Our Meet the Hiring Manager series allows you to get to know the people who grow teams at VMware. You’ll learn about our hiring managers’ career paths and what they look for in candidates during the interview process. This week we’d like you to meet Noel Lacayo.
Snapshot
- Job title: Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering
- Years at VMware: 6 Years, 3 Months
- First job: My first “paying” job [In IT] Was working for United Parcel Service in the Technology Support Group. I would visit customer sites and upgrade the shipping customers workstations from Windows 3.11 to Windows NT 4.
- Fun fact: On the first day of a contract IT job early in my career , I was asked to fix a security camera. I did, however forgot to remove an email address which resulted in over 10k images being emailed to my company email address which brought down email for 4 hours for the entire company. No, I didn’t lose my job I was actually hired a few months later as a permanent employee!
VMware Careers: Tell us about your career journey to date?
Noel: I have gathered two decades of experience in technology. Starting at the IT Service Desk, then through operations, project management, leadership, and starting a tech startup which was later acquired by a larger company. I have built entire teams and built entire data centers!
I also spent over 8 years in sales engineering roles before being given the amazing opportunity to lead the Solutions Engineering Team at VMware. Being a VMware Solutions Engineer has been the most rewarding job in my career.
VMware Careers: How is VMware different from any other tech company you have worked for in the past?
Noel: VMware has been drastically different from any tech company or employer I have worked for in the past. The culture is amazing. VMware places importance on work-life balance, which has allowed me to enjoy time with my family. I have been so much more present to my family than ever before. Honestly, with my past jobs, I missed out on some important moments of my kids’ lives. I will forever be grateful to VMware for putting my and my family’s well-being first. VMware also fosters a culture of community and provides time and places importance on giving back, which I have leveraged many times to volunteer my time to causes I believe in. Lastly, the culture of helping each other out is unmatched. When I need help from other employees there is never a shortage of people willing to reach out and go above and beyond to lend a hand. This starts from the bottom all the way to the top and due to the emphasis on diversity and inclusion I have many colleagues with different backgrounds, professionally and personally. This allows us to learn so much from each other on a daily basis.
VMware Careers: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Noel: I would say two things get me out of bed in the morning. Working with amazing, industry-leading products to solve our customer’s challenges is fun. I love working with my team to take a problem a customer has and engineering a solution to solve that. Secondly, working for a company with such amazing leadership also gets me out of bed in the morning. Leveraging that culture, I like to be a champion and be a problem solver to my team. Enabling them to do what they do best!
VMware Careers: What has been the biggest lesson you have learned as you moved upwards in your career?
Noel: Have an impact on whatever you do. Whether it is your dream job or not, always give 100%. There is no shortcut for hard work! Also, so much success can come from a few core components like attitude and commitment. I have always approached my jobs with a positive attitude and a mindset of figuring out how I can succeed in my role, and thankfully that has always resulted in something great.
VMware Careers: What makes the team you lead so effective?
Noel: The team I lead all come from a diverse set of backgrounds, personally and professionally. We learn from each other every time we meet, even after working with some of them for over five years. Also, the team’s willingness to step up and lend a hand allows for many people to work towards the same goal. Our team is unselfish in every possible way and goes above and beyond to make sure their teammates are successful.
VMware Careers: If someone reading this was coming to interview with you tomorrow what interview tips would you give them?
Noel: We are looking for individuals that are genuine, self-motivated, passionate, and are eager to join our team, not only to work with our customers but to be part of a collaborative team that supports and never stops learning from each other. Also, do your research and learn what it is that makes VMware so unique!
You will find that it’s not just our culture but our solutions. We bring unmatched value, flexibility, and industry-leading technology solutions to our customers and people that get excited about that are a great fit here. I feel like the best Solutions Engineers are individuals that light up the room when they talk about our products with their energy and passion. I see it, our customers see it, and it’s contagious.
Could you see yourself working for a manager like Noel? Click below to apply to open role on his team.
Learn more about #VMwareLife by following our VMware Careers social channels below!
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