Hello - Advice For Interview?

subt33

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Hello everyone,

Just wanted to stop by the new member forum and say hello. I've been a passionate tech hobbyist since I built my first PC back in the late 90's (I remember thinking "Damn 512mb of ram, that's so much"). I've never really paid my bills with it though. Over the last couple of years, I earned my A+, net+, and just recently MCSA for Win8. I've now been applying for entry level IT jobs and have had a couple of interviews. My next is an interview for a help desk position, with a very exciting company, and also a great promotional track. Thanks for any advice and thanks for the forum!

Andrew
 
Hello and welcome!

Don't know how general these tips may be but... these were given to me by my career services instructor who teaches courses regarding job interviews. It was a mandatory class.

1. Always bring a folder of some sort with a few extra copies of an updated resume along with a few pens.

2. Always take notes during the interview process, especially useful for a tip further down.

3. It's alright to do hand gestures, but try to keep it from going wild or over use. Same goes for knee jerking or leg twitching.

4. At the end of the interview when asked if there is ANY questions... ALWAYS ASK SOMETHING. This shows you are interested in the company by asking. If you have trouble thinking of a question ahead of time, the notes you have taken throughout the interview could prove useful in forming a question.

If not, maybe ask about the work environment and the atmosphere but ask something.

5. Without being too pushy, try to squeeze in a way to get permission to call back and ask about the job offer a certain amount of time later (like a week later).

May be looked down upon to randomly call in, but if you can ask on your way out or inquire when you may hear more about the job offer... ask if you can give a call back in about a weeks time or so (use that silver tongue!) and ask for a method of contact or a business card.

By acquiring permission, you now have the right to pester then a week for now and it will help with those next few days of worrying about getting a call. Cause if you don't you know you can call and pester a week from then.

Good Luck!

edit:
Forgot the more obvious:
Don't openly or abruptly ask about pay, vacation or salary. May sometimes give out the wrong message.

When talking pay rate of salary, don't give a number first. If you give a number first... they will shoot under it.

Watch your language.
 
Thanks for the advice! Reading some of the threads, it seems that help desk staff might be prone to the hoarding of information and the "know how" when solving common and uncommon issues. So I guess concentrating on being team focused and expanding the knowledge base in my interview would be a good approach.
 
My advice would be to tell them why IT makes you passionate.
Be honest, and tell them that you love working with people.
That helped me couple of years ago.
 
The best advice I ever received was to keep in mind that you are interviewing the company too - it's not just them interviewing you. You want to see if the company and the position are what YOU are looking for. Keeping this in mind has always helped me keep the right balance of confidence and humility when going on a job interview and I think it's been an asset.

Best of luck buddy.
 
I can't tell you how many interviews I've conducted for Help Desk I positions... primarily because I simply don't remember, but I've hired quite a few folks. Here's the feedback I have for you.

First off, be confident.
You'll hear that often, and often times people mean 'act like you deserve the job.' On the contrary. Be confident in what you know AND what you don't. If you don't know the answer, don't be afraid to say so right away, make a guess, and offer to get back to them with the right answer.

Second: Be likeable
What I mean is, always try to connect with people on an interpersonal level. This can be done by the proper use of mannerisms (sir/ma'am/please/thank you) but can also be done through deliberate and equal eye contact, smiling, and open body language. e.g. Don't lean back in your chair, or cross your arms. Lean forward, hands folded on your lap or on the table for quick access to gestures.

Third: Do not 'word vomit'
The words 'um' 'uhh' and the like should never come out of your mouth during an interview. Well, how do you answer difficult questions then? Buy some time! This is very easy to do without even seeming like you're doing it.
Scenario:
Interviewer: Describe a time when your best friend did something and you had a moral obligation to act. What was the situation? How was it resolved?
Now, you can start talking and sound like an idiot with all the uhmms and uhhs, or you can carefully construct a reply by buying time. How? Paraphrase the question back to the interview to confirm understanding, wait for them to answer, and then state that's a very good questions. This gives you a good 30-45 seconds to prepare a kick ass response.
You: "To be clear, you're asking about a situation where a friend of mine did something that created a moral obligation to act on my part, and how it turned out, correct?"
Interviewer: "Correct"
You: "Great question, (3 second pause), [now your prepared scenario]"

Finally (I've got more advice, just dwindling time): Know the job
When I worked on the help desk, and you can ask anyone here who does, most of your 'resolution finding' is done through...(drumroll) Google! Why not bust out some Google ninja skills in the interview? I did this in my interview when I was first hired. They asked me what RAID 10 was. I wasn't familiar with the specific number designations. So, I pulled out my iPhone and told Siri to Google Raid 10 and gave them an answer right away. I understood the concept of RAID, so I would definitely advise against doing this for every answer you don't know and especially concepts you're unfamiliar with, because you may end up sounding like an ID10T, but it can show that you know how to find information, even though we all know that's what you'll be doing later.

Best of Luck!
 
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