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RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Liliya Huff — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:48:46 GMT

Funny or not. I used these questions interviewing people for the job (production dba that is). For fun at first... Honestly I had to 'lower down' my usual questions set, because we had really bad luck hiring anybody... either market was dry either what... beautiful resumes and in person uuuppss ... like if it was somebody's resume. It was amazing how many people blow 80+% of these simple questions with nice resumes and tons of experience. I used the questions from this article for phone screenings. Whoever passed 'simple set' and then some additional questions or did not pass 'simple set' but had a fighting chance got in person interview and e-mail doc with 20+something questions and with unlimited resources to find an answer within 1-2 days. Some of my questions were set up to force an question to clarify... amazing, ... but so few actually asked a question. People who has scored low never asked a question. People who scored low/high on simple test had similar score on more advanced questions. I had cases when people passed 80+% of questions (from this article and my own ones ), were brought in person and froze seeing a simple performance tuning task or something of that sort. Like they have never seen the tool set before or worked with a different database all together.I've talked to people with questions range coverage from 50 to 80. An interesting observation, how many sql dba's with tons of experience do not know much or anything about the OS ms sql server lives in... I did not expect that to be honest.There were comments here about people making mistakes during interview because they are people. I can answer why I'm going to put pressure during interview period. In production when all hell breaks loose and that 'thing' gores down whoever that dba is ... they going to face the pressure. I need to know at least something about what they are likely to be doing, are they going to freeze, fight, hide or . Have being on both sides of the interview 'table' as you have guessed. Interesting that during my practice I've seen actually only on case when there was a computer in the room and somebody wanted me to do anything not on paper. When I was interviewing I found that most of the candidates did not expect to lee a laptop at all. Kind of like ... here he/she goes about such and such in his/her experience and it all sounds wonderful and solid, ok, here I turn the laptop and ask to show something he/she was talking about 2 sec ago. And we are done, nothing. Ok... and what I supposed to think about it, because the candidate was just describing how they were solving the same problem and how many times did they see it during their current job and did the same thing... like yesterday.I can understand stress, but I want to see what the candidate is doing too...

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Osa O — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:57:00 GMT

I totally understand your rant. I worked with one of our clients - a major game seller based in the US. A temporary DBA did not know how to backup a database.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

neotokyo — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:48:00 GMT

a real guru once told me that knowing where to look for the answer to a problemis equally as important as knowing the answer.my 2 bits.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Carl Uman — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:12:00 GMT

Ditto on the ego boost LOL

I think I might have fell off my chair laughing

I'm ready for an interview now

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

ScottPletcher — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 11:10:00 GMT

No, "wrong situation" refers primarily to an application being added to the server. And not necessarily a full-blown business app either.

Say, instead, Java applets are added to the server. Java applets require a JVM. A JVM uses a relatively large amount of RAM.

Or say a (large) virus checker is put on the server [not preferred on a SQL Server, but some companies demand it on *every* server]. Or a larger e-mail client. Or a combination of them and perhaps others, such as Winzip, etc..

If you don't understand how SQL's memory allocation works, you probably will not investigate more fully to determine if the other memory usage exceeds SQL's nominal allowance for other uses. Maybe it's OK, but maybe not. The key is that the DBA needs basic understanding to even realize that it needs checked.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

rudy - Doctor "X" — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:38:00 GMT

One example using fixed memory allocationnon a cluster and the two nodes do not have the same amount of memory. The A node has 4 gb and the B node has 2.5 gb. SQL server is a fixed allocation of 3 gb with the /3GB switch in the boot.ini. try failing over this cluster from A node to B node. This is not a test but an actual support situation that I ran into and had to fix. So YES, knowing how much memory SQL Serve uses on startup is a very relevant question in production support.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

RonKyle — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:23:00 GMT

What does the actual performance have to do with the memory usage on startup? What would be the "wrong situation", as you put it? That the server is underpowered? I've needed to know a lot of things in my DBA life, but have never needed to know that.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

ScottPletcher — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:18:00 GMT

>> How much memory does SQL use on startup? <<

I disagree about the relevance of this q. This knowledge is not only useful but vital for a senior DBA. Otherwise, in the wrong situation, the system could end up repeatedly allocating / deallocating pages and page thrashing. That's a sure recipe for dismal performance.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

RonKyle — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:29:00 GMT

This is a very interesting thread, but I don't see the relevance of some of the questions, like:

How much memory does SQL use on startup?

