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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 10: System Administration: The Occupation |
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While you are being interviewed, there are some things to consider as you are sitting in the room being pounded with questions. Here are some do's and don'ts for interviewing:
Don't ever cut the interviewer off in the middle of a sentence. Not only is it rude, it will be the one thing he or she will remember about you.
Don't ever answer a question before the interviewer is finished asking the question. It shows that you like to jump the gun on issues and tasks, which can be a dangerous quality.
Don't throw the same question back at the interviewer. You are the one answering the questions, not him or her.
Don't lie. If you don't know the answer, let interviewers know you would go get help, or reference a technical book. They also want to see that you will work with others to resolve an issue and not try to do everything yourself.
Don't belittle, debate, disagree, or tell interviewers that they are wrong. Sometimes they may intentionally give wrong information to see how you handle it. A proper answer could be, "I would try it your way first. If any problems developed, I would probably only have to make some simple changes."
Do be punctual and on time. Always give yourself plenty of time. You never know what might happen. If you are late, they might not wait for you.
Do be yourself. Employers don't want employees who misrepresent themselves. Be what your résumé says you are.
Do expand on as many answers as possible. You will show how much you know about the subject and the topic may turn into an intelligent conversation.
Do ask questions related to questions you are asked. For example, If an interviewer asks about your knowledge on raid levels, you should respond with a question regarding what raid levels their department is running. This shows that you are interested in their environment and how it is configured.
Do wait for them to ask you if you have any questions. At the end of the interview, if they do not ask you if you have any questions, you should respectfully request to ask some of your own questions that deal with anything that hasn't been covered in the interview.
There are so many different types of questions to expect. It all depends on the level of administration you are applying for. The majority of questions will be generic referencing all levels. Interviewers will throw in some tough questions and expect you to be able to answer them. They will not penalize you if you can't. They just want to see how you will react to a question you can't answer.
The answers to these questions will not be provided. If you don't know the answer, you will be more likely to remember it when you go find it for yourself.
System commands and file questions: These are questions that deal with the location of files, the format of files and tables, command structures, and how commands are used. These provide a good indication of the your administrative level.
What directory do the password file and exports file live in?
Name two files that are involved in setting up NFS mounts?
Name the sixth field in the password file. Can you name all seven?
What is the purpose of inetd.conf?
What are the parameters for ifconfig?
Can you name three service ports and their numbers?
What is the command to verbosely tar a directory into a tar file?
What is an inode?
Name two commands that will tell me who is on the system?
Procedural questions: These questions will indicate that you either know what you are talking about or you don't. There is no in between. You cannot lie your way out of these questions. In many cases, there is more than one way to answer these questions. You may want to convey this to the person interviewing you. If you know another way, let them know. The more information you provide, the better.
What is the proper way to check a filesystem?
Describe one of your UNIX administration horror stories and the process you took to fix the problem.
What do you do when users come to you and say that their system is slow?
What do you do when a machine load is at 30?
How do you set up an account in UNIX?
Do you prefer executing commands through an administration tool (sam, smit, admintool) or from a prompt shell?
The file /vmUNIX (kernel) is deleted. What should you do?
If a filesystem is full, how do you check for which users are taking up too much disk space?
If you tried to unmount a device and the message "Device busy" appears, what do you do to unmount the busy device?
Standard questions: These are the all-purpose questions. No matter what type of technical position you are looking for, you will probably be asked these generic questions.
Why are you leaving your current employer?
What are your weaknesses and strengths?
What sort of scripts or programs have you written?
What kind of salary are you looking for?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Have you ever been the lead on a project? How did it go?
Where do you plan to be in five years?
If I ask you to do something outside your job description, what do you do?
Questions for employer: After all the other questions you are usually asked whether you have any questions. Always say yes. If they do not ask you this, you should kindly ask if you may ask some questions. Here are some questions that often get overlooked in an interview.
How many systems would I be directly supporting? How many would I be supporting indirectly or as a backup? This information is usually brought up in the beginning of the interview, but ask it if it doesn't come up.
Are there specific times set up for scheduled outages? Some 24/7 shops will have outage in the early morning or on the weekends. They may conflict with your life outside work.
Can you tell me about 24/7 here and night-time operations? Sometimes you are the 24/7 person. Some companies hire union operators who are supposed to do what you tell them--the keywords here are supposed to.
Can you please define on-call? The term on-call is very broad. It can mean being paged four or five times a night or once a week, or any time during off hours. Find out what it really means so that there are no misconceptions.
How many classes and conferences are allocated for this position? Will I have the ability to stay current with the technology?
Where would I sit: a cubical, office, closet, computer room? Some administrators have been kept in storage closets, computer rooms at a constant 65-70° F, or isolated from the world. Find out where you will be located ahead of time and determine whether it will meet your needs.
Where is parking? Do I have to pay for it? Do I get reimbursed? If you plan to work in a major metropolitan area or in a high-rise building, expect to pay for parking. If they don't reimburse for parking, calculate it out annually and add that to the salary you are asking.
What are the benefits like? Direct this at the technical interviewers. Tell them you know about the standard medical package, but what about internal benefits, parties, or retreats?
Is this position replacing anyone or is it a new position? If it is to replacing another administrator, there might be some hidden political issues.
How many people are in the department? Followed by, how many have left this department in the last 12 months? If they are reluctant to answer or avoid the question, then you can gain some insight into the turnover rate.
What is the pay rate for this position? How is overtime handled? These questions should be directed at the managers or to someone in the human resource department. Make sure there are no other employees in the room. It is none of their business.
Can I see the computer room? If the interview is ahead of schedule and you think that they really like you, ask to get a quick tour of the computer room.
After you leave the interview, the first thing you should do is send a thank you letters to any email addresses or names you may have collected from business cards. The letter should thank everyone for giving you the opportunity to meet with them and express your feelings about the interview and those you met. Follow that up a couple days later with a phone call to your human resource contact. Ask for any new information and whether you should check back at a later date.
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UNIX Hints & Hacks |
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Chapter 10: System Administration: The Occupation |
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