Job interview questions... hmmm... a bit blurry... yet exciting!

[roben2]

Advertisement

Close

So here i am, continuing my work searching journey and the first interview for an IT Manager position is tomorrow. It’s a 30-45 minutes phone interview.
I was told to get ready to some technical questions and they also attached the job description. The only technical terms that appear in the job description qualifications are the following and in this order: “DHCP, DNS, mail transport, TCP/IP”

Advertisement

Close

My question is: what type of questions for an IT Manager position do you guys think they can ask me regarding the above?

Advertisement

Close

I’m excited but in the same time a bit worried (naturally, right? )

thoughts?

[kptim (Tim-H)]

You should expect some networking for sure but this seems more server management to me, I wouldn’t be surprised if you take a trip down AD lane or visit GP. Mail transport makes me think of Exchange, something to consider.

[victormarquez]

Rob,

First, congratulations on getting the Interview, you are past the first hurdle and HUNDREDS have been left behind at this point.

Second, in terms of technical questions, I would make sure to review the basics, the 7-layer OSI model, and to have some quick blurb on the “key” terms, that explains what they mean (in both lay man’s and technical language). I’m assuming that you’re comfortable with how to use them, but a refresher is a good idea. Sometimes, I find that if I try to TEACH someone some of these terms, it forces me to re-acquaint myself with them and how they work, so maybe something along those lines would be helpful.

Get good rest tonight, and make sure to address (plan ahead) for your biological needs ahead of time. Nothing worse than having to interrupt the flow of either an in-person or phone interview to use the facilities, or the growling of a hungry stomach.

Hope this helps & good luck!

VM

[roben2]

@kptim

You should expect some networking for sure but this seems more server management to me, I wouldn’t be surprised if you take a trip down AD lane or visit GP. Mail transport makes me think of Exchange, something to consider.

I’m not huge at networking since i am more of a systems/servers person but anything in particular to keep in mind (other than OSI)?

[roben2]

@victormarquez

Rob,

First, congratulations on getting the Interview, you are past the first hurdle and HUNDREDS have been left behind at this point.

Second, in terms of technical questions, I would make sure to review the basics.

That’s the million dollar question : what are the basics for an IT Manager position? the job description talks a lot more about managing a team of engineers than it talks about hands-on.
Is “DHCP = my computer points a router/server to ask for an IP address” is good enough to know or should i expect something like “how do you set lease expiration time/how do you set a failover DHCP server” sort of questions?
It’s just too broad…

[mhunt]

When I had the phone interview for the job I started at the beginning of the year, I did a few things.

1: I research common interview questions, the I put them in a document and typed up my answers.

This helped greatly to crystallise what I would use as my answers to common questions. Its good to be prepared in particular for the almost inevitable “why do you want to leave your current position” type question.

Also be prepared to answer a question about ball park salary expectations.

2: I made sure I showered/shaved/got decently dressed, even though I was doing the telephone interview from my own kitchen.

It put me into the right frame of mind, that it actually is a very important interview, because its what can open the door for the second.

My guess would be that you have a call with an HR person, who will have a script of “IT related” questions to make sure you can give an answer that sounds like something on the script. Its almost certainly more about “fit” than technical ability.

Have some questions of your own prepared. Don’t ask about vacation/sick days etc. Ask about the working environment, company culture, who you would report to, “professional” type stuff.

Above all, good luck, remember if they want to talk to you, they want to give you the job.

[roben2]

@mhunt

When I had the phone interview for the job I started at the beginning of the year, I did a few things.

1: I research common interview questions, the I put them in a document and typed up my answers.

This helped greatly to crystallise what I would use as my answers to common questions. Its good to be prepared in particular for the almost inevitable “why do you want to leave your current position” type question.

Also be prepared to answer a question about ball park salary expectations.

2: I made sure I showered/shaved/got decently dressed, even though I was doing the telephone interview from my own kitchen.

It put me into the right frame of mind, that it actually is a very important interview, because its what can open the door for the second.

