Cisco IT Engineer Interview Questions & Answers
Below is a list of our Cisco interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view 5 answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.
1. Do you respond differently when the IT-related issue you are facing is more severe or critical?
How to Answer
The Cisco interviewer will ask you this question to try to better understand how you react to stressful situations. Cisco prefers employees who can handle stress and perform well under pressure. It is inevitable that stressful situations will occur, especially in an information technology environment. Your answer to this question should demonstrate that you maintain a consistent attitude, perform the same in stressful situations as you would in routine ones, and recognize critical situations and the need to apply additional resources to resolve them. Providing a past example of how you accomplished this will demonstrate your ability to remain calm during a crisis.
Answer Example
"When a severe or critical IT-related issue occurs, the first thing I do is remind myself to remain calm and utilize my experience, knowledge, skills, and other resources to address and resolve the situation. I carefully analyze the issue, determine the time frame in which it must be resolved, estimate the resources required, and put together a plan to move forward. I then implement the plan using the identified resources, making adjustments as needed based on the progress my team and I are making and the issue's status. Nine times out of ten, I can resolve the issue quickly and with little stress."
2. How quickly do you feel you can you adapt to Cisco's culture and integrate yourself into our IT engineering team?
How to Answer
The quicker an IT engineer can adapt their style to Cisco's culture and integrate themselves into the IT engineering organization, the more successful they are likely to be. This requires you to understand Cisco's structure, processes, procedures, communication systems, and other characteristics. Your answer should describe your understanding of this and a few examples of your plans to accomplish it. Researching the job and the Cisco organization before the interview will prepare you to answer this question. Sources of the information you'll need include the job posting, the company's website, and speaking with former and current members of Cisco's IT engineering team.
Answer Example
"I recognize that every organization has a unique style and culture. This defines how organization members collaborate, their communication systems, and how the IT engineering organization prioritizes its projects. My experience has helped me understand that the faster I can adapt to Cisco's style and fit into your culture, the sooner I'll be accepted as one of the team and be able to contribute to the organization's objectives. I do this by having conversations with several people within Cisco to understand the culture. I then adapt my style to integrate myself into the team."
3. Can you describe some IT engineering projects you have worked on, and which of them are similar to Cisco's IT environment?
How to Answer
This is a general question seeking to gain a better understanding of your background. Typically, the Cisco hiring manager already knows this information before inviting you to the interview. They hope to confirm their assumptions and hear you present your experience in your own words. Describing your experience provides the interviewer with a sample of your communication skills. They hope you can describe complex technical topics in easy-to-understand language. This skill enables you to collaborate effectively with other project stakeholders with limited technical backgrounds.
Answer Example
"I've worked on many IT engineering projects. My specialty is optimizing networks, ensuring they integrate effectively with the organization's software and hardware solutions. A project that would apply to Cisco's IT environment involved migrating a data center from on-premises to the cloud. This required making sure that the network was optimized so that it was secure and there was no loss in performance. It involved implementing a secure data transmission network between the company's on-site datacenter and the public cloud which could not be co-opted."
4. What is your experience implementing network infrastructures? When doing this, what are some of the challenges you encounter?
How to Answer
This is an operational question seeking to understand your network experience in your role as an IT engineer. IT projects are inherently complex and always have challenges while being implemented. You should be able to describe your experience either implementing or integrating your systems with IT networks and some of the challenges you overcame. Since this is an operational question, you should keep your answer brief and to the point. This allows the Cisco interviewer to ask a follow-up question if they want to.
Answer Example
"I have worked with my organization's network support team to integrate their topology with the IT infrastructures I supported. We frequently encountered challenges when integrating a network infrastructure. These involved issues including a lack of resources, a conflict between the various systems we are implementing, and maintaining an organization's productivity during the implementation. Due to our experience, we anticipated many of these challenges and addressed them effectively, using standard industry practices."
