Computing & IT Interview Questions & Answers

I attended an interview at The Hut Group headquarters on 19/06/2013 with the Service Delivery Manager (Andrea) and the IT Manager (Neil) which lasted around 35 minutes. The room that was booked for the interview was still occupied when we arrived so I got a chance to have an informal chat with Andrea which was nice as it gave me a chance to calm down. When we sat down, we discussed my CV, previous employment, my education, achievements and skills. I was asked a series of questions including what I could bring to the company, why I applied for the role and what I thought the company could offer me.

The interview was a lot more relaxed than others that I have had and I felt very welcome.

If two high ranking employees submitted an urgent helpdesk ticket at the same time that needed to be addressed immediately, which one would you do first and why?

Prepare! I was asked to give my impressions and to give some information about the company that I wouldn't have been able to answer if I hadn't done any research beforehand. I looked at the company's website, my interviewer's LinkedIn pages and recent press releases/financial information which turned out to be very useful. Also, look into the common interview questions that are asked and practice giving your answers to another person so it doesn't sound like your reading from a script. Bring along a copy of your CV as well, as the interviewer may not have it with them. Arrive early, as it may be difficult to find a parking space (I had this problem at my interview).

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I first encountered the company at a graduate fair where I spoke to a manager, we spoke about computers and what the company did and he invited me to an assessment day that was taking place the following day.
At the assessment day myself and two other candidates were shown a video about the company and then they had a slideshow which gave more information about the company, what they do, what their values are and brief introductions to the senior managers. We were then free to ask questions before we moved on to a short test, there were 30 questions based on english, maths and general logic skills, we had 13 minutes to complete it. After that there was a one on one interview, I met with an IT technician who asked me about why I was interested in the position and what particular area I wanted to specialize in. He also asked some questions about dealing with angry customers and other questions which I was expected to answer by mentioning previous experience.
After that I received a phone call telling me I had gotten through the first round and asking me to come back in the following week. At this second interview I completed a short psychometric test and the met with the managing director. He spoke about my test results and asked me why I wanted to work in this particular field. After that I met with the CEO and a linux technician, they asked why I was interested in the role and asked if I would be able to complete qualifications in Linux, this interview only lasted a short time and at the end I was offered a job.

When I told the CEO about my university results (a 2.1) he asked what went wrong. He was joking but it was still hard to think of an answer.

Remain calm, chat with everyone around you and for this company just be yourself, they overlooked my lack of experience because of my personality so you don't have to worry if you've never done the work before as long as you're willing to learn.

Other than the tests I mentioned as part of the interviews there was no other assessment.

My telephone interview lasted around 10-15 minutes, however it was cut short as I discovered that I would be required to be geographically flexiable and unfortuanly I can only stay within Manchester area. Apart from that, they sound a phenomenal company to work for and I believe that the interview went well, up until that point.

It wasn't a difficult question but I was asked what the graduate scheme included and what the company's past is. (typical telephone interview questions). However, with the correct research this should be easy to answer. Always do the revision on the company and the scheme.

Research as much as you physically can. Have about a page of notes ready and try to think of questions they may answer. Google 'Telephone Interview Questions' look through and figure out what you think may be right or wrong for the company and write the answer. If it doesn't get asked, no matter only a little time wasted, if they ask a question you are not prepared for, you may not get the job.

I did not attend so I cannot answer.

The initial telephone interview lasted 30 minutes and consisted of general questions about myself and why i wanted to work for the company. This was with a member of the graduate recruitment team.

The assessment centre interview was conducted on a one on one basis and included several different topics of questions. The topics ranged from management styles to how I would/have handle a variety of situations. The interview lasted roughly 45-50 minutes. This interview was with a member of the hiring department.

Describe a time where you solved a problem creatively and the steps that were involved with this.

- I found this questions quite difficult to answer as I have not had much experience in the I.T industry, which made it difficult to think of an answer that was relevant.

