jwiseh (3/3/2015)
However, remember, this is a job interview, not an hour-long training class. You have 60 seconds to give whatever these DBA's consider to be an intelligent answer. How would you answer the question, "Your users report slow queries. What do you do?" if you only have a minute or two to respond?I welcome your opinions on the subject, and thanks for your input!
I've asked variations on this question during interviews for data-layer developers and what I'm looking for when I ask it is some insight into how your mind works: how do you troubleshoot, how do you decompose a problem, etc. I don't assume that there's one correct answer (or, if there is that I'm smart enough to know what it is). If you responded by asking me more specific questions about the nature of the problem (e.g. has the query exhibited issues in the past, can the issue be recreated in the sandbox, etc.) that would score you points in my book.
In terms of narrowing things down, you're on the right track by listening to Jeff Moden's advice on the better tools/approaches. If you referenced his posts or articles in an interview with me, you'd be an automatic frontrunner.