NOC Tech 1

jryantech

Ok I just got a small phone interview for a entry level job dealing with networks, internet and all that jazz. I did fairly well...

They got me down for a face-to-face interview next week. What should I study for this? I'm thinking about opening up a Network+ book. Any other suggestions?

learningtofly22

Not a bad idea, I'd also crack open a search on the net for the company, find out a little about their history, recent acquisitions/projects, etc. and so on. Interviewers love it when you've gone the extra mile to learn a little more about the company, shows that you're a team player. Have a few questions ready for them too.

undomiel

I'll second what learningtofly22 has to say. Learn as much as you can about the company and also about the company's infrastructure. Get on the phone with someone over there and find out what specifically your job duties would be and then research that big time. Have fun and good luck!

sharptech

I will third that. Today I had a phone interview and the Director came right out and said "What can you tell me about our company." - well I had done a bit of research and had told them what I knew etc. and the Director said "you could not of said it any better."

When going into the interview try to bring up what you like about their company from the research you have done and they will def. find that impressive.

Good luck!

Therhino

During my interview they just had questions on common procedures and everything. I actually used to the linux + information on this site to review and brush up my skills and wording.

empc4000xl

yes find out as much as you can about the company. Have you already done a technical interview yet? If so, they are gonna be more concerned about how do you work in a team, and solo(most NOC's require a good combination of both.) Do you follow documentation and so on. When they asked me what I knew about the company. I knew the router and switch models they used for most of there costomers, and I even knew how the network would be setup from the customer back to the site, and drew the diagram out(it was a small 1). Also look to see if they have made any big purchases and when question time comes up ask how you fit into it all.

jryantech

Alright so I've been reading up a lot about the company and the TechNote PDF for Network+... I have the interview Thursday (so about a week).

If you worked as a NOC Tech... Basically tech support for a telecommunication company what do you feel you would need to know for everyday work?

Example: The OSI Model... (Do not know if it is actually used, but seems it should be)

empc4000xl

at a NOC I usually didn't care if they didn't know much coming in the gate. What I cared about is when they answered a phone was customer service and that they made the customer on the other end feel important, and that there call was important to us. You can teach skills, but personality is a whole different ball game.

Down to daily work, At the NOC I was at, you had to know how to config ports on various cisco router models depending on the changes in WAN understand OSPF, and EIGRP. That was about 60 percent of the job. Next up for tier 1 you had to do all the grunt work like make backups, change tapes do cutovers. Also adding new gear to your monitoring service, and labeling it. Most of this stuff you will have down within 2 months of being there. When it came to firewalls, and playing with DNS that was usually what the tier 2 folks would be doing, but they let us play with the access list if you had a desire to learn it and showed that you were interested in the technology.


With that all being said I worked at military NOC, some of my friends got out and worked at NOC's and had to do way more, and if you read my post of a job offer I had, working Tier 1 it was just pinging devices to see that they were there, and if they weren't you called someone else. So make sure you ask what your job duties are b4 you show up. You don't wanna be doing crap work at a Tier 1 position when you could be somewhere else doing a lot more in a tier 1 position which leads to higher paying positions down the line.

jryantech

empc4000xl wrote:

at a NOC I usually didn't care if they didn't know much coming in the gate. What I cared about is when they answered a phone was customer service and that they made the customer on the other end feel important, and that there call was important to us. You can teach skills, but personality is a whole different ball game.

Down to daily work, At the NOC I was at, you had to know how to config ports on various cisco router models depending on the changes in WAN understand OSPF, and EIGRP. That was about 60 percent of the job. Next up for tier 1 you had to do all the grunt work like make backups, change tapes do cutovers. Also adding new gear to your monitoring service, and labeling it. Most of this stuff you will have down within 2 months of being there. When it came to firewalls, and playing with DNS that was usually what the tier 2 folks would be doing, but they let us play with the access list if you had a desire to learn it and showed that you were interested in the technology.


With that all being said I worked at military NOC, some of my friends got out and worked at NOC's and had to do way more, and if you read my post of a job offer I had, working Tier 1 it was just pinging devices to see that they were there, and if they weren't you called someone else. So make sure you ask what your job duties are b4 you show up. You don't wanna be doing crap work at a Tier 1 position when you could be somewhere else doing a lot more in a tier 1 position which leads to higher paying positions down the line.

Well they seem like a very strong company, had me on speaker with 3 of their administrators. The pay hourly is much more then I expected so it kind of scares me of what they might expect me to know... But Network+ is NOT on my resume so I suppose they would not have bothered calling me if that was a big deal. Although I did tell them I'm studying for the exam which I currently am but plan on taking Vista 620 first.

Any other recommendations on what to study specifically?

empc4000xl

thats a real hard question. I would say anything on your resume is fair game. Know your A+ stuff and know your N+ stuff. Also take a look at the job description and you can get a idea of what they want you to do, and formulate some questions around that.