5. How knowledgeable are you with some of the more popular programming languages, such as C++, Java, and Python?
How to Answer
IT engineers are not expected to program or create software. However, it is a benefit if you can do this. You should at least have some familiarity with popular programming languages and be able to discuss their benefits and applications. Interviewers for IT Engineer roles at Cisco will ask you about this to determine your knowledge of software development languages and confirm that you will collaborate with the Cisco development team to ensure the software will function well within the IT infrastructure you will help manage.
Answer Example
"Although I did some programming in college, I haven't created any code since I began working as an IT engineer. I am familiar with many popular programming languages, including those you mentioned. This helps me collaborate with application developers to ensure their code functions well with the operating systems, applications, and hardware I support. This helps me properly integrate their software solutions with the systems I would support for Cisco."
6. Can you describe your strategy for staying updated on current developments in the IT industry?
How to Answer
The information technology industry evolves quickly. New technologies are constantly being introduced, and keeping up with these is challenging. As an IT engineer, you should know the latest hardware and software products available on the market. You should have a solid strategy for updating your knowledge and clearly communicate this to the interviewer at Cisco. This question may be similar to one the interviewer has already asked you. Cisco interviewers will ask similar questions using different terminology to calibrate your answers and ensure you are consistent throughout the interview. Answering truthfully will ensure you are consistent.
Answer Example
"Innovation in the IT industry occurs at a very rapid pace. Staying informed about new technological developments is challenging. I accomplish this by subscribing to industry news services, blogs, and newsletters. I am a member of some local user groups, and I take the time to meet with other IT engineers in my organization to share information and best practices. Each year, I also attend several industry events and meet with the leading technology providers to learn about their planned product innovations. This has helped me stay ahead of developments in the industry, and I would continue these practices if hired by Cisco."
7. Here at Cisco, we use Zendesk for our Customer Relationship Management, or CRM system. Can you describe your experience with this software?
How to Answer
Every IT organization has legacy applications, systems, and other components within its IT infrastructure. You should be familiar with these as an IT engineer, even if you haven't worked with the solution in your previous positions. Suppose you are unfamiliar with the software or hardware the Cisco interviewer asks you about. In that case, you should admit this and then describe how you would learn about the technology so you can immediately begin to support it.
Answer Example
"I have worked with many different CRM systems. Since Zendesk is one of the leaders in this category, I am very familiar with the software and have experience working with it. I can immediately begin supporting the Cisco Zendesk CRM tool and will look for opportunities to improve your implementation of it based on my experience using it with my previous employers."
8. What process do you follow when a business stakeholder asks you to implement a new IT system recommended by a third party?
How to Answer
This operational question asks you about working with technology that you may not be familiar with or which you wouldn't recommend if asked. Many IT engineers take great pride in what they do and become very focused on the technologies they prefer to work with. They may be reluctant to work with information or input from stakeholders or organizations with less technical knowledge or experience. When answering this question, keep in mind that the third-party organization has already influenced the Cisco business stakeholder. You need to first acknowledge the value they obtained from the third party, then discuss how you could integrate their suggestion into your proposed solution and what alternatives may work better.
Answer Example
"When asked by a Cisco business stakeholder to integrate a system that was recommended by a third-party, I would first make inquiries as to why the stakeholder didn't engage the IT organization before consulting the third party. Once I understand this, I would ask the Cisco stakeholders what they like and dislike about the third party's technology. I would then have a conversation with them to discuss the viability of implementing the technology and suggest how it can be improved. Finally, I would develop an implementation plan with contingencies if the third-party technology did not perform as specified."
9. Can you explain the benefits of creating subnets within an organization's network infrastructure?
How to Answer
This question tests your systems analysis expertise. It is a technical question that is meant to evaluate your expertise in the area of networking. As an IT engineer, you should anticipate that most of the questions you will be asked will be either operational or technical. Technical questions require you to define a concept or process and then describe how it is used in your job. The Cisco interviewer may follow up a question like this by asking you to provide an example of how you use this technology.
Answer Example
"Subnetting is the technique used to divide a single TCP/IP network into several unique network segments. This makes the network infrastructure easier to manage while improving the network's performance. Subnetting also prevents errors in one of the subnets from impacting the entire network. I often recommend subnetting a network if it is large or involves transferring information between multiple remote locations."
