Interview

The most important part about the interview is showing off passion for the job. You have to explain this through past behaviors and actions. A high positive attitude makes you stand apart from the crowd. Companies want employees that strive for excellence and will be a team player. Every person should go through a mock interview before heading out to the real one. It's great to get practice in and improve all interviewing skills. Speech is important and having prepared answers come out the right way. A good way to prepare is to interview an insider from the company. You can get information through this method by using your network or seek out an alumnus through a career center or alumni office. The candidate should read the president's letter to the shareholders. There is valuable information in the corporate annual report that will show that you serious and care enough.

1. Tell me about yourself.

I've always had an interest in the technical side of computers and learning about it became my earliest hobby. I later became interested in computer networking and servers then focused my education towards learning.

2. Why should I hire you?

I should get hired because I'm the best person for the job. I'm constantly striving for efficiently and learning. I went and got my bachelor's degree but didn't stop there. I continued taking multiple programs to get certified. I am also planning to learn the programming side and get certification for it.

3. What is your long-range objective?

I want to work my way up to systems administrator. I want to take on higher responsibilities and I'll be more than willing to train others. I'm constantly looking into new things to learn to improve my abilities.

4. How has your education prepared you for your career?

My education has given me the knowledge to work with a variety of problems and come up with several solutions to fix it. My classes on computer networking were a hand's on experience. We learned individually how everything was done but also helped each other out as a learning experience.

5. Are you a team player?

Yes, I'm a team player. Though I can come up with my own solutions, it's great to have a fresh mind take a look from a different perspective. It really helps bring out other options. A project I was working on with a classmate involved installing software and making sure it was running properly. We ran into some errors quickly and we both put together a list of things to look out. It made it much easier to fix our project with more contributions.

6. Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?

I've had some minor disagreements with a professor. We did not see eye to eye on a particular result. I was set on believing my way was the right one based on facts I've learned. Instead of completely dismissing my professor's explanations, I listened with an open mind and accepted that there will various right ways. Not everything will have the same result.

7. What is your greatest weakness?

I have had trouble prioritization my tasks. I sometimes spend too little or too much time on one specific thing. I have focused on setting a reasonable time limit for the tasks on my list so it will have equal time. If there is something that will need extra time, I can go back to it towards the end as long as process is being made.

8. If I were to ask your professors (or your boss) to describe you, what would they say?

My manager would say that I'm a great problem solver, works well with a team and that I'm always looking for something to do to remain productive

9. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

A successful manager is within leadership. They have to be able to give directions and be an example towards their subordinates. People want to look up to someone who is willing to put in the work for themselves. My manager is a strong leader because he's also willing to coach his employees. He doesn't bring them down if they don't know something, he goes out of his way to make sure they learn and understand. I didn't know how to work a machine at work and he took 20 minutes out of a busy shift to show me what to do.

10. If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?

The doubt I had created for myself. I would remove it and focus on following my dreams. I would have started on my education much sooner. Insecurities do nothing but stunt personal growth. Any effort is making progress towards goals. I'm making sure that I go after exactly what I want and I make the plans necessary to follow through with it.