Field Service Technician

Although this would seem like a simple question, it can easily become tricky. You shouldn’t mention salary being a factor at this point. If you’re currently employed, your response can focus on developing and expanding your career and even yourself. If you’re current employer is downsizing, remain positive and brief. If your employer fired you, prepare a solid reason. Under no circumstance should you discuss any drama or negativity, always remain positive.

Experience in computer repair and networking is a common requirement for a computer technician. Repairing a computer or small network typically involves substantial troubleshooting skill, and many employers seek a balance of academic study with experience in curing computer ailments.

This is a fairly large topic but the essentials to know is understand the power supply wattage's and voltages:

☛ Have an understanding of motherboard and CPU socket types.

☛ Understand different RAM types and speeds.

☛ Understand motherboard slot types (AGP, PCI, PCI-E etc..)

☛ Understand hard drive types such as IDE and SATA and understand hard drive jumpers and their configurations.

With these skills, you need to be able to assemble a computer. I am not just talking about putting one together, but building a good one by knowing their part speeds, compatibility and possible bottlenecks.

I’ve told you that my work history is mostly in accounting. Earning this human resources technician position would be a step into a new field. I intend to make this transition permanently, and I hope to be able to maintain this position for at least five years. I believe that my future is in human resources, so earning this position would be a big step for me. Additionally, I’ve told you that I have experience in leadership. I do intend to pursue managerial positions while I am working in the human resources department. I can confidently say that I will be with this company for a long time.

This is kind of a trick question. If you say you prefer to work alone, then you may come across as a loner. If you say you prefer to work as part of a team, then you might come across as incapable of working on things independently.

So the safe bet here is to say both, even though that may feel like a cop-out. Express that you’re happy to dive into team projects, but you also like to work on aspects of projects alone to get things done quickly. The ideal employee in almost every tech company is one who can work well with others while also being able to take on projects solo without handholding.

I have experience in the accounting department. My responsibilities while holding this position included risk analysis and making decisions based on the numbers we had. Obviously, the analysis we had to do in accounting was much more mathematically based than the employee performance analysis of the human resources department, but I extensively developed this skill and can confidently say that I am prepared to apply it in a new context. I am excited to shift my focus and expand this skill even further.

You need to be able to remove data from a non-booting operating system by either using a boot CD and an external hard drive; or by putting the bad drive into a good system of your own and recovering it that way.

As Randle has mentioned here before, whatever you do, please don’t answer this one with “I’m a perfectionist” or anything else along those lines. Sure, it might be true, but it’s also so commonly heard that it‘s completely unoriginal, and in fact, it’s more of a strength than a real weakness. Rephrasing it as “paying attention to detail and wanting to get things right” doesn’t sound like much of a weakness, does it?

Many tools are needed to perform this job. A computer technician will typically need an anti-static wrist strap, power supply tester, cable crimping tool, cable tester and a variety of screwdrivers. There are several software-based troubleshooting tools offered in this field which may require a subscription for professional use. Storage devices such as an external hard drive or large USB drives often prove invaluable. Other tools may be required within specific positions and they may be listed in the job notice.

To become a computer service and repair technician, you will need:

☛ A thorough knowledge of operating systems, hardware and commonly used software.

☛ Good communication and customer service skills.

☛ Excellent problem-solving skills.

☛ A patient and organised approach.

☛ The ability to meet deadlines.

☛ A willingness to keep up to date with IT developments.

☛ An awareness of electrical safety issues.

I do. In fact, this was my focus for many years. I absolutely have more than enough mathematical skills to tackle this human resources technician position head-on. While I was working in the accounting department, it was my responsibility, as well as the rest of the team, to work the numbers out on a daily basis and suggest the best approach moving forward. The HR department incorporates mathematics to a lesser degree, but the approach is very similar. I understand that we will be working with the employees’ compensation more than broader forms of math, so I am fully prepared to begin work.

This is a great time to emphasize the parts of your job that you like that will carry over to your new position. If your dream tech job will include working with clients, and you’ve been working in retail, you could say that you’ve loved building relationships with your regular customers. Of if your new position will include a lot of data organization and reporting, you can talk about how you loved organizational tasks at your old job (even if they weren’t data organization).

Think about ways that general tasks from your last job could roughly translate into tasks you might have at your new job and go from there!

Private clients usually have single separate computers to troubleshoot. Larger companies usually have computer networks on their premises. It requires a special sort of expertise to know how to handle interconnected systems. It might take some research and understanding of the specific companies' infrastructure and information technology needs.

I’ve told you before how strongly I prioritize communication. I believe this also applies to collaboration. The only way a team is able to work together efficiently is if they are communicating efficiently. Otherwise, you are left with a group of people that each is doing their own tasks and it isn’t even collaboration at all. I absolutely believe that the key to succeeding as a team is to be able to communicate.

Adaptability is vital in this field. Computer technology is constantly changing and evolving, with the average lifespan for a particular model of technology standing at around two years. Always keep abreast of the latest advances in technology and stay ahead of the curve as much as you possibly can.

Here’s another place where you don’t want to be too negative. Instead, look at the frustrating things from your old job that will be less likely in your new position. The last thing you want to do is complain about something that isn’t going to disappear in the job you’re interviewing for.

For example, maybe part of the new job is diving into the data that drives the company (sales, visitors, etc.), while at your old job you had no access to information about what was happening behind the scenes.

The biggest experience I have had that has contributed to my communication skills is my time as a team leader. To succeed in leadership, communication is a must, but I took special care to prioritize communication when I was working in this position. I can say, with certainty, that my choice to emphasize communication is why I succeeded. In fact, my performance inspired the management to update the training process to include a bigger focus on the leaders’ communication skills.