Informational Interviews: Exploring the IT Support Officer Role

This report presents an analysis of informational interviews conducted for the role of an IT Support Officer. It details the interview process, including the questions asked, the responses from interviewees A and B, and a synthesis of the information gathered. The report covers topics such as the role of an IT support engineer, problem-solving approaches for network issues, and the skills and experiences necessary for the position. It also includes a personal reflection on career planning, the importance of interpersonal skills, the use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) for assessing personality, and the significance of ethics in decision-making. The report concludes with insights into the recruitment process for IT roles and the author's self-assessment of their suitability for the IT Support Officer position. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and solved assignments for students.

Informational Interviews conducted for the
job Of IT Support Officer

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Basic Details...........................................................................................................................................2
Questions asked by the interviewers.....................................................................................................2
Q1. What is the role of IT support engineer in the field of information technology?........................3
Q2. If any problem occurs in computer networks then how you will resolve?..................................3
Summary of occupational information..................................................................................................3
Synthesize the information....................................................................................................................4
Answers of questions............................................................................................................................4
Q1. Were you surprised by any of the occupational information?....................................................4
Q2. Has the information increased your interest in this field?..........................................................4
Q3. What skills or experience do you have already that suit this occupation?..................................4
Career planning reflection.....................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................5
Part B.....................................................................................................................................................6
Reflection..........................................................................................................................................6
The process of recruitment for IT......................................................................................................6
My type of MBTI................................................................................................................................7
Significance of Ethics.........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References.............................................................................................................................................9
Appendix.............................................................................................................................................11

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Introduction
Informational interviews are defined as a process in the field of career planning
which is used by many organizations during the hiring process. It is generally a type of
informal communication between two or more people and in which interviewer asks
numbers of the question to the individual regarding the job for the post IT officer (Atefi,
Abdullah, & Wong, 2016). The main purpose of this report is to conduct the
informational interview for the job of IT officer and highlights the strengths and
weakness of individuals. We have conducted this interview to hire students and
experience experts for the post of IT officer and it is a very useful process to collect the
more experienced person because they have the capability to control the numbers of
tasks at a time.
Basic Details
This interview was conducted in Australia and the name of organization is XYZ
that provide many technical services to their consumers and there are main two people
selected for the IT officers whose name are A and B. In XYZ organization there are only a
few technical officers to analyse and control the IT related problems or issues due to
which this organization cannot handle numbers of tasks at a time (Chan, & Anteby,
2016). The main role of these persons is to resolve the problems and issues faced by
customers and share their knowledge to improve the performance of the organization.
We have chosen these people for the post of IT support because both are from a
technical background and they have completed their bachelor degree in the stream of
IT. The first step of any selection process is screen test and analysis of their knowledge
with the help of an aptitude and technical test the interviewer selected both A and B.
The human resources team collected their data from various employment-oriented
services and communicate with them and gather information and knowledge regarding
the job. It is observed that each interview took around 30 to 40 minutes because there
are two selection rounds such as HR process and technical process (Cosgrove, 2016).

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Questions asked by the interviewers
There are various kinds of questions asked during the informal conversions which
are described below:
 What is the role of IT support engineer in the field of information technology?
 If any problem occurs in computer networks then how you will resolve?
Q1. What is the role of IT support engineer in the field of information technology?
Answer of A: The main role of an IT support officer is to maintain and control
the computer networks and analysis the advanced computer devices. The IT officer
provides a platform to resolve any kind of technical faults and also provide prevention
steps to improve the performance of the system (Eftimiades, 2017).
Answer of B: According to my opinion, the IT officer plays a significant role in an
organization because they can handle the issues and challenges faced by computer or
mobile devices. They have the ability to detect the faults occur in the peripheral devices
and if any changes required in computer like forgot passwords, reduce virus, and emails
issue then they can help to their customers (Vick, Furlong, & Lurie, 2016).
Q2. If any problem occurs in computer networks then how you will resolve?
Answer of A: There are many steps to resolve the computer networks issues
such as find the problem, run the antivirus and install the firewall software to detect the
unwanted signals. If any software problem occurs then we can update or reinstall with
authentic servers (McNabb, et al., 2015).
Answer of B: first communicate with the customer and take the detail of their
computer device and check their networks or servers. If any issue faced during the
optimization of networks then we can use security programmes like antivirus,
cryptography and encryption methods (Hennchen, 2015).
Summary of occupational information
At the time of Interview, the interviewer collected data or information from both
person and they compare their knowledge and experience. Both people A and B have
basic knowledge of computer networks such as WAN, LAN, routers, switches and
firewall software. Most of the organization hires the IT support engineers to control the

