Cognos admin interview questions

[inu]

HI
Please share me cognos admin interview question or suggest me , how to get it. In google it's not available.


Thanks
Inam

[bdbits]

That's kind of going to depend on who is asking the questions. If you are qualified, you really should not need to worry about it anyway.

[inu]

That's kind of going to depend on who is asking the questions. If you are qualified, you really should not need to worry about it anyway.

Yes , offcourse i m qualified , inspite of it, i need some experts advise like you.
SO please dont taunt me , i need your suggestion.
as many things are there in admin to know in depth.

Regards
Inam

[cognostechie]

Ok, I won't taunt you so here are a few questions they asked me when I applied to the admin job:

Q - Why do you want to be an admin?
A - because I know you cannot be an admin so you need somebody like me

Q - How do you assign security to folders?
A - Put the folders in a big box, lock it and give the keys to the HR department for safe keeping

Q - How do you provide access to users?
A - Open the door of the room where Cognos server is located and show the users how to reach the room

There are many more they asked me but I don't remember all of them. I will come back and post them as soon as I remember.

[bdbits]

lol, cognostechie...

inu, I am not trying to "taunt" you. There is no standard list of "Cognos interview questions everyone will ask". The point is you asked where on the internet you can learn to drive a car. But in my opinion at least, there is no substitute for experience. If you don't have sufficient experience, you need to be honest about that and point out other abilities you think will let you get the job done. A good interviewer will see right through an attempt to cram your brain full of textbook responses, and will also see potential. Sell them on what you already know and can do.

That said... you should know the material in the various install and admin guides. You should understand Cognos architecture so you can troubleshoot problems. You should understand how authentication is configured, and how to grant capabilities as well permissions to various kinds of objects; how you set up connections to databases and other data sources; and depending on the employer you may need to know something about the different flavors of Cognos (for example TM1). And there are general admin skills you need to take care of any kind of servers - installation, server security, OS services, web configuration, and monitoring various components for performance. You may not need all of this, it depends on the position, but you will need at least some of these.

[MFGF]

lol, cognostechie...

inu, I am not trying to "taunt" you. There is no standard list of "Cognos interview questions everyone will ask". The point is you asked where on the internet you can learn to drive a car. But in my opinion at least, there is no substitute for experience. If you don't have sufficient experience, you need to be honest about that and point out other abilities you think will let you get the job done. A good interviewer will see right through an attempt to cram your brain full of textbook responses, and will also see potential. Sell them on what you already know and can do.

That said... you should know the material in the various install and admin guides. You should understand Cognos architecture so you can troubleshoot problems. You should understand how authentication is configured, and how to grant capabilities as well permissions to various kinds of objects; how you set up connections to databases and other data sources; and depending on the employer you may need to know something about the different flavors of Cognos (for example TM1). And there are general admin skills you need to take care of any kind of servers - installation, server security, OS services, web configuration, and monitoring various components for performance. You may not need all of this, it depends on the position, but you will need at least some of these.

I'd suggest also that reading up on the major topics an administrator might have to deal with would be a good idea. In another thread you asked what capaity planning means and how to address the issues. If you don't understand some of the basic concepts an administrator will deal with (such as capacity planning, security, encryption, tuning, load balancing, failover etc etc), it's unlikely you would be able to discuss them coherently in an interview if you get questioned on them. From the questions you are asking in these forum pages it doesn't look like you have the relevant skills to become an administrator currently - not just Cognos skills but generic knowledge of the topics involved. My honest and humble advice is to read up as much as you can and at least gain an understanding of the subject area before your first interview. As Bob suggests - be honest, and admit your lack of experience and instead sell your wllingness to learn and committment to become an expert in your area. You would need to be able to demonstrate your intent by at least understanding the major topics, though.

Good luck!

MF.