LarryDaMan

jryantech wrote:

empc4000xl wrote:

at a NOC I usually didn't care if they didn't know much coming in the gate. What I cared about is when they answered a phone was customer service and that they made the customer on the other end feel important, and that there call was important to us. You can teach skills, but personality is a whole different ball game.

Down to daily work, At the NOC I was at, you had to know how to config ports on various cisco router models depending on the changes in WAN understand OSPF, and EIGRP. That was about 60 percent of the job. Next up for tier 1 you had to do all the grunt work like make backups, change tapes do cutovers. Also adding new gear to your monitoring service, and labeling it. Most of this stuff you will have down within 2 months of being there. When it came to firewalls, and playing with DNS that was usually what the tier 2 folks would be doing, but they let us play with the access list if you had a desire to learn it and showed that you were interested in the technology.


With that all being said I worked at military NOC, some of my friends got out and worked at NOC's and had to do way more, and if you read my post of a job offer I had, working Tier 1 it was just pinging devices to see that they were there, and if they weren't you called someone else. So make sure you ask what your job duties are b4 you show up. You don't wanna be doing crap work at a Tier 1 position when you could be somewhere else doing a lot more in a tier 1 position which leads to higher paying positions down the line.

Well they seem like a very strong company, had me on speaker with 3 of their administrators. The pay hourly is much more then I expected so it kind of scares me of what they might expect me to know... But Network+ is NOT on my resume so I suppose they would not have bothered calling me if that was a big deal. Although I did tell them I'm studying for the exam which I currently am but plan on taking Vista 620 first.

Any other recommendations on what to study specifically?

Honestly, with less than a week to go, I don't know what you'd gain from cramming Network+ material. Maybe it would help you with some terminology, but being that it is mostly vendor neutral, I don't see the point.

You want to be prepared but do not go into the interview like a robot with stuff memorized. If you are inexperienced: stress your ability to learn quick, your love of computers, your work ethic. Make an appropriate joke, tell a story about how you have taken computers apart since you were a kid, talk about your certificiation goals...etc.

If you can't wow with your experience, then do it with your attitude and personality. Remember, they have to work with you, so they want to know that you are likeable and can survive in a team environment.

Be confident, make them feel like they need to impress you. I have been conducting hiring interviews for the last couple of weeks and I think you can teach a smart person to do most anything with on the job training... its the intangibles like work ethic, attitude, and confidence that are harder to find.

empc4000xl

larrydaman wrote:

A its the intangibles like work ethic, attitude, and confidence that are harder to find.

Thanks I forgot to mention that in the top. I hit up the customer service part, but what you said is so truthful.

LarryDaMan

One more thing, studying material and cramming for an interview can get you in trouble even if you get hired. Yeah, research the company and some basic stuff... but you will likely be exposed if you fake your way through the interview by spouting off facts from a text. If you have never done something, be honest and stress your positives.

It would be a nightmare to study something and succeed during the interview just to be fired on the first day because you have no idea how to actually do it. It shows a lack of integrity as well.

jryantech

Thanks for the tips guys

jryantech

Ok well tomorrow is the interview and I'm trying to feel as confident as I can...

I understand the OSI Model pretty well, IP addressing, IP classes, Default Subnet masks and most of the ports... What else should be fresh on my mind for a level 1 NOC tech? DNS? WINS?

I'm ready to pitch myself as a motivated young guy but I really would like to know some stuff beyond my A+ just to feel more confident.

Any links to pages on the internet that explains something you think I should know?

undomiel

DNS along with network troubleshooting would be good. Probably the best thing you could do for yourself though is make sure you get enough sleep, eat a good breakfast, and go to the interview looking and feeling as good as possible. If you look good, you'll feel good. If you feel good, it'll project in the interview. That will make nice long lasting impression to them. Make sure you think on your feet and qualify anything you answer "I don't know" with how you would find out or with your best guess. Be honest. They probably care more about your ability to reason and deduce than they care about your current level of skills. Skills can be trained a whole lot more easily than to think.

gojericho0

Best of luck. Let us know how it goes...we'll be keeping our fingers crossed

networker050184

jryantech wrote:

Any links to pages on the internet that explains something you think I should know?

If you need some info on networking check out the Cisco Docs especially the Internetworking Technology Handbook for lower level overviews on topics. For basic troubleshooting check out the Internetwork Troubleshooting Hnadbook.

nicklauscombs

for level I support it would be wise to brush up on some net+ concepts but I think it is a whole lot more important to sell yourself as a people person who can handle the communication side

jryantech

Any links on dealing with the specifics on what I might need to know about DNS?

As for enough sleep, I get home from work at 9:30pm so I'll hit the sack then.
I'll wake up 2 hours before the interview make myself a good breakfast and review what the company is about some more.

