30 Interview questions to ask while hiring a Sharepoint administrator

As the demand for digital transformation continues to surge, hiring the right Sharepoint Administrator has never been more critical. According to Mercer’s latest 2024 Global Talent Trends report, 33% of organizations prioritize digital strategy and HR transformation, indicating a growing reliance on skilled IT professionals, including Sharepoint Administrators, to drive business success​​.

A recent study highlights that the employment rate for computer and information technology roles, including Sharepoint Administrators, is projected to grow by 11% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations​.

Additionally, Gartner’s 2024 HR trends report reveals that this year, enhancing organizational culture and leveraging advanced HR technologies are top priorities for HR leaders​​. This trend underscores the necessity for adept Sharepoint Administrators who can design and implement robust solutions to support these initiatives.

HR professionals and CXOs must pose the right interview questions to identify candidates with the technical proficiency and collaborative skills necessary to thrive in this dynamic environment. This blog will guide you through key questions to ask potential Sharepoint Administrators, ensuring you make informed hiring decisions that align with your organizational goals.

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Why use skills assessments when assessing Sharepoint administrator candidates?

Using skills assessments to evaluate Sharepoint Administrator candidates is essential for making informed hiring decisions. These assessments provide a comprehensive view of a candidate’s capabilities beyond a resume and interview. Skills assessments help objectively measure candidates’ technical skills, coding abilities, communication proficiency, and soft skills, ensuring they are well-suited for the job.

At Testlify, we offer a range of assessments tailored for Sharepoint Administrator roles. Our platform allows you to evaluate candidates’ technical skills, including their knowledge of SharePoint architecture and coding proficiency. Additionally, our assessments cover soft skills, such as teamwork and problem-solving, as well as communication skills, which are crucial for collaborating effectively within teams and with stakeholders. By leveraging these assessments, you can streamline your hiring process, reduce biases, and select candidates with the technical expertise and soft skills necessary to excel in your organization.

Incorporating skills assessments from Testlify can lead to more accurate hiring decisions for HR professionals and hiring managers, ultimately contributing to better team performance and project success.

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General Sharepoint administrator interview questions to ask applicants

When interviewing for a SharePoint Administrator role, it’s crucial to ask questions that assess the candidate’s expertise in managing and maintaining SharePoint environments. Questions should cover various topics: site collection administration, user and permission management, backup and disaster recovery processes, and performance monitoring. Additionally, questions about their experience with SharePoint upgrades and patch management and their ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues will provide insight into their technical proficiency and problem-solving skills. Evaluating their understanding of SharePoint’s integration with other Microsoft services and their approach to ensuring security and compliance will help determine their readiness for the role.

1. Can you explain how you would manage site collections and site administration in SharePoint?

Look for: Familiarity with site collection creation, experience with SharePoint administration tools, and understanding of site collection hierarchy and permissions.

What to Expect: The candidate should discuss the creation, configuration, and management of site collections, including quotas, permissions, and navigation settings. They might mention using Central Administration, PowerShell, or SharePoint Online Admin Center.

2. How do you manage document libraries in SharePoint?

Look for: Knowledge of document library settings, experience with metadata and content types, and ability to manage permissions effectively.

What to Expect: The candidate should cover creating and configuring document libraries, and setting up versioning, metadata, and content types. They should also mention configuring permissions and automating workflows for document management.

3. Describe the process of creating and managing workflows in SharePoint.

Look for: Proficiency in using workflow tools, understanding of common workflow patterns, and examples of custom workflows they have implemented.

What to Expect: They should explain creating workflows using SharePoint Designer, Power Automate (Flow), or Visual Studio. Details on customizing workflows for approvals, notifications, and task assignments should be included.

4. What are the best practices for managing security and permissions in SharePoint?

Look for: Strong grasp of permission management, experience with SharePoint groups, and awareness of security best practices.

What to Expect: The candidate should discuss managing user permissions, configuring permission levels, using SharePoint groups, and handling security trimming. They also mention best practices for minimizing security risks.

5. How do you handle content management and versioning in SharePoint?

Look for: Understanding of content management strategies, experience with version control, and the ability to organize content effectively.

What to Expect: They should describe setting up and configuring versioning for document libraries, managing content types, and using metadata for better content organization. Discussion on content approval processes is a plus.

