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How to Become a Citrix Technology Professional?

by Samuel Legrand, CTP, France CUGC Leader

Just one day after the award, some people have asked me this question. Here is the answer!

First, I’d like to share with you a tweet and a Facebook publication from Ruben:

I agree 100% with Ruben, so if your first goal is to become a CTP, you’re going the wrong way.

  • Prior requirements

Before applying (yes, you should apply, and I’ll explain you that later), I was involved in the community, sharing ideas, for at least 5 years:

  • At the beginning, just in my native language (French) in Citrix French events, on my blog, on the French forum http://www.doctor-citrix.com/
  • After a couple of presentations in French, I tried to make my first English presentation at E2EVC (e2evc.com) on October 2014, in Barcelona, and the topic was “Bandwidth Usage and Optimization with XenDesktop 7.x.” I was really happy to share the couple of things that I’d learned during a large deployment.

Since the feedback was good (except from Alex, the event organizer, but that seems to be “normal”!), I continued to share during Citrix events, E2EVC conferences around Europe and at the UK CUGC. The more you share, the more feedback you get and the more confident you are! Feedback from the community is awesome and it is always a pleasure for me to discuss about any topic before, during or after an event!

Since the CUGC was so cool, we tried to create the French one together with Stephane THIRION! It was in September and we discussed a lot about it. We finally organized it and the first event was scheduled for the 9th of November 2016.

In the meanwhile, Perrine, the Citrix leader of the CTP community, wrote her classic blog article “So, You Want to be a CTP?” on the 24th of October. After some thought, I decided to apply!

  • The application

The application process is quite simple, you have to fill in a form!

The first questions are the easiest ones: First name, Last name, social networks (linkedin profile, twitter…).

After that, you should write a small text about why you want to be a CTP and what you’ll first do if you are awarded!

Following this, you are asked for your skills and Citrix product expertise.

The last part consists of giving references. As the CTP award is based on sharing with the community, you need to provide at least one reference: a current CTP, a customer/partner/Citrite who is able to attest your knowledge. Be very careful with this part, as all references are checked.

  • The “3 months waiting”

As the process is complex, involving a lot of people, you now need to wait. If you are lucky you’ll have a mail from one or more of the current CTP telling you “I choose you on my list,” but you’ll not have any other news for long time, be patient!

  • The unofficial D-Day

A couple of days before the official announcement, you’ll wait for an email from Perrine. If, like me, you live in Europe, you will receive the email around 1AM and I hope for you it will be:

CONFIDENTIAL!! Congratulations and Welcome new CTP!

Just for your information: once you receive the email at 1AM, you will never find a way to fall asleep!!!

The serious things begin: you have to sign a NDA and a code of conduct and send your picture.

  • The official D-Day

The official announcement is done through:

Free tip: get your phone charged!

This is clearly the best moment, when you can say “I did it!”

You are now on a mailing list with 49 other crazy ones, a 58 channels slack with direct touch with every Product Manager and Architect at Citrix!

It’s quite a bit hard at the beginning as you need to be familiar with new things but the “old” CTPs are there to help you… And remember: sharing is what matters!

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