IT Support Engineer Interview Questions UK: 8 Real Questions and What Interviewers Want

Most IT Support Engineer interviews in the UK follow a pattern, and knowing it beats guessing. Below are eight questions from our bank of 12, each with a note on what the interviewer is really after.

Eight IT Support Engineer interview questions, and what the interviewer is thinking

1. What does a typical day as an IT Support Engineer involve, and what do you enjoy most about it?

Why they ask: They want to see you understand the reactive and proactive sides of the job and that you will cope with its pace.

2. A user says they cannot log in to their Windows PC and their account keeps locking out. How would you diagnose it?

Why they ask: This is an everyday fault and tests your Active Directory knowledge and logical approach.

3. You have five tickets open at once: a director's laptop will not boot, three users cannot print, and a new starter is waiting for their account. What do you do?

Why they ask: They are testing prioritisation, communication and how you use impact and urgency under pressure.

4. Walk me through how you would prepare and deploy a new laptop for a starter in a Microsoft 365 environment.

Why they ask: They want to know whether you can follow a repeatable build process and understand modern device management.

5. Tell me about a time you fixed a difficult technical fault for a user who was not very technical.

Why they ask: They want evidence of troubleshooting skill combined with clear, patient communication.

6. A user's Outlook keeps asking for a password and will not connect to Exchange Online. How would you troubleshoot it?

Why they ask: This is a very common Microsoft 365 fault, so it checks practical knowledge of authentication.

7. A user rings to say their laptop was stolen from their car this morning. What do you do?

Why they ask: They are looking for security awareness and calm, correct incident handling.

8. A user reports their PC has become very slow. How would you find the cause?

Why they ask: A classic first-line scenario that shows whether you diagnose methodically rather than guess.

A sample answer to question 1

What does a typical day as an IT Support Engineer involve, and what do you enjoy most about it?

A typical day starts by checking the queue and any overnight alerts, then picking up tickets by priority. I might reset accounts and unlock users in Active Directory, fix Outlook or Teams problems in Microsoft 365, build or repair laptops, and help people remotely using tools like Teamviewer or Intune. Between tickets there is usually project work, such as rolling out a Windows update ring, onboarding new starters or tidying knowledge base articles. I always update tickets as I go so anyone can pick them up. What I enjoy most is the variety and the moment a frustrated user is back to work. Fixing a fault feels good, but explaining it so the person understands and does not call again feels better. I also like that every ticket teaches me something, which keeps me learning across networking, security and cloud services.

Common mistake to avoid: Describing it as only fixing printers; Ignoring the customer service side

Want the rest?

Full model answers, key points and common mistakes for all 12 questions are on the IT Support Engineer interview questions page. The first five are free, no sign-up needed.