Interviewing

Probably even about five years ago, interviewing was a dreaded activity for me. Luckily, it has changed positively since. In the last few years I had several interviews and had very good memories about them; almost all of the positions were offered to me that I interviewed for. In general, I think I do well in interviews, but I have much to learn about giving them. I did have a few times that I had participated in giving interviews, but still much room for me for advancement there.

Most interviews I participated in had pretty much the same structure and questions. Usually, I met with the entire IT department in different sessions. Interestingly, similar questions came up among these sessions, so I only had to come up with one good answer and was able to reuse it.

The seemingly hardest question was always my favorite, and it was this time also with the one I had with my friend (who has plenty of experience with interviews). They ask with your biggest weakness, which I love turning around to come out with strength. I think it is kind of expected. Most of my friend’s questions were among the ones from the list and the ones I am used tom, but there is one that I find the most challenging. I have to think hard to phrase my answer to the question about where I see myself in the near future. I want to show interest in growing in my field, but I also want to show that I do not want to leave the work place soon I am trying to get into. It is useful to have a brief understanding of the organizational chart for a proper answer.

Interviewing someone else is a larger challenge for me. I do not only have to focus my thoughts about what I want to ask, but I have to be able to receive, understand, record and react to the answers. It is a lot to accomplish at the same time. I have done some interviewing while I was working as an IT Manager in Hungary, and I had to participate as a co-interviewer in my department when we were hiring temporary help before. It is hard to keep a balance between being general in the subjects of the questions and still getting some specific answers out of the interviewee. Also, keeping to appropriate questions is harder tan one would think. Although, I want to keep the interview kind of personal and somewhat friendly—to represent the kind of environment we have properly—professionalism in the questions and interaction is also an important requirement for a successful interview. It is easy to become too stiff or too friendly.

Both giving and participating in an interview requires a lot of preparation, self-control and awareness. Practice and preparedness are key concepts for success for these activities.

Job Posting

Job Title: Computer (Desktop) Support Technician
Job location: Biology Department

Description:
The Biology Department has three university buildings with 500+ workstations and 15+ servers. The Computer Support Technician will be offering end-user support for client hardware and software in a diverse computing environment. The applicant will be working as a member of a small team of IT professionals that provides 24/7 support for all information technology services and resources. This position’s main role is desktop support, but includes occasional server support and web site maintenance, too. The candidate will report to the Department IT Manager.

Required Education and Experience:
An Associate Degree in a related field and three years of experience in providing desktop support in a similar position, a four year degree in a related field and two years of experience in providing desktop support in a similar position, or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience appropriate to fulfill duties.

Preferred Technical Skills:
Experience with various desktop operating systems (including Windows, MAC OS and Linux). Basic knowledge of desktop, laptop and printer hardware. Basic knowledge of installation and operation of common desktop applications and software.

Personal Skills:
Candidate must be highly organized, a team player but must be able to work individually without supervision. Applicant must have well-developed customer support, good interpersonal and communication skills to interact and help customers.

Work schedule:
8:00AM-5:00PM with occasional week-ends and non-regular hours.

Benefits:
Please check http://hr.unc.edu for detailed listings of University benefits including State Employees’ Health Insurance, and tuition waivers and assistance.

Contact Information:
Email: jobs@biologydept.unc.edu
Phone: 919-555-5555
Fax: 919-555-5556

Termination Checklist

1. Setup a meeting with departmental administrator and human resources person to start the paperwork.
2. Schedule an exit-interview meeting with the employee.
3. Inform the employee about the details of the termination of employment, including her/his options for future benefits and rights.
4. Collect keys for buildings, rooms, labs and equipment.
5. Collect ID card.
6. Turn off ex-employee’s phone line.
7. Reset passwords for shared accounts that the ex-employee had access to.
8. Check for any backdoor administrator accounts.
9. Disable ex-employee’s departmental (Windows AD…) and university (Onyen…) computer accounts.
10. Reset passwords for anything that will be accessed by someone else after departure.
11. Collect any in-process project information or documentation about things the ex-employee has worked on.
12. Collect any computer, telecommunication or other equipment that the ex-employee had possession of.

Hinár's Fictional Job Hunt

One of the first tasks we had to accomplish during this management class is to find a new job. Of course this job search is fictional, and I am not actually applying for the position included in this post, but here it is. I am quite happy with my present job by the way. :-)

Here is the job posting that I picked.
I have also written a cover letter and posted my Resume.

Happy job hunting!