Would you hire this guy for helpdesk?

The company I work for recently interviewed a candidate for a helpdesk position. He just graduated from a local tech school with good grades and a some certifications (A+, N+, & MCP).

My manager asked me to arrange a mock helpdesk call with him. Below are the details and results of how it went.

Issue #1- Internet/Network connectivity is not working.

I wanted the candidate to verify the cable was plugged in and if I had a valid ip adress (ipconfig). Once it was discovered that I did not have an ip address, I was looking for him to walk me through renewing it.

Phone call result: He did ask if the cable was plugged in but once I answered yes, he froze up and did not know what to do.

Issue #2- All my printers are gone!

The print spooler service is stopped. I wanted the candidate to first verify all the printers were not being listed in the printers and faxes menu and then check the service.

Phone call result: He totally did not know what to do or what the print spooler service is.

At that point I did not continue with the "issues". I informed my manager of the results and voiced my concerns about the phone call. In my opinion he bombed the phone call and I was under the impression that we were not going to hire him. Just last week I found out we hired him.

I was wondering based on the mock phone call and the results, would you hire this person?

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Comments

Akaricloud

snokerpoker wrote: »

I guess I'm being too harsh, but I would have interviewed more candidates and probably not hired him.

In the current market you should be able to at least find multiple people to interview and take your pick. I just have a hard time believing he was the best that your company could find.

pert

Help Desk is all attitude. How long does it take to train someone on using IPCONFIG or how to troubleshoot printers? 3-4 questions 5-10mins long? How long does it take to train someone to not be rude to the customer or follow through and not just pass the buck? Forever.

Different positions need different amount of knowledge, but at lower positions attitude trumps skill, especially if they are facing the customer. If you asked those questions of a server admin or engineer different story.

Turgon

pert wrote: »

Help Desk is all attitude. How long does it take to train someone on using IPCONFIG or how to troubleshoot printers? 3-4 questions 5-10mins long? How long does it take to train someone to not be rude to the customer or follow through and not just pass the buck? Forever.

Different positions need different amount of knowledge, but at lower positions attitude trumps skill, especially if they are facing the customer. If you asked those questions of a server admin or engineer different story.

Correct. Skills can be learned. Attitude is a whole different ball game. Some people you just cant change.

Turgon

Akaricloud wrote: »

In the current market you should be able to at least find multiple people to interview and take your pick. I just have a hard time believing he was the best that your company could find.

He probably wasn't, but I guess they want the position filled asap, or they want this individual in the position asap.

Turgon

snokerpoker wrote: »

I agree that most, if not all troubleshooting comes from real world experience but I still think that these items were very basic and should have been resolved. With that being said, I believe it is ok and understandable to not get everything 100% correct with these types of "mock" phone calls or interviews, but I would have liked to see him ask more questions and at least try to troubleshoot the issue. This guy didn't ask the right questions or even try. I attempted to "break the ice" by talking to him and gave him hints/examples, but he just said "I don't really know".

On the other side of things, he is a nice guy and definitely seems motivated to do a good job. His starting salary is $15.00/hr.

I guess I'm being too harsh, but I would have interviewed more candidates and probably not hired him.

From the sounds of things he's been taken on. Just give him a fair go and see how he gets on.

snokerpoker

I am not sure why they rushed to hire someone asap. And yes, this is for an entry level position. So far he has been doing alright, at least this is what I have been told with some other folks that have been training him. I am not holding the "mock" phone call against him or anything, just was more curious to see all of your comments on this.

drkat

hell idk but $15/hr in SF? .... I did a cost of living comparison and holy sh*** 76% higher COL in SF then where I live in WNY

so $15/hr is like making $4.00/hr here in Rochester

Tackle

How's he going to act if he signs up to Tech Exams and takes a look at this post regarding his phone interview?

Haha. Boy, would that be funny!

snokerpoker

LucasMN wrote: »

How's he going to act if he signs up to Tech Exams and takes a look at this post regarding his phone interview?

Haha. Boy, would that be funny!

:P I better not tell him my screen name on the forum then...

ImTheKing

the_Grinch wrote: »

I would probably hire him. Having never took a Microsoft exam, do they cover the print spooler?

Not sure about Microsoft, but A+ definitely covers printer troubleshooting.

On topic, I would consider giving the guy a chance. If he has no experience, I can understand how it'd be difficult to jump right in and work phone support. It can be a difficult art to master, because you don't have much time to collect your thoughts. I don't work helpdesk, but luckily most of the troubleshooting work I've done in my current job is through a web ticket system.

edit: Glad to hear he's doing ok.