IT Job Interview

You think it’s an easy question because you are good at so many things you want to tell. Yes it’s easy to answer but not so easy to make it impressive. How to have a killer answer then? Ask yourself first, what strength is the most wanted by this employer? By studying the job announcement you could be clue. It may want a specific, a leadership, capacity to handle multiple projects someone who can work under pressure, etc. Then you should “apply” your strength accordingly. (more…)

You’d better say you’re comfortable in either situation whether or not you know which situation applies to this particular job. Provide examples of how you’ve successfully worked alone and with others.

Sample Answer:

“I enjoy working in a team atmosphere but am also perfectly comfortable working on my own. In my previous jobs I’ve always done both. For example, in my current position I work alone as a developer on specific duties such developing a middle-tier Java component, but every programmer in the development team works together as a team to analyze client requirements and design database structure. I enjoy sharing ideas, helping others, and learning from my teammates.”

Never.  Being fired is a very negative thing.  You may quit, you may be laid-off, but you are not fired.  If you had let go due to company mergers, reorganizations, and downsizing, it’s no big deal, you can explain it.  Always say you left an employer for better opportunities.

So, the answer is simply a “No.”  If they ask “Have you ever been laid-off?”  You may explain:

“Yes, the company I worked was acquired by BeanCorp in west coast.  BeanCorp decided to close al facilities in town.  I among all of other 250 employees were laid-off.”

In IT, CRM (customer relationship management) skills and Siebel skills are almost interchangeable. Siebel as the #1 CRM commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) package is now under the flag of Oracle. If you’ve mastered Siebel, you are well positioned around CRM, ERP, and COTS in general.

Siebel skills could be built on one of the following major Siebel applications: (more…)

“Depending on the specific situation, I may use different approaches to resolve different conflicts.  First I would try to understand the situation, know what’s going on and analyze the issues.  I would work as a mediator to bring all parties together and talk it out.  I would listen carefully to all of them and help them analyze the pros and cons of their points.  If possible, I would use existing documents and standard to help make decisions.  In many case I would be able to find compromise acceptable by all parties.  Only if when necessary I would bring in upper management to solve the issue.  In general, to avoid possible conflicts, I would encourage effective communication among all team members and enforce documentations.”

That’s a typical question for project manager or project lead.  It does not ask you the experience, so you can talk the talk.  All you need to understand is the project lifecycle.

“First I would get to know all parties involved in the projects, – learn who is the stakeholder?  who is the customer? who is the executive sponsor?  and  who is the key player?  Then I would do a lot of interview with these key players to find out what do they want from this project and what are their expectations. The next step would be to work with users to collect business rules and create requirement documentations.  I would also analyze the scope of the project available resources.  Based on the requirement analysis I would start to create architecture and high level design.  Following that would be detailed design and development, and go on through the development lifecycle.  Basically that’s how I would start a new project.”

It is actually 2 questions, – how to handle priorities, and how to manage tasks.

“It’s important to communicate with managers and users to solve conflicts.  Although all tasks are in high priorities, some must be higher than others.  I would look into each task in detail and talk to my manger to analyze the priority.  In general tasks required from higher authorities such as executive directors come with higher priority.  I would also look at the expected time span to complete a task.  If a task takes short time to finish, I may do it first.  Another thing to look is the chain effects.  If a task is dependent on the result of another task, I would do the master task first.  As for manage daily tasks, I used Microsoft Project for task scheduling and analysis.  I also used Microsoft Outlook to maintain a daily task list.”

“I can perform my job independently, I also enjoy work in a team environment.  In the past I’ve worked as a team member and team leader as well.  In my last project I was the team leader with a development team of 8 developers for a Java web application development.  As the team lead I was responsible for design the system, assigning tasks to team members, and provide support to my team during the development.  The advantage of team environment for me was to create the synergy among the team and the opportunity to learn from each other.  I really enjoyed working with people in different technical background and personalities.  It’s a lot of fun.  I learned a lot from other term members and I also enjoyed helping others who work with me.”

Do you have a plan?  How do you initiate?  Your employer wants to find out.  In general, your first day should be focused on learning, listening, and discovering.  Don’t rush to setup new rules and disrupt existing procedures in the IT department.

Sample Answer:

“First, I would meet with my boss to find out what is expected of me and what my first priority should be.  I would also like to learn what goals my department is responsible for that fit in with the organization’s mission.  Then I’d meet with my team, introduce myself, get to know them. I’d discuss with my team about our department’s procedures, standards, projects, issues, and problems.  I’d find out who’s the most knowledgeable member of the team, who’s the best person to help me get up-to-speed on current projects and processes. Based on the information I gathers, I would be able to develop a plan for solving existing problems and improving performance of the department.”

That’s another question for supervisory positions.  Firing someone is a difficult task, but as a supervisor, it’s something you may have to do. Don’t just answer “Yes” or “No.” If you have fired an employee, explain what happened, why you made the decision to fire the person, and what the end result of that decision was. If you have never fired anyone, tell what you would do if it ever became necessary.

Sample Answers:

“Yes, I have. The person I fired had a negative attitude, often missed deadlines, and always turned in work of very poor quality. Because he didn’t want to take action to improve his performance, and was adversely affecting on the rest of the team, I made the decision to let him go. After his departure, the team’s morale and productivity went up, and the person I hired to replace him was a great team player who did much better job.”

“No, although I’ve been a supervisor for several years, I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve never had to terminate anyone. If such a situation were to come up, I would follow the organization’s procedures for disciplinary action and take the action necessary for the good of the team and the company.”