As the initial touchpoint for IT enterprises, the position of a Level 1 Technician holds significant importance. A Level 1 Technician is responsible for possessing a comprehensive understanding of technical knowledge coupled with exceptional communication skills to efficiently address and resolve issues. Therefore, it is critical that the candidate possess the mindset and skillset to confidently address a diverse range of problems and provide expedient, comprehensive, and amicable service.
In order to find such a dynamic individual, companies naturally need to conduct thorough interviews to gauge if someone can handle this role.
Interview questions for level 1 technical support tend to be about:
- Background, personality and motivation questions
- External communication (eg. How would you describe a troubleshooting process to a customer?)
- Internal communication (eg. How would you communicate the urgency of an issue)?
- Technical questions about networks, devices, and common softwares or operating systems like Microsoft Office and Windows
Anticipate Questions about Background, Personality and Motivation
This is often the initial step for interviews in any industry where you have a chance to introduce yourself and talk about your previous experiences.
No particular preparation is needed for this, but taking some steps to ensure that the conversation goes smoothly is always a good idea. Take a moment to reflect on experiences you have that would apply to answering the commonly asked questions below:
| What is your experience in the IT helpdesk environment? |
| You should summarize the software you’ve used, the tasks you’ve completed and the skills you have acquired. If you do not have experience in the field, talk about areas of this position that relate to your experiences in previous roles. |
| What is an experience that you are very proud of? |
| You should explain a difficult issue you successfully resolved that helps showcase your reliability and innovation. A broader answer could include details of the skills you gained through that moment. A personal success story is also appropriate to reflect on. |
| What motivated you to pursue this career? |
| This is an extremely important question that you should answer honestly. Avoid any flattery at all costs and simply ask yourself what would truly be the most rewarding part of potentially doing this job? Whether your honest answer is being able to travel, helping people realize their dreams, working for a certain ideal or improving systems, are all credible answers if they reflect your true values and passion. |
| What do you expect from this position and what can you contribute? |
| A question like this is a good opportunity to show that you’ve taken the time to research the company, its values and methods. Which part of the company’s identity particularly stands out to you? If you can picture yourself fitting in improving a certain aspect of the company, be vulnerable in expressing this. Your interviewer truly wants to know any insight that you have that can benefit them. |
Level 1 Interviews Include Hypothetically Describing a Troubleshooting to Customer
Level 1 technician candidates should be prepared to answer the above question because many clients won’t have a clue about computers. So knowing how to communicate a complicated issue in simple terms is a skill that is highly valued in any field. As much as you need technical abilities, you’re also constantly in contact with clients who don’t speak tech jargon.
One of your primary requirements for this role is actually possessing strong communication skills for customer support. To ensure you have this skill, the interviewer can ask questions along the lines of:
- How would you tell a client why their audio wasn’t working?
- Which steps did you take to examine the issue and come to the conclusion?
- What can a client do if this issue repeats itself?
- What questions would you ask a client who calls in about a printer not working in order to get to the bottom of the problem?
When answering these questions, you must show that you possess clarity, empathy and reliability when dealing with customers. Being the best you can be in customer service is just as important, if not more, as doing your best to solve technical issues. You will make a great first impression if you don’t come across as some insular, socially challenged computer geek.
Level 1 Interview Questions Cover Ticketing Systems and Escalation
If you really want to land that level 1 tech job, you need to make it clear that you will always utilize the ticketing system in the most productive way for escalations. This is so crucial because escalations can make or break a business’ level of success. You must show that you have respect for escalations and internal systems of order and hierarchy.
Make it clear in the interview that you are aware of your obligations within these systems by knowing your way around hypothetical escalations you may be presented with in the interview. Here are some example escalation questions:
- How would you handle a ticket escalation?
- How would you handle a reverse escalation?
- How would you demand higher access?
- How would you communicate the need to talk to a person of greater authority in order to compensate for the issue created in the lower tiers?
Each company has their own systems of hierarchy for escalations, and they each utilize ticketing systems differently. So just make sure that you reveal yourself as someone who can be accountable to follow escalation guidelines. This will help your interviewer see that you will not complicate things and create disorder in the help desk.
Technical Questions about Networks, Softwares and Operating Systems
We’ve talked a lot about how a level 1 interview will deal with communication and people skills. But of course, there will still be technical knowledge questions to gauge your level of experience.
You can expect to answer questions about common lower level issues that you can help a customer with on the spot without escalating to a senior engineer. You might be asked about how to set up a mailbox, explain why a printer isn’t working or how to make a monitor turn on if it’s acting up.
So before your interview, make sure to brush up your knowledge of common office software and hardware issues. Practice how you would explain setting up, troubleshooting or defining things related to.
- Common hardware such as routers, printers, or computers.
- Networking
- Common Windows issues
- Common Wi-Fi issues
- Active directory
Those are just to name a few.
Display Honesty, Curiosity and Ability to Produce Results
It is perfectly normal and expected of an individual in an entry level position not to know the answers to every technical question off the top of their head. What is more important is that their answers are creative and the thought process behind them are clearly communicated.
Learning on the job is expected of a level 1 engineer. It’s actually admirable to be honest when you don’t know something as long as you can still exhibit efficiency in providing a solution.
For example, using Google to search for answers is normal and expected. Helpdesk technicians use it daily during their job anyway, so it’s really okay to admit that you need to Google the answer.
It’s important that during the interview, you compensate for not knowing everything by:
- Explaining with confidence what you would do to figure out the answer.
- Exhibit personality as it is more important than what you might think for an entry level position.
- Display an ability to troubleshoot in a composed and timely manner.
If you possess these traits, have good technical knowledge and are a well-rounded individual, you should have success in your IT career. This is a good time to tell you that we are always hiring, so feel free to apply with us here!
If you are an MSP looking for a top global MSP Staffing Company – reach out to us!
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