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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computer networks devices and I communicated with some of IT officers and take their
advice by which I can learn more things about information technology (Ledikwe, et al.,
2014).
Synthesize the information
There are many information’s gained from individuals like their background
details, experience, and practical knowledge in the field of IT (Van, et al., 2017). The
main similarities of these people are that they are from IT background and they know
about the concept of computer networks by which they can resolve the issues of
customers. But the main weakness of A is that he doesn’t have any practical knowledge
due to which organization required to provide proper training and programmes. There
are few differences between both experts such as A has completed their graduation with
80% but the B has completed with around 70% and A worked on many projects during
their graduation (Poremski, Whitley, & Latimer, 2016).
Answers of questions
Q1. Were you surprised by any of the occupational information?
Yes I was surprised by one of the occupational information which is that they are
from an engineering background but they are very good in the field of management. If
you have completed graduation in IT field and you have entrepreneurship and
management skills then you can increase your values in the market (Lumsden, & Goode,
2018). IT support officer communicate with many customers for which if he has good
management skill then he can handle any kind of complex situation. On another hand,
both employees published many research papers in the field of computer networks and
also worked on more than 10 projects which were very surprised for me (Sodik, &
Nzilibili, 2017).
Q2. Has the information increased your interest in this field?
Yes, the all relevant information about IT officer has increased my interest in the
field of information technology because I am also from an engineering background but I
don't know about the computer networks. With the help of this informational interview,
I gathered knowledge about computer networks and their issues and they have given
answers to all technical questions with a proper explanation (Oliver, 2017).

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Q3. What skills or experience do you have already that suit this occupation?
The main information gathered from both individuals is that they have technical
skills in the stream of information technology and they should be flexible. I have many
skills or experiences which suits this occupation information for example, theoretical
knowledge about computer networks and devices, I have worked on many IT projects
by which I can control and maintain the problems of computer servers, and I have also
completed my internship in the WAN, LAN, and wireless networks (Meulenbroek, &
Turkstra, 2016). With the help of all these skills, people can understand and control the
various kinds of problems faced in computer systems and other peripheral devices.
Career planning reflection
For my individual expansion, I will require flexibility and reliability where I can
share my experience and gather knowledge regarding information technology. I will
require a platform where I can learn new things about computer systems and improve
my technical skills that can help in the growth of an organization. As an IT officer, I will
give my best and resolve the challenges or issues faced by customers.
Conclusion
This report is completely based on the role of IT support officer in an
organization and researcher also conducted an interview for the post of IT officer. In
which there are two experts that are selected for the position of IT officer and
interviewer asked numbers of questions to gather relevant information. Therefore, in
the field of computer science an IT officer maintain and control the computer networks
related issues and improve the performance of user’s peripheral devices.

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Part B
Reflection
In relation to career planning, informational interviews have a substantial role as
it helps the interviews to determine the skill sets and the USPs of interviewees. Further,
those skills, USPs and other qualities of interviewees are matched with the
requirements of a particular institute for which interviews are being designed. In
relation to this, I consider interpersonal skills and the personality of an individual plays
a crucial role. Apart from this, communication is another important factor for an
individual to engage with other individuals. In this scenario, MBTI i.e. Myers-Briggs
Type Indicator model will be used in order to determine the psychological preferences
of different people. This model is a type of subjective questionnaire and determines
views of a particular number of people in relation to their views to make decisions. This
model is also helping to analyze whether the focus of individuals is linked with
extroversion or introversion along with analyzing the way used by different people in
terms of consuming information, the method used for making decisions and their
perceptions to deal with the world (Chan, & Anteby, 2016). ISFJ is a defender and they
have effective analytical abilities which play an essential role in terms of the
development of social relationships in terms of generation of new ideas.
The process of recruitment for IT
Communication skills, negotiation, management, and problem-solving
techniques play a vital role in the recruitment process in IT. This helps the recruiter to
analyze the abilities of interviewees to perform the tasks. Apart from this, psychometric
testing also helps the interviewers to determine the characteristics and cognitive
abilities of individuals with respect to the roles and responsibilities. This also helps in
analyzing strengths and weaknesses. This test helps the interviewers to understand an
individual's behavior and other qualities.
I use this test in the hiring process in order to reduce the chances of flaws in
previous steps of the recruitment process and this test is capable enough to determine
all the attributes in an individual which are necessary to determine for the appointment

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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of candidates. Along with this test, I also believe that communication skills also help me
to analyze the suitability of candidates with the roles. In the IT industry, major issues
arise due to the failure of system, cyber attacks and malware attacks and to manage
these issues, appropriate problem-solving approaches needs to be practiced which is
part of my skills.
My type of MBTI
I personally feel that my skills, traits, and behavior are quite similar to the ISJ
personality, thus, I consider my model as ISJ. Apart from this, I used to analyze the
situation twice before reaching to a judgment and I follow this principle both in practice
as well as in professional life. Apart from this, I also follow ethics while taking any
decision and according to my ethics, a decision taken should fulfill the expectations of
the largest number of people (Meulenbroek, & Turkstra, 2016). An individual's personal
behavior also plays a vital role in the decision-making process because an introvert
person takes decision mainly on the basis of his own thinking while extrovert analyses
all factors which may affect the expected outcomes before taking any decision.
The style of my decision making also helps me to critically evaluate employees'
performance for the whole year and with regards to this, appraisals are being done.
These skills help me to do fair appraisals which fulfill the expectations of individuals to
a certain level. Apart from this, it also helps me to deal with real-world issues along with
dealing with the diverse situations.
Significance of Ethics
Along with the efficient knowledge of information technology, one should also
execute their functionalities with appropriate ethics and principles. These ethics include
honesty, integrity, loyalty, and fair behavior. I practice all these qualities in my personal
as well as professional life and it also helps me to ensure success in career.
This helps the professionals to treat all employees in a fair and adequate manner
and the information within the organizational system (Oliver, 2017). It has been
observed that people with ethics are more effective in comparison to the people who
execute with unethical principles. Ethics are the primary elements for attaining success
in the long run and thus, it leads to the attainment of sustainable growth and
development (Poremski, Whitley, & Latimer, 2016).

