FINDING A JOB
COMMON TECHNICAL SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVE QUESTIONS (AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM)
OCTOBER 12, 2020
KEY QUESTIONS:
- What made you choose to get into Technical Support?
- What do you know about the role?
- What makes you qualified for this job?
- What is your troubleshooting process?
- What is more important, technical knowledge or customer experience?
- BONUS: More technical questions (list)
Technical Support Representative (TSR) jobs are high in demand, especially in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sectors as businesses realize the importance of bridging the gap between their products/services and their customers.
If you’ve landed a job interview to become a Technical Support Representative, you need to properly prepare. How do you prove to your prospective employer or hiring manager that you’re the right one for their job among many other applicants for that position?
To get ready for a job interview, there are a few questions you should be prepared to answer. Here are some of the most common technical support interview questions you might encounter, what they really mean, and how you can answer them.
What made you choose to get into Technical Support?
What they want to know:
- Your motivations/reasons why you want to become a technical support representative
- Whether or not you have a passion for the job
- If you understand the true purpose/bigger picture of technical support
What to consider when answering:
- What is it that drew you to the job? Is it interacting with customers or is it working with the technology?
- What do you enjoy about technical support?
- What is your goal as a TSR? Do you want to help people understand products better? Do you want to solve problems or make their lives easier?
What do you know about the role?
What they want to know:
- If you actually know what a TSR does]
- How deep your understanding is of the duties and responsibilities of a TSR
- If you read the job description on their job listing
What to consider when answering:
- Just be honest when answering but you should do research beforehand
- You can learn more about a Technical Support Representative from our Career Guide (or just click here.)
- Be sure you read their specific listing so you can reference specific points when you answer
What makes you qualified for this job?
What they want to know:
- Your general background, experience, and skills
- Whether or not you are confident in your abilities
What to consider when answering:
- Highlight your skills and qualities relevant to the job (like interacting with people and solving problems)
- Think about how you might stand out from other candidates. Your college degree? Previous work experience? Seminars attended? Certificates earned?
- Consider specific skills that fit in with the company (do research on the company ahead of time to see what they value and match it with any of your values and beliefs)
What is your troubleshooting process?
What they want to know:
- If you have an established process or if you know the best practices or standard procedures of a TSR
- How you work, your steps, thought processes, etc.
What to consider when answering:
- Go through step-by-step what you do; from gathering information, solving the problem, testing, all the way to documentation
- Explain what you do in cases that you don’t know how to fix the problem
- Give specific examples from previous work if you can
What does customer service mean to you?
What they want to know:
- Whether you place importance on dealing with customers even if your job is in technical support
- How you handle customers
What to consider when answering:
- The best way to explain what it means to you is to give examples from your experience
- Technical Support deals with a lot of customer service so you need to explain how you believe the two go hand in hand
What is more important - technical knowledge or customer experience?
What they want to know:
- If you are able to balance both technical knowledge with good customer experience
- They may just want to know which is more important to you and why
What to consider when answering:
- There is no right answer as this is highly based on your opinion. Answer honestly and explain why you believe one is more important than the other or why they are both equally important
How long does it take you to resolve a typical technical issue?
What they want to know:
- How well you qualify for the position or how experienced you are
- They may also want to know how you solve problems you don’t know how to solve
What to consider when answering:
- Although there are many possible issues you can encounter and the time it takes to solve can vary, you should know the average time it takes to solve common problems
- Give a few examples of common problems you encounter and how long it typically takes
- You can also give an average number of how many issues you can resolve during one shift
- Be honest to ensure that your potential future employer has realistic expectations of your skills and abilities
How do you diagnose a problem when a customer complains about a slow computer?
What they want to know:
- How you work and what your processes are
- This type of question can also reveal your level of experience and abilities
What to consider when answering:
- Use specific examples if you can
- Go through the steps thoroughly but keep your answer direct and straight to the point
- Give the possible reasons why a computer can be slow and explain the corresponding solution to that reason
BONUS: MORE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Depending on the company you are applying to and the specific tasks of the job, these are a list of more technical questions you may encounter, whether through interviews or even through exams. If these are things you aren’t familiar with, let your interviewer know. Otherwise, study up and do some prior research!
- What are the significant hardware components of a computer?
- What is BIOS?
- What is the difference between RAM and ROM?
- What are device drivers used for?
- What are the most common computer processors being used today?
- What are the LEDs on a typical modem and what do they indicate?
- What is subnetting?
- What is the difference between a router, switch, and hub?
- What is your experience with remote troubleshooting?
- What are hard disk partitions?
- What is an IP address?
- What is DHCP?
- How do you access the recovery console in Windows?
Looking for Technical Support jobs?
Learn more about the role, apply, or submit your resume by clicking here!
OCTOBER 12, 2020