Help me ace an interview.

October 16, 2007 7:34 AM

Interviewing for an Internet Support position. what are some webpages i can use to bone up on for it. Last time i didnt good but i wish to do excellent this time when i last took the test.
posted by Rolandkorn to work & money (10 comments total)

What sort of support position are we talking about? Assisting customers with their broadband services at home? Acting as support for a website or ecommerce operation? A bit more detail would help people point out resources that can best help you.

(Also, and I hate to be That Guy, but you may want to review the basics of grammar and capitalization prior to engaging in any sort of written test.)
posted by beaucoupkevin at 7:37 AM on October 16, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Uh, using caps, correct punctuation also indicates you are details oriented and professional, which are prerequisites for the job you're going to do.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:56 AM on October 16, 2007

(Also, and I hate to be That Guy, but you may want to review the basics of grammar and capitalization prior to engaging in any sort of written test.)

I don't think you're being That Guy here. IT work requires strong, clear communication skills. If you can't write an easily parsed and understood sentence, it will be very hard to do your job well.
posted by Mikey-San at 8:19 AM on October 16, 2007

IT support is not a job where you can just look up the answer on a web page every time you run into a problem.
posted by mrbill at 8:44 AM on October 16, 2007

I don't think you're being That Guy here. IT work requires strong, clear communication skills. If you can't write an easily parsed and understood sentence, it will be very hard to do your job well.
I dunno. He writes as clearly as the last helpdesk guy I called, spoke.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:58 AM on October 16, 2007

Working for a cable company handling Internet questions. Apprecaite the help so far guys keep it coming.
posted by Rolandkorn at 9:19 AM on October 16, 2007

IT Support requires a great deal of communication. That communication will be both oral and written; not to pile on here, but judging from your initial post, rolandkorn, you need to brush up more on your Chicago Manual than on some websites.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit harsh, but all the other posters are right - you really need to polish your interpersonal skills more than knowing more about websites. A large part of being IT support is being able to tease technical information out of non-technical people (a caller says "my computer doesn't work. I don't know why, it just stopped!", and you have to help them diagnose it and find the root cause); this is definitely something that takes skill and practice.

Good luck!
posted by pdb at 9:23 AM on October 16, 2007

This is a really simple explanation of how the internet works.

It's a great starting point and the last page provides links to even more articles that go in-depth into some of the things you're going to have to deal with as a support technician. Getting a basic grasp on this prior to the training you'll receive will put you ahead of the game.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 9:24 AM on October 16, 2007

Working for a cable company handling Internet questions.

Okay, take back what I said about written communications. As a phone-based guy, you're going to need a lot of patience, and you will need to remember one simple thing: Most people calling in with problems know far, far less than you do.

Use that knowledge for good, not evil - be patient on the phone, be personable, but above all, don't talk technical with the housewife from Omaha who just wants to be able to see her Flickr photos. Learn how to "dumb down" what you're doing so that average people can understand it; don't assume that people will know what to do. Be specific, but be reassuring. Always walk through what you're doing with your customers, so if the same problem happens again, they can at least try to figure it out on their own.
posted by pdb at 9:37 AM on October 16, 2007

take back what I said about written communications

What kind of support job doesn't require documenting things? Even if you're on the phone with people, if you can't take good, clear case notes, you're going to do a bad job.

Written communication skills are essential for good IT work.
posted by Mikey-San at 9:08 AM on October 18, 2007