I've never had to share an SQL Server with something else, and I rarely start them up. On the other hand, I'm very interested to know what someone thinks of NULLS, referential integrity, where should business rules be stored, mud tables, when to use cursors, when to use views, and so on. These questions may not always have a right answer (though some I think do) but they will go a long way to determine fit in the organization.

I did once, however, had a interviewee who told me he had a lot of experience with SQL triggers. When I asked him to describe one of his triggers and what it did, he said that he wrote a program that, when the button was pressed, "triggered" the database to do something.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Dave Schutz — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:25:00 GMT

I've only been working with SQL for a little over a year and I knew half of the answers. I'm also my company's network admin and help desk for about 200 users so I don't get to spend much time doing DBA work.

Sometimes when you hire you just don't get what you pay for.

And remember...it's all about the data!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

swschmid — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 09:23:00 GMT

You are right the hiring managers can be idiots. This story reminded me of an interview I took just after graduating from college. I was asked a question by 1 member of the group interviewing me, I answered it and then the "manager" asked me the same damn question only worded different. I paused for a moment and looked around at the group and didn't see any reaction in anybodys faces so I proceeded to answer the question again. I got the job but after 3 1/2 years I couldn't stand working for a manager who knew all the buzz words, but nothing else.

I've been on the other end too though, and have been asked a question about something I knew but it just wouldn't come out at that moment.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

leifah — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:56:00 GMT

Hilarious/Scary! But what a boost for my self confidence!

As a Norwegian, I was thrown a bit off by the references to lotion, Kleenex and Spotlight, though. :-)

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Brandt Edwin — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:25:00 GMT

good christmas... i have been a SQL DBA for all of three weeks now and knew the answer to most of the questions.god save the queen

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

sqluser@sqluser.com — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 02:35:00 GMT

You know, I've come to the conclusion over the past cpl weeks of interviewing candidates, that asking 'how would you rate your SQL Server skills, out of 10?' gives a wonderful, almost INVERSE indicator of the actual skill of the respondant.Anyone claiming to be a 8 or 9/10 clearly hasn't yet understood all the intricacies and massive body-of-knowledge SQL Server hides from lay-users. Somebody claiming to be a 'maybe a 6 or a 7...there's a lot in there...' is more promising as at least they know there's so much still to learn/lookup.Below a 5 just shows a supreme lack of confidence again, so they're back with the 8's and 9's in the 'no hire' pile if SQL Proficiency is required for a role.Next time you're hiring, try asking this question, see if our results are similar?

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

GavinB — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 14:56:00 GMT

Firstly, I am a web developer who has inherited the job of also administering the SQL Server instance and (Physical) server.

I know, pretty well SQL, but pretty much next to nill with regards to administering a database.

I can create a database, tables, index, triggers, maintenance plans etc, good ol' point and click Microsoft and the EM are your best friends in this regard... but I certainly don't pretend for a minute to full understand what is going on... I just know to get results X,Y and Z and I need to do these three things in this window (or that one...) of the EM.

So for the purposes of education, my only question is, what are the answers to your questions? I probably only know the answer to about 40% of them. I am more than happy to look for the answers too, but simply keying in what I think are the keywords into the BOM search isn't going to guarantee that I end up reading about what's related to your questions.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Benjamin S Taylor-194434 — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 12:39:00 GMT

I went into books online for SQL Server 2000. Entered a search of the Entire Collection for SEM. No hits. How can this be? So I tried EM which I have seen as a more common acronymn and found that it means "Expectation-Maximization". Ok, the point is this one got too carried away.

