Questions About Job Description (Tech Support Analyst)

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a senior Management Information Systems student at WVU, where I’ve formed a strong foundation in networking, systems, and data analysis. During my junior year, I was apart of a group project where we used the concepts we learned in my data communications class to use a Raspberry Pi as a portable packet sniffer which we found helpful for small businesses to make sure their networks are secure. I am interested in this role because even though I don’t have hands-on experience, I can see that WVU Medicine is focused on making sure that we improve the health of our state and being top notch with our service, which aligns with my goal of being apart of a company that wants to serve and improve our community.

How do you troubleshoot a technical issue?

I try to gather as much information based on the error to figure out what might have went wrong, then I check potential areas of error such as the network, device, permissions.

After that I go through and start trying to see what can work in terms of solutions. While I am trying to troubleshoot, I will make sure to communicate updates with the users or the senior analysts so that they know what’s going on.

A user cannot access an application, what do you do?

I’d gather information from the user about the error and if it’s just them being affected or others. I’d look to see if they have the permissions to access the application or not, or check if the application server is up and wokring just in case.

Tell me about a time you solved a technical problem.

In my systems/design development class, I wasn’t able to run my web application properly, so I looked to see what the issue could be. I found out that the connection string wasn’t updated with my current IP address, and after I put in the current IP address, the application started running.

How do you prioritize multiple tickets/issues?

I prioritize the tickets that have the most impact or urgency. If it’s an issue that’s affecting critical systems, I’d make sure to get that done first, because downtime in a healthcare environment can be detrimental for patients. I would also make sure to communicate updates and stay organized so nothing would go unmissed.

What would you do if the network goes down?

I would determine how bad the outage is, seeing if it’s affecting a single area or if it’s the entire network. Then I would check the devices and logs to see if there’s an indication for the issue. I would also to see if there were any changes that were made recently that might have cause the problem. If it’s a really big issue, I’d go to the senior engineers and alert them to what was going on. I would make sure to communicate updates so that we all know what’s going on.

How do you handle a frustrated or non-technical users?

I’d try to listen carefully so that the user feels heard. At my Smoothie King job, acknowledging their frustration and conveying you want to fix the problem really helps. I would try to make sure that I don’t use so much technical jargon and keep things as simple as possible and keep them updated so they feel reassured that the issue is getting resolved.

What experience do you have with network/servers/virtualization?

My coursework has given my knowledge of the different networking concepts for this job by using Wireshark for analyzing packets and cisco packet tracer for network simulation labs. These helped me build knowledge on these different topics and how to be effective with troubleshooting which is important for this job. I don’t have any hands-on experience yet, but I’m familiar with the concepts and excited to built my skills with hands-on experience with this job.

How do you document issues or updates?

I focus on making sure that the documentation is clear, detailed, and it’s easy for people to follow. I’ll include the issue description, steps taken to troubleshoot, the solution, and any relevant notes that can be used.

Why do you want to work in healthcare IT?

My externship in Data Analytics with WVU Medicine convinced me to work in healthcare IT at WVU Med. Showing how we can use technology to allocate more space and times for different hospital groups can save people. I want to work in a role where my work is impactful and helps others, which this job would do, and I hope to make a good impact on my community.