Interview questions

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
I have to interview 2 candidates for our open position for sys admin tomorrow. I have no idea what questions to ask. HR will give me a list of questions NOT to ask so i dont get sued.... But im clueless on what to ask these guys. I have their resumes and know what they claim they can do..


my boss is on vacation until the 2nd, so i got the suprise today that i am to interview these people and he will give the second interview for the ones i like.
 

HappyPuppy

Lifer
Apr 5, 2001
16,997
2
71
If they're hot chicks ask them if they're wearing any underwear. :Q


Sorry, I couldn't help myself. :p
 

Phoenix86

Lifer
May 21, 2003
14,644
10
81
Sysadmin isn't very desciptive, I have seen that title applied to password monkeys to router gurus. What will they be doing on a daily basis?

Ask about your company, did they research you? You surely researched them, ask basics.
 

sillymofo

Banned
Aug 11, 2003
5,817
2
0
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.
 

Yossarian

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
18,010
1
81
think of some challenging situation you have dealt with and ask them how they would handle it. other favorites include: tell me about a time you made a mistake at work and how you fixed it. give me an example of being a "team player". mix in some technical questions.
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.

Wouldn't it be funny if someone answered #4 in NON-network terms?
 

sillymofo

Banned
Aug 11, 2003
5,817
2
0
Originally posted by: sygyzy
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.

Wouldn't it be funny if someone answered #4 in NON-network terms?
Or #1 for that matters..... :p
 

Electric Amish

Elite Member
Oct 11, 1999
23,578
1
0
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.

/mental note: Don't apply to a job interviewed by cr4zymofo...
 

azazyel

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2000
5,872
1
81
have they ever led a team
have they ever had a problem with a coworker? If so how did it get resolved.
what are some of the criteria that you use to prioritize your work (IE multitasking)
what are some of the things you value in an employer.
 

azazyel

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2000
5,872
1
81
here are some others that are from Microsoft

http://www.sellsbrothers.com/fun/msiview/

If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5 quart and 3 quart pail, how would you measure exactly 4 quarts?

If you are on a boat and you throw out a suitcase, will the level of water increase?

On an average, how many times would you have to open the Seattle phone book to find a specific name?

There are 3 ants at 3 corners of a triangle, they randomly start moving towards another corner. What is the probability that they don't collide?

If you look at a clock and the time is 3:15, what is the angle between the hour and the minute hands? ( The answer to this is not zero!)

What new feature would you add to MSWORD if you were hired?

Why did you pick the school you graduated from?

Why do you want to work for Microsoft?

How many Gas stations are there in the US?

How would you weigh a plane without using scales?

How would you move Mt. Everest?

Two MIT math graduates bump into each other at Fairway on the upper west side. They hadn't seen each other in over 20 years.
The first grad says to the second: "how have you been?"
Second: "Great! I got married and I have three daughters now"
First: "Really? how old are they?"
Second: "Well, the product of their ages is 72, and the sum of their ages is the same as the number on that building over there.."
First: "Right, ok.. oh wait.. hmmmm.., I still don't know"
second: "Oh sorry, the oldest one just started to play the piano"
First: "Wonderful! my oldest is the same age!"
Problem: How old are the daughters?


Why are beer cans tapered at the top and bottom?

Why is it that hot water in a hotel comes out instantly but at home it takes time?

How many times a day a clock's hands overlap?

Mike has $20 more than Todd. How much does each have given that combined they have $21 between them. You can't use fractions in the answer.(Hint: This is a trick question, pay close attention to the condition)

There are four dogs, each at the counter of a large square. Each of the dogs begins chasing the dog clockwise from it. All of the dogs run at the same speed. All continously adjust their direction so that they are always heading straight towards their clockwise neighbor. How long does it take for the dogs to catch each other? Where does this happen? (Hint: Dog's are moving in a symmetrical fashion, not along the edges of the square).
 

gordiflan

Junior Member
May 23, 2004
23
0
0
Originally posted by: z0mb13
can u post the questions that u cant ask?? I am kinda interested

Do you have a boy/girlfriend are you married?
Are you gay?
If it's a woman: Do you have any children? Are you planning on having any children?
Do you have any disabilities?
etc.

Most questions structured to obtain info regarding gender, religion, race, marital status, age, physical/mental status, ethnic background, country of origin, vital statistics, sexual preference, etc. The list is pretty loose, it just all depends on the manner in which it is asked, and what role the question plays in the interview.

For the most part questions have to stay within the bounds of "assessing a candidate's ability to perform a particular job/task."
 

sillymofo

Banned
Aug 11, 2003
5,817
2
0
Originally posted by: Electric Amish
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.

/mental note: Don't apply to a job interviewed by cr4zymofo...
That's just to see their basic knowledge, as long as they're on the right track, they can be trained. What's most important is to see how they react and/or carry themselves. If you like how they are as a person and they have a fair grip on things, that's good in my book. Can you stand working with them 5 days a week is a question you should ask yourself.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.
Good questions, I'd have to look up #3. Of course I'm a Windows app developer not a sysadmin :)
 

Phoenix86

Lifer
May 21, 2003
14,644
10
81
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Originally posted by: cr4zymofo
1. What is a RAID and how many types are there
2. How do you properly restore a RAID 5
3. Can local Administrative rights overide the domain Admininstrative rights
4. What's DMZ (in network term)
5. What's RAS, and how do you set it up?
6. Explain domain policies
7. Explain routing tables
8. What's a nibble?

Some to get them going.
Good questions, I'd have to look up #3. Of course I'm a Windows app developer not a sysadmin :)

I worked (tech support) at a software dev company and it surprised me the general lack of windows/hardware knowledge the average developer had. This questions is a hair outside what devs. should know considering it's domain rights. But still, some of the more intelligent devs at the company couldn't understand why building a DB with 1000s of files instead of a single file was causing disk access issues, when the fs was fragmented... :confused: