the way they interviewed you

the_return_of_the_Ring

I'm gonna have my first formal interview on this Friday. It's a helpdesk/network administration job. The company has about 50 offices throughout US. Can you guys tell me what style are they gonna interview me? sitting behind a long table asking questions while I'm sitting in front of them, or a round coffee table chatting around? I believe the job is not too critical to the comapny, will they make it too formal?

what's the procedure of the interview? do they show me around the company first or go directly to the questions? Your interview experience is highly appreciated. thanks!

EdTheLad

Every place is different,most common is a long table with maybe 3 interviewers,1 HR, 2 techies.Usually companies maintain the same interview style independent of the job,at the end of the day, everyone has their part to play to make the company function.
Dont expect anything, go with the flow and relax,dont forget you are interviewing them also.

sir_creamy_

I had 30 interviews this year for co-op, and I can tell you with certainty that ed is absolutely right. There is no set structure for interviews, they are all different. Expect the unexpected.

First, research the company and the position you are applying for cuse they're going to ask for that information.

If you get bombarded with technical questions that you don't know how to answer try to wiggle around it but don't BS your interviewers. Just say "I'm sorry, I don't know." My worst interview experience came when I tried to convince 5 interviewers that I knew how to install and configure a BlackBerry Enterprise Server when I really had no idea. Just tell the truth. They'll appreciate your honesty.

Oh, and as far as seating is concerned, try not to put yourself in a "me versus them" scenario. i.e., if you're given the choice of where to sit, don't sit at the end of the table with the interviewers opposite to you. Try to emerse yourself within the group by sitting somewhere in the middle and ALWAYS maintain eye contact with EVERYONE. The HR interviewer won't have any clue about what your answers to technical questions mean, but that doesn't mean you can exclude him/her from the conversation.

Cheers.

sharptech

It depends on the company. Some interviews I had was with the director and some w/ a lot of different techs.

Go over interview questions the night before. Look up some on google and just get yourself prepared. As said before research the company and know a lot about them.

Also - this question will come up! - do YOU have any questions - make sure you DO! Companies can not stand when you have nothing to ask because they feel like you are less interested etc..

Good luck and be as calm as possible. Remember - you might go through a lot of interviews before getting the job - do not get discouraged - just keep moving on and the right place will contact you for the job.

Good luck

Trailerisf

sir_creamy_ wrote:

My worst interview experience came when I tried to convince 5 interviewers that I knew how to install and configure a BlackBerry Enterprise Server when I really had no idea.

Put in the cd and hit setup.exe... If they ask you for specifics tell em the install manual is 40 pages long and you can't be expected to remember everything

I've done 10 installs of BES and I use a 3 pg **** sheet. So don't feel bad if you couldn't answer.

Pash

My experience of job interviews in IT is very limited, 2 infact and both i didnt get the job for but the advice from above sounds very good, and myself will be in the job hunt soon and I will take it on board.

Jammywanks

Everytime I go in for an interview I always do some research for the company. Even though as helpdesk you aren't really performing any real role for the company, like being in the R&D or legal dept. But you have your purpose. Ok, point being, come prepared with the bigger picture.

Ask many questions indeed. What brand laptops do you guys use? IBM? Dell? Is is mainly desktops or laptops? Do you guys handle ticket requests? Which application handles the tickets? (name things like Remedy, etc.). How many users will I be supporting?

Then say things like "You mean imaging using Norton ghost? Ghost cast server? Do you guys securely wipe data off drives after the user is done with the equipment?"

In my current job at the moment, we are just setting up PC's in the cubes, very simple job thats not actually IT to be honest, but I asked my interviewer how things would go, like "do I get a floorplan of the cubes" or things like "how many buildings, floors, whats the numbering scheme?".

Helpdesk is not hard to get into so don't sweat it. Also... stay relaxed.

In my opinion they should not be asking you sh!t questions like "what can you do for the company?" and "what are your strengths and weaknesses". These are completely irrelevant to helpdesk cause I'm not actually meeting with other business clientèle, etc.