What types of requirements do you gather when you start working on a new project?

"When initiating a new project, there are three types of requirements I seek to understand. These include user, technical, and functional requirements. The technical requirements include details such as the required hardware, network equipment, and software applications. The functional requirements address how these systems interface with each other. Finally, the user requirements help me understand how people will interact with the systems and what tasks they are trying to accomplish."

This operational question seeks to understand your planning process when starting a new project or implementing a new design. Computer systems analysts should have definite processes they use to plan, initiate, and execute projects. Typically, these are documented and placed in manuals, which can be referred to when new projects arise or to train new personnel. Being able to describe the requirements you use will demonstrate your qualifications for this role.

"After conducting the preliminary investigation, presenting, and getting approved the business case I move to the requirements gathering phase. Whether we are engaging in a structured approach or an agile methodology I like to use the acronym FURPS + DIIP when gathering requirements or user stories. It stands for Functionality, Usability, Reliability, Performance, Supportability, Design, Interface, Implementation, and Physical. Functionality addresses the functional requirements, the URPS addresses non-functional requirements while DIIP addresses constraints. This allows me to cover the solution from most angles, is key to note that the solution doesn't need to address each one. Example: A small webserver hosted on AWS has no physical constraints."

Do you have experience designing a new system with limited resources?

"In my last job, the IT budget was frozen for 12 months, but the team was still expected to implement new systems while keeping the existing ones performing at high levels. In one specific instance, I was asked to develop a plan that would expand the network's capacity without adding any additional devices or resources. After analyzing the network usage, I came up with a scheme that would create several subnets. These would direct traffic to specific network areas, which had the most resources and reroute traffic around busy hardware. This enabled me to achieve the goal while preventing the company from having to upgrade the network."

This question is addressing your experience in your previous roles as a computer systems analyst. In today's environment, companies are always looking to do more with less. Being able to describe how you accomplished this effectively and efficiently will help you establish your job qualifications. You should be able to provide a specific example of how you accomplished this.

"Back at ****, I was tasked with creating a 24hrs help desk system I was given an extra 25% budget and asked to deliver 3 times as much coverage. Given these constraints I decided to conduct the preliminary investigation, during this phase the obvious became apparent, I needed to be creative and encounter a way to deliver high-quality service at a far lower cost per interaction. With management approval I went ahead and had my team create a library of self-help media, Also I hired a call center that would have agents trained by us and deliver 24hrs of coverage as a Tier 1 support while re-training my help desk to assume a tier 2 role. After implementation, I was able to reduce the cost per interaction from $11 to $2.50, delivering round-the-clock coverage and staying within budget. While increasing student satisfaction by 8%."

What are some of the differences between functional and non-functional requirements?

"The functional requirements of a system describe what the system should do. The non-functional requirements address how the system performs or operates. For example, functional requirements can include authentication, transactions, administrative functions, and other system processes. Non-functional requirements may include security, performance levels, scalability of the system, and capacity. Both elements are needed to properly design and provision a computer system."

This technical question is asking you to compare two similar but different terms. When comparing to technical items, you should first define them, discuss their differences, and then provide examples of how they are used. This will ensure that you're answering the question completely and addressing the interviewer's inquiry. As always, be prepared for follow-up questions.

"Functional requirements address the basics needed for a given product or solution to deliver its deliverable. While non-functional requirements address the: usability, reliability, performance, and supportability of the product or solution. An example of a functional requirement is for a car to start and move while a non-functional is for the car to have seat belts or red brake lights."

Please explain the process you use to analyze an existing computer system.

"When analyzing an existing computer system, the first thing I do is to audit the system to discover all the resources, components, and elements it is using. The next step is to speak with the users to fully understand their tasks and the information they need the system to produce. Finally, I audit the system software to be aware of all the programs it is running, the revision levels, and the licenses associated with them. I can then formulate an analysis that fully describes the system and comments about its ability to perform the tasks required by the users."

This operational question seeks to explore your experience in analyzing existing systems, as well as your knowledge of the protocols associated with systems analysis. During an interview, it is important that you listen to the interviewer's question in its entirety before formulating your answer. It is common for candidates to begin to think about the answer before the interviewer has completed the question. This may result in you not answering the question completely or thinking you understand the question and providing an answer that is not relevant. Be careful to avoid this pitfall.

