ย #ITInterview #AdviceNeeded #FirstJob #HelpDesk #CompTIASecurity+ #STARmethod
Hey everyone! ๐ So, I have my very first IT interview coming up on Monday. Super excited but also super nervous! I have zero IT experience but managed to get my CompTIA Security+ certification and a secret clearance. The job I’m interviewing for is titled “IT Specialist” aka “IT Help Desk”, and although it doesn’t pay as much as my previous jobs, I’m totally fine with that because I know it’s a starting point.
I was advised to use the STAR method during the interview:
– Situation: Describe a situation, task, or background first.
– Task: Highlight the responsibilities or tasks you had to complete, focusing on any challenges.
– Action: Explain the measures you took to overcome those challenges.
– Results: Share the outcomes of your actions, backed up with data if possible.
I’ll definitely be studying up on the STAR method, but I would love to hear any advice or tips you all have for me. Anything specific I should focus on or be prepared for during the interview?
Thanks in advance for your help! ๐๐ฅ๏ธ #InterviewPrep
I can’t for the life of me understand why people are getting this idea that the Security+ is a good first IT certification. It doesn’t do anything to serve you in a help desk role. What you need is the A+ or equivalent knowledge. I hope you have that.
Make sure you’re comfortable talking about troubleshooting problems in a Microsoft 365 environment, because this is what most organizations are using for office applications. Understand how to do routine tasks in Active Directory, understand the fundamentals of the TCP/IP network stack and troubleshooting techniques, command prompt and UNIX commands for basic networking, basic PC troubleshooting and repair. There are lots of sources online to find common technical interview questions. Practice vocalizing your responses to those questions. This will also help you identify gaps in your knowledge.
Remember to also highlight soft and social skills. A lot of people mistakenly think this isn’t important in IT roles and it is, especially for tier 1.
Best of luck.
The question you’re always going to be asked is basically, why IT? What makes you a good fit in this field. Why do you want to be in it. Where do you want to be in a few years once you’ve gained some experience.
Only other recommendation I have is to avoid memorizing Google answers. I’ve been in interviews and it is very obvious when someone has no idea what they’re talking about. If I ask what a VPN is, I don’t want the wikipedia definition. Congrats, you know how to read words on a screen. I want your definition of what a VPN is. One guy once said, he used VPN to get around a geoblock on a streaming service. And then I can ask follow ups like, why did that work? If you can get the interviewers having a conversation with you, that’s a good sign
Iโd suggest going over the job description, give it to ChatGPT and have it run practice interview questions for you. When youโre stumped you can ask it what a good answer to that question would look like and to expand on areas you think are relevant to the job. Also make sure to highlight your soft skills. Best of luck!
For entry level positions, theyโre mainly going to look for someone with good soft skills who can logically think through resolving an issue.
Just keep it simple and you should be fine.
You want to portray confidence and show that IT is a career you want to pursue. Since you’re a beginner and they gave you a chance (opportunity in corpo words) they want to make sure you don’t have red flags in your personality and aren’t a complete textbook tech. Just don’t go out there throwing buzz words and sounding worse than an AI.
Star method is a good start, search up some IT technician behavioral questions and brush up on specific scenarios that cover them.
You will likely be asked about your conflict Management time management and collaboration among other things that are very commonly asked during a Star format interview, when I had to do a lot of these I usually had about 5 or so scenarios that would cover multiple questions and just retell the story differently for each scenario.
Also for any technical questions just don’t overthink it and be ready to say you don’t know when you don’t know just elaborate on what you would do in such a situation.
The answer should never be to ask somebody else as the first step, you should show some initiative by outlining multiple different ways of how you would try to figure out the answer then once you have exhausted those options you ask other people.
If itโs a phone interview I would write down questions you feel like you should be asked and expected to know. It helped me on my last interview
When I hire entry level IT staff I don’t give two craps what your experience is. Obviously you don’t know bunk, otherwise you’d be over-qualified to be “entry level.” What I want to see is that you are sharp, adaptable, and willing to learn. But I think what is most important is that you prove to have a personality that fits in with the existing team.
Absolutely under no circumstance should you pretend to have experience that you do not. Just show your fluency in consumer electronics and problem solving aptitude.
Technically, theyโll probably ask you to describe DHCP, DNS, the OSI model, and a couple of troubleshooting questions like โa user says he is having difficulty connecting to a machine in __. How would you begin troubleshooting?โ or โA user has complained that their Internet isnโt working. How would you troubleshoot this?โ
With help desk, they really just want to know 1) youโre willing to learn 2) you can deal with people 3) are coachable.
Less than a year ago I was in your position – totally new to IT with some certs applying for help desk. Nearly a year and a promotion (and some luck) later, Iโm the sysadmin. Wasnโt easy AT ALL to get here, but I worked my ass off and got lucky!
Donโt overthink the interview! Iโm kinda weird because I find interviews fairly easy and fun, but I will say this: the only ones Iโve ever blown and felt bad about were ones I over-prepared for. Just know your basics and be flexible and know how to handle a question you donโt know the answer to.
You can do it!
Be yourself and show them that you are good with people. That is the differentiator when you are applying for a customer facing position in IT. You have a few certifications so they can see you have the ability to understand and retain technical knowledge. Donโt try to bullshit them about your lack of experience.
Are you going to be answering phones? Help Desk refers to call center type job. I.T. Specialist might be “Local I.T.” a.k.a. “Desktop Support”. Try to find this out. They are two very different jobs.