Technical account manager..... what is one?
Discussion
I have had an interview and an 1 hour long tech test for the above position.
Before the interview had finished they turned around and said that im through to the 2nd round and want an interview tomorrow morning, said I would talk with my manager to make sure they have cover as they are in a live release and not leaving them in the s
t and they were ok with that.... shows dedication and wanting to make sure the team are ok.
They also discussed the salary straight away (told them its negotiable) at the end of the interview and now I should be going back to see the CEO soon.
Does this sound positive or are they just wanting it over and done with due to get it out of the way? The fact they talked about salary is a good point no?
Is it normal to do it so fast?
I understand that TAM is one of the most high pressure jobs around and if it works out ok, I take it that it means I will be ok to move around (in a few years)?
unfortunately i dont use hands on skills and need to manage (no experience needed in spec) they are interested in the experience i have and can hand on.
What is the opinion of you lot before this is moved into jobs and employment?
Before the interview had finished they turned around and said that im through to the 2nd round and want an interview tomorrow morning, said I would talk with my manager to make sure they have cover as they are in a live release and not leaving them in the s
t and they were ok with that.... shows dedication and wanting to make sure the team are ok.They also discussed the salary straight away (told them its negotiable) at the end of the interview and now I should be going back to see the CEO soon.
Does this sound positive or are they just wanting it over and done with due to get it out of the way? The fact they talked about salary is a good point no?
Is it normal to do it so fast?
I understand that TAM is one of the most high pressure jobs around and if it works out ok, I take it that it means I will be ok to move around (in a few years)?
unfortunately i dont use hands on skills and need to manage (no experience needed in spec) they are interested in the experience i have and can hand on.
What is the opinion of you lot before this is moved into jobs and employment?
It could be a case that they like you for the role and don't want to hang around and see you take another offer elsewhere. I once had a second interview on the same day as the first so would'nt worry about having one the day after! As for the money - I like to know before or at the first interview. It plays a big part to me.
V8mate said:
Dupont666 said:
Technical account manager..... what is one?
Dupont666 said:
I have had an interview and an 1 hour long tech test for the above position.
You've had an interview and sat tests for a job - but you don't know what the job is?
The test were for my knowledge of stock trading and trouble shooting with JAVA.
That something I have done for 8 years.
All I know is that i dont get my hands dirty with code and sort out who should do it and need the technical knowledge i have to figure out the issue and get it sorted.
But why its called TEchnical account manager rather that project manager with tchnical experience is the small thing im trying to figure out.
Puggit said:
It tends to be a mixture of a pure account manager job (sales) and presales (technical stuff).
So - you will be expected to manage the account(s) from a day-to-day basis and grow sales - as well as demonstrate the solution, present slideshows etc.
There is no sales in this job, that is the sales teams job... I only get involved when they agree to by the solution and then we go from there.So - you will be expected to manage the account(s) from a day-to-day basis and grow sales - as well as demonstrate the solution, present slideshows etc.
So im to demonstrate how the project is progressing aka project manager and to look after the technical issues aka defect manager?
Also what is the scope for the this type of job in the current climate? If I wanted to move elsewhere are people needing TAMs or is it a dead end job that I will be stuck with that they can outsource?
Or is it a good oppotunity?
I ask cause I got the job spec last week and they are progressing so fast, whilst im still trying to find out if anyone knows what its like being a TAM and what the market place is like for them.
Puggit said:
Sounds like a different type of TAM role to the one's I know of!
Seems like a good stepping stone to presales though - which has good scope in the marketplace. I've been doing presales know for 5 years and still in demand!
My only fear is that I am coming from a pure technical background with good buisness knowledge of the industry.Seems like a good stepping stone to presales though - which has good scope in the marketplace. I've been doing presales know for 5 years and still in demand!
They have said its not hands on technical (i work out the fix/update in theory and document and send to my team in paris to code) so I have to decide if the losing of the technical aspect (will still keep the languages up to scratch as the theory is needed in this job) is going to do more harm than good in the long run and I have very little time as like mentioned they are progressing very fast.