Mainly to be yourself as this is what they want to see the most, how you would handle things. Be confident in your answers and don't be afraid to take a minute to think about what you want to say before you start to answer the questions. Also the assessment center and interview are not scary, so don't worry about how it is going to go. It is a very friendly atmosphere/people and the interviewer i had was quite informal with his interview style (which i preferred)as it allows you to relax a little more.

The assessment center consisted firstly of group work. We were split into 2 groups and given a 35 minute group task to complete. It was a challenging task as at random intervals they would introduce new problems which you had to factor into your answer. There was then a short break after this in which time we were able to talk to staff from HP and members of staff that were currently on the graduate scheme that we were there applying for. The next stage was one half of the group did a presentation on a random subject that you were provided with on the day. You had 10 minutes to prepare for a 5 minute presentation of just your own words no slide show was necessary. The other half of the group were then taken individually for their interviews. Once you had completed both the presentation and interview we were given feedback and information on what the next steps were and that was the end of the assessment center. We were then notified within 2 weeks whether we were successful or not.

There were three stages to the assessment centre. The morning session entailed a group activity. This second phase included a 1-1 interview and the final process included a paper-based test.

What was the most difficult decision you have had to make in the last 12 months and how fill that affect your future?

Make sure you carry out extensive research before going to the assessment centre.

It was a very competitive atomosphere but the experience has prepared me for future assessment centres.

My initial telephone interview was on October 2012, Time: 14:30 (UK time)

Interviewer called me on my number at 14: 30 the day, October 2012 to carry out the interview. The interview lasted up to 60 minutes and was recorded for coaching purposes. This had no influence on the selection process. However, if I had any objections to this, they would not do that.


About my Interview

My interview consisted of three separate sections:

1. Understanding of our business and the role.
2. Competency based questions.
3. General administration questions

Preparing for the Interview

· Specific reasons why I would like to work for Accenture.
· Gain a clear understanding of what Accenture does, sectors and services, clients, and case studies.
· The role of an Software Engineer or Java Software Engineer
· How Accenture uses Technology.


To ensure that you are interviewed in the best possible conditions, I suggest you:

· Go to a meeting room/quiet place, to limit the number of possible distractions e.g. background noise, interruptions, etc.
· If using a mobile phone, ensure you have a strong signal in your chosen location.
· Have a copy of your CV in front of you for reference, and a pad to take notes if necessary.
· Keep track of time.



I passed my initial telephone interview and the second round assessment was then arranged within a month.

Date: November 2012

Time: 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

This interview lasted approximately 2 hours and consisted of a skills based interview and a HR interview.

The Interview was one hour HR / competency based interview and 1 hour technical interview.

HR Interview went really good but technical interview was difficult.

What is the latest in Technology Sector?

What is the most difficult task you have done most efficiently?

If you have 2 managers and both asked to do tasks at the same time equally important, what would you do?

Detailed description of final year project?

Good knowledge of the Company
Good knowledge of the industry
Commercial awareness, personal branding and an idea of the ethos/values of the company are integral to stand a chance of joining a company like this

I reported to the reception and the interviewer came down. She gave us cup of tea and explained everything in a really pleasant manner.There were 2 of us.While one did HR interview, other was done technical interview. And while we spoke, the interviewer wrote the answers in paper to review later.

Initial steps were to send in my CV and cover letter, followed by two online tests; numerical and verbal reasoning. I was then invited to a face to face interview with two managers within the company. The interview consisted of a 30 minute presentation about introducing social media into Siemens, and then a 30 minute interview about my CV and about what I could bring to the role.

Explain how you can use your previous leadership experiences to assist you in teaching new computing techniques to older staff members, who may be quite stubborn in wishing to not pick up this new skill.

Lots of research into the company. Know the job role you are applying for, and link how skills shown in your CV can apply to this role.

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The interview consisted of a short discussion with three members of the company. The graduate scheme was mainly operated by the tutor and a small number of other staff members who also carried out work / taught some of the modules you had to study alongside the job during the scheme.