10. What information would you collect when creating an IT system analysis report for Cisco's IT environment?
How to Answer
This is an operational question that seeks to understand how you go about doing your job. When responding to an operational question, you should keep your answer brief and to the point. The Cisco interviewer will ask you a follow-up question if they need more information or want to explore the topic in more detail.
Answer Example
"When preparing an IT system analysis report, I seek data which will enable me to detail the operational specifications of Cisco's entire information technology environment. I would start by describing the organization's functional activities and the business processes and procedures used to manage its operations. I would then analyze the data flow, business scenarios, and how the Cisco employees, partners, and customers interface with their IT system. I'd complete the analysis by creating a comprehensive inventory of Cisco's IT assets, including hardware, software, and data."
11. What tools and strategies do you use to organize your team's work to best meet IT deliverables?
How to Answer
Organizing the work of the IT team and the projects they are working on requires a great deal of work. This can be simplified through the use of project management and productivity tools. The key is to have an organized approach to managing the team at Cisco, assigning each member tasks that they are qualified to complete and providing them with the resources needed to get the job done. The Cisco interviewer is interested in how you go about doing this, the tools you use, and whether those tools are the same ones their organization currently uses. Your research into Cisco and its practices before the interview will give you insight into how they manage their team's time and enable you to align your answer to their current practices.
Answer Example
"Managing my team's time and keeping everybody on schedule is a challenge. I've found that the best way to accomplish this is to use project management tools. These vary depending on the organization I am working with. Some of the tools I am most familiar with and have used in the past include Trello, Asana, Wrike, and Clarizen. Each of these tools has its features and benefits. Still, the common features include the ability to track individual team members, their assignments and projects, the capability of breaking projects down into individual tasks, alerts that tell me when a project or task is behind schedule, and a list of resources associated with each project. Having a dashboard to provide this information is invaluable and allows me to manage my team's time and keep our projects on schedule and under budget."
12. What steps do you take when you realize a project you are working on will miss a deadline?
How to Answer
Every information technology project or IT task has an associated timeline and end date. Missing a deadline not only reflects badly on the IT organization but may have a ripple effect on the entire company, imposing additional costs or possibly resulting in a loss of business. A key talent an IT engineer must possess is recognizing when a project is starting to fall behind schedule and taking steps to get it back on track. The Cisco interviewer will ask this question to understand how you accomplished this. When answering the question, you may want to provide an example of when you did this in a past job to illustrate your proficiency in keeping projects on schedule.
Answer Example
"The one thing that bothers me most in this profession is missing deadlines. I understand that sometimes outside circumstances impact a project's progress and can make it fall behind schedule. However, it is my responsibility to make sure that projects are completed on time and under budget. If I recognize that a project has fallen behind schedule, I analyze the cause and what is impacting the progress. I then collaborate with my team to develop solutions to put the project back on schedule. These may include working additional hours, applying extra resources to the project, adjusting the parameters and objectives of the project, or other measures. The key is to accomplish projects on time and under budget so Cisco has the resources they need to accomplish its goals."
13. How do you collaborate with the stakeholders you work with outside of IT to ensure that your team's work supports Cisco's overall business goals?
How to Answer
The mission of IT is to support the business functions of the organization. The ability to collaborate with stakeholders outside of the information technology organization is critical for this role. As an IT engineer, you need to work closely with the Cisco business unit leaders to understand their needs and provide the services required by them to reach their business objectives. Collaborating with other departmental leaders requires patience, clear communication, compromise, and the ability to promote the benefits IT brings to the organization.
Answer Example
"I clearly understand that the role of the information technology organization is to support the Cisco's business functions. To do this, I need to work closely with the other Cisco business unit leaders to understand their needs and recommend technology-based solutions to fulfill them. Clear and consistent communication is key to this objective. It begins with attentive listening and an awareness of their business challenges and what they're trying to accomplish. I then make recommendations for technology-based solutions which will help them achieve their goals. I often have to negotiate with them due to budget constraints, timelines, and other restrictions imposed by the business operations. I also need to promote the IT organization and the benefits we bring to the company to obtain the resources required to do our job."
