1. Explain me what are some things that you look for in a job?
Tailor your answer to the interviewers' company. Talk about challenges, job satisfaction, opportunities and work environment.
2. Tell us how do you remain abreast of new developments in technology?
You could mention seminars, courses, trade journals and technology magazines. You could also mention the value of social networking.
3. Can you tell us what is your style of management?
Tailor your answer to the management style of the company to show that your style will complement it. A good maxim to remember is ‘task needs, group needs and individual needs'. You might also mention motivation and delegation.
4. Tell us why do you want to work for this organisation?
Let the interviewers know that you have done some homework by saying that in your job search their company stood out from the rest because “….” You should also mention the company's history, products, philosophy, reputation etc.
5. Can you define Hard-Disk Partitions?
Hard disk partitions divide the hard disk drive into smaller segments to enable better space management. Each partition on the disk can then be considered as a separate disk allowing different file systems to be used on each.
6. Explain me what is your favourite aspect of desktop support?
The question is a test of motivation. You need to match your answer to the job. Mention aspects like the challenges of working with new systems and meeting new people.
7. Explain me how do you feel about your abilities as a manager?
Focus on how you achieve results while maintaining good staff relations. Use examples of your successes and how you have learned from mistakes. Emphasise your energy and experience.
8. Explain me what are your reasons for leaving your previous/present job?
Be honest and brief but avoid answers suggesting personality conflicts or that you were dismissed. Try to present the move in a positive light.
9. Tell us what are the disadvantages of using imaging software?
This question is designed to test your familiarity with imaging software. Describe image testing and the attributes of particular software to show your familiarity with imaging.
10. Tell us what does DHCP stand for and what is its purpose?
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol – it assigns dynamic IP addresses to network devices allowing them to have a different IP address each time they are connected to the network.
11. Explain me what is your least favourite aspect of desktop support?
This is designed to see how well you will fit with the present team. A good answer would be along the lines of being unable to solve a problem due to factors outside you control, like hardware failure for instance.
12. Tell us how successful do you feel have you been?
Here you need to give an air of quiet confidence. Say that your career progression to date has been quite good (give examples of how you think you have been successful).
13. Explain what does USB stand for?
Universal Serial Bus – the current version is 2.0. It allows the connection of peripherals without the need to shut down the computer.
There are two basic types of firewall
Network layer, which makes decisions based on source and destination addresses, and application layer, which are hosts run on proxy servers and allow no direct traffic between networks. Comodo and Zone Alarm are two commonly used firewalls.
15. Explain me would you describe yourself as a problem solver? If so, why?
You should obviously give a positive answer. You should give examples that show that you can think critically and highlight your skills.
16. Explain me what components are needed to set up a Basic Home Network?
☛ Router/Hub,
☛ LAN cards and
☛ LAN cables.
17. What are your biggest strengths as Assistant IT?
I'm not sure why interviewers ask this question; your resume and experience should make your strengths readily apparent.
Even so, if you're asked, provide a sharp, on-point answer. Be clear and precise. If you're a great problem solver, don't just say that: Provide a few examples, pertinent to the opening, that prove you're a great problem solver.
18. Tell us what are your reasons for wanting to work with us?
From your research on the company, you should be able to spell out what has attracted you to apply for the position – perhaps they focus on an area of research that you enjoy or would like to become involved with; maybe they offer opportunities that competitors do not; or possibly they are active in a field that interests you. Be careful, though, do not pretend to have an interest in something that you do not – your deception will be noticed.
19. Please explain what do you feel is an appropriate salary for this position?
Salary is a delicate question. You can answer in several ways. You can give a figure based on industry norms for the position or else you could say that you cannot give a realistic answer until you know more details of the job. Do not undersell yourself - you will regret giving a figure that is too low. Equally, if the figure is too high, you will put off the employer. It is best to avoid being too specific but do not give the impression that salary is unimportant.
20. Explain me which desktop operating systems are you familiar with?
You will need to have familiarised yourself with the system used by the organisation you are hoping to join. Focus your answer on those systems, but also mention other systems with which you have experience.
21. Tell us what are the lights on a Modem/LAN Card and what do they indicate?
☛ Power light - indicates if the power is on
☛ Link light - indicates if the modem is receiving broadband or internet signals from the ISP
☛ Data light - indicates if the internet is working
☛ Connectivity light - indicates if the modem is connected to a computer
22. Tell us what is one of the latest Computer Processors (CPU)?
The Intel Pentium Quad Core Intel I3, I5, and I7 processors.
23. Explain me what are some of the Ports available on a computer?
Common ports are PS/2 ports, for keyboard and mouse. USBports. Sound ports.LAN or Ethernet ports. VGA ports.
24. Tell us what does DNS stand for and what is it used for?
Domain Name Service (or System or Server) – it translates domain names into IPaddresses.
25. Tell us what is the purpose of BOOT.INI?
Boot.ini is used to decide which operating system options are displayed during the start-up process.
You hope to work long term with the company and hope that good work performance will open up new opportunities within it. You can mention that strong companies always need well-qualified staff and that with your qualifications the employer will see a good and rapid return on his investment.
27. Tell us for what period of time do you expect to stay with us?
Say that you are looking for a career in the organisation but will need to remain challenged.
28. General Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ Describe the skills you have that qualify you for this job.
☛ Do you prefer to manage people or ideas?
☛ Describe your production deployment process.
☛ From the description of this position, what do you think you will be doing on a day-to-day basis?
