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Inspector_666 posted:That's one of the dumb trivia questions I'll always be able to get right because it's such a nice easy number: 100 meters. Well, not only cable pullers should know that, I mean, if I test a cable and it comes back as 150m, I need to know that info (or know enough to go look it up) because that's why yo poo poo ain't working. Still a dumb interview question.
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Feb 6, 2018 00:05
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Sprechensiesexy posted:A long time ago I had a phone interview with a major butt company. I was asked the maximum length of an ethernet cable and more of that trivia bullshit. I withdrew my application while wrapping up the call. “Long enough to hang myself, which would be important if your interview questions reflect what it’s like to work at your company.”
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Feb 6, 2018 00:08
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MF_James posted:Well, not only cable pullers should know that, I mean, if I test a cable and it comes back as 150m, I need to know that info (or know enough to go look it up) because that's why yo poo poo ain't working. I’d categorize this as one of those thing that isn’t important to know the exact numbers on but is important to know that there are limits and roughly what they are. Running into limitations on DAC cable length is a fairly regular occurrence for me, and something customers evidently rarely think of when purchasing cables.
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Feb 6, 2018 00:13
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YOLOsubmarine posted:I’d categorize this as one of those thing that isn’t important to know the exact numbers on but is important to know that there are limits and roughly what they are. Yeah exactly, I don't need to know every standards max/min, but I should know there are limits and be like hmmm this cable is 200m, that sounds a little long... "Alexa what is the max length for a standard patch cable"
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Feb 6, 2018 00:18
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Sickening posted:Interviews that turn into IT trivia are a huge waste of time.  "set ntp server x.x.x.x, set ntp client enable"
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Feb 6, 2018 00:24
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"What is the IOS command to set the time"
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Thanks Ants posted:That's about all there is to it - and no they weren't talking about IPv6. I think they probably were trying to be a bit clever and use CIDR notation for stuff but didn't really know enough about it. Previous company I was at was still using internet-routable addresses on their internal network, a common address space for .edu sites. Led to a lot of said .edu sites not being reachable from inside the company. They were mostly moved to a 10.x.x.x address space, but pretty much every printer, and some other devices, that hadn't been replaced in the last 3 or 4 years was still using 128.x.x.x. Whatever twit set up their network apparently wasn't concerned about connecting to that new-fangled internet when they moved off of Token Ring in the 90s. edit: and I'm with you guys on memorizing minutia. That poo poo can be looked up as needed. It's more important to know *how* things work, or don't, than the exact numbers, and more importantly, how to troubleshoot. (Step 1: is it plugged in. Step 2: is it turned on. Step 3: did you reboot. Step 4: aw, crap - really got to troubleshoot now.) Darchangel fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Feb 6, 2018 |
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Feb 6, 2018 01:01
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We have some 1st line guys that are still picking up the art of troubleshooting - they need to get to the “Is it actually an issue” phase pretty quick or they’re going to waste loads of time chasing down problems that aren’t problems. Like people phoning in about slow internet - what throughput are they getting, what service is provisioned, what traffic is the firewall seeing. Take a step back and stop opening tickets with vendors when there’s nothing wrong.
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Feb 6, 2018 01:24
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Sickening posted:Interviews that turn into IT trivia are a huge waste of time. I'll cop to using IT trivia. If I ask a 5-year ASA expert the NAT order of precedence, I don't require a flawless regurgitation. I do expect an experienced candidate to have fixed NAT issues in the past, and know what to look for--by their tools ye shall know them. People that don't have a solid understanding generally take longer to solve issues and are more likely to cause them. I try to ask a good mix of questions to cover typical problems, but you'd be surprised how many people think slapping a config on a device for a few years makes them an expert.
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Feb 6, 2018 03:52
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"No clue, I would have to look it up or use the help command"
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I'm told I have the opposite problem. I keep believing I barely know anything about anything IT related because I know how much I don't know. Apparently I get by enough to not get fired.
