Symantec Interview Question Security Analysts
Country: United States
Interview Type: Phone Interview
It's a strange question, but I assume it's a conversation starter. Possible reactions to a light bulb not working:
1) Lazy response: do nothing.
2) Paranoid response: Assume intruder is in your home, immediately call police.
3) Quick workaround: Immediately go to kitchen, grab flashlight out of drawer.
4) Quick diagnosis: Assume it's just the light bulb, immediately try replacing the light bulb.
5) Deep analysis: See if other lightbulbs are out. Consider hypotheses that you have experienced a local blackout (circuit breaker) or general blackout (neighbors light's are out).
6) Follow up: If it's the light bulb, consider cost/analysis benefits of buying a more hearty light bulb, making flashlight easier to find in a crisis.
This is just a personality question. If I were hiring a security person, I would want somebody who is really Type A, with a healthy sense of paranoia, but also some level of pragmatism. People who are into security need to account for extreme possibilities, so they're the type of people who have backups of every light bulb in their house, a flashlight in every drawer, and a schematic of their house's wiring conveniently laminated on the wall next to their circuit breaker.
@showell I don't think that's really the case here. A question like this is usually designed to test how you problem solve. Would you just say "oh, I'd switch the lightbulbs out"? Or would you ask questions to figure out what the situation is (e.g., "is it in a shared space or in my own home?", "do I know what kind of lightbulb it is?", etc)?
Gayle, it obviously depends on the interviewer. I take it as a given that every interview question tests your problem solving skills to some extent, but within that context, some are more about your chops (do you know basic data structures?) and others are more subjective (what's your first instinct in a crisis?). I agree with you 100% that you need to get to the diagnosis aspect pretty quickly. My reaction to a burnt out light bulb would be two steps. First, I presumably need light. So, I find the flashlight, light a candle, turn on another light switch, use my phone as a make-shift flashlight, etc. Once I'm in the diagnosis phase, I start analyzing possible causes. The last time the lights went out in my apartment, it was the circuit breaker, and it was completely obvious, because the TV also shut off. But most of the time, it's the light bulb. If a light bulb goes out, sometimes you can clearly tell that the filament blew, but for some times of bulb, you go into the scientific method. I hypothesize that the light bulb's broken, and if I have a handy spare, I can validate the hypothesis by swapping in the spare. If the spare doesn't work, then I consider other theories. It could be that the original light bulb AND the spare are broken, but it's more likely that I'm dealing with a more systemic problem. Etc.
I believe he was looking for the paranoid response. Many security breaches leave traces that can appear perfectly normal (e.g. a light bulb removed by an intruder can be mistaken for a burnt-out bulb, and usually is). A person in charge of security must never overlook these signs.
- Barry Fruitman March 17, 2013Awesome question, BTW.