Got a call for a second interview

jamesbrown

Guys, I got a call from the HR wanting me to give them days and time for a second interview. The first interview was just to see what my qualifications are. The IT manager said something about the second interview been technical or a presentation to the Directors.
position---desktop Administrator position.

What should I expect?


Thanks

Devilry

I think you should be expected to have whatever you put on your resume questioned in a technical aspect, at the very least.

universalfrost

i am in the same situation for follow on interviews on a couple of jobs I was contaced for.

They like to have a good feel for the person during the initial interviews and weed out the folks that are BS'ing a lot on their resumes.

Next round is usually technical and they will make sure what you put on your resume is legit and then they delve into the details of the job. If you "make the cut" they usually schedule another interview (usually in person if you have been doing telephonic interviews).

For my current interview sessions I have already been told what the process is for them to interview. For me, I would rather just have 1 or 2 interviews and be done with it, but I understand that they need to feel 100% that they are making the right investment in a person if they offer them the job (yes it is an investment, since they are spending money to interview you and possibly hire and train you).

Just be honest, upfront and if you don't know a technical answer at least let them know that and then a good follow up would be to mention where you would go to find the answer. Do not try to BS through an answer!! I have been on the receiving end of a prospective employee BSing me, assuming that just because I was managment that I would not realize he was making up the answer... (the guy did not get the job)...

dont sweat it , and use every interview as a learning experience, even if you dont get the job.

jamesbrown

universalfrost wrote: »

i am in the same situation for follow on interviews on a couple of jobs I was contaced for.

They like to have a good feel for the person during the initial interviews and weed out the folks that are BS'ing a lot on their resumes.

Next round is usually technical and they will make sure what you put on your resume is legit and then they delve into the details of the job. If you "make the cut" they usually schedule another interview (usually in person if you have been doing telephonic interviews).

For my current interview sessions I have already been told what the process is for them to interview. For me, I would rather just have 1 or 2 interviews and be done with it, but I understand that they need to feel 100% that they are making the right investment in a person if they offer them the job (yes it is an investment, since they are spending money to interview you and possibly hire and train you).

Just be honest, upfront and if you don't know a technical answer at least let them know that and then a good follow up would be to mention where you would go to find the answer. Do not try to BS through an answer!! I have been on the receiving end of a prospective employee BSing me, assuming that just because I was managment that I would not realize he was making up the answer... (the guy did not get the job)...

dont sweat it , and use every interview as a learning experience, even if you dont get the job.

Actually, My second interview is a Presentation to 3 directors. Where i'm I gonna start?

vCole

jamesbrown wrote: »

Actually, My second interview is a Presentation to 3 directors. Where i'm I gonna start?

What technology (pertaining to the position) do you feel most comfortable with? Practice a 2-3 minutes presentation based on that. Are they picking the topic or are you? I would ask the IT Manager for a little bit more information so you can be prepared.

jamesbrown

vCole wrote: »

What technology (pertaining to the position) do you feel most comfortable with? Practice a 2-3 minutes presentation based on that. Are they picking the topic or are you? I would ask the IT Manager for a little bit more information so you can be prepared.

They want to know how I can manage 1000+ computer in 30 locations? what process will I use. I am pretty confident using WSUS, WDS. They have SCCM which I never used. But I know what it does.

vCole

jamesbrown wrote: »

They want to know how I can manage 1000+ computer in 30 locations? what process will I use. I am pretty confident using WSUS, WDS. They have SCCM which I never used. But I know what it does.

I would research SCCM, learn the basics and tie that in. Reiterate that you've never used it - however after your first interview you took the initiative to investigate it on your own.

jamesbrown

alright, i'll do that.

universalfrost

They want to know how I can manage 1000+ computer in 30 locations?

just lecture them on how Al Gore created the internet and that you are all that and a bag of chips

that should ease your worries about getting the new job..... lol

SteveLord

Given the other 2 threads you made after this.......what DO you know about this job and what do you bring to the table?

kriscamaro68

SCCM/config mgr is almost a one stop shop if setup right. With it you can setup deployment points in other remote offices and then use it to distribute software, image computers with win 7, Windows updates, and use it for forefront endpoint protection tasks. It will also allow you to make queries of computers based on certain criteria (software/version, nic, ram size, Ip subnets/addresses, and many other things). You can also use it to launch remote desktop on a computer or provide remote assistance while the user is still logged in. It will also let you see just about everything about a computer (OS/language, all programs installed, memory size, bios, cpu, and a ton of other things). Just about everything can be managed through SCCM/config mgr. I use it everyday to make software packages and use queries to make collections and many other things. Good stuff for managing windows computers.

cyberguypr

Jamesbrown, I may be way off target here but the impression I'm getting is that you either don't know how to accomplish what they are asking or have the skills and have no idea how to communicate them. Which one is closer to the problem?

jamesbrown

cyberguypr wrote: »

Jamesbrown, I may be way off target here but the impression I'm getting is that you either don't know how to accomplish what they are asking or have the skills and have no idea how to communicate them. Which one is closer to the problem?

I have the skills they are looking for. The only issue i'm facing right now is that I'm not really good at presenting ideas. They want to answer 6 question which I already have the answer to except the process I'll use to manage 1000+ computer.

That is the only question i'm stuck at. I know how to use remote desktop, Track-it remote desktop and Asset management, WSUS, WDS. I just wanted to know what you guys process are in managing some many PCs?

Thanks

SteveLord

cyberguypr wrote: »

Jamesbrown, I may be way off target here but the impression I'm getting is that you either don't know how to accomplish what they are asking or have the skills and have no idea how to communicate them. Which one is closer to the problem?

Exactly what I was getting at.

the_Grinch

First, in regards to the presentation, practice it start to finish in front of family, friends, or a mirror. Have it down pat and through repetition you will ease you fear. Second, you'll need to do research into the best practices of SCCM. Find the guides and look at forums to see how others have gone about it. Having no experience with a product doesn't stop companies from expecting you to know it. I worked on a project where a customer had 5 sites that were using Symantec Endpoint Protection with a Manager in place. They all phoned home to the main site for updates and all had T1 connections. All the traffic was causing issues with internet speeds and VOIP calls. Somehow the ticket found it's way to me and I was told fix this issue. I had no idea where to start and no one in the senior engineering group had any ideas either. So I took to Google and started researching. I found the Group Update Provider option, found the official setup guide, and found forums with the various pitfalls people ran into. 36 hours later they had all their machines up to date and the network traffic was down to nothing.

The fact that they are asking you to present a topic shows that this will probably be a common occurrence for the position. I think something the industry is learning is that the soft skills are very important. I had the advantage of having a solid liberal arts coursework requirements to balance the technical courses I was taking. You're idea could be the best one ever and could save the company millions, but if you can't articulate that and speak the way management does they will not even look at it. Fact is to not let fear hold you back from something you want. I've always looked at it this way when having to present for an interview, I don't know these people and if I don't get the job it's not like I will see them again anyway. I also have a bit of an unconventional presentation style that I have found works very well since people are use to boring powerpoints, but that is information for a different time. Good luck!