I manage a team supporting outsourced Oracle database and apps customers, I have a number of TAMs in my organisation.
In my experience, a TAM is usually someone who has (or had) the technical knowledge required to understand the technical issues, while being able to manage the customer and their expectations and speak to and often organise the techies to get issues fixed quickly.
A bit like spinning plates
You need to have a technical understanding but not necessarily any current expertise (for instance in my case, I was a techie until Oracle 8i, so have a good grounding, but am not up-to-date with the newer databse technology, but can understand what my technical staff are talking about most of the time) so you can understand the technical aspects and speak with the techies.
You need to be able to project manage.
You need to have good interpersonal skills and be able to give the customer an honest and realistic appraisal of the situation, but be aware of their business objectives.
You need to manage the customer's expectations against what the organisation can deliver.
That's roughly what we call a TAM, hope it helps.
In my experience, a TAM is usually someone who has (or had) the technical knowledge required to understand the technical issues, while being able to manage the customer and their expectations and speak to and often organise the techies to get issues fixed quickly.
A bit like spinning plates
You need to have a technical understanding but not necessarily any current expertise (for instance in my case, I was a techie until Oracle 8i, so have a good grounding, but am not up-to-date with the newer databse technology, but can understand what my technical staff are talking about most of the time) so you can understand the technical aspects and speak with the techies.
You need to be able to project manage.
You need to have good interpersonal skills and be able to give the customer an honest and realistic appraisal of the situation, but be aware of their business objectives.
You need to manage the customer's expectations against what the organisation can deliver.
That's roughly what we call a TAM, hope it helps.
Mark Benson said:
I manage a team supporting outsourced Oracle database and apps customers, I have a number of TAMs in my organisation.
In my experience, a TAM is usually someone who has (or had) the technical knowledge required to understand the technical issues, while being able to manage the customer and their expectations and speak to and often organise the techies to get issues fixed quickly.
A bit like spinning plates
You need to have a technical understanding but not necessarily any current expertise (for instance in my case, I was a techie until Oracle 8i, so have a good grounding, but am not up-to-date with the newer databse technology, but can understand what my technical staff are talking about most of the time) so you can understand the technical aspects and speak with the techies.
You need to be able to project manage.
You need to have good interpersonal skills and be able to give the customer an honest and realistic appraisal of the situation, but be aware of their business objectives.
You need to manage the customer's expectations against what the organisation can deliver.
That's roughly what we call a TAM, hope it helps.
And is it a step up in regards to a job from an analyst developer? Im still in the same industry (Investment banking wise).In my experience, a TAM is usually someone who has (or had) the technical knowledge required to understand the technical issues, while being able to manage the customer and their expectations and speak to and often organise the techies to get issues fixed quickly.
A bit like spinning plates
You need to have a technical understanding but not necessarily any current expertise (for instance in my case, I was a techie until Oracle 8i, so have a good grounding, but am not up-to-date with the newer databse technology, but can understand what my technical staff are talking about most of the time) so you can understand the technical aspects and speak with the techies.
You need to be able to project manage.
You need to have good interpersonal skills and be able to give the customer an honest and realistic appraisal of the situation, but be aware of their business objectives.
You need to manage the customer's expectations against what the organisation can deliver.
That's roughly what we call a TAM, hope it helps.
What is the kind of career progression of a TAM?
I was originally looking to go:
Analyst Developer > Team Leader > Technical Architect > Project Leader
What would it be now?
What is the market like? For movement to different locations in the world, etc?
I assume this is not the kind of job that can be outsourced?
Landlord said:
Dupont666 said:
I understand that TAM is one of the most high pressure jobs around
Yep, too right. Up there with paediatricians and surgeons etc. I don't want to even think what would happen if we didn't have men-of-men prepared to technically manage accounts. :admiration:Anyone can run into a burning building to rescue orphans, but effectively managing expectations whilst simultaneously allocating resources in the optimal manner?
Those guys are heroes.
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