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Feb 6, 2018 03:55
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I'm not sure how to gauge a mid level sys admin's level of expertise without asking them questions about the job they're interviewing for.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:13
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:I'm not sure how to gauge a mid level sys admin's level of expertise without asking them questions about the job they're interviewing for. Do you want a textbook or a problem solver? They’re talking about questions a textbook can answer.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:21
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Contingency posted:I'll cop to using IT trivia. Maybe that's worked for you, but I think that's nat a good way to assess skill.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:28
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I thought we all agreed that networks are dead and the cloud solved it all.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:34
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:Maybe that's worked for you, but I think that's nat a good way to assess skill. I hope you weren’t expecting a pat on the back for this joke
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Feb 6, 2018 04:37
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Docjowles posted:I hope you weren’t expecting a pat on the back for this joke
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Feb 6, 2018 04:37
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:I'm not sure how to gauge a mid level sys admin's level of expertise without asking them questions about the job they're interviewing for.
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Feb 6, 2018 04:37
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jaegerx posted:I thought we all agreed that networks are dead and the cloud solved it all. We're just rolling it up from the bottom to squeeze that last little bit out. Vulture Culture posted:If I knew enough about a candidate's thing of expertise to quiz them on it, I'd already be doing it myself. Even for a thing that needs more than one thing-toucher? Or a thing I used to do, but now I'm promoted and I'm in the best position to asses ability and knowledge? I agree that trivia like "give me all the flags on this little used CLI command" are bullshit. But I definitely am going to see if someone has foundational knowledge of thing beyond taking their world for it. Proteus Jones fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Feb 6, 2018 |
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Feb 6, 2018 05:02
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MC Fruit Stripe posted:I'm not sure how to gauge a mid level sys admin's level of expertise without asking them questions about the job they're interviewing for.
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Feb 6, 2018 05:20
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Docjowles posted:I hope you weren’t expecting a pat on the back for this joke This is a pun overflow.
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Feb 6, 2018 05:44
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Quiz questions need to be fundamental and more importantly you need to ask a few with much different scope unless you're looking for someone with a very narrow set of knowledge. If I was interviewing someone for a Network engineer position, I might ask how they would go about connecting a remote site back to the head office, what technologies would they use, how would they configure routing, and then what kind of problems they might encounter while doing so. They may answer the routing part perfectly but not know much about IPSec, that doesn't mean they are a bad candidate. As opposed to being like "describe how IPSec SA is setup", "describe the functions of BGP route reflectors", etc.
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Feb 6, 2018 05:48
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abigserve posted:Quiz questions need to be fundamental and more importantly you need to ask a few with much different scope unless you're looking for someone with a very narrow set of knowledge. Yes, give them a problem and see how they solve it (or not). Although if you have packet analysis as a skill in your resume, you can be drat sure I'm gonna slam a (simple) pcap in front of you and ask what you can tell me about it. Not a tcpdump, that would be cruel. Just a Wireshark capture. Just identify things, I don't even need it to be a some issue with communication. Just tell me what you see. I got burned more than once, so I always ask now if applicable.
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Feb 6, 2018 05:57
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abigserve posted:Quiz questions need to be fundamental and more importantly you need to ask a few with much different scope unless you're looking for someone with a very narrow set of knowledge. This is the toughest / easiest part of IT hiring. You are looking for a capability and desire to learn, along with the right mindset for troubleshooting and general problem solving. Anyone with those skills can learn the specifics of any IT job with the right time investment.
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Feb 6, 2018 05:57
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I liked asking linux sysadmins i was screening to list as many ways they could to determine the current time. there's one precisely wrong answer (time), one default correct answer (date) and then about a hundred varied ways to get it by using standard unix tools in creative ways. you really can learn just how well someone actually gets linux or not with that one no it's not fair to people who lack experience.
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Feb 6, 2018 06:25
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Papa John Misty posted:Related to domainchat, I bought [lastname].pizza and plan to use first@lastname.pizza on my resume etc as a filter for companies with no sense of humor
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Feb 6, 2018 06:25
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Sniep posted:I liked asking linux sysadmins i was screening to list as many ways they could to determine the current time. time date
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Feb 6, 2018 06:36
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I agree that IT Trivia questions are dumb in interviews. But when you do get asked one and you nail it. It feels good When I went to interview for an internship. I got asked a few trivia questions, But I had recently studied them so it was still fresh in my mind and was able to answer them and in turn impressed the interviewer. I walked out of there knowing i would get the internship. More recently, for my last interview, I got asked how I would script certain tasks, I didn't have to write it out, but i had to describe how I would script it out. I liked this more than trivia. As it paints a better picture of my skills.
