[GCC-Study] Troubleshooting
Getting Ready for the Interview
A lot of us are quite nervous when we go through our first interviews. There are a lot of things at stake(걸려있다), and it might be hard not to freak out(당황하다). But don't panic. You can do this if you prepare. With interviews, as with lots of other things in life, practice makes perfect. In order to get this practice, try doing mock interviews. Pretending that you're in an interview, even if it's not real, will help you perform your best. You'd be more comfortable thinking out loud and providing clear answers to complicated questions. To do these mock interviews, recruit a friend or family member that's willing to practice with you. Even if they don't know the actual content, they can still help you get into interview mode. By practicing, you get used to articulating yourself clearly, which is key to nailing an interview. It's not just about knowing the answers, you also need to show your ideas clearly and concisely. For example, take some general technical subjects like DHCP, DNS, Active Directory or any other technical area you've learned about. Have a friend or family member ask you to explain the concept to them. What's it for? How is it used? Practicing explanations for non-technical audience will get you used to breaking down complicated ideas and sharing them in basic terms. They can also create their own troubleshooting scenarios, like asking you to explain what you did the last time you fixed their printer or got their network online.
While you're practicing answering questions, you should also practice active listening habits. Maintain eye contact with the other person, nod in understanding when they speak, and ask relevant follow-up questions. If you can, it's great to practice with someone who also plans to interview for similar roles. This way, you can take turns being the interviewer and the interviewee. This will allow you to put yourself in the interviewer's shoes, and understand how best to answer each question. Now keep in mind, I don't recommend trying to script or memorize all of your answers. Instead, try explaining the same concepts in different ways. This allows for more natural conversation, and will help you adapt your answers in the actual interview where you won't know the questions. What you can write down and memorize is your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a short summary of who you are and what kind of career you're looking for. Make sure to include information like what you're passionate about, how you would like to grow, and what you're looking for in a new role. Practice delivering this pitch to different people and see how it sounds. Even if you haven't memorized, stay flexible. You never know in which context you may need it. Reading your first elevator pitch from scratch can be hard. I've included a few examples in the next supplemental reading. When developing your own, make sure that you keep it personal. Again, key to getting interviews right is to practice. This will help you feel less nervous and show your best self during the actual interviews.
Example of Elevator pitch:
엘리베이터 피치는 간단한 자기소개입니다. 이 용어는 엘리베이터에서 마주치는 사람에게 전달할 수 있을 정도로 짧은 이야기라는 의미에서 착안되었습니다.
엘리베이터 피치의 목표는 여러분이 누구인지, 무엇을 하는 사람인지, 왜 상대방이 여러분에게 관심을 두어야 하는지 설명하는 것입니다.
예를 들어, 다음은 현재 과정을 위한 제 엘리베이터 피치입니다.
제 이름은 롭 클리프턴입니다. 저는 Google의 프로그램 매니저입니다. 저는 Google의 모든 주니어 IT 지원 직무 채용을 관리합니다. 저는 수백 명의 후보자를 면접했고 면접관에게 업계 최고의 인재를 찾는 방법을 교육하는 데 도움을 줍니다.
저는 제가 누구이고 무슨 일을 하는지, 왜 여러분이 제가 하는 말에 관심을 가질 만한지 언급했습니다.
면접 상황에서는 신속하게 자신이 누구인지, 현재 어떤 직무를 맡고 있는지, 향후 목표가 무엇인지 명시해야 합니다.
예를 들어, 학생이라면 어디서 무엇을 공부하는지, 졸업 후 무엇을 하고 싶은지 명확히 밝혀야 합니다.
안녕하세요. 제 이름은 제이미입니다. 저는 현재 스프링필드 대학교 컴퓨터 공학과 3학년에 재학 중입니다. 저는 사람들을 돕고 문제를 해결하는 것을 즐깁니다. 그래서 졸업 후 IT 지원 전문가로 일하면서 제 기술 스킬을 실무에 적용하고 싶습니다.
이미 근무 중인데 이직을 희망한다면 현재 하는 일과 희망하는 일의 차이점을 밝히는 것이 좋습니다.
안녕하세요. 제 이름은 엘리스입니다. 저는 X 회사에서 지난 2년 동안 IT 지원 전문가로 일했습니다. 그동안 운영체제와 네트워킹에 관해 많은 것을 배웠기에 지금은 대규모 배치에 집중할 수 있는 시스템 관리자 직무로 전환하려고 합니다.