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Conclusion
Every person in the organization with different qualities and traits play a vital
role in terms of accomplishment of tasks. In relevance to this, it is the duty of
interviewer to determine the character of individuals along with analyzing their
qualities to assign tasks to them. Apart from this, ethics also plays a vital role in an
individual's career and it also helps to choose an adequate way of enhancing
organizational performance along with the objective of making the right decisions.
Ethics, principles and the traits are the true reflections of my leadership style and this
has helped me to guide my subordinates along with attracting individuals to boost up
the organizational performance.

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References
Atefi, N., Abdullah, K. L., & Wong, L. P. (2016) Job satisfaction of Malaysian registered
nurses: a qualitative study. Nursing in critical care, 21(1), pp. 8-17.
Chan, C. K., & Anteby, M. (2016) Task segregation as a mechanism for within-job
inequality: Women and men of the Transportation Security
Administration. Administrative Science Quarterly, 61(2), pp. 184-216.
Cosgrove, F. M. (2016) ‘I wanna be a copper': The engagement of Police Community
Support Officers with the dominant police occupational culture. Criminology &
criminal justice, 16(1), pp. 119-138.
Eftimiades, N. (2017). Chinese Intelligence Operations: Espionage Damage Assessment
Branch, US Defence Intelligence Agency. Routledge.
Hennchen, E. (2015) Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria: where do responsibilities
end?. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(1), pp. 1-25.
Ledikwe, J. H., Grignon, J., Lebelonyane, R., Ludick, S., Matshediso, E., Sento, B. W., &
Semo, B. W. (2014) Improving the quality of health information: a qualitative
assessment of data management and reporting systems in Botswana. Health
research policy and systems, 12(1), p. 7.
Lumsden, K., & Goode, J. (2018) Policing research and the rise of the ‘evidence-base’:
Police officer and staff understandings of research, its implementation and ‘what
works’. Sociology, 52(4), pp. 813-829.
McNabb, M., Chukwu, E., Ojo, O., Shekhar, N., Gill, C. J., Salami, H., & Jega, F. (2015)
Assessment of the quality of antenatal care services provided by health workers
using a mobile phone decision support application in northern Nigeria: a
pre/post-intervention study. PLOS one, 10(5), p. e0123940.
Meulenbroek, P., & Turkstra, L. S. (2016) Job stability in skilled work and
communication ability after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury. Disability
and rehabilitation, 38(5), pp. 452-461.

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED FOR THE JOB OF IT SUPPORT OFFICER
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Oliver, W. M. (2017) Depolicing: Rhetoric or reality?. Criminal Justice Policy
Review, 28(5), pp. 437-461.
Poremski, D., Whitley, R., & Latimer, E. (2016) Building trust with people receiving
supported employment and housing first services. Psychiatric rehabilitation
journal, 39(1), p. 20.
Sodik, M. A., & Nzilibili, S. M. M. (2017) The Role Of Health Promotion And Family
Support With Attitude Of Couples Childbearing Age In Following Family Planning
Program In Health. Journal of Global Research in Public Health, 2(2), pp. 82-89.
Van Bogaert, P., Peremans, L., Van Heusden, D., Verspuy, M., Kurkova, V., Van de Cruys,
Z., & Franck, E. (2017) Predictors of burnout, work engagement and nurse-
reported job outcomes and quality of care: a mixed method study. BMC
Nursing, 16(1), p. 5.
Vick, J. M., Furlong, J. S., & Lurie, R. (2016) The academic job search handbook. University
of Pennsylvania Press.

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Appendix
My Action Plan
PRIORITY TASK STRATEGY TIMELINE COMMITMENT
Order of
importance
Activities which
will be
performed
Ways to
performing
activities
Time requires
for performing
activities
Time/ money
1 Learning about
computer
networks
By taking
training from
organizations
1 month Time and
money
2 To persist Improve
communication
skills
3 months Time
3 Execute
another
informational
interview for
the post of IT
officer
To evaluate the
strategies for
hiring the
candidates
In 4 months Time
4 Fill form of
scholarship
For further
study or
research in the
field of IT
In 7 months Time and
money
5
Join an IT
organization
To achieve my
targets and
goals
After 3 years Time

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