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Systems Administrator Interview Questions

When you interview for a systems administrator position, interviewers will likely ask you questions that allow them to learn how you multitask and deal with problems. Expect to give specific examples about how you dealt with certain situations, and highlight your communication, troubleshooting, and technical skills.

Top Systems Administrator Interview Questions & How To Answer

Question 1

Question #1: If your company's website is down, how do you resolve the issue?

How to answer
How to answer: This open-ended question allows you to discuss your technical skills. Discuss how you identify the problem, troubleshoot the situation, and figure out why it happened. Your ability to stay calm and focused while you investigate the issue is also important.
Question 2

Question #2: How do you prioritize your tasks?

How to answer
How to answer: As a systems administrator, you're constantly monitoring the company's computer systems' performance and providing technical support to employees. Highlight your organizational skills and ability to multitask. Give specific examples of how different tasks require more attention than others.
Question 3

Question #3: Talk about a time when you initially failed to solve a system issue.

How to answer
How to answer: As a system administrator, it's vital to be able to overcome your inability to fix a problem and troubleshoot it. Focus on how you found a strategy that works instead of trying out different fixes until you solved the issue. Mention if the issue reached your professional limitations and you needed to use your communication skills to consult with others for assistance.

6,695 systems administrator interview questions shared by candidates

A customer has 1 server. It has multiple roles running on it, including Ad, DHCP, DNS, File, Print, SQL, etc... The server keeps failing and has all kinds of issues. The company has an unlimited budget. What would you recommend?
avatar

IT Systems Administrator

Interviewed at MRE Consulting

3.9★
Mar 13, 2018

A customer has 1 server. It has multiple roles running on it, including Ad, DHCP, DNS, File, Print, SQL, etc... The server keeps failing and has all kinds of issues. The company has an unlimited budget. What would you recommend?

I cannot go into specifics, but the questions were all very reasonable for the subject area. The common thread was that practically all questions were asked in an open ended manner, which I believe weeds out fakers and also helps to glean your personality and communication skills. I would also commend the interviewers ability to be personable and helpful. When I had to remember some academic information, I was never punished for forgetting minutiae, they would always give a nudge in the right direction. Some might argue Google leans on the CS academia questions to heavily, whereas I would say Jane Street definitely seems to be more interested in general intelligence and applicable knowledge relative to the role. I have the upmost respect for their procedure.
avatar

Systems Administrator

Interviewed at Jane Street

4.4★
May 10, 2015

I cannot go into specifics, but the questions were all very reasonable for the subject area. The common thread was that practically all questions were asked in an open ended manner, which I believe weeds out fakers and also helps to glean your personality and communication skills. I would also commend the interviewers ability to be personable and helpful. When I had to remember some academic information, I was never punished for forgetting minutiae, they would always give a nudge in the right direction. Some might argue Google leans on the CS academia questions to heavily, whereas I would say Jane Street definitely seems to be more interested in general intelligence and applicable knowledge relative to the role. I have the upmost respect for their procedure.

There is a lot of interview questions. It starts with a phone interview before you can even qualify. Basic network knowledge for the phone interview will suit, but you must be able to answer questions about basic firewall knowledge, Microsoft Windows Server knowledge, majority of what is used in business today.
avatar

Systems Administrator

Interviewed at 1Path

3.5★
Aug 13, 2016

There is a lot of interview questions. It starts with a phone interview before you can even qualify. Basic network knowledge for the phone interview will suit, but you must be able to answer questions about basic firewall knowledge, Microsoft Windows Server knowledge, majority of what is used in business today.

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