6. What collaboration tools in SharePoint have you used, and how have you implemented them?

Look for: Practical experience with collaboration tools, ability to integrate different tools, and examples of successful implementations.

What to Expect: Mention tools like Discussion Boards, Calendars, Team Sites, and integration with Microsoft Teams. They should discuss how these tools facilitated collaboration and improved productivity.

7. Can you describe a scenario where you used Power Automate to create a workflow in SharePoint?

Look for: Experience with Power Automate, problem-solving skills, and ability to customize workflows to meet business needs.

What to Expect: Explanation of the specific business requirement, how they designed the workflow, and the outcome. They should mention triggers, actions, and any custom connectors used.

8. How do you manage and customize SharePoint sites to enhance user experience?

Look for: Knowledge of SharePoint customization options, experience with SPFx, and ability to enhance user experience through custom solutions.

What to Expect: They should discuss customizing site themes, layouts, web parts, and navigation. They might also mention using SPFx (SharePoint Framework) for deeper customizations.

9. What steps do you take to ensure the performance and scalability of SharePoint sites?

Look for: Awareness of performance optimization techniques, experience with SharePoint scalability issues, and proactive monitoring practices.

What to Expect: The candidate should cover optimizing site structure, using content databases effectively, configuring caching, and monitoring site performance using SharePoint’s health analyzer and other tools.

10. Explain how you manage backups and disaster recovery for SharePoint environments.

Look for: Solid understanding of backup and recovery procedures, experience with disaster recovery planning, and familiarity with relevant tools.

What to Expect: They should discuss configuring backup schedules, using native SharePoint tools, and implementing disaster recovery plans. Mention of third-party tools for enhanced backup solutions is a plus.

11. How do you integrate SharePoint with other Microsoft 365 services?

Look for: Experience with Microsoft 365 integrations, ability to leverage these integrations for enhanced productivity, and specific examples.

What to Expect: Explanation of integration with services like Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and Outlook. They should mention practical use cases and benefits of these integrations.

12. What is your approach to managing SharePoint search and search customization?

Look for: Experience with SharePoint search configuration, understanding of search schema, and ability to customize search experience.

What to Expect: They should discuss configuring search settings, managing search schema, and customizing search results using display templates and managed properties.

13. How do you ensure compliance and governance in a SharePoint environment?

Look for: Strong understanding of governance and compliance, experience with implementing policies, and a proactive approach to audits.

What to Expect: Mention of implementing governance policies, compliance features like eDiscovery and retention policies, and regular audits to ensure adherence to guidelines.

14. Describe your experience with SharePoint migration projects.

Look for: Practical experience with migration tools, ability to plan and execute migration projects, and knowledge of handling data integrity issues.

What to Expect: They should explain the tools and strategies used for migration, handling data integrity, and ensuring minimal downtime. Mention of specific migration projects is beneficial.

15. How do you use PowerShell for SharePoint administration?

Look for: Proficiency in PowerShell scripting, understanding of automation benefits, and specific script examples.

What to Expect: Discussion on automating administrative tasks, managing site collections, and scripting common operations. Examples of PowerShell scripts they have written are valuable.

16. What strategies do you use to manage large lists and libraries in SharePoint?

Look for: Experience with managing large lists, knowledge of SharePoint list limitations, and performance optimization strategies.

What to Expect: Explanation of techniques like indexing, filtering, and using list view thresholds. Mention of optimizing performance and user experience for large lists.

17. Can you explain how you manage external sharing and guest access in SharePoint?

Look for: Understanding of external sharing configurations, the ability to balance accessibility and security, and experience with managing guest access.

What to Expect: They should cover configuring external sharing settings, managing guest users, and ensuring security and compliance while allowing external collaboration.

18. How do you handle metadata and taxonomy management in SharePoint?

Look for: Proficiency in managing metadata, experience with taxonomy management, and understanding of its impact on search and content organization.

What to Expect: Discussion on creating and managing term sets, configuring managed metadata services, and using metadata for content organization and search enhancement.

19. What techniques do you use to troubleshoot SharePoint issues?

Look for: Strong troubleshooting skills, familiarity with diagnostic tools, and ability to resolve issues efficiently.

