Generic Interview Questions

Question 1

What made you get into technical support?

Answer 1

The candidate has a passion for technical support
The candidate comes off as honest and sincere
The candidate understands the bigger purpose of technical support

Question 2

Why did you apply to our company?

Answer 2

Exciting company with lots of large clients/vendors.

Products and solutions which overlap with many of my interests i.e. Digital Forensics.

Opportunity to develop my skills and enhance my knowledge. The company “invests heavily in staff training”.

I have worked in a distribution environment before so understand what is expected from the customer/client with regards to service.

The perfect opportunity to learn and gradually take on more responsibilities which is an exciting prospect.

Question 3

What makes you qualified for this job?

Answer 3

15 years experience working in customer and client-facing roles.

2 years working for a distribution company.

My degree has given me experience working with both Windows and Linux, including Windows 7, 8 and 10. I also have experience working with Windows Server 2016 and some experience from University with Server 2012.

I was responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting problems with the Cycle Hub system, which included work with the in-house ticketing system.

Question 4

What is your troubleshooting process?

Answer 4

What to look for in an answer:

The candidate goes through the troubleshooting process correctly (from fact gathering and diagnosis to solutions)
The candidate has a thorough yet adaptable troubleshooting process
The candidate emphasizes solving customer needs as quickly and effectively as possible.

Example: “I first gather info and facts from the customer, then identify and verify the issue. Next, I try common quick fixes. If that’s not successful, I use additional resources to research the issue. Once a solution is found, I perform appropriate repairs or replacement if necessary. After the solution is implemented, I test thoroughly to ensure everything is OK.” Escalate the issue to relevant teams if needed i.e. 2nd Line.

Investigate, fact-gather, replicate and so on is a must every time, regardless of whether you actually go on to fix the issue or not.

Question 5

Is technical knowledge or customer service more important?

Answer 5

Example:

“First, let me say that customer service skills are very important. You must be able to empathize with people and address needs. Good communication is crucial. With that said, I have a technical background, and I understand the amount of knowledge you need to actually solve issues. Technical skills are more important because, without in-depth knowledge of the hardware and software, you won’t be able to efficiently do your job.”

Question 6

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Answer 6

In this position, I plan to add skills and experience. Honestly, I would like to move into a management role in technical support within five years. What I really like about this company is how they actively develop employees. I feel like I can consistently improve here and move into bigger roles for your organization.

Question 7

What is active directory?

Answer 7

Active directory authorizes and authenticates all users and computers in a window domain network, ensuring the security of the computer and software. Through active directory various functions can be managed like creating admin users, connecting to printers or external hard drives.

Question 8

What is DHCP and what it is used for?

Answer 8

DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol. It is used to allocate IP addresses to a large number of the computer system in a network. It helps in managing a large number of IP’s very easily.

Question 9

What is the scope and super scope?

Answer 9

The scope consists of an IP address like gateway IP, subnet mask, DNS server IP. It can be used to communicate with the other PCs in the network. The superscope becomes when you combine two or more scopes together.

Question 10

What is DNS?

Answer 10

DNS means Domain Naming Service, and it is used for resolving IP addresses to name and names to IP address. DNS is like a translator for computers, computers understand the number and not the alphabet. For example, if we type like hotmail.com, the computer doesn’t understand this, so they use DNS which converts (hotmail.com) into (numbers) and then executes the command.

Question 11

What is forward and reverse lookup in DNS?

Answer 11

When we convert an IP address into names is called Reverse lookup, while converting names into IP address is called Forward lookup.

Question 12

What is the IPCONFIG command?

Answer 12

IPCONFIG command is used to display the IP information of the computer assigned like DNS IP address and gateway IP address.

Question 13

What would you use to connect two computers without using switches?

Answer 13

Cross cables are used to connect two computers without using switches.

Question 14

What is a domain?

Answer 14

A domain is a set of computers which network recognizes by the internet. It can be used by centrally administer computers. It is created when you install active directory.

Question 15

Tell me if your system is infected by a virus how you will recover the data?

Answer 15

You need to install another Hard Disk with the latest anti-virus software, and an O.S with latest patches. Before you start your system, connect the infected HDD as a secondary drive then scan and clean the infected hard drive. Once done, you can copy the files into the system.

Question 16

What is the operating system?

Answer 16

Operating system acts as an interpreter between computer application and hardware. It works as a user interface.

Question 17

Explain about RAS server?

Answer 17

RAS means Remote Access Server. It allows operating the tool or information that typically resides on a network or IT devices through a combination of hardware and software, for example connecting to a printer or file. It is usually used for mobile users who are in the network. It uses a telephone line to provide connectivity to its users. It can also connect two or more than two offices in the network.

Question 18

Explain about VPN server?

Answer 18

VPN means Virtual Private Network. It is a private communications network often used by companies or organizations to communicate confidentially over a public network. This is used by the mobile users in the network.

Question 19

What is the difference between RAS and VPN server?

Answer 19

RAS is truly a local area connection between two connections whereas, VPN is a local connection spread over a large area.

Question 20

What is a Ping command?

Answer 20

Between two or more devices, to check the physical IP connectivity Ping command is used.

Question 21

What do you mean by clustering? What are the benefits?

Answer 21

When one or more computers work together as a single system by sharing their resources is known as clustering. The benefits of clustering are that it reduces the load on one single system by sharing the load also it is used for redundancy of the services.

Question 22

What is a group?

Answer 22

A Group is a collection of user accounts. It provides a simplified administration in the network.

Question 23

What is OU?

Answer 23

OU means for Organizational Unit. It is a container within Active Directory which can hold users, groups, and computers. It is the smallest unit on which an administrator can assign group policy settings.

Question 24

What is group policy?

Answer 24

Group policy provides streamlined access to all the users in the network. It can be used to define a user’s security and networking policies. By group policy, you can keep control over certain function like not allowing the users to shut down the system or using the control panel or running the command. Group policy is applicable to active directory containers like OU, site, and Domain.

Question 25

What is the difference between permission, rights, and policy?

Answer 25

“Policy” is assigned on active directories, like the site, domain, and OU. The “Rights” are assigned to users and groups, whereas, the “Permission” is assigned for network resources like file, folders, and printers.

Question 26

What is a “Default Gateway”?

Answer 26

The default gateway is the IP address of the router in the network. In any case, if the user wants to switch on to another network, or if they cannot locate their particular network than their query will be forwarded to the default gateway.

Question 27

How can you take a backup of emails in MS Outlook?

Answer 27

To take a back-up in the ms outlook, you have to go in the control panel. In the control panel, you have to go under mail option and then open the data file, select personal folder and click on open folder. After that, you have to copy .pst and have to paste it wherever you want the backup.