[26917] in resnet
Re: interview questions for Network/Systems Admin types
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Shannon Peevey)
Thu Oct 20 10:29:58 2011
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Message-ID: <CAJj8AdGf0UP=QBj0B_RCv72m+5JtbLPBT74d8dHS12xUTomLSg@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:27:23 -0500
Reply-To: Resnet Forum <RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu>
From: Shannon Peevey <speeves@stolaf.edu>
To: RESNET-L@listserv.nd.edu
In-Reply-To: <050AE0752DE33F408E169C52E10485850DCADDDD@SN2PRD0102MB167.prod.exchangelabs.com>
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I enjoy the Google concept of proposing a problem, and then removing
solutions as they come up with them. ie:
The load-balancers are being overwhelmed with traffic, but the backend
servers are being under-utilized. (a bottleneck issue, and how do you
troubleshoot and resolve it).
- Then as the interviewee comes up with a solution, remove it. ("That's an
interesting solution, but what if you don't have that solution available to
you?")
You have a remote Windows Server crash, how would you bring it back up?
- 1. call someone on site: (ok, no one is available onsite... Now what do
you do?)
- 2. remote desktop in (the server is still up, but rdesktop doesn't
work... so rdesktop is unavailable)
- 3. can you remote into the KVM? (no, sorry that isn't available)
- 4. is the machine ping-able? (see question 2)
...
These types of questions really make the person thing creatively about a
problem, and gives you insight into their troubleshooting skills, and
depth-of-knowledge about a variety of technology topics.
take care,
speeves
On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 9:02 AM, Brien G. Muller <bmuller@skidmore.edu>wrot=
e:
> ****
>
> I=92m finding this thread interesting and thought provoking. I usually lu=
rk
> but this comment made me think about one of my interview questions.****
>
> ** **
>
> I don=92t like to interview strictly on technology issues, either. I like=
a
> good well-rounded skill set, an indication of a strong personal preferenc=
e
> for this type of work, and an indication of working outside the job
> description to do more than your supervisor requires.****
>
> ** **
>
> Then, in an attempt to get at the person=92s personality, I go on the att=
ack.
> We have users who are upset, nasty, weird, etc. and I want to know how th=
is
> interviewee responds in these unpleasant situations. So I ask an unpleasa=
nt
> question and put them on the spot. Here=92s how, and yes, I know this is
> controversial but it works for me. That doesn=92t mean it will work for y=
ou.
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> Everyone we interview says they=92re =93an expert=94 with Word. Of course=
, that=92s
> generally not true unless the person has years of experience providing
> Office training. This makes it easy to find a mistake in their resume;
> there=92s always inconsistent spacing, an unexpected change of typeface o=
r
> type size, or my favorite, misalignment of dates on the right edge.****
>
> ** **
>
> So I point out the misalignment (an unpleasant thing to do that could
> change the mood of the interview =96 intentionally). Then I ask, =93Now t=
hat I
> pointed that out, how would you go back and revise your resume to fix it?=
=94
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> Here=92s where I gage their personality. Are they responding to me as som=
eone
> who can help them grow? Do they see me as someone providing helpful advic=
e
> for future resumes/interviews? Do they see me as an unreasonable bad guy?=
Do
> their defenses go up or do they open up to me?****
>
> ** **
>
> The second part comes when they give dumb answers like, =93I=92ll go back=
and
> add some spaces to make it line up.=94 Then I point out that the fix won=
=92t
> work. My printout and their printout are different because our printers
> handled the fonts and hard spaces differently. I ask, =93Do you know abou=
t
> right tabs and how they=92ll prevent this problem?=94 This is a second
> personality test. Do they show curiosity and look forward to going back h=
ome
> to give it a try or are they defensive?****
>
> ** **
>
> Yes, I can teach the technology, but the real questions are how they
> respond to my constructive criticism and do they have a personality that
> will lead them to explore further. I can=92t teach them everything; I nee=
d
> people who are motivated to resolve new issues that come up at the help d=
esk
> every day, and I need people who can handle difficult users.****
>
> ** **
>
> Brien Muller****
>
> IT Help Desk Manager | Skidmore College****
>
> ** **
>
>
> >>> "WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL" <wcampbell@fordham.edu> 10/19/2011 10:18 AM >>>
> I have always thought that it was a mistake to turn a job interview into =
a
> technology pop quiz. ****
>
--=20
Shannon Eric Peevey
Systems Programmer
Information and Instructional Technologies
St. Olaf College
1510 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, MN 55057-1097 USA
+1 507 786-3731, +1 507 786-3096 (fax)
___________________________________________________
You are subscribed to the ResNet-L mailing list.