What to Expect: They should mention using ULS logs, SharePoint Health Analyzer, and diagnostic tools. An explanation of a systematic approach to identifying and resolving issues is expected.

20. How do you implement custom solutions using SharePoint Framework (SPFx)?

What to Expect: Explanation of developing web parts, extensions, and customizing user interfaces using SPFx. Mention of tools and technologies like React, TypeScript, and Node.js.

Look for: Experience with SPFx development, understanding of modern web technologies, and examples of custom solutions implemented.

21. Describe your experience with SharePoint Designer.

Look for: Proficiency with SharePoint Designer, ability to create custom workflows, and experience with data integration.

What to Expect: Discussion on creating and customizing workflows, designing custom pages, and integrating data sources using SharePoint Designer.

22. How do you manage and monitor SharePoint usage and performance?

Look for: Experience with usage monitoring, ability to interpret analytics data, and proactive performance optimization.

What to Expect: Explanation of using SharePoint Analytics, monitoring tools, and reporting usage patterns. Mention of optimizing performance based on analytics data.

23. What is your approach to customizing SharePoint forms?

Look for: Experience with form customization tools, ability to create user-friendly forms, and practical examples.

What to Expect: They should discuss using tools like PowerApps, InfoPath, or custom development to create and customize forms. Mention of specific customizations and their impact.

24. How do you handle SharePoint updates and patch management?

Look for: Knowledge of update and patch management processes, experience with minimizing update impact, and proactive planning.

What to Expect: Explanation of planning and implementing updates, testing patches in a development environment, and minimizing downtime during updates.

25. Can you describe a complex SharePoint project you worked on and your role in it?

Look for: Comprehensive project experience, problem-solving skills, and ability to handle complex SharePoint implementations.

What to Expect: Detailed explanation of the project scope, challenges faced, solutions implemented, and the candidate’s specific contributions. Mention of technologies and tools used.

Interview questions to gauge a candidate’s experience level

26. Can you describe a challenging SharePoint project you managed from start to finish, detailing the objectives and obstacles you faced and how you ensured its success? What were the key outcomes and lessons learned?

27. How do you prioritize tasks and manage your workload when dealing with multiple SharePoint administration tasks simultaneously? Can you provide an example of a time when you successfully managed competing priorities and tight deadlines?

28. Can you provide an example of how you improved collaboration within a team using SharePoint’s features? What specific tools did you implement, and how did you measure their impact on team productivity and communication?

29. How do you handle conflicts or disagreements within your team when working on a SharePoint-related project? Can you share a specific instance where you successfully resolved a conflict and what approach you took?

30. What strategies do you use to stay updated with the latest SharePoint updates and industry best practices? Can you describe how you have applied new knowledge or skills to improve a SharePoint environment in your previous role?

When should you ask these questions in the hiring process? 

The ideal time to ask SharePoint Administrator questions is during the technical interview stage. This stage typically follows an initial screening interview where basic qualifications and cultural fit are assessed. The technical interview is the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into a candidate’s specific skills, past work experience, and technical expertise relevant to SharePoint administration. By focusing on detailed, role-specific questions, you can evaluate their proficiency in site collection administration, user and permission management, and their approach to troubleshooting and resolving issues.

These questions should also be integrated into the behavioral interview phase to assess the candidate’s soft skills, such as handling conflicts, managing workloads, and improving team collaboration. Conversationally asking these questions allows you to gauge their communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and overall approach to managing SharePoint environments. This approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of their technical capabilities and how they align with the team’s working style and organizational needs.

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Key takeaways

Using SharePoint Administrator interview questions during the technical and behavioral interview stages allows you to comprehensively assess a candidate’s technical skills, experience, and soft skills. During the technical interview, focus on questions that delve into their expertise in site collection administration, user and permission management, and troubleshooting. This helps ensure the candidate has the practical knowledge to effectively manage and maintain SharePoint environments​​.

In the behavioral interview, ask questions that explore their ability to handle conflicts, manage workloads, and improve team collaboration. This phase evaluates their communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and how they integrate new knowledge into their work. By incorporating these targeted questions, you gain a holistic view of the candidate’s capabilities, ensuring they are a strong fit for both the technical demands and the collaborative nature of the SharePoint Administrator role.​

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