SQL interview questions; getting hired as a DBA

Are you looking for a new (or first) Oracle job? Worried about that big interview? (If you’re not, maybe you should be!) Here are a couple of resources to prepare you for your upcoming Oracle job interview.

Robert Vollman, at his blog thinkoracle.blogspot.com, offers some advice on nailing the SQL job interview. He has asked “literally hundreds of different questions” during interviews he’s conducted over the past 10 years, and he says seeing “SQL expert” on a resume isn’t enough – he knows how to find out exactly how much expertise a candidate really has. Vollman lists some of the basic, intermediate and advanced SQL questions that he’s apt to ask a candidate. Once he or she passes the “sanity checks,” Vollman tests the candidate’s knowledge of NULL and the DUAL table, and then finally addresses analytic functions, which he calls one of the “true litmus tests to the proficiency of one’s knowledge of SQL.” Click here to read the rest of Vollman’s advice.

For a more basic overview of how to handle yourself when looking for an Oracle job, check out our new expert Michael Hillenbrand’s article “Acing the DBA job interview: Getting back to basics.” Michael points out that just because DBAs are back in high demand, that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get a great job just by sending out your resume. He offers some great tips for putting together your resume and cover letter, how to approach scheduling and phone interviews, dos and don’ts for the in-person interview, and etiquette for following up – as well as a hilarious list of 10 statements you should never say, all of which he heard directly from the mouths of actual job candidates over 20 years of hiring and managing DBAs. My favorites: “Can we wrap it up? I have to leave for another interview” and “Can you tell me what your company does?”

Have a great week,
Elisa