Last week, we asked you the questions, and this week we’ll talk about the answers. We’ll discuss what we look for in a candidate – not just the written answers, but also the way they answer questions. You’ll learn why you shouldn’t bluff, and why you should never, ever rate yourself a 10 on a 10-point scale. We’ll even share our favorite questions that candidates asked US during the interviews in this 30-minute session.
Want more interview questions? Check out some of our past posts:
Developer, Sysadmin, and SQL Interview Questions
- Top 10 Questions to Ask a Senior SQL Server DBA – if you’re hiring a database administrator, here’s ten questions to ask along with the types of answers you should expect to hear.
- Top 10 Developer Interview Questions About SQL Server – the best questions to ask in an interview of a developer who will be storing data in SQL Server. Whether you’re hiring a C#, VB, or Java developer, they all need to know the basics.
- Windows System Administrator Interview Questions – how to find the right candidates to manage backups, network infrastructures, and desktop support.
Good Tips for Interviewing Database Administrators
- How to Hire Top Talent – First of all, you’re not the only one looking. But guess what? You’re probably looking for the wrong person, and you’re almost certainly asking the wrong questions.
- The Myth of the Perfectly Qualified Candidate – companies look for someone with exactly the right amount of experience – but what kind of employee has it? I explain.
- (SQL Server) Size Matters – how to determine if a DBA’s experience is right for your company.
- Tips for Hiring a DBA – my thoughts after going through the interview process at a few companies.
- Show Candidates Their Work Areas – and watch their reactions. It’ll help you gauge if they’re a good fit for you, plus give you insight about your environment.
Interview Tips for Candidates
- Top Ten Questions to Ask at Your Own Job Interview – avoid taking a crappy job that you’ll regret later!
- How to Get a Telecommuting Job – I’ve been telecommuting off and on since 2000, and I’ve accumulated a set of tips on how to get a remote DBA job.
- Being the Porsche of Job Candidates – you can get a decent job by being a decent candidate, but to get the best jobs, you have to be the best candidate. That means having an online presence.
- Ask for a List of Servers – DBA candidates need to ask as many questions as they answer during the interview.
7 Comments. Leave new
Thanks for the info- I’ve been struggling with nailing my interviews and it’s refreshing to see other people in the industry posting tips and information. Thanks for your blog, it is very informative.
Hi Kendra, hi Brent,
thank you for sharing. This video is not only useful for those who want to run interviews.
I used this video as a refreshment of a few things and also learned a little bit new as well.
Regarding Q20 I probably would have quoted Klaus Aschenbrenner: “TempDB is the public toilet of SQL Server”. No idea how you would react on this 🙂
Regards and have a great weekend
Dirk
Dirk – that’s actually originally *my* quote. 😀 Started it back in my TechEd session in New Orleans a few years ago if I remember right. I’m honored that other folks are using it, though!
Oh sorry, I didn’t know that.
But this is one of the sentences which engraves in your brain 🙂
Hi Brent and Kendra,
Thank you for the valuable info contained in the video.
One thing I noticed was not mentioned in the question regarding performance of vendor apps was checking if regular maintenance (index defrags, update-stats) is set up on that system. Often, after that has been set up, performance improves.
This probably the least intrusive way of addressing performance issues with vendor apps.
Regards,
Marios Philippopoulos
Thanks for the video, it has given me some insight as i will be haeding for the interview soon.
However the link regarding the checklist for the server is down question,
there link you supplied seems to not exist:-
https://www.brentozar.com/go/firstresponder…Please repost the check list if possible.
otherwise this video is very well presented ad thank you.
Hi! Just go to https://www.brentozar.com/responder – enjoy.