Interview Question. I hope I was right.

I had a great interview for a phone/help desk position. They had a few technical questions. I think I got this right. They asked what I would suggest if someone called and said they cannot log into their system. I told him the first thing they should do is check their cap locks and if they use the number key pad their num lock key.

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Hyper-Me

I would say thats a legitimate response.

First thing that comes to mind would be asking the person on the phone if they could read back to me the exact error message they get when trying to log on.

undomiel

Definitely get the error message or what the situation is. I've had can't login situations end up being their network was down or they had a blue screen or some such.

GAngel

There is no right answer. I've actually asked that a few times myself. You're looking for logical reasoning.

TechJunky

Agreed. It could be the user means they cant login to an application and not windows. When people are fustrating they will say the weirdest things. The interviewer was probobly just trying to get you to think and see what comes natural to you first.

Samurai004

I would say "you actually don't work here anymore, but due to some error in payroll you've been receiving a check." Then, I would "just let things work out naturally".

Your response was correct

, always suggest cap locks first. If no luck, then dig deeper. No one wants you troubleshooting the network if it is a simple a fix as caps lock being on/off.

If I go on a domestic, I always ask first "Did he/she deserve it?" If "yes" then no need to troubleshoot further. JK!

eMeS

You guys are way wrong.

The correct answer is "hold on, my baby mama is calling on the other line.".

MS

Samurai004

The correct answer is "hold on, my baby mama is calling on the other line.".

As funny as that is...and it is funny. I am sure it has actually happened.

Firemarshalbill.com

You guys are all wrong the first questions is
" Before I can assist you I will need your MasterCard or Visa number with expiration date and the 3 digit security code on the back"

After they give it to you you tell them you are putting them on hold while you log on to Amazon.com

All kidding aside - sounds like a good start always start with the simplest/most probable solution to a problem. I bet everyone on this forum has had the cap lock/num lock key on while trying to log on

Slowhand

lEAVING THE CAPS LOCK KEY ON? wHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT DOES THAT?

pepesmoap

I accept with information: It could be the user means they cant login to an application and not windows. When people are fustrating they will say the weirdest things.

Zartanasaurus

TechJunky wrote: »

Agreed. It could be the user means they cant login to an application and not windows.

This.

"I can't login" can pretty much mean anything. Your answer was perfectly logical and acceptable IMO. They were probably looking for exactly what you said.

Mishra

Situation questions are dumb... My extreme drilling of questions to them about the situation in an interview should let them know that I'm thinking of everything...

"They asked what I would suggest if someone called and said they cannot log into their system."

I would ask
"What am I working on? What environment are you using? What do the callers normally call for? Basically I need a lot more information before I can suggest anything..." Heck, I think the best answer would be, "Since I'm completely new to your environment, I would ask a co-worker what people normally call in for and base my next questions off of that."

zen master

steve617 wrote: »

I had a great interview for a phone/help desk position. They had a few technical questions. I think I got this right. They asked what I would suggest if someone called and said they cannot log into their system. I told him the first thing they should do is check their cap locks and if they use the number key pad their num lock key.

Good answer for that particular post. If it was a network admin job, the first thing I would do is check if the account is locked out.

rsutton

Someone says they can't login could actually mean:
They can't turn on their computer
The are unable to open an email
They need help changing a font size in Word
They can't login to their personal Hotmail account
They need help burning a DVD

It's almost always best to ask more questions about the problem including what the error message is. End users, while having good intentions, usually give terrible descriptions of what is actually happening. Before you begin troubleshooting based on their diagnosis of the problem, make sure you have first confirmed what the problem is.

The art of being a good Help Desk technician is asking the right questions so you can rapidly deduce what the actual problem is and fix it.

Also, something I normally do while asking more questions about the problem is I begin checking common things; IE open their account in AD and see if it is locked. A big part of being good at what you do is fixing things in a timely fashion.

Pash

Slowhand wrote: »

lEAVING THE CAPS LOCK KEY ON? wHAT KIND OF AN IDIOT DOES THAT?

hahahaha genius!

laidbackfreak

rsutton wrote: »

It's almost always best to ask more questions about the problem including what the error message is. End users, while having good intentions, usually give terrible descriptions of what is actually happening. Before you begin troubleshooting based on their diagnosis of the problem, make sure you have first confirmed what the problem is.

The art of being a good Help Desk technician is asking the right questions so you can rapidly deduce what the actual problem is and fix it.

+1 for all of the original post, but these points I beleive to be the most important. A good Help Desk Tech imo is worth their weight in gold

Kohlb353

Your response wasn't bad really. But by asking for the error you can narrow it down and see if an incorrect password is even the problem in the first place.

Agent6376

Escalate to level 2 support imo...

seuss_ssues

eMeS wrote: »

You guys are way wrong.

The correct answer is "hold on, my baby mama is calling on the other line.".

MS

She calls you at work too?

I kid.

EDIT:

Hmm. My response did not show up as the last response to this forum. Is that a bug or am I missing something. My browser still shows the previous posters response to be the last response. Not that it matters I am just curious.

Forsaken_GA

The first thing I want for *any* issue is the error message. Most of the time, it'll tell you what the problem is, or at least point you in the right direction. If it was an account locked out error, obviously caps lock isn't the problem. If it's an authentication failed message, then yes, I'd check for caps lock, and also make sure they're not putting in any extra spaces