Founded in 1998, Rackspace Hosting has grown to become a leader in the Cloud Infrastructure and Web Hosting arena. Rackspace has a staff over 3,000 employees, which they call Rackers, supporting nine Data Centers around the world.
Scott McCamish
Admin Nation was lucky enough to catch a few minutes with Scott McCamish– Sr. Recruiter for Rackspace Hosting, and asked what it’s like to interview for Rackspace Hosting.
Q Welcome to Admin Nation, tell us about yourself.
My name is Scott McCamish and I am a Sr. Recruiter for Rackspace Hosting where I focus on the recruiting efforts of our Cloud Systems Operations business unit. This group concentrates on the stability and high performance of the systems for the product lines of Rackspace Cloud. The majority of the positions I recruit for are Systems Administrators and Systems Engineers.
I have been at Rackspace coming up on 3 years, spending my entire time here recruiting for Rackspace Cloud. Prior to Rackspace, I spent over 8 years in Technical Recruiting for various Recruiting Agencies and Executive Search Firms. I’m a graduate of UT Austin and love getting back to Austin as much as possible. Fortunately for me, we have an office there as well.
Q Could you tell us a little bit about what RackSpace does these days?
Rackspace Hosting is the service leader in cloud computing, and a founder of OpenStack, an open source cloud platform. The San Antonio-based company provides Fanatical Support® to its customers, across a portfolio of IT services, including Managed Hosting and Cloud Computing.
Q What is the best way to apply for a job at RackSpace, and what can a candidate do to get noticed?
The best way to apply for a job at Rackspace is to definitely use our talent site, RackerTalent.com. Not only does it provide a very user-friendly interface for job searching, it gives candidates the opportunity to check out what its like to work at Rackspace. RackerTalent has a great section on our unique Culture, another on our People, who we call Rackers, an overview of our Core Values, and many insightful blog posts from various Rackers across the organization.
Getting noticed is simple-have a solid resume, and highlight related experience and accomplishments for the role. Our recruiters do more than just read buzzwords. We look for A-players and you can’t just skim a resume when you’re doing that.
Q OK, now that the candidate has been noticed, what is the interview process like?
The process would start by a candidate talking with a recruiter over the phone. We conduct a thorough phone screen with candidates. That usually entails the “Recruiting 101” type questions (ie, “What struck your interest in this role/in Rackspace?” “What is motivating you to look for a new opportunity?” etc.) as well as us diving into some prepared technical questions that cover basic technical skills needed for the role. We may administer Sys Admin screens or Engineer screens as well.
If the candidate demonstrates the desired knowledge level on the technical questions and has genuine motivations for wanting to work for Rackspace, we would arrange a phone interview with our hiring manager. Manager phone interviews can dive much deeper into the technical requirements of the role. Alignment with Rackspace’s culture is just as important as the technical knowledge, so the manager will also probe on soft skills. The interview may also involve server “break/fixes” and other skills testing that can be done to give a true representation of a tech’s troubleshooting ability.
After positive Manager feedback is gathered, we invite candidates to the office to do a full round of onsite interviews with the team. We have Recruiting Coordinators that work closely with the candidates throughout every step of the onsite interview scheduling process, from travel arrangements and hotel accommodations, to expectations after the interview. At Rackspace, we believe in providing our customer with a world-class service experience through our hallmark customer service, called Fanatical Support®. We treat our candidates like customers, and strive to provide a Fanatical experience to every candidate throughout the interview process. We understand that interviewing for a role can be nerve-wracking as well a being an adjustment to their typical schedule and want their time here to be as pleasant as possible.
Q What can a candidate do in preparation for their interview?
Do your research. This should go without saying, but it’s surprising how many people don’t follow this guideline. We don’t quiz candidates on company history, like when Rackspace was founded or anything like that, but we are seeking candidates who truly have an interest in our mission, our technology, and the strides we’ve made. You can find a tremendous amount info regarding Rackspace by doing simple things like reviewing our web site and reading various blogs.
Another good thing would be to review your interview itinerary with your recruiter and do some research on the Rackers you will be meeting. Tools such as LinkedIn are good for this. Knowing the audience you will be speaking to goes a long way in an interview. Lastly, sharpen any technical skills you can prior to the interview. I know that can be difficult to do, but just reviewing things you haven’t touched in a few years is a good start.
Q During a phone screen, you don’t have that face to face interaction, so what can the candidate do to shine?
Yes, phone screens can be awkward but if the candidate is truly engaged in the conversation, that comes through on the phone. If they are not, well, that comes through as well. Next, I would say be honest, be yourself and let your personality come through. Don’t be afraid to let the recruiter or manager know when you don’t know something. We ask tough questions and if candidate isn’t experienced in a certain area, but shows aptitude to learn, that is actually a good thing. We would rather have a candidate tell us, “Well, unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to work in that detail with MySQL databases, but I am very eager to be given a chance to do so” as opposed to someone who tries ramble off an answer they think may be appropriate.
Q What do you feel is more important these days College, Certification, experience, or a combination?
This is a tough question because I think this is specific to the role we are trying to fill. In an ideal world, we would like candidates to have the best combination of college, certifications and experience. But this is not an ideal world, especially in the recruiting world. At Rackspace, I believe we look for what a candidate knows and how that ties into our technical environment more than anything else. Yes, certifications and degrees may be preferred for certain roles. But we have a lot of great techs who came into Rackspace just knowing Linux (or Windows), but had a hunger to learn as much as they could and have made great careers for themselves.
Q What is your biggest pet peeve a candidate can do when interviewing?
During phone screens it’s typing. I hear it a lot, actually. I don’t know if the candidate is looking up answers to my questions or responding to emails, but that can be pretty distracting.
During in-person interviews, I would have to say candidates coming in unprepared. It’s so important to make a great first impression, and coming prepared is one of the best ways to really shine.
Q What do you suggest a candidate wear to interview at RackSpace?
We get this question a lot. It’s well known that Rackspace has a relaxed dress code so there is a tendency for a candidate to ask themselves, “well I don’t want to be too dressy, but at the same time I want to make a good first impression.” I suggest that the candidate uses their judgment to find the right balance between the two. If they do that, they are usually dressed perfectly for the interview. Or just ask your recruiter.
Q Do you have any additional advice for a candidate when interviewing?
Be yourself, be honest, come prepared, show genuine interest in the role and company. Sounds pretty simple.
