Resources
Post a Job
 Special Offer 

Jumpstart your hiring with a $75 credit to sponsor your first job.*

Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed with Urgently Hiring make a hire 5 days faster than non-sponsored jobs.**
  • Visibility for hard-to-fill roles through branding and urgently hiring
  • Instantly source candidates through matching to expedite your hiring
  • Access skilled candidates to cut down on mismatched hires
*The $75 Sponsored Job credit offer is only available for new accounts in the US that post a job and expires one year after account creation. Upon expiration of the credit, users are charged based on Sponsored Job budget. Terms, conditions, and quality standards apply **Indeed data, based on median United States, Q2 2024

5 Help Desk Clerk Interview Questions and Answers

Edited by Indeed Employer Content Team
Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines
4 min read

Whether you are preparing to interview a candidate or applying for a job, review our list of top Help Desk Clerk interview questions and answers.

Hire your next Help Desk Clerk today.

Post a job

Hire your next Help Desk Clerk today.

Post a job
Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines
Create a Culture of Innovation
Download our free step-by-step guide for encouraging healthy risk-taking
Get the Guide

As a help desk clerk, it's important to stay up to date on products and services you can use to assist customers. How do you do this?

Help desk clerks use various technological resources to assist customers efficiently. Some might work better for your company than others, but a good clerk should be familiar with the most common ones. Answers to this question will help you gauge the potential hire's ability to stay current on help desk clerk trends and useful technology. What to look for in an answer:

  • Examples of help desk clerk technologies your company might use
  • Good organizational skills
  • Willingness to learn new help desk software

Example:

"Alloy Navigator and LiveAgent are two platforms I use to communicate with customers. I also assess new software that's come on the market to determine if there's a better fit for my tasks."

A caller breaks a product we offer and calls the help desk clerk for a repair or replacement. What steps do you take to handle this situation?

If your company offers products in addition to services, you will almost certainly receive calls from customers requesting refunds or replacements for various reasons. A good help desk clerk should know what to do if the problem is due to user error and how to resolve the dispute peacefully. Answers to this question can help you evaluate the candidate's conflict-resolution skills. What to look for in an answer:

  • Knowledge of specific company policies regarding returns and refunds
  • Good negotiation skills
  • Ability to reach a satisfactory outcome

Example:

"I always start by listening and understanding the customer's issue and show concern and a willingness to help them. Whenever possible, I focus on what I can do for a solution. If the customer has caused the issue with the product, I will be able to cite relevant company policies."

As a help desk clerk, you'll have to handle stressful situations. Please describe one of your worst customer service experiences and how you resolved the customer's issue.

Help desk clerks sometimes deal with extremely irate callers. This can cause a great deal of stress, and you want to know if your prospective clerk can maintain professionalism and courtesy throughout this interaction. You also want to know what steps they might take to end the conflict. Answers here can help you gauge a hire's stress-management abilities. What to look for in an answer:

  • Ability to maintain professionalism with angry customers
  • Specific steps to reduce on-the-job stress
  • Tips for defusing tense situations effectively

Example:

"I have quick meditation techniques to combat stress. I also try to understand the caller's point of view empathize with their position. I'll work to make the customer happy."

Has there ever been a time when you've been unable to resolve a customer service call as a help desk clerk? What did you do?

Successful help desk clerks know a lot about the company they work for, its policies, and what they are authorized to do to resolve customers' problems. When they've exhausted all these solutions, you need to know that your clerk understands how to escalate the issue. What to look for in an answer:

  • Thorough understanding of their authority
  • Steps they can take to move the situation up the chain
  • Ability to think creatively

Example:

"When I cannot authorize the refund and replacement some customers want, I check company guidelines to see if that's something my immediate superior might authorize. If so, I refer the issue to him or her."

Experienced clerks might have unique ways to troubleshoot various issues that arise. What are some of your methods for dealing with technical issues and company policies that apply to them?

People who work on help desks might develop their own ways to troubleshoot technical issues. Your new hire could have innovative ways to deal with problems in your company efficiently. They might apply new ideas to company practices. This question helps you understand what kind of prior experience the candidate has and how they might apply it to their job with you. What to look for in an answer:

  • Unique ways of dealing with common technical issues
  • Effective problem-solving skills
  • Willingness to learn new techniques for troubleshooting issues

Example:

"I've mastered techniques for dealing with issues your company might face regularly. For example, many customers deal with slow computers. I can troubleshoot managing open windows and programs to increase computer efficiency. I'm always ready to learn more."

Create a Culture of Innovation
Download our free step-by-step guide for encouraging healthy risk-taking
Get the Guide

A group of five people in a modern office setting, two of them appear to be giving a presentation while the other two are seated at a wooden conference table with laptops and a coffee cup in front of them. They all seem engaged in a discussion. The room has a bright atmosphere with natural light streaming in from the side window.

Hire your next Help Desk Clerk today.

Post a job

Explore Interview Questions by Title & Skill

No search results found

    Related Articles

    Hiring manager conducting video interview in conference room
    5 Types of Open-Ended Interview Questions (and What To Look For)
    Read article
    Build Top-Tier Teams With Case Interviews
    Read article
    Presentations in Interviews: Should You Ask Candidates to Create an Interview Presentation?
    Read article