Common network administrator interview questions include: What is the size of the networks with which you have worked? Are you comfortable with backing up data? Do you have experience with software for network monitoring and security and have you ever designed a network infrastructure? Potential employers or clients might also ask about one's ability and willingness to work under pressure, meet strict deadlines, communicate complex concepts and work overtime. Other network administrator interview questions are: How much experience do you have working with network operating systems, and do you hold any certification in network administration or engineering?
The exact network administrator interview questions that might be asked are determined by many factors. For example, when interviewing for a position in which the interviewee would be managing a large network, questions about experience with large networks are asked because of the very significant differences there are between managing networks of various sizes. Administrators of very large networks generally are responsible for only certain routine functions, and they work on a team of administrators and technicians. Managers of small networks, on the other hand, usually are responsible for everything across the entire network, and they might work alone, which often prompts questions about meeting deadlines, working under stress and working extra hours when necessary.
Network administrator interview questions also revolve around the exact environment in which the new employee would work. Network size has a great impact on how an administrator will spend his or her days. For example, interviewers for positions managing small networks might ask the applicants whether they would be comfortable working alone. They might also ask the interviewees to rate their analytical skills, because administrators of small networks rarely have a co-administrator to whom they can turn for advice when troubleshooting problems, many of which can interfere with mission-critical operations.
If the network administrator interview questions touch on the subject of infrastructure, interviewees might interpret such questions as inquiries about their knowledge of engineering. Network engineers, not administrators, are generally the people who handle the tasks of setting up an infrastructure such as cabling and terminating ends for wired networks. Terminating fiber optic cable ends requires a high degree of skill that might be very important to a potential employer or client. Questions such as these can even help reveal some of the tasks and duties for which the new employee would be responsible, so the interviewee can "tailor" his or her interview answers toward those tasks.
