First IT Interview

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Hey all,

A 1st / 2nd Line Technical Support position has come up at my employer and I have progressed to the interview stage, I figured I would ask in here for some advice as I have never actually got this far for an IT role.

I've just completed a HND in Computing: Technical Support at college, I have MCDST and CompTIA A+ certifications but I am concerned about how to approach the competency-based interview questions as the only experience I have is in college and working with virtual machines.

Can anyone point out some of the types of questions I may be asked so I can prepare in advance? I usually do a pretty good job in interviews but all my past jobs have been in call centre roles with questions based around providing examples of good customer service, resolving complaints, working to targets etc. I'm just concerned that I don't have any real-life examples or experience to draw on.

I am the only internal applicant and I feel I don't have much of a chance so I'm looking to pull out all the stops so any help is much appreciated!

Thanks

Allan

 

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Hi

Do you know the people who are going to interview you - do they know you? I think the best thing you can do is simply be yourself. You have obviously got plenty going for you, so you really want to sell yourself as a valuable employee to them.

Best of luck.

Robert

 

Thanks Robert, I went into work yesterday and discovered that they had scheduled the interview for today so I'm just going to go for it and treat it as a learning experience. I know one of the interviewers so hopefully it will be less formal and I will pull it off with aplomb!

I'll report back here with my experiences.

 

How did the interview go? I hope it went well for you!

 

Hey all,

Well three interviews later I found out last week that I got the job and today was my first day!

I had actually penned a long reply some weeks ago sharing my experiences but didn't finish it so I'll summarise as others may find it useful.

After getting past the initial language and numeracy test I was invited for the first interview with the IT Team Leader from the head office and the guy whose job I am taking (he has been promoted into a new role). It was quite informal as the two guys were very amiable and seemed genuinely interested in finding out how I got interested in IT and what I had been doing in college. There were no competency-based questions and it was more of "getting to know you" session. I answered positively, bigging up the company and how flexible and helpful they have been in allowing me to work whilst studying. I asked plenty of questions about the role, how I would fit into the team, whether taking further certifications would be possible etc.

The whole experience was rather pleasant and I wasn't surprised to hear I got invited to the second part of the interview. This was with the IT director so I made sure I did plenty of research by writing answers to all the competency questions I could think of. The organisation of the interview was something of a shambles as the director was stuck in traffic and was pushed back several hours which put me off somewhat as I had planned my working day around the interview.

Afterwards I felt I didn't perform at my best, a combination of the scheduling issues, and nerves.. Straight off the bat the interviewer mentioned that normally he'd run through technical questions but as I had no working experience to draw on - in his opinion - his questions seemed more free form. How did I get into IT, what do I like about my job, describe a time where you've provided excellent customer service, what are your weaknesses, why do you think you are right for the job.

I dropped a bit of a clanger when asked one of the only technical questions - "There is a power cut, once power comes back online, what do you get working first - the various application servers (for CRM systems), domain controller, or telecoms system". I think about it for a bit and respond by saying I would make sure the network was working then look at whether there was any data loss and look to restoring from backup. Interviewer says he would likely get switches for phones up and running, at least that we the advisors can start taking calls while we begin getting the systems back up. So with this I thought I was sunk but I stumbled through a few more questions. Afterwards I could see where my answers weren't as complete or areas where I should have challenged what he was saying or offered more insight into the reality of my role as an agent.

So I came away pretty disheartened and as I had booked a weeks holiday I focused on other things when to my surprise I received a call after a week informing me that apparently I had performed really well and I was invited to the final stage of the process. This was less of an interview but was a meeting with a director to make sure I was a right fit for the job in her view. Again I spoke about how passionate I was about IT, it has been a key ambition of mine to go and study as a mature student, the company have supported me throughout my studies etc.

That day I found out I had gotten the job!

 

Congratulations on the new job. An interview is not just about your knowledge but your way of thinking, passion and how you interact with the interviewer. Sometimes there is no correct answer to a question.

 

Congrats & good luck in your IT journey..!

 

Congratulations on the new job .

NB

 

Congratulations !!! And thank you for sharing the experience with us.