Advise on what to study for Interview

wrighttim

I have a Interview for a Tech job for a school District, and advise on what to study up on so i don't bomb the interview lol. Here is a outline of what they are looking for Thanks!!!

[FONT= ]Skill Requirements
[/FONT]
•Knowledge of computer workstation setup.
•Ability to be self-motivated, communicative, and work independently.
•Ability to work with the Technology Team to see issues to resolution.
•Ability to multi-task and prioritize workload throughout region.
•Knowledge of computer hardware and software applications.
•Ability to install, maintain and repair computers and peripherals, including printers, modem and scanners.•Ability to install and maintain network cables and hardware.
•Ability to diagnose and resolve computer hardware, software, and network problems.
•Ability to travel as required
[FONT= ]Major Responsibilities and Duties:[/FONT]
[FONT= ]Installation[/FONT]
· Install and upgrade computers and peripherals throughout the district.· Install network cabling and network peripherals throughout the district.· Relocate computer hardware, peripherals, and equipment as needed.· Install and configure software as needed.
· Assist with the installation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of data communications circuitsand equipment.
[FONT= ]Equipment Repair and Maintenance[/FONT]
· Diagnose and repair equipment, including printers, terminals, and personal computers.· Service equipment according to established preventive maintenance schedule.
· Maintain accurate updated records of preventive maintenance.
· Maintain accurate records of time and materials required to perform repairs and service.

clintonia

Based on the requirements, I'd recommend brushing up on how to troubleshoot hardware issues. The interviewer may make up a scenario on a particular hardware failing, and ask you to describe the steps you'd take to troubleshoot or resolve the issue. Explaining your logic behind troubleshooting is just as important as knowing how to troubleshoot.

wrighttim

Will do! Thank you so much!

E Double U

clintonia wrote: »

describe the steps you'd take to troubleshoot or resolve the issue. .

1. Reboot
2. Reboot again
3. Escalate

jeremywatts2005

IF and I say IF possible find out what brand of computers, printers and so on they are using. Then when going through scenario based questions with their particular models in mind. For instance: When I begin troubleshooting a Lexmark T series 620 that is having smeared print I do XYZ. This personalizes the interview and gives the impression you know Lexmarks, Dell or whatever. The thing is the answer is a basic troubleshooting answer that could go for any model. Also it shows you have interest and spent time researching them.

Also if you can research who is interviewing you. Try to decipher from online information what are their pet peeves, or what they like. This will enable you to better connect with your interviewer. Before I do an interview with any company I prep at least 5-10 hours, doing research understanding who I am interviewing with and the company. If I know they have kids then I mention I have kids or they have a dog and so do I. It is the art of conversation and building rapport with the interviewer.

TechnicalJay

E Double U wrote: »

1. Reboot
2. Reboot again
3. Escalate
4. Reset router

Seems like a pretty straight forward gig. Mostly basic troubleshooting I would assume.

Make sure you dress business casual for the interview and blue seems to be a good choice for shirt colors(My lucky color!). Firm hand shake and standing tall with a smile. Also looking into their eyes. Speak clearly and dont mumble.

When is this interview anyways?

TechnicalJay

jeremywatts2005 wrote: »

IF and I say IF possible find out what brand of computers, printers and so on they are using. Then when going through scenario based questions with their particular models in mind. For instance: When I begin troubleshooting a Lexmark T series 620 that is having smeared print I do XYZ. This personalizes the interview and gives the impression you know Lexmarks, Dell or whatever. The thing is the answer is a basic troubleshooting answer that could go for any model. Also it shows you have interest and spent time researching them.

Also if you can research who is interviewing you. Try to decipher from online information what are their pet peeves, or what they like. This will enable you to better connect with your interviewer. Before I do an interview with any company I prep at least 5-10 hours, doing research understanding who I am interviewing with and the company. If I know they have kids then I mention I have kids or they have a dog and so do I. It is the art of conversation and building rapport with the interviewer.

Most schools use Dell or HP.

10 hours researching for an interview? That's pretty extensive isn't it? Maybe an hour or 2 is fine but you don't need to go into private investigator mode and find out if they have kids etc. Just be yourself and the rest will follow.

jeremywatts2005

2 might be OK for him, but for me 5 to 10 is the norm. I am in the 6 figures and you have to be very personable and you have to be able to have a great conversation. I do a lot of research for a reason and that is it lessens the variables in the interview. Most of the time the information isn't hard to get you just want to store up as much as possible to make sure you are ready. I also tend to know the benefits package fairly well before going in and the average salary for the position. I research multiple aspects of the job from top to bottom. And yes I know how many kids my interviewer has. If it was important enough for them to share it on social media then it is important enough for me to learn about. It's building rapport and make the interviewer more comfortable with you.

clintonia

jeremywatts2005 wrote: »

2 might be OK for him, but for me 5 to 10 is the norm. I am in the 6 figures and you have to be very personable and you have to be able to have a great conversation.

