Scenario questions are a really good way to judge the aptitude of system analyst.
Give them a few scenarios, and have them tell you what they would do in order to resolve the issue.
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Questions for an entry level systems analyst
We are going to be interviewing a cantidate tomorrow for an entry level system analyst position. When interviewing I like to ask some question that gauge a cantidates general knowledge of the computer and systems they will be managing. We are a windows 2003/exchange 2003 shop currently.
I am looking for some good open ended questons to ask that will let them demonstrate their knowledge or lack thereof. Im looking for questons that have alot of different answers to allow them to show their methods. A few of my favorites are
1. How would you install a printer?
Theres a bunch of different ways of answering this and the questions are more important than the final answer. Some questions would be local/network, print server or direct, etc etc.
2. Name your 3 favorite tools and how youve used them to accomplish a goal.
This list is pretty much endless and anyone who manages systems will have their favorites. Giving them a chance to elaborate on it digs a little deeper into their experience. If they cant think of anything.... thats a bad sign
3. How would you install a piece of software on 300 machines.
Again this goes to the questions they ask. Ghost/sms/sccm/altiris, AD software install, startup script/logon script, users admins or not etc.
I am hoping you guys can come up with some other good open ended questions I could ask them tomorrow.
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Answers
Also ask them what projects they have been involved in (if any), including their "biggest project". These highlights help to display real life examples of what they have done. Everything from implementation/roll-outs to troubleshooting examples will help you in determining their level of involvement, initiative, and ingenuity.
I really like your questions 1 & 2, question 3 may not be so entry level though
You could ask them what blogs, forums, websites, and tech magazines they regularly read
For entry level candidates I mainly look at their attitude and try and get a vibe of their personality during the interview. If they seem like they are halfway decent but also willing to learn and are easy to work with then that is a lot of it for me
The suggestion about asking them about their home setup was interesting...when I was entry level I barely had the money to get anything at home :)
Good luck with the candidates.
Thanks
Mike
For entry level guys, it always proves good to put them through scenarios. It provides 2 things;
1. One better understanding for the candidate for finding solutions.
2. Two, a when a solution is provided try to better it by asking him.
This would help you get to a point to see whether he does have the patience to listen & learn (throw another simple solution and ask him to analyze) and be ready to make the mistakes. Obviously the solutions provided are going to be naive but for entry level right :-)
Cheers,
rsivanandan
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by: wolfcamelPosted on 2009-09-22 at 17:55:32ID: 25399190
if a client had no existing network and did not express any budgetary concerns, and had two offices - what type of technology would you recommend and what type of questions would yo ask.
What type of technology do you have at home? This would always tell me a lot about a person.!
I would always look for candidates that would answer questions in ways that suggest they would follow a company standard way of doing things - we liked to have all clients set up similarly, with similar products as it makes it easier for ANY tech to support ANY client.
What would you do if you were at a client and had a problem with an application/technology that you werent familiar with?
A lot of people will say google it - however the best answer may be to call the office and speak to another tech more familiar with the site, or to look up your in house knowledge base as it may be a known problem for the site.