"When analyzing a computer system is important to consider the whole as well as its components and the interaction of those components among each other. Back at ****, I was tasked with leading the upgrade of our learning platform. Upon analyzing the system I noted that the task was not only the actual software upgrade but to train the end-users on the new GUI and ensure that the information won't get corrupted on the process. Therefore I set out to create a phased implementation, running both systems in parallel and managing a phased approach. First I rolled it out to the early adopters then to those excited by it yet slightly scared by the change, and at last those more skeptics. This allowed allocating resources to train end-users and support personnel on the new software before their go-live date. In addition, I created the proper provisions to ensure that there was no impact on the system availability by choosing the end-year holidays to perform the upgrade. As a result not only we had a seamless transition but our end-user engagement increased by 10% and our help desk requests lowered by 5% since we reused the training material to create self-help guides for the users."

What experience do you have managing computer programming projects?

"As you may have noticed in my resume, I have a great deal of experience managing computer programming projects. In my current role, I have managed projects, including updating the CRM System, creating a program that tracks software usage, and developing a database used in conjunction with the company's ERP system."

This is a direct question about your experience with a specific task required by this position. Even though you have presented your resume to the hiring manager, the person interviewing you may not have read it or wants to explore it in more detail. Being familiar with your resume, LinkedIn profile, and other information the interviewer may have access to will help you answer this question to align with the information they may already have.

Can you describe the difference between SSH and SSL?

"Both SSL and SSH are encryption technologies which help to secure communications between two or more systems. SSH stands for 'secure shell' and uses a specific port to connect the systems. SSL stands for 'secure sockets layer' and commonly uses port 443. SSH is typically used by network administrators when they are logging in remotely. SSL is used to transmit secure information such as financial data, company proprietary information, or confidential user information."

You should recognize this as a technical question since it asks you to define terms and describe the differences between them. When answering this type of technical question, first define each term. The next step is to describe how they differ from each other. Finally, you may want to provide an example of how each item is used in your profession. This methodology ensures that your answer will be complete and will address the question the interviewer has asked.

"SSH(Secure Shell) was invented to replace Telnet, which uses port 22. While SSL (Now TLS 1.3) is a protocol used to encapsulate in a secure manner (encrypting) other protocols such FTP [the one I believe you were aiming here], HTTP, etc. HTTP with SSL operates out of port 443 while FTP with SSL (FTPS) operates out of 989,990 ports."

How important is maintaining accurate registration of the software?

"It is critical to maintain accurate registration information about the software and organization utilizes for several reasons. These include ensuring that the software is legitimate and is accompanied by an authorized license, knowing the revision level of the software, understanding who is authorized to use the product, and to be able to retrieve the information to submit a warranty claim or purchase an upgrade or additional licenses."

This is a follow-up question to one you previously answered. Interviewers will ask follow-up questions to explore a topic in more detail or collect additional information about a subject. You should always be prepared for follow-up questions. Keeping your original answers brief and to the point will encourage the interviewer to ask a follow-up question if they have a specific interest in a topic.

"Maintaining proper licenses of the software being used in the organization is essential. Using software with expired licenses could open your organization to legal liability, lack of vendor support, no security updates, and loss of key functionality. On my team once every 6 months we sat down and analyze that all the software we use for our operations is current, relevant and we create calendar entries to alert us 90 days prior to the software's renewal."

How do you approach record-keeping for the software you manage?

"When developing a system to maintain records about the software I manage, I use a simple spreadsheet maintained on a collaboration tool such as Google Documents. The information I record includes the software's name, vendor information, when it was originally acquired, the systems that it is installed on, the current version level, and any serial numbers or other identification for the product."

Accurate documentation and record-keeping is a critical skill every computer systems analyst should possess. This contributes to maintaining a safe and secure It environment, being able to train new hires quickly and efficiently, restore systems if there is an outage or when data is deleted, and track software licensing and hardware revision levels. Since this is an operational question, make sure to keep your answer short and to the point.

"I have a small database that holds all the attributes (version, license status, RPO, RTO, Etc) about our current software and hardware. We periodically refer back to it to keep it updated and compare against it when conducting usage reviews, inventory, scanning network topology, reviewing licenses, and performing upgrades on the systems."

What are some of the software usage policies you have implemented in your previous jobs?

"I have developed and implemented several different software usage policies in my previous positions. These include not allowing users to add personal software to the organization's systems, preventing users from attaching external storage devices to the network, making sure that users do not use the company's systems to post information to social media sites, and not sharing company confidential information over unencrypted networks."

