by 1 person |
Finding your next SAP job can be time consuming
There are many websites out there offering you their search facility to try and make your life a little easier when it comes to finding your next SAP job or contract. But as you know it takes time and effort to find the "right" one.
If you are looking for a full time job, then you most probably will need to consider your family in one way or another. Would you be looking for an end-user client or an implementation partner, as they tend to offer a different type of job. The end-user client would most probably keep you in one place i.e normally at their HQ - which if it is located close to your home might be a good option if you do not like travelling and being away during the week. This tends to suit the younger family or the person who is basically happy in one place. On the other hand, if you are looking at the consulting houses, then they offer generally a larger salary and better training but you then have to give back by being available to travel - both within your own country but also sometimes abroad. This means staying away during the weeks and living out of a suitcase in hotels or hotel apartments. If this does not bother you, well, then you can have a nice lifestyle, seeing many different places and discovering many different cultures and SAP projects.
Then you have the option of going it alone, as a freelancer or contractor. What are the options then? Well, you might not have a regular income but you do get a higher hourly rate compared with being a company employee. You will need to be flexible and adaptable as well as good at your job - otherwise your reputation will kill your next contract. You also need to be able to see "what is coming up" within the SAP arena so you can get the training on those before others do and as such you become the "guru" within that area. Be aware though, training courses do take time and they do cost a fair bit! But I suppose you can always tag on a course at the end of a contract as you then have the money to spend:-)
Going contracting for the first time is not easy, it is rather stressful and you need to make sure you have set up the relevant legal company papers for your country and make sure you have a good tax accountant ready for your book keeping! Once you have done this, you then need to find yourself your first contract role! But where do you go?? Normally you tend to go to an agency, ideally one that you have been recommended to by one of your friends or peers.
You can find various SAP partners and consulting houses listed here: www.sap.com/ecosystem/customers/directories/index.epx
You can find SAP end-user clients here: www.sap.com/ecosystem/customers/customersuccess/index.epx
Image provided by www.freefoto.com
If you are looking for a full time job, then you most probably will need to consider your family in one way or another. Would you be looking for an end-user client or an implementation partner, as they tend to offer a different type of job. The end-user client would most probably keep you in one place i.e normally at their HQ - which if it is located close to your home might be a good option if you do not like travelling and being away during the week. This tends to suit the younger family or the person who is basically happy in one place. On the other hand, if you are looking at the consulting houses, then they offer generally a larger salary and better training but you then have to give back by being available to travel - both within your own country but also sometimes abroad. This means staying away during the weeks and living out of a suitcase in hotels or hotel apartments. If this does not bother you, well, then you can have a nice lifestyle, seeing many different places and discovering many different cultures and SAP projects.
Then you have the option of going it alone, as a freelancer or contractor. What are the options then? Well, you might not have a regular income but you do get a higher hourly rate compared with being a company employee. You will need to be flexible and adaptable as well as good at your job - otherwise your reputation will kill your next contract. You also need to be able to see "what is coming up" within the SAP arena so you can get the training on those before others do and as such you become the "guru" within that area. Be aware though, training courses do take time and they do cost a fair bit! But I suppose you can always tag on a course at the end of a contract as you then have the money to spend:-)
Going contracting for the first time is not easy, it is rather stressful and you need to make sure you have set up the relevant legal company papers for your country and make sure you have a good tax accountant ready for your book keeping! Once you have done this, you then need to find yourself your first contract role! But where do you go?? Normally you tend to go to an agency, ideally one that you have been recommended to by one of your friends or peers.
You can find various SAP partners and consulting houses listed here: www.sap.com/ecosystem/customers/directories/index.epx
You can find SAP end-user clients here: www.sap.com/ecosystem/customers/customersuccess/index.epx
Image provided by www.freefoto.com
SAP Job Agencies - Are they any good?
Which SAP agency? - Who can you trust?
Personally, I have been in the SAP resourcing arena since 1997 and I have seen the various SAP agency websites come and go. Some are doing very well and others are known as part of the "agency cowboys". But how can you tell? You need to check by seeing what service they provide - can they prepare you for a face-to-face/tele conference interview with relevant project (and its members) details, can they recommend any local/good hotels where you ideally want to be located, what about helping you find flight alternatives, privide you with the local taxi rates, the actual project location, do they know of any good restaurants etc, most agences do not provide the above info and service as they do not believe it is part of their job, personally I disagree, I think they should work for their money and I believe it should be part of providing a good service for both the consultant but also for the client as by helping a the contractor with the above he/she will arrive at the project relaxed and ready for the days work. So a win-win situation for everyone. An interesting question to ask any agency is "what do you charge your clients?" - be aware they do not happily provide this answer as many agencies charge anything from 10%-50% of your hourly rate for each and every hour you work!By asking your own peers you can also get a good idea of good and better agencies that more seasoned contractors have or are currently using. I believe this is the best way. Nothing beats a recommendation!
Image provided by www.freefoto.com
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Lensmaster
yogiwan wrote
Loved the video. It too often is exactly what IT consultants sound like to customers.The issue is how to make all of those sound bites cohesive. Of course SAP is the only solution for that - right?
Posted March 08, 2008
squidinkley wrote...
Good information, VK! I especially like how you identify the positive and negative aspects of each job type.
Although the article seems to focus on jobhunting for SAP professionals, I can see a lot of this advice being relevant to many other professional-service specialists. Consulting and info technology today includes so many different skill sets, but if you are looking to rank for search terms related to SAP and job hunting, this text should help.
Only recommendation I would offer is to break up the text to make it look more inviting to the reader. Separate specific ideas into their own paragraphs, and use bullet points where possible. Thanks again for reviewing my lens, and sorry for the difficulty you had getting to it.
Posted March 08, 2008
New Del.icio.us SAP bookmarks
by MadSwede
Hi, I have been in the SAP resource arena since 1997 and have had my own company together with my husband Simon since the summer of 2000.
I look forwa... (more)
I look forwa... (more)