It began with an overview of my CV and a discussion about my experiences at uni, commercial work and the kind of work that I wished to pursue. The panel asked generic questions like why they should employ me, what I would do with unhappy clients, how well I work with other people and examples of when I have worked with other people that have gone well and bad (and what I had learnt from them - this came up in several of my interviews).

The technical task process was very poorly organised, the interviewer was an elderly man and clearly disliked me so treated me in a bad manner. The work I was presenting on the board was correct but he spoke down to me regularly and at one point called mey ideas stupid (to which at that point I had had enough and called him stupid and asked not to be spoken to like that...).

The interview was rounded up with a small discussion about myself, to which they didn't pay much interest!

The technical task wasn't too difficult, just be sure to be prepared for things you may overlook in your preparation due to thinking you have it down perfectly! The hardest question I encountered was "Give us an example of a piece of work which went well and a piece that went bad, with the approaches you'd take to make them better and how you could incorporate teamwork into the process"

Seemed like a big question at the time and took me a bit to think about and process my answer in my head!

Be prepared for anything, some companies I had interviews for were genuinely lovely people - even if I wasn't appropriate enough for the job.

The interview in my opinion was very bad. I was spoken to in a rude manner before I had a chance to even show my abilities, it wasn't like I hadn't made an effort either as I had dressed well and was well spoken.

I am glad I had this interview as it made me realise how some companies employ graduates and push them around at such low rates of pay (this was £14,000!). If you don't like a companies ways, go elsewhere - I'm now with a lovely company, there's plenty of better people out there!

My initial telephone interview was with a member of the recruitment team and lasted around 10 minutes. We had a short discussion about the company, my CV and my application. At the end, I was invited to a graduate assessment day.
During the assessment day there were two one-on-one interviews: an HR interview and a technical interview. The HR interview featured every question you might expect to hear in a typical personal interview, the most difficult of which are noted below. The technical interview did not feature so many questions, but instead was more a discussion of the work that would be involved within the role for the successful candidate.

Describe a time when you resolved an issue with a difficult customer/team member. What happened?
Describe a time when plans had to be changed. What happened?
Where do you see yourself in five years time?
What is your biggest flaw?

Prepare for all the typical 'awkward' interview questions you would expect during the HR interview. Have answers prepared that present your ability to solve problems, work in a team and organise yourself.

We were split into groups of 3 and given 30 minutes to prepare a 15 minute presentation detailing our survival plan should we be lost at sea, given a list of items salvaged from our own shipwreck. Questions asked by the interviewers appeared to be aimed specifically at knocking us off-balance, presumably in an attempt to see how we would deal with difficult customers and rapidly changing circumstance.
In an individual writing task, we each were asked to perform three tests: A comparison of a draft document to a company standard document, noting any significant errors. Then I had to determine a number of possible errors that might occur as a result of software faults in a bank and the outcomes of those errors. Then I had to draft an email to a superior detailing those possible errors and steps to be taken to test for them. The three writing tasks took one hour.
A buffet lunch was provided a little over half way through the assessment day, during which we were shown a presentation about the company.

My phone interview was with an outsourced company based overseas. They were very friendly and asked basic competency questions, details about me, my motivations..etc. They heavily emphasised the use of the STAR technique for answering their questions. It was nothing technical.
Just be friendly and confident.

To be honest they were all run of the mill, so it was pretty easy to prepare for. I guess the hardest for me personally (due to only having one example) was to describe a time when I have worked in a team with a member not pulling their weight, how I approached this situation, and what was the outcome?

Be prepared, read up about the company.
Make sure you have commercial awareness of the industry.
Get your personal brand on point - make out that your values match those of the company.
And be nice!

There was an individual presentation based on some literature you are given for 45 mins beforehand. You prepare your presentation using power point, and present only to one interviewer. There was also a group task where you are watched by three assessors. In the group task you are given a project and have to devise a plan for that project within around 20 minutes. Then finally there were speed dating styled one on one interviews with competency and technical questions.