A+, Net+, Microsoft interview questions?

briangl

I have a job interview in a couple of days.

What should I brush up on to prepair for this? It has been a long time since I studied this stuff.

Here is the job discription:

Help Desk Support Technician

Seeking a Help Desk Support Technician who will provide remote support for a variety of network connectivity issues on both small and large networks.

•Install and troubleshoot print drivers on PCs and Macs
•Install and troubleshoot Ricoh and Sharp software products
•Install and troubleshoot network scanning issues, including Windows and Mac file shares, firewall and email server issues.
•Troubleshoot network connectivity issues
•Troubleshoot printing issues with MS Office, Corel Office, Adobe products.
•Assist field technicians and sales staff with technical support.

Requirements:
Candidate should be very familiar with Windows and Macintosh workstation systems, as well as, Windows server operating systems.

A+ Certification AND Net+ Certification OR equivalent COMPTIA certifications. A Microsoft Certification is preferred.

Experience with McAfee, Norton, and Kaperski security suites is preferred

Good communication skills and patience with customers are a must.

gbdavidx

If you have all those certificates that are on the left you may be over qualified

why not apply for a noc job more or more of a networking admin type position?

MSP-IT

From experience, I would brush up on the OSI Model, Raid Types, TCP/IP, UDP, ARP, Network Layout, DNS, and DHCP and the differences between 802.11 a/b/g/n.
I've had 7 interviews for similar positions in the past month, everything they asked me was within the boundaries of what I listed above. Most importantly, know what protocols and/or hardware is used on the different OSI layers.

Good luck!

briangl

Thank you both for your replies. As for being over qualified for this job, I apply to all types of jobs, including NOC and admin. jobs, have been for a long time. This is the first interview offered me in ages. It actually pays a lot more than I am making now.

MSP-IT, I will review the things you suggest. Thanks again.

pinkydapimp

briangl wrote: »

Thank you both for your replies. As for being over qualified for this job, I apply to all types of jobs, including NOC and admin. jobs, have been for a long time. This is the first interview offered me in ages. It actually pays a lot more than I am making now.

MSP-IT, I will review the things you suggest. Thanks again.

sounds like you need to work on your resume. you may want to post it in this site for feedback.

nosoup4u

Since it look's like a remote support role, make sure you can describe all the listed items as if you either couldn't rdp to the machine so describing how to check printer drivers or explaining tcp/ip config tools over the phone to a customer.

I mainly do remote support and often have to walk people through xp dialog boxes when I'm on a windows 7 machine, or even vice versa so it is a good way to keep them remote skills up.

StephenOnTheGrid

Not necessarily, he could have all the certs in the world but with zero or minimal real life job experience which chances are it will not land you on the high pay grid scale or position. I started in I.T. from the bottom with zero career experience with the A+ and N+ a few years back and racked up work experience were I was able to get a windows network admin job that paid well. My recommendation is to be honest with the employer and disclose real production experience. Employers can read through the bullshit.

Once you get all the certs you want you can go ahead get a real job experience or do the certs + get production experience. Any novice tech in the field trying to rack up certs and get that 80K a year pay with just school and mc donalds on their resume isn't going to land on the marketable pay scale. Why do you think all the old dudes make a grip? Because they have years of experience and some of them dont even have credentials. hint hint CIO: 500K + with a BA in economics...

Any how, helpdesk is a great place to start. Good luck, answer their questions, come off natural with a positive mind, and you will do fine.

DoubleNNs

StephenOnTheGrid wrote: »

Not necessarily, he could have all the certs in the world but with zero or minimal real life job experience which chances are it will not land you on the high pay grid scale or position. I started in I.T. from the bottom with zero career experience with the A+ and N+ a few years back and racked up work experience were I was able to get a windows network admin job that paid well. My recommendation is to be honest with the employer and disclose real production experience. Employers can read through the bullshit.

Once you get all the certs you want you can go ahead get a real job experience or do the certs + get production experience. Any novice tech in the field trying to rack up certs and get that 80K a year pay with just school and mc donalds on their resume isn't going to land on the marketable pay scale. Why do you think all the old dudes make a grip? Because they have years of experience and some of them dont even have credentials. hint hint CIO: 500K + with a BA in economics...

Any how, helpdesk is a great place to start. Good luck, answer their questions, come off natural with a positive mind, and you will do fine.

Strong 1st post.

lsud00d

MSP-IT wrote: »

From experience, I would brush up on the OSI Model, Raid Types, TCP/IP, UDP, ARP, Network Layout, DNS, and DHCP and the differences between 802.11 a/b/g/n.
I've had 7 interviews for similar positions in the past month, everything they asked me was within the boundaries of what I listed above. Most importantly, know what protocols and/or hardware is used on the different OSI layers.

Good luck!

These are good suggestions but honestly looking over the job description, most of what you listed is overkill.

I have a feeling the extent of network troubleshooting will be:
1.) Is the cable plugged in?
2.) Tell me what ipconfig/all says (ifconfig on OSX)
3.) Is your IPv4 set to DHCP?

For wireless add
4.) Do you see the network?
5.) What happens when you try to authenticate?

The position sounds very step-troubleshooting oriented.

StephenOnTheGrid

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Strong 1st post.

I've been on the interwebz before.

briangl

Had my first interview with them today. I thought it was going ok, not great, but apparently it went well enough that they want me to come in for another interview.

briangl

They sent me an email, they want me to come in for a personality and deductive reasoning assessment. 30-90 minutes.
I'm actually having serious reservations about the job though. I am starting to panic thinking about sitting at a desk all day.
For one thing I am affraid I would fall asleep. I have a lot of independence on my current job and get to move around a lot. This job pays a lot better and is a way into the field.

Any thoughts?

coreyb80

briangl wrote: »

They sent me an email, they want me to come in for a personality and deductive reasoning assessment. 30-90 minutes.
I'm actually having serious reservations about the job though. I am starting to panic thinking about sitting at a desk all day.
For one thing I am affraid I would fall asleep. I have a lot of independence on my current job and get to move around a lot. This job pays a lot better and is a way into the field.

Any thoughts?

Sounds like a great opportunity so why not take advantage of it.

About7Narwhal

briangl wrote: »

...
Any thoughts?

Coffee.

briangl

About7Narwhal wrote: »

Coffee.

That would be a great idea, but I am currently as caffeinated as humanly possible. Does anyone else that works help desk struggle with trying to stay awake? This is a great opportunity for me, I have no doubt I could handle the technical aspects of the work itself. I do have serious reservations about being able to sit at a desk all day. I struggle with it now when I have to sit at a desk just for short periods I find myself nodding off.

I'm also a little concerned about the personality test, if they are looking for an extroverted, people person, that ain't me. I am the quintessential introvert. I guess that's why I have always been drawn to technical things and not sales.