Assistant IT Interview Preparation Guide

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The salary question will hardly miss in your next IT Assistant job interview, even when the employer clearly has a set budget for the position. To ensure you do not lose out on a chance for the job when the interview was going well, make sure you do not overstate or understate the amount.

Do your research if you do not have a figure in mind to know the range to quote. Then you can answer that question this way; “According to the research I have done and duties listed in this particular job, similar positions pay a salary of X to Z. With my skills and past experience, I expect a salary ranging between Y and Z”.

Check the following: Speaker volume, cable connections, power to the speakers and device drivers.

☛ XP Professional,
☛ XP Home,
☛ Media Centre,
☛ Tablet PC and
☛ Mobile

Mention ability and experience and interpersonal skills. You should also mention initiative and future potential.

This is not an invitation to give your life story. Give a brief mention of your highest education level, say where you have worked and your role focusing on your most recent position and then refer to your future goals. You should devote no more than one sentence to each aspect.

Here you need to acknowledge that sometimes work and life can be stressful. You need to show what techniques you use to reduce and control stress – careful time management, exercise, time out, setting priorities are all methods you could discuss.

To answer this question, you must have done your homework and to show it. You will need to know what the company does and something about its products. You will also need to be aware of recent developments and know a little about the leading figures in the company.

Relate to the job description and the company and describe what progression you would like to see in that environment.

This is a test of your ambition and possible loyalty. You should be clear about what you hope to achieve and could ask the interviewers if your objectives are a possibility with their company.

Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise!

For example: "My biggest weakness is getting so absorbed in my work that I lose all track of time. Every day I look up and realize everyone has gone home! I know I should be more aware of the clock, but when I love what I'm doing I just can't think of anything else."

This is one of those questions that recruiters will ask when they have a pool of suitably qualified candidates but want to make a smart hire. How you answer this question will either blow your chances before even the interview is done or impress enough to warrant you a second interview.

An ideal answer would be; “I believe that I am the best candidate for this position because of my existing IT experience and ability to easily adapt to different situations. I also have a passion for success and willingness to learn, which keep me motivated to accomplish set tasks within and before deadlines. Also, with my great interpersonal skills, I can work well with others which I believe is crucial in this role.”

It is used for the temporary storage of data that is being worked on. ROM is Read-Only Memory and is used for permanent storage of data that should never be changed, like BIOS for example.

☛ MS Word,
☛ MS Excel,
☛ MS PowerPoint,
☛ MS Outlook and
☛ MS Access

This question is intended to test your knowledge of the industry. You will need to have done some homework. You might look at topics like technological developments, economic challenges and changes in the market.

Always try to be positive. Give answers like: “ They would say that I was an enthusiastic, hard worker” or “ I was the most reliable and efficient member of the team’ or “I was an excellent problem solver.”

The basic troubleshooting process is:

☛ Identify the problem
☛ Consider likely causes
☛ Test theories to localise the cause
☛ Formulate and implement a plan to solve the problem
☛ Verify that the problem is solved and take steps to prevent a reoccurrence
☛ Record your findings, what action you took and the outcome

Identify three of your best achievements and say why you are most proud of them – you can consider the difficulties, the outcomes etc.

This question is best answered by reference to a successful outcome to a difficult situation that you have encountered. In general terms, you could say that you understand the frustration of end users and that good communication often goes a long way to resolving issues.

Identify one of the most difficult tasks as being the motivation of staff in trying circumstances.You can include planning and completing objectives on time and within budget.

When an interviewer poses this question, they are trying to identify your strengths and weaknesses but don’t want to ask that common question that is now becoming cliché. So, take a few seconds to collect your thoughts and focus on a challenge that does not discredit you as a skilled IT professional and then give that as your example.

As an IT Assistant and considering your major responsibilities that we mentioned above, which is one skill will impress your employer beyond your technical expertise. It could be how you assisted a difficult co-worker with an IT problem or how you proposed changes to the existing IT systems and succeeded to see implementation, even though your direct boss and company staff were against it. This shows initiative and confirms your passion to succeed.

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.

☛ 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?

☛ 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?

☛ 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?

☛ 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?