|
Club Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 8,809
|
IT Interview Questions
Saw this on a forum and thought I'd copy it in, some management type did the initial set of questions and his psyche evaluation of them then someone else ripped it all to pieces. Anyway, I thought it was funny, sorry it's so long.
Questions not to ask
1. Don't ask "What’s your favorite color?" If you want to know about someone's personality, ask them about their hobbies and how they spend their leisure time.
I'm inclined to say it's none of your business, but I'll provide the stock answer: why, computers, of course!
2. Don't ask "If you had my job, what would you do differently?" If applicable, ask a candidate which management styles they feel are most effective or ask them to describe the best manager they’ve worked for and which traits made that individual so effective.
Management style? What's that? I'm a geek, don't forget. When you say "management style", the only things that come to mind are things like Authoritarian Ogre, or the Slippery Ass-Covering Weasel, or the Tin Horn Dictator. Or perhaps The Queen Bee or the Father Figure? Something like that? Gee whiz, I didn't know I'd have to be a psych major on top of it! But I can tell you this: I score VERY low on the RWA scale. That's "Right Wing Authoritarian" in case you missed the memo.
3. Don't ask "What are your greatest weaknesses?" Inquire as to whether a potential hire has found any self-improvement techniques helpful in furthering their career.
Why, do you need some tips? Here's one: don't drive yourself nuts fretting over learning about every damned thing hundreds of companies constantly spew forth onto the market. It doesn't help matters. Instead, learn to come up to speed on things on an as-needed basis, quickly. Which in turn means to acquire the resources and develop the skill to look up needed information efficiently. Learn to be a quick study.
4. Don't ask "What’s the most negative thing you’ve heard about our company? "Ask why a potential hire is interested in working for your firm.
I'm interested in working for your firm because I need to earn money and benefits in exchange for my services. Now, wasn't that a silly question?
5. Don't ask "Can you work under pressure?" If you're worried about whether a potential hire could work effectively within your hectic, sometimes disorganized organization, say so.
Why, not only can I "work under pressure" among disorganization, I can "hit the ground running" and I even have a strong "sense of URGENCY"!!!!! By golly! Want hyperbolic idioms? You got 'em, baby! Impressed? Huh, huh? Do I get the JAWB??
6. Target their references as the subject of questions, instead of previous employers. A candidate knows past and current employers are not allowed to give out anything and can only verify employmnet dates and title.
My references, well, OK, I confess, they're cherry-picked. Just like everyone elses. So what else is new?
7. Don't ask about someone's grade point average. What do you care if your new hire aced anthropology at State? You need somebody who can restore a dead router/T-1/server so your customer service department can get back up and running.
I'm glad you didn't ask, I don't have one. Besides, it would be totally irrelevant at this point since it would be a grade given 35+ years ago.
8. Ask candidates about their aspirations straight up and don't play games ... leave them for grade-schoolers.
Why, I aspire to retire. You know, to actually have a life someday. Hopefully with a somewhat decent standard of living. Don't you?
9. Remember to ask candidates questions about themselves that you want honest answers to; not drivel that makes you look like a poor host. Besides, you don't want to make yourself the centerpiece. The interview is all about the candidate.
You might want to review the laws regarding what can and cannot be asked of a job candidate.
IT Questions TO ask:
1. Can you work this weekend? This is a great question to ask early in the interview. Watch closely for an initial reaction. Obviously, the candidate will be surprised. You haven’t even offered the job and now you want to know about this weekend. Since most help desk analysts have to work odd hours, you want the candidate’s first response to be a resounding yes.
Only if you pay me overtime, assuming of course that you're actually hiring me. (No, really, that is what I would tell you. If it turns out you were joking, I'd get up and leave right then and there. I have no interest in working for jokers. Oh, you were looking for a resounding YES!! Yeah, right.)
2. What kind of people are your current users? Do you like them? An alternative may be something like "What type of people do you like to work with?"
I tend to like anyone that at least pretends to be polite and doesn't treat me like dog ****. Just as a matter of course.
3. What role do you think computer support analysts should play in the company? There are a lot of good answers to this question. The important thing here is that the candidate mentions the needs of the users and not just the systems.
Now, THAT's a stupid question. Uuuuuuhhhh, they should play the role of Computer Support Analysts? If you're looking for babysitters, advertise for babysitters, not IT workers.
4. Assuming you have to work for a living and all jobs pay the same, how would you describe the job you want? You’re looking for an answer that includes people. Support analysts must deal with users day in and day out. The job is a lot easier for someone who actually likes to work with people.
Now, THAT's a GOOD question. I'll get back to you on that one. ;^) (BTW, what's with the "people" fetish? Of COURSE we have to work with "people", if I couldn't get along with "people" I wouldn't have been able to hold down jobs for the past 35 years! "People! people! people!" Doesn't that start to sound pretty silly after a while?) [As a sidebar issue, I have found that a great many technical management types, for whatever reason, tend not to acknowledge the very real and very serious social problem that technical adepts and IT workers generally face in this society regardless of how far over backwards we bend. But don't get me started....]
5. How do you react to being told “No”? A candid response to this question may not tell you for sure how well candidates handle the issue, but it could give you a picture of whether they're aware of their own tendencies.
I react to being told "no" in a professional manner.
6. Can you handle telling other people “No”? It can be revealing to see how many candidates respond along these lines: "I don't really feel comfortable telling other people they can't do things. I just worry about my own responsibilities."
I tell other people "no" in a professional manner.
7. When conflict arises on your team, how do you handle it? You can also pose a scenario and ask candidates what they might do in a particular situation. Is this approach contrived? You bet it is. But it will challenge candidates to think on their feet and may provide useful clues about their personality and conflict management skills.
I have them fight to the death in an arena using Klingon Bat'leths. You want "clues to my personality and conflict management skills"? Oh, come off of it. As though you were any kind of judge yourself! OK, well, at least demonstrate to me that you really are any kind of judge of my personality and skills before you come off with the BS scenarios. Otherwise, just skip it, OK?
8. What have the last few years taught you? Anyone who's been in IT for awhile knows that the industry has had some serious ups and downs. This questions is designed to get at what the job candidate has learned through the periods of explosive growth as well as through the tough downturns, tight budgets, and shifts in the job market.
That it's not going to get any better.
9. How do you stay current? Since this one comes right out of Interviewing 101, most candidates will be ready for it. But it's still a critical question that must be addressed. The technology changes so quickly that all of our past experience decreases in value daily.
Well, you said it yourself: "The technology changes so quickly that all of our past experience decreases in value daily." Just dealing with it as it comes is more than enough to keep me "current", believe me. Or don't believe me and move on down your list of candidates until you find someone who will feed you the line of bull**** that you want to hear. Good luck.
10. What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to do professionally? This question also comes out of the interviewing playbook, but it’s still a good one. It's interesting to see whether the candidate mentions some technical achievement or project or discusses something more personal instead—for example, having to fire an employee.
Trying to keep up with the thousands of products being spewed forth by hundreds of companies constantly, year after year, until I almost got completely burned out.
At this point, I would probably just get up and leave, as it's obvious that you're not the kind of person I'd care to work for. I've gotten picky about that in my old age, you see.
|
V6 Diff Failure Club - Member No 1 
??