14. Describe a Disaster Recovery plan you have created and how well it performed.
How to Answer
Disaster recovery is an important element of any information technology strategy. Having a disaster recovery plan in place will ensure that Cisco can continue to function and that the information it depends on will not be lost due to a minor event or major disaster. As a Cisco IT engineer, you should be very familiar with disaster recovery strategies and have participated in creating a DR plan or designed one yourself. Suppose you do not have direct experience in this area. In that case, you should still discuss the key elements of an effective disaster recovery plan and answer any questions the interviewer may have about it.
Answer Example
"In each of my previous roles, my team was responsible for creating an effective disaster recovery strategy. These involved redundant systems, replicating data, having both on-site and off-site DR systems, and creating a plan to allow the business users to access the information technology systems and data in the case of a disaster. We collaborated with the business unit leaders to create this plan, using their input as to what resources their users would need in a disaster and where they would access them from. In my most recent organization, we contracted with a backup organization that could provide workspaces for our users with all the IT systems they needed to do their jobs and access the backup servers, storage, and data in our DR facility."
15. Can you walk me through the steps you use to address a situation where productivity is decreasing?
How to Answer
Information technology systems are designed to increase the productivity of business users. If productivity is decreasing, you need to recognize this and react quickly to resolve it. The Cisco interviewer will ask you this question to ensure that you understand the importance of productivity within a business organization and that you have taken steps to maintain or improve productivity in the past. When responding to the question, begin with your understanding of the importance of productivity, discuss ways to recognize decreasing productivity, and talk about the steps you take to address this. Providing an example may help illustrate how you've been successful at this in the past.
Answer Example
"Not only do I carefully monitor and manage the information technology environment for which I am responsible, but I also work closely with the business organization to understand the productivity that the systems are providing to their users. If they feel that this productivity is decreasing, we take steps to measure this using metrics we previously agreed on. If productivity at Cisco was declining, I would assemble a team to investigate why this is occurring and develop solutions to address it. We should be able to quickly identify the root cause of a decrease in productivity and correct it using technology or by educating the Cisco users on the use of the systems we provide them."
16. In your opinion, what is the role of a Cisco IT engineer?
How to Answer
The Cisco interviewer will ask you this question early during the interview to learn more about you, understand your approach to this job, and collect information they can use throughout the interview. Your answer to this question should be based on your research before coming to the interview, especially the duties and responsibilities outlined in the job posting. The question also allows you to describe the key responsibilities you had in your previous positions.
Answer Example
"The role of a Cisco IT engineer is to optimize the performance of the information technology systems and software to enable the other departments within the organization to achieve their business objectives. The IT engineer needs to collaborate with other Cisco business leaders who understand their needs and recommend the technologies that will help address them. They also need to be available to support users across organizations when they have a question or need assistance."
17. How do you monitor and maintain systems to ensure maximum productivity?
How to Answer
Maintaining and monitoring systems is the key responsibility and duty of a Cisco IT engineer. Their job is to make sure that the systems and information technology resources are available to the business users and that they are functioning at their maximum productivity and performance levels. The Cisco interviewer seeks to understand the process you use to accomplish this, the tools you employ, and what, if any, downtime has occurred on the systems you have managed in your past roles. Be prepared for follow-up questions which the interviewer will use to dig deeper into this topic. It is 100% certain that you will be asked this question during the interview as an IT engineer.
Answer Example
"By far, most of my time as an IT engineer is spent monitoring and maintaining the information technology infrastructure, which includes the hardware, network, operating systems, and applications. Maintaining system uptime and making sure all the resources are available to the business users is the definition of my job. I do this in several ways. My preferred monitoring tool is the SolarWinds server and application monitoring suite. This provides me a unified dashboard of all the systems and processes. I can set parameters for performance that will generate alarms when the systems fall above or below the guidelines. I also perform regular maintenance on the systems even if they are within compliance to prevent future problems. These tasks range from simply cleaning the systems to running stress tests to make sure they will handle peak user loads. Taken together, the strategy has resulted in a 99.999% uptime for the information technology systems I managed for my previous employers."
