CCIE Careers, CCIE Positions, CCIE Roles and more Contact me at:
Hello I am Emmanuel Conde also known as Eman to my clients and network. I have developed an international industry based upon helping CCIEs and future CCIEs, by assisting them in developing their careers. I have been very fortunate to have been selected as a participant in the Cisco Partner Talent Portal (there is only one genuine talent portal though imitators do exist) and a proud member of the SRS program at Cisco Systems. Where once I was the only Cisco Authorized CCIE Recruiter I am now the First to have been bestowed that distinction. As the SRS program grows we will see more participation in this very successful effort. I am happy to enjoy an international network of CCIEs that spans the globe and includes over 3,000 members. Not all CCIEs are looking for jobs but whenever I get a call from one I do help with recommendations and contact with Cisco Channel Partners. I am very fortunate to have taken my career focus and turned to CCIEs. My background includes managing one of the largest pools of CCIEs back when there were fewer than 3,000 on the planet. I started in IT in the early 70s before it was called Information Technology. I have spoken at Network Academy, High Schools and other educational venues where kids can use a hand in discussing their careers. 
The table in our kitchen is our family gathering place.
Me pictured here with my recently acquired 1967 Gibson J-45. This is like the one Bob Dylan played in the 60s and I love it man!
