I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Rescomp
Interview
Applied online in December (Apps were due Feb) and got email back Feb for an interview. Went in for the interview which was divided into 3 parts. The first part was a group interview in front of a panel where we were given a creative question to solve as a group. The panel observes how you work in a group dynamic. The second part was the individual with a mock simulation of a client with a computer problem and you were observed by a panel on the process of how you helped the client. And then it was the individual interview with standard Q&A. The third part was a written assessment on operating systems primarily.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Rescomp (UC Berkeley, CA) in Apr 2014
Interview
It was a three hour interview. Mine was in the morning (9am) but they weren't all that early. There were several of us being interviewed in a group situation. We were all students at UC Berkeley but I was the only freshman. Most were juniors. First, they had us sit in a board room with a few current employees and introduce ourselves. Then there were two questions for us to answer as a group while they watched and took notes. Then there was a technical written test. Then there was the "obstacle course" with the worst possible client. Then came the interview - that part was pretty standard really: they just asked for clarifications from my resume.
Interview questions [4]
Question 1
One-by-one we were individually given a horror situation where a pretend client had their computer screwed up in the worst possible ways. It was a desktop pc running windows 7 and it had the power disconnected, the mouse had the right and left buttons inverted, and the screen wasn't inverted but it looked like it because the background was an inverted screenshot. The actual taskbar was automatically hidden. You needed to change all these settings. On top of that there was a Wordpad window open and a script running that was preventing it from closing. You need to figure out that that's what's preventing you from closing the window. It was pretty difficult!
Then there was a written technical test with questions about Mac and PC systems, such as how to use the terminal in both, and how you would do various tasks on both (such as the keys to press for a safe reboot on Windows). Also the pros and cons of SSDs compared to HDDs. It's hard when you don't have the computer in front of you!
After applying online and receiving a reply to come into the Rescomp office on a certain day, I dressed up in business casual attire and arrived at the office to see three other candidates interviewing at the same time. We were grouped together and asked to solve a problem together, something somewhat impossible just to see how we work together and how we think. We were given 5 minutes or so to brainstorm and talk it out, then we had to present it. We were also asked what "our" sandwiches would consist of (personality and presentation test). Then we were given a multiple choice test to check our techincal prowess with Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux operating systems. Finally, we were taken into a separate room to have a one-on-one simulation of going on an appointment with a "customer" who has an issue with his computer and needs help. Everything that could go wrong was going wrong: his computer wasn't plugged in, the screen was flipped upside down, the mouse was acting weird, and worst of all he was cranky and impatient. After working through that simulation, I was asked if I had an questions, and then the interview was over.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How many penguins can you fit inside Crossroads dining common?