My guess would be that you have a call with an HR person, who will have a script of “IT related” questions to make sure you can give an answer that sounds like something on the script. Its almost certainly more about “fit” than technical ability.

Have some questions of your own prepared. Don’t ask about vacation/sick days etc. Ask about the working environment, company culture, who you would report to, “professional” type stuff.

Above all, good luck, remember if they want to talk to you, they want to give you the job.

Thanks a million! this is actually going to be a question with another IT Manager so i anticipate it to be more techie. You know, i heard not once and not twice that even though this is a phone interview, dressing up and shaving actually puts you in the right mood…

Now where did i leave my Armani jacket…

[derek-a]

Agree with Tim-H, sounds more like a server or network “manager”.

Generally when using the term manager, it implies leading people. Many companies misuse and abuse the title and throw it around like candy.

[weirdfish]

There’s really no such thing as a “basics for an IT Manager position” as the title and duties can vary wildly depending on the needs of the organization. One org could have an IT manager who’s solely technical and keeps the hardware running (more akin to a sysadmin or network admin). Another could have that mgr overseeing all the lackeys in the department, including the person responsible for keeping the hardware running.

A manager in one org may have nothing to do with budgets and personnel, and in another, it’s all they do, and they don’t touch technology in any way. But they have to know what DHCP, DNS, and ipconfig mean in order to make sure their lackeys are doing their jobs.

I did a phone interview once for a local health insurance company for a business analyst position. I expected it to be the bridge between business units and technology, because I’m good at the Tech-to-English translation, especially when it comes to systems design and training.

What they wanted was a sysadmin well-versed in DR, load balancing, and failover. It had NOTHING to do with business analysis.

Honestly, that can be one of YOUR questions to them – have them more clearly define the position and responsibilities. You’ve already been scheduled the interview. You’re either going to nail it or you’re not. If there’s more managerial situations and you’re not a people person, then you already know it’s not the right job for you. If you’re a people guy with enough tech knowledge to know when to let the experts in your charge have free rein to do their thing, but this position expects YOU to be the 100% sole expert, then you know it’s not the right job for you.

You sell yourself and what you can do. Don’t pretend to be something or someone else, and don’t focus on what you don’t know. If you don’t know XYZ, and it’s not a top priority for them, then you’re in. On the other hand, if you don’t know it, and it’s a show-stopper for them, you’re not going to learn XYZ in enough time or to the degree of expertise that they need in the time allowed, so don’t sweat it.

This isn’t a final exam where you cram the study material, regurgitate it on the test, then walk out with your diploma, having forgotten it all.

I’ve failed many interviews, and honestly, there’s gotta be a reason why. If I got the job under false pretenses, chances are that neither I nor the employer would have been happy in the long run anyway. The jobs that I have gotten were based on the innate knowledge and skills I have. I didn’t have to study extra hard ahead of time (I’ve interviewed candidates who did that, and the gaps in their knowledge were glaringly obvious – it’s easy to spot the candidates who merely memorized answers off of a Web page and those who’ve actually done the gig).

[kate-att-cybersecurity]

I’ve never interviewed for such a position, but I have learned from the Spiceworks community of IT pros this: people skills count too. Like, how would you deal with business end users in this role. Suggestion I would make is “kindly and supportively” - respecting their skills and bringing your tech solutions to support them. I know this is nothing as good as the other replies you’ve received, but I still hope it helps you!

[ich]

Be confident in what you do know, and honest about what you don’t. Remember the interview is as much about them impressing you as you impressing them. You BOTH have to decide that you are the right fit for the position. i tend to approach a job interview as equals collaborating on deciding if a particular solution is the best fix for a problem. This does not mean I am arrogant, but it does mean I hold my own and won’t be intimidated. if an interviewer want me to fill the role of a supplicant begging for a favour, THEY fail the interview.

To be totally honest, the interviews where I have been successful have been those in which I quickly gain a rapport with the interviewer, and those which have been unsuccessful (with one side or the other declining to proceed) have been those in which I have failed to engage on a personal level. Skills can be learnt, but you either fit personality wise, or you don’t.

