Need some questions to ask help desk applicants

[Ramma2]

We're looking to hire an entry level help desk person, and I need some help desk specific questions to ask applicants. Anyone have some good ones from past interviews? Best one I've come up with so far asks how they would go about solving a problem they can't solve on their own.

 

[FoBoT]

q: how do many viruses run everytime a user restarts their computer?
a: the run key of the registry - HKLM-software-microsoft-windows-currentversion-run

 

[Sheepathon]

Do you put out?

 

[Otaking]

You may not have to be too specific.

Ask something "out of the box" like:

"Describe what you would do if you turned on your car, and your engine wouldn't start."

Solving the above is the same concept in Tech Support.

 

[Tu13erhead]

Originally posted by: Ramma2
Best one I've come up with so far asks how they would go about solving a problem they can't solve on their own.

*Yawn*. My last interview was somewhat of a surprise, was asked a ton of random, not computer-related problem solving questions. They just wanted to see the process I went through to solve them, and how I handled myself if I couldn't solve it right away.

Make it interesting!

 

[AreaCode707]

How fast do you type?
What appeals to you most about a help desk position? (looking for something like - customer service, user interaction, etc.)
How would you handle it if a user became very irate on the phone?
Have you ever built a computer, reformatted a hard drive, or troubleshot (insert relevant software here)?
Describe to me how you would handle it if a user called in with this problem - (insert fairly common not-so-easy problem here.)

 

[Ns1]

how much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?