This operational question is inquiring into the type of tools, policies, and procedures you used in prior positions. The interviewer seeks to understand if you have direct experience with the type of procedures and policies they employ or can contribute new ideas to their operations. This is a case where your pre-interview research can help you be prepared to answer the question. Additionally, you should not share anything proprietary to a previous employer.

"During my time at ****, It was brought to my attention by management that some employees were using social media inappropriately during business hours. I was given the task to just end any misuse of the computing systems. Given the task, I went ahead and drafted a social media use policy, an acceptable use policy, and a firewall policy, blocking social media sites on the edge of the network. After approval, I proceeded to implement a communications plan to educate the staff about the new social media and acceptable use policies. After the 90 days campaign, we had very positive results, productivity went up by 7%, cases of missuses went down by 85%, and the company's exposure to potentially damming content on social media was reduced tremendously."

What is a spoofed packet, and how can it impact an organization's network?

"A spoofed packet is an IP packet that originates from a counterfeit IP address. Although it behaves like a legitimate and authentic packet, it is malicious. Hackers use spoofed packets to defeat a network's security and launch threats such as denial of service attacks. Computer systems analyst and network operators can detect these using various tools available in the open market."

This is a technical question asking you to define a specific term and describe how it is used in your role as a computer systems analyst. During the interview, the majority of your questions will be technical or operational. Both types of questions help the interviewer understand your qualifications and your experience doing this job. Make sure you keep your answers short and to the point. This will encourage the interviewer to ask a follow-up question if they want to explore the topic in more detail.

"Basically, a malicious actor sends a packet from his/her computer that has been manipulated to seem like it comes from another computer. This can be exploited in various ways one of them is an Amplified DDOS. In this attack the attacker sends a request to a DNS server pretending to be the victim's machine, when this is done at scale the attacker can amplify the bandwidth directed to the victim by a factor 20x,50x, or more. Also spoofed packages are used in some Man In The Middle Attacks."

Can you define sub-netting and discuss how it is used to manage an IT infrastructure?

"Sub-netting is the practice of partitioning or segmenting a portion of the TCP/ IP network into distinct and separate segments. The purpose of this is to improve the network's performance and make the network easier to manage."

When asked to define the term or concept, you should recognize the question as being technical. Technical questions should be addressed briefly and directly, without any embellishment. You should also anticipate follow-up questions after you responded to the interviewer. A series of follow-up questions indicates that this topic is important to the organization and permits you to expand your answers.

"Sub-nets as the name implies are Sub Networks. The use of subset is essential for maintaining a network and keeping it secure. For example in a school you may encounter the staff sub-net and the student sub-net, this approach not only helps when managing devices, since you can apply certain configurations in a blanket manner to all devices on the sub-net, but it impedes any malicious actor with access to the student network to jump and compromise the staff's network. A few decades ago before the invention of the Vlans, the primary and only method of logically isolating devices or groups of devices was using sub-nets. Still, in today's landscape sub-nets are essential to ensure you don't have a flat network vulnerable to malicious actors jumping from box to box in your network."

What are the key elements of software auditing?

"Throughout my career, I've learned several best practices involving software auditing. Some of the elements I investigate when performing this task include: ensuring that all the software is at the current or appropriate revision level, that each user has a license to utilize the software, ensuring that there are no malicious or unauthorized pieces of software on the system, and making sure that each user is authorized to access a particular application."

Auditing software is another function performed by the Computer Systems analyst. Being familiar with this practice and being able to describe the critical elements is key to establishing your qualifications for this role. This is another example of a technical question, so you should make sure that your answer is directed to the point. You should also anticipate follow-up questions meant to explore this topic in more detail.

Can you describe your experience creating and enforcing software usage policies and discuss why are they are important?

"I have a great deal of experience creating and enforcing software usage policies. These are important because they protect the organization and the users. Some of the policies I've created include only using software authorized and purchased by the organization, making sure that each user has a license to use the software, not sharing logins or passwords, and not installing personal software on the organization systems."

This operational question is meant to explore your experience with this specific activity. Interviewers will ask operational questions about the type of work you will be doing for the organization if they decide to hire you. Your pre-interview research should indicate their expectations and the duties you will be expected to perform in this job. This will help you prepare for questions like this. You should be able to discuss the operations you perform and give examples of how you did this for your previous employers.

Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

"In one of my previous roles, I encountered a situation in which there was a potential security threat to one of our systems. The threat was new and something we had not seen before. To resolve the issue, I needed to employ a new and untested technology solution. I decided to utilize the technology since the risk involved was less than what was posed by the security threat. My team and I implemented the solution after having backed up the system. This resulted in the system being secured and the organization adopting the new technology as a standard fix for this type of issue."

This is a behavioral question that an interviewer will ask to determine whether you act conservatively or are a risk-taker. As a computer systems analyst, it is best to maintain a balance between both extremes. While you need to be innovative and adapt to new technologies to resolve the challenges you encounter, you also need to maintain the stability and security of the computer systems you manage. Your answer to this question should reflect your ability to do this.

"I'm a big believer in risk-adjusted returns. For example, during my time at ***, I was leading the project of implementing the new version of the learning platform. I was asked to release 2 months prior to the initial agreed-upon go-live date. I was recommended to skip the testing phase. My options were whether to implement late and get into trouble with management or implement with no testing and suffer the potential consequences of buggy software. Given the stakes, I decided to negotiate with management moving from a full deployment as initially requested to a phased approach. I selected a relatively inconsequential academic division to start my phased approach. This allowed us to meet management's demand while affording the time to perfect the system before total adoption. In this manner saving the institution from a potentially catastrophic situation."

Why is it important to maintain accurate documentation of the systems you manage?

"It is critically important to maintain accurate documentation of the systems, network infrastructure, and software I manage. This helps our team to quickly resolve issues and makes it easier when the systems need to be replaced or upgraded. It also creates a history of the systems, which is helpful when new people are brought into the organization. The types of documentation I maintain include user requirements, data flow diagrams, and network topography designs."

This is an example of an operational question. Operational questions help the interviewer understand how you go about doing your job in this role. Just like technical questions, operational questions should be answered directly and briefly. You should always anticipate follow-up questions when you provide an answer to the interviewer. Follow-up questions indicate that the interviewer wants to explore the topic in more detail or has a specific interest in this area.

"I believe that maintaining accurate and updated documentation of systems is essential to the proper functioning of the organization. The most common pitfall I've seen is that most techs believe that "I'll remember it later" or fail to appreciate the importance of documenting their work to allow the rest of the team to trace it back in the case of you not being there during an outage. During my first few months at ***, I used to receive feedback from my help desk techs since they considered my rather constant reminders to provide accurate documentation an annoyance. After a Sev1 outage we had, in which the tech responsible was not available, we were able to recover the system quickly thanks to the tech's note, since then the team understood that documentation is part of the process and not something expendable. I believe that documentation showcases its value the most on the implementation phase of projects, if proper process and requirements documentation doesn't take place in the early stages the chances of the project just blowing up once the implementation phase starts are greatly increased ."

Can you describe what a DHCP server is and why they are useful for administering computer networks?

"A DHCP server is a device that manages the configuration details for all the computers and devices within the network infrastructure. DHCP stands for a dynamic host configuration protocol. An example of how this is used is when there are many systems across the network that perform the same specific task, they will normally be grouped and placed within a network infrastructure subnet. The DHCP server manages this."

This is an example of a technical question. During your interview as a computer systems analyst, you should anticipate that most of the questions will be technical or operational. These help the interviewer understand your qualifications and your ability to perform in this role. Technical questions are best answered directly and briefly. The interviewer will ask a follow-up question if they need additional information.

"A DHCP server dynamic serves IP addresses for devices on the network. They are key since the other alternative when not having a DHCP server is to manually assign the IP addresses on the devices on any network of more than 5-10 devices this becomes quite a hassle. Especially for mobile devices and, BYOD approaches."

Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the ongoing changes in the industry.

"The technology industry is constantly changing. Staying up to date with current developments is a key requirement for my profession. I dedicate time every day to this task. Methods I use to accomplish this include reading industry journals, meeting with manufacturers and product developers, and networking with my peers to discuss new developments they have become aware of. I try to incorporate what I learn into the work I do."

Hiring managers will always select candidates who are qualified for the position. They also look for individuals who continue to increase their knowledge and stay current on the topics required for them to do their job. You should have a formal plan for maintaining your competency in your profession and be able to describe it when requested.

