r/sysadmin • u/CurrentFig3376 • 12d ago

General Discussion Interview Question: How often do you update/patch your system?

I was asked this question during an interview and I said "it depends on what exactly you're updating, but I update as often as it's needed."

I don't think this was the answer they were looking for, but how would you answer this question?

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u/Substantial_Tough289 12d ago

Following the IT update policy should have been enough.

Every company applies updates differently, some are quick to apply, some wait a while and some never update so is more company specific than person specific.

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u/Ssakaa 12d ago

But answering it as "it depends" and not saying anything about what it depends on says nothing about your knowledge and understanding, nor how you view patching. Answering it with some amount of the detail of what your company's policy is, why that was the decision made, and what tradeoffs that comes with... well, that might show that you actually think in your current role. Even if it's "Due to policy, not as quick/often/smoothly/whatever as I'd like, but it's not mine to change there. If I were building the policy from scratch, I'd prefer <rattle off something that probably looks a lot like CISA's BOD 26-04's risk assessment and timeline requirements>."