I have sat across a table for someone who has basically got a technical tick list, and answered a series of questions that told them no more than was in my CV. they learnt nothing about me, and I learnt nothing about them. By the time we got to “Have you any questions?” I was so bored I said no. I must have had enough ticks, because I was offered the job, but I declined because they had made no effort to engage with me on a personal level, sell the company, or the position. If all they wanted was a collection of skills, not a person, then it was not for me.

On another occasion, I hit it off with the interviewer from the start. It was clear that we would work well together, and the interview just became a chat. I knew I was doing well, because the questions stopped being “how would you…” and became “how will you…”. the interview lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and then the interviewer went and grabbed someone from HR and we did the second interview there and then, which only lasted 15 minutes because it was basically negotiating salary and benefits and start date.

The closest we came to a technical question was regarding a system they used which I had no experience of. The question was " You can learn about XXX, can’t you?" It was a key system to the operation of the company.

I was happy working with this person for several years, before he took early retirement.

[roben2]

Wow! I cannot thank you enough for such a nice, long answer! i will really try implementing as much as i can! The whole stuff about going personal is something i am going to try shifting the conversation to as much as i can, simply because i know that my personality is my biggest strength and as you said, tech can be learned by anyone.

@ich

Be confident in what you do know, and honest about what you don’t. Remember the interview is as much about them impressing you as you impressing them. You BOTH have to decide that you are the right fit for the position. i tend to approach a job interview as equals collaborating on deciding if a particular solution is the best fix for a problem. This does not mean I am arrogant, but it does mean I hold my own and won’t be intimidated. if an interviewer want me to fill the role of a supplicant begging for a favour, THEY fail the interview.

To be totally honest, the interviews where I have been successful have been those in which I quickly gain a rapport with the interviewer, and those which have been unsuccessful (with one side or the other declining to proceed) have been those in which I have failed to engage on a personal level. Skills can be learnt, but you either fit personality wise, or you don’t.

I have sat across a table for someone who has basically got a technical tick list, and answered a series of questions that told them no more than was in my CV. they learnt nothing about me, and I learnt nothing about them. By the time we got to “Have you any questions?” I was so bored I said no. I must have had enough ticks, because I was offered the job, but I declined because they had made no effort to engage with me on a personal level, sell the company, or the position. If all they wanted was a collection of skills, not a person, then it was not for me.

On another occasion, I hit it off with the interviewer from the start. It was clear that we would work well together, and the interview just became a chat. I knew I was doing well, because the questions stopped being “how would you…” and became “how will you…”. the interview lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and then the interviewer went and grabbed someone from HR and we did the second interview there and then, which only lasted 15 minutes because it was basically negotiating salary and benefits and start date.

The closest we came to a technical question was regarding a system they used which I had no experience of. The question was " You can learn about XXX, can’t you?" It was a key system to the operation of the company.

I was happy working with this person for several years, before he took early retirement.

[jeffreycastaneda2 (NinjaWithAPegLeg)]

I could tell that " DHCP, DNS, mail transport, TCP/IP" are and what they do but as a IT manager (if this is a large enough company) I would first contact system admin for DHCP and DNS (although if the ip addess-help is not configure on the switch then I would contact the net admin) as for the mail transport issues I would be in contact with the exchange server team. For TCP/IP start a level 1 (physical) so that would be help desk and let them for you if it is a system or network issue.After contacting the proper team it would be my responsibility to ensure that they have the support they need. Is the maintenance contacts up to date? Do they have the proper tools to do their job? Lastly it would be my job to explain what the issue is and what it is being done to resolve this issue to the stakeholders.