"I always make sure to sign up for industry-relevant webinars about new products and development in technology. Also at ****, as a way to increase team engagement, I invented Teaching Thursdays, basically every week we schedule an hour (On Thursdays) and a selected member of the team has to teach the rest about something new within their area of expertise. Ex: our network's person talks about the latest Meraki router Cisco is coming up with, I usually make it about some new efficiency that has come up. For example last week I watched a presentation about Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and as a way to consolidate knowledge I educated the team on it."

Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?

"During a recent downturn in our industry, the IT department's budget was frozen, and we were asked to do more with the same resources. After a quick analysis, I realized that there was additional capacity on most of our systems. I put together a task force to determine what additional functionality we could add to the systems without impacting current processes. We developed a set of recommendations that would enable the company to add both people and processes to the organization without expanding the IT infrastructure. This resulted in cost savings exceeded 20%, which was added to the department's next fiscal year's budget."

This behavioral question asks you to provide details of an accomplishment you achieved in one of your previous jobs. When answering behavioral questions, you should use the STAR framework. This helps you organize your answer and tell a story that the interviewer can relate to. The example you describe should align with the type of work you will be doing for the organization if you are hired.

"In my previous position, I realized that the help desk team was still using an email address to address tickets with no ticketing software. When I brought up the issue to management, I was told that there were no funds to implement a ticketing system. So, I decided to create one using the tools we had already purchased. Using MS Power Automate, I created a ticketing submission and response system that included the capacity to track ticket speed and quantity per help-desk employee. This reduced the wait time to resolve a ticket from 18 to 12 minutes, saving over 50K in payroll yearly."

What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?

"I was once asked to provide a cost-benefit analysis of a new technology the company was considering implementing. Unfortunately, I was unfamiliar with the technology and didn't have any direct experience with it. Therefore, it was difficult for me to analyze the benefits and quantify them. My solution was to contact the vendor and to see if they had already performed a similar analysis. They had and were willing to step me through it, so I could better understand the benefits of their technology. They even had a tool that allowed me to customize the analysis with our organization's specific details. This enabled me to complete a cost-benefit analysis accurately and on time."

No one likes to discuss times they were challenged or even failed at a task. However, interviewers know that everybody encounters these situations. The key to answering this question is demonstrating how you successfully overcame a difficult situation or a significant challenge. This is the response the interviewer is looking for. Many people operate under the belief that there are no failures, only opportunities to learn and improve.

"Over time I've developed a little algorithm to deal with unfamiliar situations. First I assess my level of familiarity with the topic (I have some recollection, I only recognized it or I'm new to it ). With that in hand, I proceed to first search it up and locate some useful materials, and read them. If after a while that proves not enough I reach out to a colleague that is comfortable with the topic and I engage in active listening mode, taking notes. After that, I re-review the material and summarize it in my notebook. An example of this was when I was tasked to create a new data retention policy for the institution. Although I'm familiar with data regulations such as the GDPR, SOX, HIPPA, and COPPA. I understood that my margin of error was zero thus I went ahead and researched information about FERPA, Title IV, and other industry guidelines and recommendations. I drafted the policy and as a failsafe, I consulted with our attorney before recommending the policy for implementation."

Tell me about a time that you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened?

"I frequently collaborate with high-performance teams of computer professionals. Occasionally, conflicts arise due to differences in opinions or approaches to resolving an issue. When this happens, I first seek to understand the other person's perspective. I then clearly state my position and see if we can reach an agreement on our own. If we are unable to do this, I recommend that we escalate the issue to our manager, who is typically able to resolve it to both of our satisfaction."

The ability to collaborate with a team is critical to just about any job, especially for computer system analysts. Team dynamics can often be challenging, and inevitably there will be conflicts. Your ability to manage these and accomplish the task at hand is critical. You should be able to describe a situation where you had a conflict with a difficult team member and resolved it professionally and productively.

"When working as a systems analyst, I was handed a team that lacked cohesion. I realized that my main task was to change the team's culture from divisive to collaborative. I decided to change the roles and tasks assigned to avoid conflict, clarifying the expectations the organization had for each member. To increase collaboration, we started using an MS planner. Now, in our morning huddle, each member clarifies the tasks he/she must complete that day. The tasks and their progress are visible to the entire team. After three months, productivity increased by 45%."

Some people consider themselves to be 'big picture people,' and others are 'detail-oriented.' Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.

