Potential interview for helpdesk

djhss68

Hey, I was wondering if you guys know of any websites that list many common Level 1 helpdesk calls and list answers/solutions for them. I got a call today for a potential Level 1 position(campus support for students/faculty) and they(**********) said they would call me back for a technical interview tomorrow. Figured I would cram through the night to be prepared for whatever they throw at me.

EDIT: I didn't realize the company name would be censored. The company is t-e-k systems.

rsutton

I used to do that role and some of the questions that came up in interviews:
What is TCP/IP?
A user calls you and says she cannot access the network, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up to a blue screen, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up and says xxxx.sys is missing or corrupted, how would you troubleshoot?
A user calls and says her Email client is open but she has not received email all day...
A user calls and says he can access web sites but not network drives...
A user calls and cannot login to his PC...
Explain the steps involved in setting up a new PC...

These are questions I remember being asked at interviews. If you have done this type of work before these should all be easy questions for you; if not you may want to study up a bit.

It's important that you "sell" your soft skills with these types of questions. Example:
[interviewer] A user calls in and says her PC is not working
[you] First I want to make sure I fully understand the problem, so I will ask her a few questions to find out what she means such as "Do you mean you are unable to login to the PC?"

An answer like that show you listen and ask supporting questions to isolate the issue.

exx1976

rsutton wrote: »

I used to do that role and some of the questions that came up in interviews:
What is TCP/IP?
A user calls you and says she cannot access the network, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up to a blue screen, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up and says xxxx.sys is missing or corrupted, how would you troubleshoot?
A user calls and says her Email client is open but she has not received email all day...
A user calls and says he can access web sites but not network drives...
A user calls and cannot login to his PC...
Explain the steps involved in setting up a new PC...

These are questions I remember being asked at interviews. If you have done this type of work before these should all be easy questions for you; if not you may want to study up a bit.

It's important that you "sell" your soft skills with these types of questions. Example:
[interviewer] A user calls in and says her PC is not working
[you] First I want to make sure I fully understand the problem, so I will ask her a few questions to find out what she means such as "Do you mean you are unable to login to the PC?"

An answer like that show you listen and ask supporting questions to isolate the issue.

+1, focus equally on soft-skills. Level 1 tech jobs are every bit as much customer service as they are "technical" jobs. When I was hiring my techs, the most important thing to me was "how is this guy going to handle my users"? Nearly everyone that I interviewed was able to do the job from a technical standpoint; their resumes told me that. So they came in to interview, I spent 5-10 minutes on technical questions, and the rest was like

"Why do you want to work in the IT field?"
"What started your interest in computers?"
"Tell me about a difficult situation you faced when you worked as a cashier at <grocery store X> and how you solved it?"
"How would you handle a user that calls up screaming that their computer just crashed and they lost 5 hours worth of work, and they need that document for a meeting they have to attend in 20 minutes?"

Things like that. Any answers that led me to believe that they were either in it only for the money, or that they had no patience, or that they would not treat end users with the respect they deserve was an immediate disqualification. I wouldn't even continue asking questions. "I think I have what I need. Do you have any questions?" Then they'd be escorted back to reception and their resume would go in the circular file.


One last thing - HAVE QUESTIONS!!! Do some research on the company. SHOW you are interested in them, and in what they do, and try to have some type of general idea what types of problems their users may face on a daily basis. And when I say questions, don't ask things like "How much vacation time do I get? What kind of benefits do you have?" Chances are, if you ask those questions during the first interview, you won't have any vacation time or benefits, because they're going to hire someone else. Save those questions for when they call you to make an offer. THEN vacation time and benefits play a role in your decision to accept or decline their offer. The types of questions you should have are more along the lines of things related to what you'll be working on. Things like "What types of systems would I be expected to support? How many other technicians would be on the support team with me?" You get the idea.

veritas_libertas

rsutton wrote: »

I used to do that role and some of the questions that came up in interviews:
What is TCP/IP?
A user calls you and says she cannot access the network, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up to a blue screen, how would you troubleshoot?
A computer boots up and says xxxx.sys is missing or corrupted, how would you troubleshoot?
A user calls and says her Email client is open but she has not received email all day...
A user calls and says he can access web sites but not network drives...
A user calls and cannot login to his PC...
Explain the steps involved in setting up a new PC...

These are questions I remember being asked at interviews. If you have done this type of work before these should all be easy questions for you; if not you may want to study up a bit.

It's important that you "sell" your soft skills with these types of questions. Example:
[interviewer] A user calls in and says her PC is not working
[you] First I want to make sure I fully understand the problem, so I will ask her a few questions to find out what she means such as "Do you mean you are unable to login to the PC?"

An answer like that show you listen and ask supporting questions to isolate the issue.

Thanks for posting that. I may be having an interview soon so this well help