☛ Have you worked with software vendors? How do you handle vendor relations?
☛ How important is it to work directly with your business users?
☛ How would you rate your key competencies for this job?
☛ If hired, is there anything you would change about this IT team?
☛ What challenges do you think you might expect in this job if you were hired?
☛ What companies do you see as the biggest competitors to this company?
29. Technical Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ You booked a venue for a company conference, but a day before the event, you learn that there has been a mix-up and it's not available. What do you do?
☛ What information would you ask for from new hires in order to update the company's employee records?
☛ If you have no specific deadlines, how do you prioritize work from different departments?
☛ Your manager assigns you with a task you're not familiar with and doesn't give you clear instructions. How would you approach this?
30. Fresh Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ Compare and contrast REST and SOAP web services.
☛ Define “authentication” and “authorization” and the tools that are used to support them in enterprise deployments.
☛ Describe the difference between optimistic and pessimistic locking.
☛ Describe the elements of an in tier architecture and their appropriate use.
☛ Have you used Eclipse?
☛ Have you used Visual Studio?
☛ How did you manage source control?
☛ How much (what percentage) of your time do you spend on unit testing?
☛ How much reuse do you get out of the code that you develop, and how?
☛ How would you describe your ideal working environment?
☛ If you know you aren't going to make a project deadline, what will you tell your manager and/or the client?
☛ In databases, what is the difference between a delete statement and a truncate statement?
☛ In network security, what is a honey pot, and why is it used?
☛ What are the most important database performance metrics, and how do you monitor them?
☛ What are transaction logs, and how are they used?
☛ What do you do to ensure quality in your deliverables?
☛ What do you consider documentation and why is it important?
☛ What do you do to ensure you provide accurate project estimates?
☛ What do you expect in the solution documents you are provided?
☛ What elements are necessary for a successful team and why?
☛ What have you done to ensure consistency across unit, quality, and production environments?
☛ What is a cross site scripting attack, and how do you defend against it?
☛ What is a SAN, and how is it used?
☛ What is clustering? Describe its use.
☛ What is ETL and when should it be used?
☛ What is most important - quality or quantity?
☛ What is structure?
☛ What is the difference between OLAP and OLTP? When is each used?
☛ What is the role of continuous integration systems in the automated-build process?
☛ What is the role of SMNP?
☛ What is the role of the DMZ in network architecture? How do you enforce relational integrity in database design?
☛ When is it appropriate to denormalize database design?
☛ When is the last time you downloaded a utility from the internet to make your work more productive, and what was it?
☛ Which do you prefer: service oriented or batch oriented solutions?
31. New Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ Have you ever been on a team with a difficult coworker? Tell us about the situation. How did you handle it?
☛ Describe a time you helped complete a project before its due date and under budget.
☛ What keeps you motivated during repetitive tasks?
☛ During a project, do you prefer working on a team or individually? Why?
32. Top Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ What's your experience with office equipment? (e.g. printers, scanners and fax machines)
☛ How do you keep digital and physical records organized and how often do you update them?
☛ How do you organize your daily workload? Which time management and/or calendar tools do you use, if any?
☛ How do you create a report on expenditures in Excel?
☛ How do you check your data-entry work for accuracy?
33. Basic Assistant IT Job Interview Questions:
☛ What interests you about this position?
☛ What certifications do you hold?
☛ What do you do to maintain your technical certifications?
☛ What automated-build tools or processes have you used?
☛ What development tools have you used?
☛ What languages have you programmed in?
☛ What source control tools have you used?
☛ What technical websites do you follow?
☛ Describe a time when you were able to improve upon the design that was originally suggested.
☛ Describe the most innovative change that you have initiated and what you did to implement this change.
☛ Given this problem (problem is based upon job requirements), what solution would you provide? Explain your thought process.
☛ How do you handle multiple deadlines?
☛ How do you keep current on this industry?
☛ How do you troubleshoot IT issues?
☛ Tell me about the most recent project you worked on. What were your responsibilities?
☛ Tell me about the project you are most proud of, and what your contribution was.
☛ Give an example of where you have applied your technical knowledge in a practical way.
☛ What is the biggest IT challenge you have faced and how did you handle it?
☛
☛ You are working at a client site and the CTO of the client company has asked if she can see you. The CTO wants to know how much it would cost to bring in five more people on your team. She gives you very vague requirements of the job she is looking for you to do. What would you do?
☛ You have been asked to research a new business tool. You have come across two solutions. One is an on-premises solution, the other is cloud-based. Assuming they are functionally equivalent, why would you recommend one over the other?
☛ You have submitted a piece of code that has broken the client's website in production. You have found this bug while you were testing, and nobody else knows about it. What is your next move?
☛ You have learned that a business unit is managing a major component of the business using Excel spreadsheets and Access databases. What risks does this present, and what would you recommend be done to mitigate those risks?
34. Tell us what are some questions you would ask to help isolate a user's problem?
☛ This question examines your problem-solving ability. You could say that you would ask the following questions:
☛ Describe the problem. Was there an error message? If so, what?
☛ Have you had a similar problem or other problems before? Give details.
☛ What were you doing when the system failed?
☛ Has any new hardware been added to the system?
☛ Has any new software been added to the system?
☛ Have you downloaded anything from the Internet?
☛ What, if anything, have you done to fix the problem yourself?
☛ Are you the only user who has access to the system?
Mention that the task was not pleasant but that you got through by explaining the position and reasons for dismissal to the individual and being as sympathetic as possible.
