Interview - Brushing up on IT Knowledge.

The_Hurricane

Hi All,

I currently work within the insurance industry and have done for the past few years, however in 2006 I graduated in IT and business and I now want to get back into the IT field. I've an interview next week for a entry level graduate role in software and I want to brush up on my knowledge as much as possible. Are there any useful online courses I can complete or tutorials I can read, I'm very aware that at the moment I'm out of the loop in relation to emerging software etc and my overall knowledge is rusty.

Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Zoee

These websites may be worth checking out:

w3schools is an online website that teaches through web tutorials, referencing and examples

There’s online lessons with quizzes to test your learning on topics ranging from HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Servers / Web Building and more

They've also got a forum here

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The BBC has a section on their website teaching the basics of using a computer, the web, eMail, browsing privacy and more

Details here: BBC internet basics website

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Tutvid.com started in mid 2006 (I kid you not :cool:) and has Photoshop and Dreamweaver Tutorials

He also has a YouTube channel

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This Microsoft.com website shows online training on the standard Microsoft packages

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You've got a busy learning week eh?

Zoee

colin79666

Khan academy has a computer science section.

googler

'emerging software' in the insurance industry, eh?

How are your Cobol skills?

I think you need to speak, on a casual basis, with some of the IT staff in the company who've recently gone through their graduate programme, and see what they advise.

If it's an insurance company of any size, they're unlikely to be running the show with 'emerging software', it will more than likely be tried and tested mainframe technology.

googler

Zoee wrote: »

This Microsoft.com website shows online training on the standard Microsoft packages

Sorry, but USING Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. is not building up IT skills. You use IT skills to CREATE something like these programs, not use them as an end-user.

Mondez

googler wrote: »

Sorry, but USING Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. is not building up IT skills. You use IT skills to CREATE something like these programs, not use them as an end-user.

Err, no, you use programming and software engineering skills to create these programs, IT skills are exactly what you use when you use these.

[Deleted User]

So - first of all, what technology stack are the firm using? .Net, Java ?

Of that, what languages and architecture do they use? Maybe it's propitiatory, maybe it's ancient, maybe it's bang up to date - most likely it's a mix of the lot with layer upon layer of different technologies.

Go and have a look back at your notes for Object orientated programming and SQL. Maybe take a look into Agile development methodologies (you might not have covered this, but it's rather fashionable these days)

closed

A role in software isn't much to go on.

You can't really prepare for technical interviews, the list of potential questions is endless. If you are lucky you may get an easy ride - ie typical hr style questions with what did you do at uni

googler

Mondez wrote: »

Err, no, you use programming and software engineering skills to create these programs, IT skills are exactly what you use when you use these.

What are programming and software engineering skills, if they're not IT skills? They're certainly not inter-personal skills, are they?

Copy/pasting, formatting text within Word, using formulas in Excel, resizing cells, creating slides in Powerpoint, etc are not IT skills, in my book. They're techniques for the use of the program concerned by the end-user. The skills used to create Word and Excel are IT skills.

By the same token, the skills used to write a mainframe-based application in (say) Cobol, with a database such as DB2, are IT skills - the person who logs in as an end-user and uses that program isn't using any IT skills, other than having been shown how to use the PC or terminal which accesses the program, and how to use the program itself.

Mr_Toad

I agree with Mondez, IT skills are taken to mean that the person is capable of using email and working with spreadsheets and documents.

Programming is an engineering skill these days, in fact when I started out I was called a computer programmer, that changed a long time ago to software engineer.

Higher education refers to Software or hardware engineering and computer science.

Schools and places doing vocational training refer to IT Skills when teaching people how to use computers and the software on them.

tombruton87

IN Software???!!!????

is it

software design?
software development?
software support?
software sales? (technical sales)

what type of company is it, is it mainly web based? desktop based applications? server applications? mobile markets?

If web are they using windows or linux servers? if windows should be an easy ride they are probs not that bright.

Also what languages do they focus on, whats their release cycles.

what management and development methodologies do they use.

what sector do they target, consumer, governments, or other business sectors.

what accreditation do they have/need ie pci dss/iso 27001k

every company is different, as long as you haven't lied on your cv, you have the skills needed for the job.

from this point the only two things you need to do to get the job is know more about the company than the person interviewing you and make them like you.