18. How often do you think Cisco hardware systems need to be upgraded, and what criteria do you use to determine when to upgrade them?
How to Answer
System and software upgrades are a standard part of an IT engineer's job description. Determining the frequency of these upgrades is critical to keep the information technology systems running at peak performance while minimizing the costs associated with system upgrades. The Cisco interviewer will expect you to know this and describe the system you use to determine when hardware and software need to be upgraded and the most efficient way to accomplish this.
Answer Example
"Managing system and software upgrades is one of the more challenging aspects of my job as an IT engineer. While I would love to have the latest and greatest versions of the systems and software applications I manage, I recognize that this is not cost-effective. Additionally, the upgrade process itself impacts the availability of the systems and can reduce the productivity of the business users. Therefore, I maintain a detailed calendar of required system and software upgrades that I strictly adhere to. These vary depending on the lifecycle of the equipment and programs, the evolution of technology, and the users' needs. Some of the systems I manage have never been upgraded because doing so would not improve their performance or stability. Others, such as storage devices, are upgraded more frequently due to the availability of higher-performing systems with more capacity at a lower cost."
19. Do you have direct experience designing a piece of software or a hardware system? Can you describe it to me?
How to Answer
Typically, IT engineers are not directly involved in the design of a hardware system or software application. However, having this experience is beneficial because it gives you insight into these products, which will help you incorporate them into an IT strategy or support them if they fail. That is the purpose behind this question. The Cisco interviewer will favor candidates with this experience. If you don't have direct experience in this area, you may discuss any training you have had along these same lines.
Answer Example
"While I have never designed a piece of hardware or a software application, I do understand the process engineers who do this work use. It begins with a needs analysis to understand what the hardware or software must accomplish. The Cisco engineer then defines the functionality of the product and the user interface. Once these parameters are in place, the product design begins. Using the agile methodology, the design is reviewed at each stage of development, and any bugs are addressed. Before releasing the final product into production, the engineer will perform a beta test to ensure that the product functions as designed and accomplishes the task it was built for."
20. How would you handle a situation in which a Cisco IT engineer on your team wanted to use a design that you knew was inefficient or inappropriate for the project?
How to Answer
Unfortunately, confrontations with fellow workers, management, clients, or other project stakeholders are part of an IT engineer's job. What is critical is how you handle these confrontations and the steps you take to minimize and move past them. A Cisco interviewer will ask you about this to better understand your communication and negotiation skills and how you use these on the job. Not only should you be able to describe these to the interviewer, but you may want to provide them with a concrete example that demonstrates how these skills helped you to resolve a conflict and complete a task or project.
Answer Example
"If one of my Cisco team members approached me and wanted to use a design that I felt was inefficient or inappropriate for our project, the first thing I would do would be to listen to their suggestion and ask them for their rationale for using the design. If I still disagreed with them, I would calmly state this and describe why I felt we should not move forward with their suggestion. I might even provide an alternative that is close to their idea and work with the project we were currently engaged in. This typically works in most situations in which a teammate and I disagree on a design. If we could still not reach an agreement, I would suggest that we take our conversation to the project leader or another member of the management team and ask them to arbitrate."
21. How would you react if a key Cisco project stakeholder asked you to eliminate a safety-related item you included as part of your engineering plan?
How to Answer
Cisco project stakeholders will always have input into the elements of a project. However, they may not have a complete understanding of these elements. The IT engineer must take the time to defend the critical elements they believe need to be included in an IT project to ensure its desired outcome and maintain the safety of the equipment, environment, and users. The interviewer is seeking to understand that you are willing to confront the stakeholder when the stakes are high and can accomplish the objective without alienating your Cisco team members.
Answer Example
"One of the challenges in my job as an IT engineer is to collaborate with project stakeholders who may not have the intimate knowledge needed to properly assess the importance of each element of a project. If a Cisco stakeholder were to confront me about an issue they didn't think belonged in a project but was critical to the project's safety, I would first seek to understand why they feel this way. Once I understand their position, I would clearly and calmly describe why the element needs to remain as part of the project to ensure the safety of the hardware, environment, or Cisco users. If for some reason they would disagree with me and continue to insist that the element be removed, I would escalate the issue to my management team, providing my rationale for not changing the project parameters."
