Network Admin. Pre-Interview Testing?

[casefan]

I got a callback on a resume that I sent in for a Network Administrator position with a local school district. The want me to come by their office next week for some testing. Has anyone had any experience with pre-interview testing for a network administrator position? Any pointers?

thanks,

casefan

 

[mryerse]

Study subnets, wildcard masks, static routing, OSPF, BGP, MPLS. Don't forget the HR questions either! And congrats on the interview.

 

[ben chi(f4)]

Congrats on the Call back!
Remember your tree!

• All (Application Layer)
• People (Presentation Layer)
• Seem (Session Layer)
• To (Transport Layer)
• Need (Network Layer)
• Dr. (Data Layer)
• Pepper (Physical Layer)

That always helped me out. Like ^ said, know your subnets/mask, protocols, cables (you never know). Remember to relax and be calm. Make sure you don't have clam hands before shaking anyone hands!

 

[Zlash]

I actually had to audition for my current job, they paid a consultant that has a virtual lab setup and I had to go there and basically build and troubleshoot a network from a few simple instructions and then explain how I achieved everything to him.

But I also worked for a school district before and we would do a technical "questionnaire" which was just a bunch of random technical questions, nothing to worry about if you know your stuff which most people graded horrible.

 

[Oswald_]

Jesus, another regurgitated test I'm sure.

I landed a job with a govt. contractor, was drilled by a panel of three IT managers. The questions they asked were straight from a damn text book, though I answered them correctly and got the job, I lasted a week and got my old job back (which is a smaller shop with skilled admins and programmers) when I realized how incompetent these guys were. I can spot a paper tech in seconds.

The problem with these "tests" is most of the people that make them up are people that don't understand the questions or looked them up in a book. So you'll get the same old bullshit questions such as:

In 192.168.9.1/24 what does the /24 mean?
1. Subnet mask
2. CIDR
3. C Class network
4. Shorthand for 0.255.255.255 in IOS 10 or newer
And of these answers only one will be accepted and likely the wrong one. So how helpful is it to memorize all these questions and answers?

Or you'll get a question like this:
How do you list the size of a file system in 4k blocks in Unix?
1. df -b 4096 /path
2. df -B 4096 /path
3. df -s 4096 /path
4. df -s 4k /path

Only people who don't know what they are doing remember this stuff. The rest of us would use "man df" or "--help" or something of the like. If you can sit down and talk to me with technical competence I might be willing to work for you. However, if you throw a test at me and walk away whistling be prepared to pass up some good talent.

 

[QHalo]

I'd be more mentally prepared for the psychological questions myself if they even delve that deep. I had a 2 hour interview with Siemens and I felt like I just got out of a fight with Mike Tyson when it was over. My head hurt, but the interview was a wakeup call from a non-technical aspect. They asked alot of technical stuff, obviously it's a technical job, but they asked alot of personality stuff too. And when they ask them and if you answer with any kind of honesty; it can be quite humbling. I think technical questions are overrated anyway. If someone doesn't know exactly how they handle themselves in a high stress situation, what amount of technical knowledge is going to help then?

 

[Ockie]

I don't see the technical aspect as big as the social aspect to the questions. The interviewers will most likely watch for your responses and how you respond to questions, rather than the technical context. If you don't know, be honest and open, don't guess or say "uhhhh".

Basic interview things really, like as in, where do you see yourself 5 years from now, what didn't you like about your previous boss/company, what is your biggest strength and your biggest weakness...crap like that.

 

[casefan]

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone. That gives me some good ideas on what to review. Oswald, I suppose that really is my concern, that some testing company has cooked up a quiz covering thirty to fifty of the most esoteric and antiquated questions known to man. I don't claim to know the answer to everything, but can pretty much always figure something out, given a little time and a reference. But, that skill isn't very helpful on tests like that. It will be interesting though, one way or the other.

casefan

 

[Oswald_]

I'd be more mentally prepared for the psychological questions myself if they even delve that deep. I had a 2 hour interview with Siemens and I felt like I just got out of a fight with Mike Tyson when it was over. My head hurt, but the interview was a wakeup call from a non-technical aspect. They asked alot of technical stuff, obviously it's a technical job, but they asked alot of personality stuff too. And when they ask them and if you answer with any kind of honesty; it can be quite humbling. I think technical questions are overrated anyway. If someone doesn't know exactly how they handle themselves in a high stress situation, what amount of technical knowledge is going to help then?

This is my point exactly sit down and talk to someone and see how they handle the questions. Being a sysadmin or network admin is not a walk in the park. When the shit hits the fan you have to carry yourself in a very technical and social manner ... not start repeating the OSI model.