If they ask me one of those "what is your weakness" questions I'm thinking about saying "Hands-on Experience" or "Inexperience with-in the field" but working on that with Network+ books and training.

learningtofly22

I'll hit on some more of the personality/presentation since the technical side is pretty much covered. Like many said, confidence is necessary, but don't bluff if you don't know something. Also, don't be so confident that you come off as cocky - it can be a fine line sometimes, and what seems to be confidence to one person may seem cocky to another. Start reading your interviewer as soon as you walk in the door, you should be able to quickly discern the types of things they might find uncalled for in an interview.

Aside from the obvious "dress for success" (suit if you got it), pay the most attention to your shoes! You would be shocked at how important this is to a lot of interviewers, don't ask me why, but the adage "the shoes make the man" holds especially true for interviews! At my last 2 interviews, the interviewers looked at my shoes both times, for longer than what could be a passing glance. You are a product they want to buy, make yourself shine and you'll get it. Good luck and know how it goes!

darkerosxx

learningtofly22 wrote:

Aside from the obvious "dress for success" (suit if you got it), pay the most attention to your shoes! You would be shocked at how important this is to a lot of interviewers, don't ask me why, but the adage "the shoes make the man" holds especially true for interviews! At my last 2 interviews, the interviewers looked at my shoes both times, for longer than what could be a passing glance.

QFT. I have heard many managers make comments on shoes and how much they mean.

jryantech

learningtofly22 wrote:

I'll hit on some more of the personality/presentation since the technical side is pretty much covered. Like many said, confidence is necessary, but don't bluff if you don't know something. Also, don't be so confident that you come off as cocky - it can be a fine line sometimes, and what seems to be confidence to one person may seem cocky to another. Start reading your interviewer as soon as you walk in the door, you should be able to quickly discern the types of things they might find uncalled for in an interview.

Aside from the obvious "dress for success" (suit if you got it), pay the most attention to your shoes! You would be shocked at how important this is to a lot of interviewers, don't ask me why, but the adage "the shoes make the man" holds especially true for interviews! At my last 2 interviews, the interviewers looked at my shoes both times, for longer than what could be a passing glance. You are a product they want to buy, make yourself shine and you'll get it. Good luck and know how it goes!

I have a lot of professional clothing.

Since I have blue eyes I like the **** that by wearing black button up with a blue tie or a blue button up with a black tie. Black or Tan slacks with black shiny Stacy Adam shoes

I like the suit idea but I'm in Florida and in the afternoon it gets like 95 degrees. I do not see many business professionals around here in the summer wearing suits. Although I understand it could only help not hurt.

Thanks everyone for the input, keep it coming

networker050184

jryantech wrote:

I like the suit idea but I'm in Florida and in the afternoon it gets like 95 degrees. I do not see many business professionals around here in the summer wearing suits.

How many of these people do you think are going to interviews?

I'm from the south also, but no matter the heat I would never go to an interview without a suit.

jryantech

networker050184 wrote:

jryantech wrote:

I like the suit idea but I'm in Florida and in the afternoon it gets like 95 degrees. I do not see many business professionals around here in the summer wearing suits.

How many of these people do you think are going to interviews?

I'm from the south also, but no matter the heat I would never go to an interview without a suit.

Like I said suits can only help not hurt.
I have not made a decision weather to wear one or not.

nicklauscombs

I back the suit comment, heat or no heat it is always a good idea to wear a suit

nicklauscombs

the only time I didn't wear a suit is one time I had a potential employer say in an email with my interview information "It's summertime so we dress casual here" so I left the sports coat behind

networker050184

You should have shown up in shorts, flip flops and a Hawaiian shirt

snadam

networker050184 wrote:

jryantech wrote:

I like the suit idea but I'm in Florida and in the afternoon it gets like 95 degrees. I do not see many business professionals around here in the summer wearing suits.

How many of these people do you think are going to interviews?

I'm from the south also, but no matter the heat I would never go to an interview without a suit.

coming from an even hotter, more casual climate Ill vouch for jryantech here. Only lawyers and undertakers were suits around here. However, you will be the standout if you wear one. I have been contemplating what I should go with for an interview; full suit or everything but the jacket...

jryantech

Ok so I went with the suit and it was a 5 person panel interview. The HR Lady asked me plenty of questions which I feel I did very good on, she gave comments like "very nice" "i like that" which boosted my confidence.

One of the Five guys grilled me a lot! In between conversations or after I answered a question he would throw in a technical question. The other three guys were pretty laid back and made jokes. They said I did well on the technical quiz and questions I did not get right they would not mind training me on.

In the middle of the interview I saw on one of the piece of papers the HR lady laid out on the table, it had my name and the time slot of the interview. Then I saw 5 more guys names underneath it for later on today! After the interview they let me know they had more interviews to do today AND tomorrow.

I'm hoping I made a good enough impression. I give my performance overall an 8/10, still more learning to do in the interviewing process.

undomiel

I'm glad to hear it went pretty well for you! Did they give you a timeline for when they would contact you for the next phase? Did you find out how many positions they are looking to fill? Good luck, I hope you get the job!