Upcoming Interview.. Any Hints

jdog29

Hey guys, was wondering if anybody could give me a few hints on some IT interview questions that I may be asked. I have a job interview this coming wednesday. I am very nervous. I hope that I am able to answer all the questions asked. The job is for a computer service store that services clients and business. Sounds like I would be a computer tech, building, fixing computers and networks for clients. It is full time, but does not say anything about pay or benefits, so that also makes me weary.

I am confident I can do all the hardware and computer related stuff, it is the network stuff I don't have much experience in. And do companies like this do any formal training or do they just send you out in the field on your first day and expect you to get it perfect?

Thanks for all input, very appreciated.

Good Day,

JDog29

jdog29

Anybody....Anybody. Some Advice, tips.. anything. Please.
Thanks a bunch.

Good Day/Night

Webmaster

It's impossible to tell what questions they will ask you. But some things you can expect are:

- Why do you want this job/work for this company?
- Why should we accept you for this job?
- Why did you leave your previous job?

Just relax and be yourself.

jdog29

Wow, That was a tough interview. Needless to say I'm pretty sure I bombed and did not get the job. I am very shaken up right now. I have been trying very hard for the past two years to land an IT job. I am losing my faith.

My interview part was ok, it lasted like 20 minutes or so. Then they threw me a curve ball and gave me a huge stack of.. it was a big test. I think it was around 12-15 pages long. The test took me almost two hours. This was way harder than my A+, N+, or MCP XP test. I probably got like 20% on the thing. Damn I'm so upset, frustrated, and lost right now.

I walked out of there feeling like I knew nothing. I am just jotting all the stuff I can remember down and try to learn from this and hopefully it will help me in the future. I hope others can learn from this as well. So here it is:::::


IT Interview Questions

Tell me about yourself.
What do you know about the position?
What are you looking for in a job?
What is your technical background, and what kinds of projects have you worked on?
What would your friends say about you
What are some areas you feel you need to work on
What Motivates You
Longterm Goals
Short Term Goals
Strengths
Weaknesses
What Do You look for in an Employer
What type of experience do you have supporting PC’s
Explain your experience working with Active Directory and Server environment
What is your experience with VPN, Exchange, and Remote Access
Have you ever used a multi-meter. Power supplies
Describe your experience with Raid Array setups.
Describe your Back Ups solutions
What type of Management Style do you prefer
Tell us about being a Team Player
What types of literature do you read to stay up on technology
What do you use your computer for
What are some favorite sites bookmarks that you visit frequently
Why do you want this job/work for this company?
Why should we accept you for this job?
Why did you leave your previous job?
What are some of your most significant accomplishments?
How do you work under pressure situations?
What do you do when priorities change quickly?
Do you prefer to work alone or on a team?
How would you describe your "ideal job"?
If you were to hire someone to replace you in your last job, what kind of person would that be?
What kind of compensation are you looking for?

How to answer a question instead of NO

I have not been required to do anything like that at my current or previous employers, however this is one of the reasons that I'm interested in what your company is offering. And if given the opportunity to (learn, be taught) this I feel this would be a positive for my background and career.

Questions I Asked Them

• Travel… Company Vehicle
• What Type of Hardware and OS will I be working with mainly
• Job responsibilities/Expectations
• Work environment
• Dress code
• Normal schedule
• Room for Advancement
• availability of training programs
• plans for expansion/growth



Technical Test On Paper


IDE
SATA
SCSII
DDR
Exchange
Remote Access
Remote Installation
SQL
Back Ups
Firewall
Antivirus
Ports: Port Forwarding Transferring
Security
VPN
MSconfig: Startup
Spyware
Latest Service Pack Version of: NT, 2K, XP
What’s New in XP SP 2
Windows 98 Remote Access
What areas do I lack and need to improve in troubleshooting
Front Side Bus
Types of Ram
Difference between Pentium Class B and Class C
AMD’s Version of the Celeron: Sempron
What is different about the Celeron compared to the Pentium 3 or 4
Routers
Bridges
DHCP on Router or Server
Bunch of Scenarios
Numerous other stuff that I fail to recollect at the moment



Peace all,

JDog29

dsa1971

jdog29,

I would not be so hard on yourself and I, also, would not be so sure that just because you feel like you didn't do great on the tech test that you are out of contention for the position. also, no matter what, look at this as a learning experience. There are many companies who make these sort of tests very difficult on purpose and don't expect you to be able to answer all the questions.

JDMurray

dsa1971 wrote:

There are many companies who make these sort of tests very difficult on purpose and don't expect you to be able to answer all the questions.

These tests are often given to allow a candidate to show what their special areas of knowledge are. For example, you may be a total hardware geek, but know very little about DNS and Active Directory, and that's what they are looking for. They are looking for a missing piece in their IT knowledge puzzle.

I have actually taken tests like this where if you score to highly you will not get the job. They are looking for someone with a specific range of knowledge and not a total know-it-all. Very frustrating when all your life you've been condition to score as highly as possible on all exams.

jdog29, this was an unusually tough interview and very good practice for you. Because of it you will do much better in your next interview.

Silver Bullet

jdmurray wrote:

dsa1971 wrote:

There are many companies who make these sort of tests very difficult on purpose and don't expect you to be able to answer all the questions.

These tests are often given to allow a candidate to show what their special areas of knowledge are. For example, you may be a total hardware geek, but know very little about DNS and Active Directory, and that's what they are looking for. They are looking for a missing piece in their IT knowledge puzzle.

I have actually taken tests like this where if you score to highly you will not get the job. They are looking for someone with a specific range of knowledge and not a total know-it-all. Very frustrating when all your life you've been condition to score as highly as possible on all exams.

jdog29, this was an unusually tough interview and very good practice for you. Because of it you will do much better in your next interview.

Good Advice jdmurray!

jdog29

Thanks for the words of wisdom jdmurray and dsa1971. I will try to hang my head high and just learn from this. That does make me feel better knowing that others have had hard tests like this on an interview and that sometimes you just can't know it all. I can say that I did my best and maybe it was not meant to be.

JDog29

/usr

Hopefully you'll get a call. If not, just keep trying. You'll get better with each interview.

certificationjourney [ban

Holy crap, that was a hard interview man. Don't feel bad, a lot of us would mess up on it.

jdog29

Well, I finally did it. I landed an IT Job. After two years of looking and doing stuff on the side. It is full time with a major Healthcare company. I have learned from my numerous job applications and interview in the past few years, especially the last interview above this post.

I learned a lot from that and just kept positive and kept trying. The hard work finally paid off. I would just like to tell all those out there that are discouraged like I was, to just keep on trying and never give up, something will work out in the long run. And Thanks to everyone here for the information and the positive words in the past.

Good Day.

JDog29

evanderburg

That is good news. Congratulations. I am glad your persistance and hard work paid off. What are you doing for the healthcare company if I may ask.

Alien

Congratulations .

Good luck with your new job.

mobri09

congrats and best of luck!

Ten9t6

Congrats...I am glad all the hard work came through for you.

Kenny

QUIX0TIC

good luck to you

jdog29

Thanks all. I am very excited. I will be a technical support engineer. I will be supporting computers from different hospitals around the country and call support, remote desktop into their computers and fix problems. Also a few hours a day troubleshooting in the lab and fixing and documenting known bugs with database software. I would have hoped for more of a field service hands on hardware, but this is a good starting point and I can move up to the field service later when the opportunity arises.