Interview 1: Basic Technical Support
Technical Questions
Question (Hardware): The computer turns on (it makes noise) but the screen is black and it beeps continuously. What is happening and how do you fix it?
Rationale: A technician must know how to diagnose physical errors using the motherboard’s beep codes.
Expected Answer: It is a RAM memory error. You need to carefully open the equipment, remove it, clean it, and put it back in.
Evaluation: Good: Identifies the RAM. Bad: Does not know what the beeps mean.
Question (Operating System): A user cannot access a shared folder because an «Access Denied» message pops up. What do you check?
Rationale: Knowing how to manage who can view each file on the network.
Expected Answer: Check if the user has the correct permissions enabled or if they are in the correct company group.
Evaluation: Good: Checks user permissions. Bad: Does not know where to look.
Question (Networking): A computer has no internet access and its IP address starts with 169.254…. What does this mean?
Rationale: Recognizing typical internet connection errors.
Expected Answer: The computer is not communicating with the router to request an address. You need to check the cable or restart the network.
Evaluation: Good: Detects that the cable or the router is failing. Bad: Unfamiliar with the number.
Soft Skills
Teamwork: Tell me about a time when you helped a colleague who was working slower in order to finish the job on time.
Proactivity: If there are no incidents or calls during a week, what do you do with your time?
Problem Solving: A client calls you shouting and very angry, but you are busy with a more serious breakdown. How do you handle it?
Interview 2: Network Technician
Technical Questions
Question (Hardware): What physical materials do you need to assemble a network cabinet (Rack) from scratch?
Rationale: Knowing the actual tools required to organize an office’s network connections.
Expected Answer: The cabinet, patch panels for the cables, network devices (switches, router), and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system in case of a power outage.
Evaluation: Good: Names the equipment and electrical protection. Bad: Forgets how to organize the cables.
Question (Operating System): Which two basic server services allow computers to get automatic internet access and find each other by name?
Rationale: Understanding how network functions are configured on a server.
Expected Answer: The DHCP service (provides automatic internet/IP) and the DNS service (translates the names of websites and equipment).
Evaluation: Good: Knows what each service is for. Bad: Confuses them.
Question (Networking): We want to separate the Managers’ department from the Students’ department so they cannot see each other while using the same device. How do you do it?
Rationale: Knowing how to divide networks for security purposes.
Expected Answer: By creating virtual networks (VLANs) within the same device (switch) to isolate the traffic.
Evaluation: Good: Proposes using separate virtual networks. Bad: Wants to buy new cables.
Soft Skills
Excellence: Tell me about a strange internet error that nobody could fix and how you persisted until you found the solution.
Proactivity: If you notice that the office network blueprints are old and outdated, what do you do?
Professional Ethics: A colleague asks you to snoop on the websites their boss visits, since you have access to everything. What do you do?
Interview 3: Systems and Security Administrator
Technical Questions
Question (Hardware): How do you configure a server’s hard drives so that if one breaks, no data is erased?
Rationale: Knowing how to protect data physically.
Expected Answer: Using a system called RAID, which duplicates the information across multiple drives simultaneously.
Evaluation: Good: Explains how secure mirrored storage works. Bad: Suggests saving everything manually on a flash drive (pendrive).
Question (Operating System): You need to set the same password and the same wallpaper on 20 new computers. How do you do it quickly?
Rationale: Knowing how to manage many computers at once automatically.
Expected Answer: Creating a centralized policy (GPO) from the server so that it applies to all of them simultaneously when they boot up.
Evaluation: Good: Uses server group policies. Bad: Goes computer by computer, wasting time.
Question (Networking): How do you block the entire company’s internet access so that users can only enter secure websites?
Rationale: Knowing how to apply basic security to prevent viruses.
Expected Answer: Configuring the Firewall to close everything except the secure internet port (port 443).
Evaluation: Good: Knows how to use the Firewall and knows the secure port. Bad: Does not know how to close access.
Soft Skills
Problem Solving: Explain how you reacted the last time a virus infected a system you managed.
Excellence: When you make a backup, how do you actually verify that it works and won’t fail in the future? (Expected: Try to restore it on a test PC to see if the files open).
Professional Ethics: You discover that a manager is downloading dangerous files that could infect the entire company with a virus. How do you act?