[roben2]

@jeffreycastaneda2

I could tell that " DHCP, DNS, mail transport, TCP/IP" are and what they do but as a IT manager (if this is a large enough company) I would first contact system admin for DHCP and DNS (although if the ip addess-help is not configure on the switch then I would contact the net admin) as for the mail transport issues I would be in contact with the exchange server team. For TCP/IP start a level 1 (physical) so that would be help desk and let them for you if it is a system or network issue.After contacting the proper team it would be my responsibility to ensure that they have the support they need. Is the maintenance contacts up to date? Do they have the proper tools to do their job? Lastly it would be my job to explain what the issue is and what it is being done to resolve this issue to the stakeholders.

@roben2

Wow! I cannot thank you enough for such a nice, long answer! i will really try implementing as much as i can! The whole stuff about going personal is something i am going to try shifting the conversation to as much as i can, simply because i know that my personality is my biggest strength and as you said, tech can be learned by anyone.

@ich

Be confident in what you do know, and honest about what you don’t. Remember the interview is as much about them impressing you as you impressing them. You BOTH have to decide that you are the right fit for the position. i tend to approach a job interview as equals collaborating on deciding if a particular solution is the best fix for a problem. This does not mean I am arrogant, but it does mean I hold my own and won’t be intimidated. if an interviewer want me to fill the role of a supplicant begging for a favour, THEY fail the interview.

To be totally honest, the interviews where I have been successful have been those in which I quickly gain a rapport with the interviewer, and those which have been unsuccessful (with one side or the other declining to proceed) have been those in which I have failed to engage on a personal level. Skills can be learnt, but you either fit personality wise, or you don’t.

I have sat across a table for someone who has basically got a technical tick list, and answered a series of questions that told them no more than was in my CV. they learnt nothing about me, and I learnt nothing about them. By the time we got to “Have you any questions?” I was so bored I said no. I must have had enough ticks, because I was offered the job, but I declined because they had made no effort to engage with me on a personal level, sell the company, or the position. If all they wanted was a collection of skills, not a person, then it was not for me.

On another occasion, I hit it off with the interviewer from the start. It was clear that we would work well together, and the interview just became a chat. I knew I was doing well, because the questions stopped being “how would you…” and became “how will you…”. the interview lasted an hour and 45 minutes, and then the interviewer went and grabbed someone from HR and we did the second interview there and then, which only lasted 15 minutes because it was basically negotiating salary and benefits and start date.

The closest we came to a technical question was regarding a system they used which I had no experience of. The question was " You can learn about XXX, can’t you?" It was a key system to the operation of the company.

I was happy working with this person for several years, before he took early retirement.

@Kate (AlienVault)

I’ve never interviewed for such a position, but I have learned from the Spiceworks community of IT pros this: people skills count too. Like, how would you deal with business end users in this role. Suggestion I would make is “kindly and supportively” - respecting their skills and bringing your tech solutions to support them. I know this is nothing as good as the other replies you’ve received, but I still hope it helps you!

@weirdfish

There’s really no such thing as a “basics for an IT Manager position” as the title and duties can vary wildly depending on the needs of the organization. One org could have an IT manager who’s solely technical and keeps the hardware running (more akin to a sysadmin or network admin). Another could have that mgr overseeing all the lackeys in the department, including the person responsible for keeping the hardware running.

A manager in one org may have nothing to do with budgets and personnel, and in another, it’s all they do, and they don’t touch technology in any way. But they have to know what DHCP, DNS, and ipconfig mean in order to make sure their lackeys are doing their jobs.

I did a phone interview once for a local health insurance company for a business analyst position. I expected it to be the bridge between business units and technology, because I’m good at the Tech-to-English translation, especially when it comes to systems design and training.

What they wanted was a sysadmin well-versed in DR, load balancing, and failover. It had NOTHING to do with business analysis.

Honestly, that can be one of YOUR questions to them – have them more clearly define the position and responsibilities. You’ve already been scheduled the interview. You’re either going to nail it or you’re not. If there’s more managerial situations and you’re not a people person, then you already know it’s not the right job for you. If you’re a people guy with enough tech knowledge to know when to let the experts in your charge have free rein to do their thing, but this position expects YOU to be the 100% sole expert, then you know it’s not the right job for you.