I think 2 hours is slightly overkill. I'd recommend 45 minutes to an hour for OP, as the job doesn't seem like it demands that much. 10 hours of research for a job sounds like overkill to me unless you're learning information that you didn't previously know in order to make you more qualified. ie. I have no knowledge of Microsoft Word and they say its a required skill, let me learn that. 2-3 hours seems more of the norm but maybe that's just been my experience and what I've seen.

TechnicalJay

jeremywatts2005 wrote: »

2 might be OK for him, but for me 5 to 10 is the norm. I am in the 6 figures and you have to be very personable and you have to be able to have a great conversation. I do a lot of research for a reason and that is it lessens the variables in the interview. Most of the time the information isn't hard to get you just want to store up as much as possible to make sure you are ready. I also tend to know the benefits package fairly well before going in and the average salary for the position. I research multiple aspects of the job from top to bottom. And yes I know how many kids my interviewer has. If it was important enough for them to share it on social media then it is important enough for me to learn about. It's building rapport and make the interviewer more comfortable with you.

Do most higher end positions at big companies ask what you would like your salary to be instead of telling you?

NetworkNewb

jeremywatts2005 wrote: »

And yes I know how many kids my interviewer has. If it was important enough for them to share it on social media then it is important enough for me to learn about.

Also, make sure to start out the conversation with very specific details about their life on what you find on Social Media sites too, like:

"So, I saw you and your family just got back from a vacation last Thursday. It looks like the weather was pretty good where you went."

or

"I see your daughter lost her first tooth last week. They grow up so fast."


It'll show you went the extra mile and did your research

jeremywatts2005

TechnicalJay my experience has been I tell them what I want and we negotiate from there. Everything from benefits including vacation and so on even hours and times of work are up. Salary is of course one aspect and I always start a little high and they know that. When I converted from a contractor to perm I told them what I wanted for a salary. They balked and said they wouldn't give it to me and to take it or leave it. I handed them a resignation. An hour later I had a revised offer that was within a couple of thousand of what I wanted.

aderon

E Double U wrote: »

1. Reboot
2. Reboot again
3. Escalate

I actually laughed out loud at this.

techfiend

If I interviewed someone who brought up my kids I'd feel a little creeped out and likely wouldn't hire them.

TechGromit

wrighttim wrote: »

I have a Interview for a Tech job for a school District, and advise on what to study up on so i don't bomb the interview lol. Here is a outline of what they are looking for Thanks!!!

Depends on the company, were I work they don't even ask you any Technical questions, let alone any questions about your resume. The interviews are all behavior based, they ask you questions like, "Tell me a time when you promised a client something but failed to deliver." They want to see how you think on your feet. Your graded / scored on if you answered each question completely. You could have a resume where you invented the internet, if you screw up the behavior based interview, your not getting hired.

When I interviewed at Verizon, it same exact type of interview. The only difference with version was they had me take some basic skill tests, you had to pass a math and basic technical test before they would schedule an interview.

clintonia wrote: »

The interviewer may make up a scenario on a particular hardware failing, and ask you to describe the steps you'd take to troubleshoot or resolve the issue. Explaining your logic behind troubleshooting is just as important as knowing how to troubleshoot.

Call the Help desk, my logic, they know how to fix computer stuff.

ITBot

The school I worked for would actually break some simple stuff on a desktop, unplug the hard drive, unplug power to the cd drive, change bios setting to boot to pxe, force word files to open up with IE, unseat one of the ram modules, that kind of stuff and then they would have the tech fix it based on a customer description of the symptoms. The actual questions were scenarios where they want to see how you would react to irate customers and how you handle issues you can't resolve. If you don't know the answer to a question, tell them you would try to research the answer or if it was a high priority issue, you would escalate it to your team lead or manager.

Most of all, go in with a positive attitude with great customer service skills and show that you would be good easy going person to work with. If you can emphasize that, that will sometimes get you the job over any tech skills you don't have. You can't teach soft skills as easily as tech skills.