1st line helpppp interview!!

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by shocksl, Jul 21, 2011.

  1. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    I've finally got myself an I.T 1st line support role interview! I have never worked in this field, but it's something I would like to do.

    I am confident in my customer service skills aspect, which I will talk to death about.

    Does anybody know any technical buzz words that I could use? It's a brand new area for me!

    I would also apreciate any other advice for the interview.

    thanks in advance!


    Here's the job description:

    Logging all faults and requests into the Call Management system
    •- Trouble-shoot faults and resolve or route incidents to the 2nd/3rd line support teams when necessary
    •- Be proactive in chasing customer faults with other teams to ensure they are resolved
    •- Provide an excellent level of customer care at all times including remaining calm when dealing with difficult customers
    •- Ensure that the professionalism required by the Service Desk is adhered to at all times.
    •You will need to be an experienced IT Service/Help Desk professional who has worked on a telephone based desk supporting a large user base. You will also need full knowledge of supporting MS Office (including Outlook).


    My knowledge on MS Office is okay, mainly word to be honest. Ive used powerpoint and excel in the past but would be rusty. So naturally not feeling to confident about it.
    I am however pretty good at other pc related problems.
     
  2. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

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    well done getting an interview, i'm comptia certified and can't even seem to get a call back! It's a very hard market to get into.
    I would look at basic command line utilities like ipconfig and ping, if you go to professormesser.com and select free A+ videos from the menu, you will find some instructional bits there. Might be worth checking task manager uses and administrative tools possibly. I work as general IT admin for my company and as such, i have to solve all problems and have never had a structured 1st/ 2nd line set up but i'm pretty sure these and printer faults would be a good place to start.
    Active directory is pretty straight forward so i'm sure you'll pick that up fairly quickly too.
    Just relax and do the best you can.
    good luck, let us know how you got on.
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  3. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    Hi mate thank you very much for that...

    what is active directory?

    Lastly what kind of scenriois would this kind of job entail? I would really apreciate if somebody could give me a few examples of what I should i expect from the job so it doesnt give me a shock lol.
     
  4. EatWave

    EatWave New Member

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    Hi, well done on getting the interview!

    When I got my first interview, I didn't know anything about support and the advert said specifically to have experience, so don't worry, as long as you can show them that you are willing to learn, have a good head on your shoulders and know the basics you should be alright :)

    For your questions:

    Active Directory is the method of maintaining users in a windows environment. Basically, you log onto a windows server, type DSA.msc in the run command, and voila: Active Directory. From here as first line you'll probably doing the basics: changing passwords, names, adding email addresses etc.

    1st line is mainly: answering calls, getting as much information as possible (IMPORTANT point, your bosses and colleagues will love you the more info you can get - when did it start, is it affecting everyone or just them, try logging into another PC and does it still occur etc) then logging it, trying to fix it if you can, then escalating it upwards if you can't.

    Hope this helps! (I'm only a year into it myself :biggrin
     
    Certifications: MCITP, CompSci BSc
    WIP: ITIL v3, CCNET
  5. keconnect sparky

    keconnect sparky Nibble Poster

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    As said, personality goes along way... you can teach someone the techy skills but you can't change/teach someone a personality
     
    Certifications: MCP, CCENT, CCNA, CCNA-S
    WIP: CCNP (ROUTE)
  6. Tanner

    Tanner New Member

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    i agree also having a bit of experience in remoting onto computers, outlook and other office support would be good to know too, ive also got A+, and some MCP's and had an interview today and got the job with HP for Helpdesk, i was asked scenarios on fixing outlook problems, exchange and VOIP issues
     
    Certifications: MCPx4, A+Comptia,Diploma in IT,MOUS to expert levels
    WIP: MCP 2008 server in the enterprise., ITIL
  7. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    thanks mate.

    'remoting into computers' - I'm not sure what do you mean by that? I would be grateful if you could explain that to me. Thanks
     
  8. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    Thanks for that mate. The only thing I'm worried about is that they will probably expect me to know everything and just put me on a Computer and expect me to get on with it? When you got your job did you get any training etc?

    Also as to the active directory - is there any softwares etc on the net that i can download to try this out??

    At your workplace do you have targets to meet i.e deal with a call within a minute etc? and how busy do you be at 1st line? and in percentage terms how much calls do you actually escelate?

    Finally, I'm kind of getting the idea that not a great deal of tech knowledge is needed?

    Again thanks for your great input :)
     
  9. Monkeychops

    Monkeychops Kilobyte Poster

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    For AD it's probably worth skimming some articles online, the wiki has a reasonable amount of info but you don't want to be too overwhelmed with the things that will at first seem rather foreign to you at first :) So don't get too hung up on specifics with it, just try and get a feel as to what it is and does.

    Active Directory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    But I wouldn't worry too much, end of the day in a first line role you will be doing the basic user admin which is very straight forward.
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2011
  10. steve_p1981

    steve_p1981 Byte Poster

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    for AD, if you don't have access to try the software before you go in try searching it on youtube, they have loads of vids for this stuff. I'd be tempted to go for ad for windows server 2003. The stuff you'll be doing is probably very similar if not the same on newer versions of server software.
     
    Certifications: A+ 220-701 and 220-702
    WIP: none at current but poss 70-680 soon
  11. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    Thanks for that advice guys.

    I've decided to not go for the interview which is on monday.

    I would rather do some learning/ courses before I go for a job like this.

    Which industry qualifications would teach me more about things like Active directory?
     
  12. Afroninja

    Afroninja Bit Poster

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    You really should go. Even if you arent confident you will get some good experience from the interview alone and will know what to expect next time. Besides, you may end up getting it. I had no knowledge of NT4 (or AD :)) when i got my first job, but i learnt a huge amount while there.
     
  13. jm1

    jm1 Bit Poster

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    yea if anything you should of just gone and practised your interview technique good practice for next time.
     
  14. andylad9

    andylad9 Byte Poster

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    I've actually got a 1st line support role interview on Monday as well. Is your near Manchester by any chance? I've never had a previous proper IT role before, nor even a IT interview, but I still plan to go in and give it a good crack!

    You should definitely go, get some experience of your first IT interview...so the next time...won't be your first.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | 70-680 | 70-685 | MTA Server
    WIP: deciding now...
  15. reverb

    reverb Byte Poster

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    It would be a very bad idea not to go. You have nothing to lose. I don't think they will expect you to know Active Directory inside out, besides it will be just creating new accounts and resetting passwords etc, which will quick to pick up on. Just make sure you mention your customer service skills and experience. Good luck.
     
  16. Monkeychops

    Monkeychops Kilobyte Poster

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    As said not going to an interview is a bad idea.

    At worst, you know nothing, they thank you for your time and off you go.

    At best you get the job.

    It'll be a learning experience, you'll find out what kind of questions get asked in these kidn of interviews, and find out a bit more about the type of job it is and get some idea if it's something you want to do.

    But not going imho is a silly thing to do when you've been given the chance.
     
  17. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    thanks for the encouragement guys, I have rearanged the interview for wednesday.
    The only problem is that when i read the job description they specifcially state that i need to have full knowedlge of office. I know how to use most thing, but in no way i am an expert :(
     
  18. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  19. jm1

    jm1 Bit Poster

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    How to add additional mailboxes in outlook is a common thing. Dont stress about it even if you dont know the technical stuff just treat it as an experience honestly i made a little bit of a hash of the first couple of IT interviews i went to even though i had the skills i made mistakes in my interviews, then my next 2 i recognised my errors and was alot more confident and aware of the potential questions they would ask me and i got both jobs, so just stay cool and treat it as an experience.
     

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