22. What steps do you take to check your work and ensure that you don't make any mistakes?
How to Answer
This question could stand alone or may be a follow-up question to something you've already been asked about during the interview with Cisco. Since the work done by an IT engineer is very exacting and precise, double-checking your work to avoid mistakes is a critical practice you need to incorporate into your job. Having a specific methodology for accomplishing this and describing it to the interviewer is critical to demonstrate your skills in this area.
Answer Example
"When working on a project or a specific IT task, I am careful to avoid making a mistake. However, I sometimes am distracted and may miss something. Therefore, before I complete a task and move on to something new, I double-check my work. Depending on the task I need to accomplish, there are several tools I use to do this. Spelling and grammar checkers such as Grammarly help review written documents, instructions, or manuals. When programming, several tools are available to review the code and point out any errors that may have occurred. There are similar tools for math calculations. Finally, depending on how critical the work is, I may have one of my Cisco peers review it before putting it into production or submitting it to management."
23. How will you recover when one of your Cisco teammates makes a serious mistake that impacts the project you are working on?
How to Answer
Everyone makes mistakes. The key to being successful in any profession is recovering from mistakes and moving forward. This is even more challenging when one of your peers or teammates makes a mistake and you are responsible for fixing it. The Cisco interviewer seeks to understand how you accomplish this without alienating the teammate while keeping the project on schedule. In addition to describing how you accomplish this, you should also be prepared to provide an example if the interviewer asks you a follow-up question.
Answer Example
"While I try to avoid making a mistake, it will happen on occasion. What is even more challenging is when one of my team members makes a mistake that impacts everyone. I recognize that it is not my responsibility to discipline the team member but rather to help correct the mistake as quickly as possible and get the project back on schedule. I've found the most effective way to accomplish this is to involve the person who made the mistake and collaborate on the solution. They usually recognize their error and have already begun thinking of a fix. Additionally, this becomes a learning experience for both of us. Once the issue is resolved, I document it in the operations manual in case it recurs."
24. Do you enjoy learning about new technology, and how do you stay current with developing trends in this industry?
How to Answer
The information technology industry is fast-moving, constantly evolving, and ever-changing. New technologies are developed on almost a daily basis, and keeping up with these can be daunting. To be a successful IT engineer, you have to learn about these new developments to have a specific plan to keep up with them. The Cisco interviewer wants to make sure that you are current with contemporary technology and will maintain your currency once hired. Be prepared to describe how you do this and some of the resources and tools to accomplish this task.
Answer Example
"One thing that attracted me to working with Cisco was the opportunity to learn new things daily. I enjoy expanding my knowledge on a variety of topics, but especially information technology. I have a few tools I use to stay up to date on developments in our industry. These include industry newsletters and blogs, technology magazines, information published by equipment and software vendors, industry conferences, and participating in local user groups. I will also spend time talking to my peers in the Cisco information technology organization and ask them about any new developments they are aware of."
25. How do you manage your and your team's time during an engineering project with tight deadlines?
How to Answer
Time management is a critical skill in every profession, but especially in the IT industry. Accomplishing projects on time is critical to the organization. Missed deadlines will cost the company money and result in downtime for the users, adding additional costs. In addition to confirming that you have time management skills and consider this important, you should have specific methodologies you use and can provide to the Cisco interviewer to demonstrate your ability to manage time and deliver projects on time and under budget.
Answer Example
"The ability to consistently deliver projects on time and under budget is something that I'm known for. I accomplish this by first understanding the task and setting reasonable expectations for the completion of it. Before commencing with a project, I break it down into individual tasks which need to be accomplished in a specific order and on a specific schedule. I then take responsibility for accomplishing this task or delegating it to somebody with the needed skill set. Finally, I regularly assess the team's progress against the schedule and make adjustments to complete the project on time. Tools I use to manage this process include pert charts and spreadsheets."
