Before you get started with the help desk interview questions and answers, you should be aware that this is intended as a guide. Many interview questions are designed by the human resources department to help the interviewer gauge the performance levels the company should expect from the interviewee. There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer, especially for entry-level positions. The best thing you can do is have something to talk about and make sure you are prepared for any questions that are asked.
Interview questions are always in an “essay” format. In other words, they want you to discuss the answer and give them an overview of the answer. This can be challenging for many of us who don’t really speak in an “essay” format. However, this is a hump to get over if you want to improve your interview skills.
Here are some questions and answers that may help:
Question: Tell me about you?
why: This is one of the most frequently asked questions you will get in a help desk interview. The interviewer makes this question vague so that they can qualify you as to where you take the question.
Advice: Answer the question in a way that raises questions and be a bit vague so the interviewer can guide you a bit. You don’t want to bore him to death by talking about your Disney vacation while you were in grade school, but you do want to have “ammunition” for as long as he can stand listening to you. Also, try to talk about his technical skills, experience, and his general interest in IT. Don’t be afraid to show a little personality either, IT managers would rather hire someone they like than someone who knows everything about IT.
Example: I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and have pretty much stayed there my whole life. During high school I worked at X, fixing up old computers for resale. Have you ever been to X? Well, it’s a small business near town that buys old equipment from local businesses, repairs it, and sells the refurbished equipment at auction. I had to leave the company when I went to college, but it was a sad decision. I really enjoyed working with the people there and liked the fast-paced environment. During college, I worked in the IT department as an intern and spent most of my time removing malware and similar issues, setting up network printers, and the usual day-to-day help desk work.
Summary: Throughout the answer, you indirectly talked about your skills, showed that you like working with people, and went out of your way to let the interviewer know that you like a fast-paced environment (all help desks are). He asked questions throughout the interactive session and the question alone could have turned this into a (two-way) conversation rather than a lecture.
Question: Why should I hire you?
why: This question is meant to make you feel a bit uncomfortable. The interviewer wants to see if you can convince him to hire you.
Advice: Be a little humble and talk more about how you can grow in the position and less about how you already know everything.
Example: I’ll get going and make sure I learn as much as I can as fast as I can. Its technological environment is very complex and I hope to jump in with both feet and learn as much as I can from day one. This is a great opportunity for me and I would do everything in my power to ensure that I succeed in the position.
Summary: This quick answer says a lot about you and what your goals are. You are telling the interviewer that you want the job. This is the most important message to convey. Furthermore, you are suggesting that you will be an asset from day one and that your value to the company will grow exponentially every day after your first day. Finally, you are telling him that this is not just a job for you. This is a “great opportunity”, this is a great closer.
Question: What is your greatest weakness?
why: This is another question that is designed to make you feel a bit uncomfortable. Describing your weaknesses to a complete stranger is not easy to do.
Advice: I’ve given hundreds of job interviews and I can’t say for sure that anyone has answered this question perfectly. Try to talk about a weakness you have that could be interpreted as a strength.
Example: I tend to obsess over hard-to-solve problems. I know that it often makes more sense to escalate an issue to someone who is more familiar than I am, but this process can elude me at times.
Summary: You’re telling your interviewer that you want to fix everything you see, but you’re willing to succumb and escalate the problem if that’s part of your help desk processes.
The questions raised in most help desk interviews will all be technical. This part of the interview should be pretty easy as you will either know the answers or you can talk about how you will know the answers soon. Good luck!