"As a computer systems analyst, it is helpful to both understand the big picture while being very attentive to the small details. This enables you to resolve issues quickly while ensuring that your solutions do not have any unintended consequences. I believe I possess both of these qualities. An example of this was when I was asked to examine a new process and determine what other systems may conflict with it. I needed to understand how the process fit into the organization's overall operations while also being aware of how it may impact existing processes and procedures. My analysis determined that the process would not only improve the organization's operational efficiency, but it would also allow us to eliminate several other redundant tasks. This saved the organization 10% of its operational budget for the year."

Any time an interviewer asks you to give them an example, you should identify the question as being behavioral. This indicates that your answer should be formatted using the STAR framework. You state the situation, discuss the task you need to accomplish, describe the actions you took, and highlight the results. Your answer should align with the job requirements when being asked to choose between having a big picture perspective or being attentive to details.

"At large enterprises due to economies of scale is easy to be focused on whether the big picture or the details. At small and medium organizations is difficult to afford such luxury. Back at **** my boss and I were brought to drive the digital transformation of the university. I invested my first year at the strategic, and initiative horizons working on the institution's 5-year plan for its transformation. After that, I had to change my mindset from a big picture one to a technical and detail oriented one (the most exciting part), as my role evolved into the solutions horizon. I lead the technical and administrative implementation of over 10 solutions; addressing the strategic long-term goals of the institution. As a result, I gained new skills such as SQL and a deeper understanding of the underlying day-to-day process of running a business. This allowed me to help the organization by always having the "big picture" end goal in mind when tackling technical and detail-oriented solutions."

Have you ever been in a position where you had to lead a group of peers? How did you handle it?

"I am often asked to lead a group of my peers due to the leadership skills I learned in my previous jobs. An example of this was when I was designated to lead a team of other computer systems analysts on a project involving an OS upgrade. We had to determine which applications would be affected by the upgrade and how to mitigate any undesired impacts. I delegated a subset of the applications to each of the team members to analyze. After the analysis was complete, we compared the results and noted any common issues. We then created an implementation plan which addressed these. The result was that the OS upgrade went smoothly, and none of the identified applications were impacted."

This is a behavioral question that seeks to understand your collaboration and leadership skills. Behavioral questions ask you about previous situations and how you reacted to them. The best way to answer a behavioral question is by using the STAR framework. This involves four steps; First, you state the Situation, then discuss the Task you needed to achieve. The next step is to describe the Actions you took, followed by a brief description of the Results you achieved.

"Back at **** in my position as a systems analyst, I would have the help desk under my supervision. Quickly I understood that was essential for me to gain every individual's trust and make the team trust each other. The first week I decided to spend half a day with each one and made quite the effort to relate to them as a peer and not come off as a "boss". During the following weeks, I proceeded to pair them up in teams, Ex: Team A composed of Albert and Marie would spend half a day doing Albert's job and the other half doing Marie's job. This exercise allowed for all team members to become sympathetic with each other's job and the team as a whole while cross-training too. As a result not only did they open themselves more to each other but they became far more inclined to heed to my instructions. This allowed me to restructure the flow of work within the department and reassign the job duties of most of them thus increasing productivity by 35% within the first 45 days, with no internal dissent or push back."

What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result?

"A new idea that I developed while working for a previous organization was to create a new workflow for a repetitive task my team had to perform. This involved software updates and ensuring that the organization was only paying for licenses it was using. The idea was to build an application that collected this information and allowed the team to update it using mobile apps. This enabled them to keep the information current from wherever they were working. I based this idea on a collaboration tool I learned about at a local computer users group meeting."

Organizations like to hire individuals who are innovative and willing to learn new things. This question seeks to determine if you have these qualifications. When discussing a new idea that you developed and implemented, it should align with the responsibilities of the role for which you are interviewing. This will demonstrate that you will be able to solve challenging problems using innovative solutions when hired for this position.

What goal have you set for yourself that you have successfully achieved?

"A goal that I set for myself early in my career was to attain six crucial certifications that I believed a qualified computer systems analyst should have. I gave myself one year to accomplish this. I worked hard at this objective, taking both in-person and online courses in the evenings and on weekends. I was able to achieve the six certifications I had identified within nine months. This led to me being promoted and taking on additional responsibilities at my current organization."

The ability to set and achieve goals is a key qualification for an employee. Employers prefer candidates who can give examples of having done this. When preparing for an interview, you should carefully read the job description and understand the goals and objectives of the role. You should then prepare brief stories about when you were able to achieve similar objectives in your previous jobs.