You sell yourself and what you can do. Don’t pretend to be something or someone else, and don’t focus on what you don’t know. If you don’t know XYZ, and it’s not a top priority for them, then you’re in. On the other hand, if you don’t know it, and it’s a show-stopper for them, you’re not going to learn XYZ in enough time or to the degree of expertise that they need in the time allowed, so don’t sweat it.

This isn’t a final exam where you cram the study material, regurgitate it on the test, then walk out with your diploma, having forgotten it all.

I’ve failed many interviews, and honestly, there’s gotta be a reason why. If I got the job under false pretenses, chances are that neither I nor the employer would have been happy in the long run anyway. The jobs that I have gotten were based on the innate knowledge and skills I have. I didn’t have to study extra hard ahead of time (I’ve interviewed candidates who did that, and the gaps in their knowledge were glaringly obvious – it’s easy to spot the candidates who merely memorized answers off of a Web page and those who’ve actually done the gig).

@derek-a

Agree with Tim-H, sounds more like a server or network “manager”.

Generally when using the term manager, it implies leading people. Many companies misuse and abuse the title and throw it around like candy.

@kptim

You should expect some networking for sure but this seems more server management to me, I wouldn’t be surprised if you take a trip down AD lane or visit GP. Mail transport makes me think of Exchange, something to consider.

@mhunt

When I had the phone interview for the job I started at the beginning of the year, I did a few things.

1: I research common interview questions, the I put them in a document and typed up my answers.

This helped greatly to crystallise what I would use as my answers to common questions. Its good to be prepared in particular for the almost inevitable “why do you want to leave your current position” type question.

Also be prepared to answer a question about ball park salary expectations.

2: I made sure I showered/shaved/got decently dressed, even though I was doing the telephone interview from my own kitchen.

It put me into the right frame of mind, that it actually is a very important interview, because its what can open the door for the second.

My guess would be that you have a call with an HR person, who will have a script of “IT related” questions to make sure you can give an answer that sounds like something on the script. Its almost certainly more about “fit” than technical ability.

Have some questions of your own prepared. Don’t ask about vacation/sick days etc. Ask about the working environment, company culture, who you would report to, “professional” type stuff.

Above all, good luck, remember if they want to talk to you, they want to give you the job.

So here i am guys, after the first interview (maybe i should start a blog). 30 minutes plus 20 minutes of him answering my questions. I had everything ready on the table: OSI, my resume, TCP/IP, DNS : anything you can think about and guess what: not a single question about these.
The tech questions were really general: describe a situation when a mission critical data got destroyed and you had to bring it back (Veeam Veeam Veeam!)
What was the last server you built and with what roles (2008r2 virtual server with no roles, as it was purely for a system we just purchased).
The only question i had a hard time about was a networking question and i was simply honest and said: “I am not a networking guy. I will know how to configure a port on a firewall/router but if you want me to build 30 VLANs it’s going to take me time to learn it BUT I WILL LEARN IT!”
Lot’s of questions like : “why do you want to work for X” (I promise i’ll tell you the name if i get accepted!), “how are you dealing with hard customers?”, “Have you been looking for a job for a while (i’m currently holding a job which is great)?”. These questions are my bread and butter and i think i answered them pretty well because all i heard was “really good answer”. Just that 1 networking question… rrrrrr… ohh well, better than lying right?
In anyhow, his answers to my questions were REALLY long and he was EXTREMELY honest regarding the work place which i really appreciated. He told me that he has an SLA to complete his report on me and i should expect to hear back no later than Tuesday. He was super professional and it really sounded like he values my time. He did talk a lot in terms like “you will” when i asked him about working there. Stuff like “you will have an opportunity to impact”, “you will work long hours sometimes”, “you will be facing challenges” etc.
He never said something like “if you were to pass you will…”
The only thing he did say that was conditional was at the end of the interview and it sounded like “if you were to pass to the next stage you will move to another on-site interview with etc…”
Good? bad? i don’t know but definitely a good experience.

Thoughts???