To subscribe, unsubscribe or search the archives,
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I enjoy the Google concept of proposing a problem, and then removing soluti=
ons as they come up with them. ie:<div><br></div><div>The load-balancers ar=
e being overwhelmed with traffic, but the backend servers are being under-u=
tilized. (a bottleneck issue, and how do you troubleshoot and resolve it).=
=A0</div>
<div>=A0- Then as the interviewee comes up with a solution, remove it. (&qu=
ot;That's an interesting solution, but what if you don't have that =
solution available to you?")</div><div><br></div><div>You have a remot=
e Windows Server crash, how would you bring it back up?</div>
<div>=A0- 1. call someone on site: (ok, no one is available onsite... Now w=
hat do you do?)</div><div>=A0- 2. remote desktop in (the server is still up=
, but rdesktop doesn't work... so rdesktop is unavailable)</div><div>=
=A0- 3. can you remote into the KVM? (no, sorry that isn't available)</=
div>
<div>=A0- 4. is the machine ping-able? (see question 2)</div><div>=A0 ...</=
div><div><br></div><div>These types of questions really make the person thi=
ng creatively about a problem, and gives you insight into their troubleshoo=
ting skills, and depth-of-knowledge about a variety of technology topics.</=
div>
<div><br></div><div>take care,</div><div>speeves</div><div><br></div><div><=
br></div><div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 9:02 A=
M, Brien G. Muller <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:bmuller@skidmore=
.edu">bmuller@skidmore.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p=
x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<u></u><u></u>
<div lang=3D"EN-US" link=3D"blue" vlink=3D"purple" style=3D"margin-left:3.0=
pt;margin-top:3.0pt;margin-right:3.0pt;margin-bottom:.75pt">
<div>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">I=92m finding this thread interesting=
and thought provoking. I usually lurk but this comment made me think about=
one
of my interview questions.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">I don=92t like to interview strictly =
on technology issues, either. I like a good well-rounded skill set, an indi=
cation
of a strong personal preference for this type of work, and an indication o=
f working outside the job description to do more than your supervisor requi=
res.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Then, in an attempt to get at the per=
son=92s personality, I go on the attack. We have users who are upset, nasty=
, weird,
etc. and I want to know how this interviewee responds in these unpleasant =
situations. So I ask an unpleasant question and put them on the spot. Here=
=92s how, and yes, I know this is controversial but it works for me. That d=
oesn=92t mean it will work for you.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Everyone we interview says they=92re =
=93an expert=94 with Word. Of course, that=92s generally not true unless th=
e person has
years of experience providing Office training. This makes it easy to find =
a mistake in their resume; there=92s always inconsistent spacing, an unexpe=
cted change of typeface or type size, or my favorite, misalignment of dates=
on the right edge.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">So I point out the misalignment (an u=
npleasant thing to do that could change the mood of the interview =96 inten=
tionally).
Then I ask, =93Now that I pointed that out, how would you go back and revi=
se your resume to fix it?=94<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Here=92s where I gage their personali=
ty. Are they responding to me as someone who can help them grow? Do they se=
e me
as someone providing helpful advice for future resumes/interviews? Do they=
see me as an unreasonable bad guy? Do their defenses go up or do they open=
up to me?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">The second part comes when they give =
dumb answers like, =93I=92ll go back and add some spaces to make it line up=
.=94 Then
I point out that the fix won=92t work. My printout and their printout are =
different because our printers handled the fonts and hard spaces differentl=
y. I ask, =93Do you know about right tabs and how they=92ll prevent this pr=
oblem?=94 This is a second personality test.
Do they show curiosity and look forward to going back home to give it a tr=
y or are they defensive?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Yes, I can teach the technology, but =
the real questions are how they respond to my constructive criticism and do=
they
have a personality that will lead them to explore further. I can=92t teach=
them everything; I need people who are motivated to resolve new issues tha=
t come up at the help desk every day, and I need people who can handle diff=
icult users.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">Brien Muller<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D">IT Help Desk Manager | Skidmore Colle=
ge<u></u><u></u></span></p><div class=3D"im">
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span sty=
le=3D"font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D"><u></u>=A0<u></u></span></p>
<div>
<p class=3D"MsoNormal" style=3D"margin-right:3.0pt;margin-bottom:0in;margin=
-left:3.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt">
<span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt"><br>
>>> "WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL" <<a href=3D"mailto:wcampbel=
l@fordham.edu" target=3D"_blank">wcampbell@fordham.edu</a>> 10/19/2011 1=
0:18 AM >>><br>
</span><span style=3D"font-size:10.0pt">I have always thought that it was a=
mistake to turn a job interview into a technology pop quiz.</span><span st=
yle=3D"font-size:10.0pt">
</span><u></u><u></u></p>
</div>
</div></div>
</div>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Shannon Eric=
Peevey<br>Systems Programmer<br>Information and Instructional Technologies=
<br>St. Olaf College<br>1510 St. Olaf Avenue<br>Northfield, MN =A055057-109=
7 USA<br>
+1 507 786-3731, =A0+1 507 786-3096 (fax)<br>
</div>
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