What do you consider to be your professional strengths? Give me a specific example using this attribute in the workplace.

"My professional strengths include attention to detail, focus on outcomes, the ability to collaborate across the organization, and strong leadership skills. An example of these is when I identified a bug in a piece of code my team and I were implementing. My attention to detail allowed me to do this effectively."

In just about any interview, you will be asked about your strengths and your weaknesses. You can prepare for this question by listing both on the sheet of paper and practicing presenting them to the interviewer. When answering a question about your strengths, the examples you provide should align with the requirements noted in the job description for which you are interviewing. When discussing your weaknesses, they should either not be related to the job or items you are working to correct or have already done.

"I believe that among my competitive advantages the most important ones are my sense of responsibility and my capacity to talk to different stakeholders from diverse backgrounds on their own terms. For example is often the case in which I must explain technical concepts to management, to do this I must use terms and examples that are familiar to them, usually in the finance realm. When talking with my team I must translate management's business requirements into technical objectives that are easy to understand and actionable for them. This allows me to be the nexus among the different stakeholders and achieve organizational harmony. An example of this is last week, I was proposing an SSO solution that aims to consolidate all different logins faculty and students use into one set of credentials with a single main portal. To express the concept to the dean, who is a fan of Norse mythology, I explained that the SSO platform was like Heimdall the gatekeeper who allows or denies access to those looking to enter into Asgar (our systems) . The solution was approved before I left his office ."

Computer Systems Analyst Interview Questions

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1. What types of requirements do you gather when you start working on a new project?
2. Do you have experience designing a new system with limited resources?
3. What are some of the differences between functional and non-functional requirements?
4. Please explain the process you use to analyze an existing computer system.
5. What experience do you have managing computer programming projects?
6. Can you describe the difference between SSH and SSL?
7. How important is maintaining accurate registration of the software?
8. How do you approach record-keeping for the software you manage?
9. What are some of the software usage policies you have implemented in your previous jobs?
10. What is a spoofed packet, and how can it impact an organization's network?
11. Can you define sub-netting and discuss how it is used to manage an IT infrastructure?
12. What are the key elements of software auditing?
13. Can you describe your experience creating and enforcing software usage policies and discuss why are they are important?
14. Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?
15. Why is it important to maintain accurate documentation of the systems you manage?
16. Can you describe what a DHCP server is and why they are useful for administering computer networks?
17. Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the ongoing changes in the industry.
18. Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?
19. What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?
20. Tell me about a time that you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened?
21. Some people consider themselves to be 'big picture people,' and others are 'detail-oriented.' Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
22. Have you ever been in a position where you had to lead a group of peers? How did you handle it?
23. What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result?
24. What goal have you set for yourself that you have successfully achieved?
25. What do you consider to be your professional strengths? Give me a specific example using this attribute in the workplace.

Computer Systems Analyst Interview Questions

1. What types of requirements do you gather when you start working on a new project?

2. Do you have experience designing a new system with limited resources?

3. What are some of the differences between functional and non-functional requirements?

4. Please explain the process you use to analyze an existing computer system.

5. What experience do you have managing computer programming projects?

6. Can you describe the difference between SSH and SSL?

7. How important is maintaining accurate registration of the software?

8. How do you approach record-keeping for the software you manage?

9. What are some of the software usage policies you have implemented in your previous jobs?

10. What is a spoofed packet, and how can it impact an organization's network?

11. Can you define sub-netting and discuss how it is used to manage an IT infrastructure?

12. What are the key elements of software auditing?

13. Can you describe your experience creating and enforcing software usage policies and discuss why are they are important?

14. Give me an example of when you took a risk to achieve a goal. What was the outcome?

15. Why is it important to maintain accurate documentation of the systems you manage?

16. Can you describe what a DHCP server is and why they are useful for administering computer networks?

17. Tell us how you keep your job knowledge current with the ongoing changes in the industry.

18. Describe a project or idea that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role? What was the outcome?

19. What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?

20. Tell me about a time that you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened?

21. Some people consider themselves to be 'big picture people,' and others are 'detail-oriented.' Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.

22. Have you ever been in a position where you had to lead a group of peers? How did you handle it?

23. What new or unusual ideas have you developed on your job? How did you develop them? What was the result?

24. What goal have you set for yourself that you have successfully achieved?

25. What do you consider to be your professional strengths? Give me a specific example using this attribute in the workplace.