26. What experience do you have leading teams of IT Engineers?
How to Answer
Leadership skills are a key trait for any job. Even if the role does not directly involve leading a team, employers look for people with leadership skills. They are willing to help organize a group to attain a common objective. When discussing your leadership skills and experience, summarize your leadership style and explain how you will leverage this if hired by Cisco.
Answer Example
"While I've never formally held a leadership position in my past organizations, I am often selected by my management to lead projects or organize the other IT engineers. When asked to do this, I try to lead by example and am willing to roll up my sleeves and get directly involved with the project. I try to set clear and attainable objectives, make sure that the team understands these objectives, answer any questions the team may have, provide them with the resources they need, and then get out of their way and let them do their jobs. I make sure I am available to support them when they need it. This approach to leadership has resulted in my team and me accomplishing several successful projects."
27. What IT engineering challenges are you most passionate about, and why?
How to Answer
Employers like Cisco prefer to hire people who are passionate about the work they do. Discussing your passions and the challenges you enjoy working on will differentiate you from other people interviewing for this role. When discussing your passion for a particular IT challenge, don't be surprised if the Cisco interviewer asks you a follow-up question to dig deeper into the topic or obtain more information. You need to answer this question sincerely and enthusiastically, based on your experience in this role.
Answer Example
"My favorite engineering projects are those that contribute the most to the business objectives of the organization. I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labor put into practice and the results they obtain. I also like working on projects that test my intellect and experience and challenge me to develop innovative solutions to complex problems. The sense of accomplishment I feel from resolving an issue and moving the business process forward is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job."
28. How would you communicate technical concepts to Cisco project stakeholders or clients who don't have a technical background?
How to Answer
As an IT engineer, you need to remember that your work is meant to support Cisco's business functions. This requires you to collaborate and communicate with individuals from other departments within Cisco who may not have a strong technical background. The interviewer wants to ensure you can do this and learn about your methodology for communicating complex topics clearly and understandably.
Answer Example
"In my role as an IT engineer, I will be required to interface with people from across Cisco's organization. I assume that most of them do not have a strong technical background. Therefore, when I discuss complex IT subjects, I will use simple language and speak straightforwardly. I will avoid acronyms or using terms people outside of IT may not understand. I will also frequently stop to confirm that the other person understands what I'm telling them. Additionally, I've taken several business courses which have provided me the ability to understand how companies function so I will be able to integrate IT concepts into Cisco's business practices and processes."
29. Can you describe the most challenging engineering project you have ever worked on and how you overcame the obstacles you encountered?
How to Answer
This question has two parts. The first is to understand the scope of the work you do and the challenges you face in the role of an IT engineer. The second is to learn about your problem-solving methodology and how you approach challenging issues. The project you describe should align with the needs of Cisco. The steps you used to overcome the challenge should be systematic and applicable to similar challenges you are likely to face if hired by Cisco. Make sure to give credit to other team members and outside resources that helped you resolve the issue to demonstrate your teamwork skills.
Answer Example
"The most challenging IT engineering project I worked on involved migrating a data center to a hosted cloud environment. This required a great deal of planning to ensure that the migration occurred without any loss of data or a reduction in the organization's productivity. My team and I outlined each step of the migration in great detail and leveraged the resources of the hosted cloud organization during the planning phase. We followed the plan and had contingency plans in place when executing the migration in case an unforeseen issue occurred. The migration went smoothly and was performed over a holiday weekend to avoid downtime for the business users. We provisioned backup and redundant systems, so no data was lost. Migrating the data center to the cloud saved the organization almost 50% of its annual operating budget."
30. What are the key qualities a Cisco IT engineer should possess?
How to Answer
This is an opening question the Cisco interviewer will use to start the conversation and understand your skills, experience, and background. Your answer to this question will indicate what qualities you feel are important and are likely to possess. If you have reviewed both your resume and the job posting, you should be able to easily answer this question using the qualities outlined in both of these documents.
Answer Example
"In addition to having the appropriate technical skills needed to perform this job, I feel some of the key qualities an IT engineer here at Cisco should possess include persistence, patience, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate and communicate with non-technical individuals. These qualities enable the IT engineer to perform the job and support the organization's business units effectively."