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Feb 6, 2018 10:46
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 Finally a role that is strictly network engineering, so no more end users, printers and broken cell phones. Money is good, certs and training are paid for. And the best part is I get to leave the Netherlands.
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Feb 6, 2018 13:38
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Where are you going to?
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Feb 6, 2018 14:28
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Prague
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Feb 6, 2018 14:40
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Can I take your spot in the Netherlands? I'll bring my bicycle.
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Feb 6, 2018 15:14
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My last interview involved like 3 IT questions, and then a bunch of questions on subjects such as "if you are dealing with an angry professor, and they REALLY want a new computer, how do you handle that?"
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Feb 6, 2018 15:20
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DACK FAYDEN posted:This post inspired me and now I want to do the same thing. Who's the cheapest slash best institution to purchase this awful domain from? I was about to point out that if the OP already registered it, then it would be taken. Then it twigged  I registered http://tortil.la years ago when Laos sold their TLD to some guys in Los Angeles, still don't really know what to do with it
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Feb 6, 2018 16:00
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Sniep posted:I liked asking linux sysadmins i was screening to list as many ways they could to determine the current time. ddate Edit: Nevermind, it only gives date, not time and I don't think you can make it give the time with switches.
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Feb 6, 2018 16:12
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adorai posted:Even then, what's a mid level sys admin's level of expertise? Probably the hardest (IT) job to interview someone for. I've never done it, but I almost gotta believe you are way better off promoting a junior guy into a mid level position. I hire for people who can level up the team in something. Hiring for lack of weaknesses, which is what most technical interviews stress, means I end up with a team that is at best very marginally better than they were. Hiring for people with great strengths and big weaknesses means people can mentor each other and grow organically on the job.
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Feb 6, 2018 17:02
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:ddate I love it when ddate gets mentioned. Nobody ever recognizes it when I mention it though 
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Feb 6, 2018 17:03
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Sniep posted:I liked asking linux sysadmins i was screening to list as many ways they could to determine the current time. I'm not a Linux sysadmin per se but I think the most ridiculous way I know of would be to touch a new file, get a long directory listing, grep the filename, awk the second to last column when split by whitespace, then delete the file to hide my shame. E: assuming you didn't create a file with whitespace in the name
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Feb 6, 2018 17:29
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Sniep posted:I liked asking linux sysadmins i was screening to list as many ways they could to determine the current time. I suspect my first answer would be 'look at the clock widget' tbh
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Feb 6, 2018 17:55
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Now I'm just trying to come up with the goofiest way to do this.code:
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Feb 6, 2018 18:11
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So today I learn I am getting an award. Nice! Does it come with a bonus? No. Boo. I am however sent an email saying I am going to be the employee spotlight for this month. HR sent me these questions to answer. • What gets you out of bed in the morning? • How would you describe your day job to a child? • What is your biggest achievement to date – personal or professional? • What does a typical day look like for you and what are you currently working on? • What three words would you use to describe your role? • If you could switch jobs with someone, who would it be? • What is on your wish list for your next five years here? • What are your biggest professional challenges? • If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? • If you could change one thing about working here, what would it be? • What do you like most about your job? • What advice would you give to recent new entrants? • What’s your most memorable facepalm moment? • When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? • What is your motto or personal mantra? • What’s your favorite blog? • What’s the most recent app you’ve downloaded but are yet to use? • Given a chance, who would you like to be for a day? • What’s your favorite line from a film? • What is your guilty pleasure? My "bah humbug" self is having a rough morning.
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Feb 6, 2018 18:13
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I really don't ever want to be interviewed again by anyone ever. I think I've had enough. EDIT: I would rather slit my wrists than answer questions like that. But since I have obligations I would give fake answers wherever possible.
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Feb 6, 2018 18:14
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