자기소개를 명확히 함으로써 다른 사람의 관심을 끌어 그들이 여러분에 관심을 두도록 하는 것이 중요합니다. 굳이 엘리베이터에서 만나는 사람이 아니더라도 사람들에게 빠르게 여러분을 소개할 준비가 되어 있어야 합니다.
What to Expect During the Technical Interview
When you're interviewing for a technical position, you'll likely have one or more interviews where you'll specifically need to demonstrate your technical skills and knowledge. These interviews may take the form of technical troubleshooting scenarios or explanations of technical concepts and subjects. As we've said, you'll want to have a solid foundation for all the fundamental concepts. Different courses in this program will help introduce you to a variety of concepts related to networking, operating systems, system administration, and security.
A good interviewer will push you to the limits of your knowledge. This means it's very likely that during an interview, you'll reach a point you're not sure you know the right answer. This is expected, but you shouldn't just say, "I don't know." If you are supporting a user, you wouldn't say it then either. It's okay to admit you're not sure, but you should then explain what you would do to find the answer. As an IT support specialists, you should expect to often face new and unfamiliar problems. Having a good problem-solving strategy is more important than knowing all the answers. If the question you're answering is big and complex, outline how you would break down the work needed to solve the problem before going into the exact details of what needs to be done. If you're thinking about what the best solution could be, share your train of thought with your interviewer, so they can follow along. Thinking aloud not only helps the interviewer see your thought process, but it also helps you work through the problem. For example, if you get stuck with the technical troubleshooting scenario, you can try to recap what information you've gathered and state potential causes that can be ruled out with certainty and then try to figure out what info is still missing to rule out other causes.
When you mentioned concepts or technologies, you should be ready to explain them and articulate why you may choose one thing over another. For instance, if you're working through a networking problem and say something like, "The problem might be related to the DNS settings," be ready to explain what DNS is and why it relates to the issue. You should also clarify the questions constraints, don't assume anything.
It's okay, and even expected, to ask the interviewer follow-up questions to ensure that the problem is correctly framed. Always use the data and evidence you have from the interviewer to inform your next steps. For example, if you need to solve a problem about a user being unable to connect to an internal system, you should ask follow-up questions like what operating system the user is using, how the computer is supposed to connect to the network, what kind of error messages they're getting, whether other users are affected. Your goal is to narrow the scope to find the root cause. If the question is very complex, it might become difficult to follow or explain the solution. In this case, it's useful to take notes and use diagrams to illustrate the problem. You can use this process when it makes sense. It doesn't mean you need to write everything down during an interview. Sometimes the answer is straightforward, and you can just go ahead and explain it without writing anything down.
Showing Your Best Self During the Interview
Being your best self at the interview starts the night before. Being fully rested will help you have more energy, be more focused, and minimizing anxiety. So, make sure that you get a good night's sleep. Don't try to cram in any last minute studying, this will only make you more anxious. Instead, try to relax and go to bed early. On the day of the interview, eat a proper breakfast. It's never a good idea to be hungry during an interview. Aim to arrive earlier than the scheduled time, and give yourself enough travel time for any mishaps along the way. Make sure you're comfortable before you begin the actual interview. Don't be afraid to ask for something if you need it. Use the restroom, grab a glass of water, and asked for a note pad and pen for notes or to illustrate answers when necessary. Be fully present for the duration of the interview. This means turning off your phone to avoid interruptions and giving the interviewer your full attention. Use those active listening skills that you've practiced. Make eye contact, nod to indicate understanding, and ask follow-up questions. Don't forget to be yourself. You want the interviewer to remember you, so let your personality show. Make sure that you highlight what makes you unique. Remember that the interview is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about the things that you care about. You're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you. Find out if this is a company that you want to work for and whether you'll be able to achieve your career goals there. Finally, remember to slow down. Most people start talking faster and faster when they're nervous, so be aware of your pace. If you notice that you're getting nervous, pause for a moment to take a few deep breaths, and then consciously slow down. Woah, that's a lot of tips to remember. Feel free to re-watch these videos when your next interview is approaching to make sure that you have these ideas fresh in your mind. Next up, together with Candace, a colleague of mine, we'll do the first of our role-playing exercises, showing some of these tips in action.
Epilogue
That' all for the sixth module and and wraps up the technical support fundamentals course.
In last six weeks, I learned a lot about hardware, operating systems, networks, software, and more.
It was a valuable time for me to grow for the next step.
Remember that practice makes perfect. Strive for solid fundamentals!