However, if you have someone who is a senior DBA they should know at least Clustered Index, Fill Factor, SP_LOCK, etc. Anyone who does not know these items should not be doing more than...oh, I don't know what they can do as a DBA. Backups?

Still, be sure that you are educating people...not calling them idiots (unless your name is Joe Celko). All you are going to do is alienate yourself and your opinion will be lost.

Cheers,

Ben

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

RichB — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 07:41:00 GMT

I mean, let's face it: These kinds of questions are sensationalist. Most people who get into an interview situation ARE ABSOLUTELY QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB. Period. No one would waste their time interviewing unqualified candidates. By the time they get into the interview room, the only question is whether they have the right personality to mesh well with the team.

I cannot disagree enough. So many people have 6years SQL on their cv... turns out they have written a small sql select * once every couple of years. Sure maybe they are there just to make the other candidate look good, but...

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

sushila — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:58:00 GMT

I just reread the article to start off my morning with a few laughs and I was wondering about this...Q: What is the model DB?A: It isn’t used at all. I usually delete it....I didn't know this was even doable...?!?!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Scott D. Smith — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 03:45:00 GMT

This article was laugh-out-loud funny! It's amazing what some nervous, nerdy DBAs will come up with when their minds go blank during an interview. Of course, it's not funny either, because we've all been there haven't we? When I first started interviewing, I was always uncomfortable when somebody asked me factual questions or gave me a 'corporate test' to prove my competency. Such 'weed out' questions were a source of dread for me that often left me flat-footed during interviews. I mean... if they didn't think I was qualified, why did they bring me in here in the FIRST place? I mean, once you get into the interview, isn't it more a question of character than competence?

By the time I interviewed for my first DBA position, however, I had conducted enough interviews that I knew exactly what to do. Just answer the questions as best you can and be honest if you don't know the answer. Also keep in mind that knowing the right answers doesn't necessarily mean you are the best candidate for the job. Lots of people can talk a good game during an interview but that doesn't make them the most suitable person for the job. Quite the opposite is true, in fact.

From a certain perspective, I suppose your article was a bit arrogant, wasn't it? I mean, every smart person secretly believes they are smarter than everyone else. But, really, does asking questions or giving tests really 'weed out' the worst candidates?

My gut answer is 'sometimes yes, but mostly no'. Let's face it, some people used to be good but they lost their touch as they aged. DBAs with 10 years of experience who can't tell the difference between char() and varchar() have not been paying attention. On the other hand, some people who would make FANTASTIC DBAs might screw up questions like these due to their introversion, nervousness, or because they are amazed that anyone would ask such an irrelevant question. I mean...who CARES? Being a DBA is more about how you handle yourself during a crisis and your ability to plan for disaster when it strikes.

During interviews, I like to ask situational questions. Like 'how would you handle this situation?' or 'Tell me about a difficult time when [something terrible] happened.'

I think that pretending to be Alex Trebeck puts you in more jeopardy than the candidate, quite frankly. You risk losing a good DBA by trivializing the interview process.

I reserve the right to be wrong, but I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion. Thanks for listening!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

sqluser@sqluser.com — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 03:12:00 GMT

[quote]Have been on both sides. Interviewed at MS for a SQL Support position (way way back). Walked in with the attitude that "these people know a LOT more than you do, don't bluff, be honest".Of the 15 people interviewed, one other person and myself got the jobs. [/quote]For anyone else chasing a job at Microsoft, personal fit is Massively important, as this illustrates!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

P Jones — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 02:17:00 GMT

I also hadn't heard the abbreviation - interviewers and job description writers need to be more careful in assuming that their abbreviation is the norm. For my present job the description included ETL which I'd never heard of, but I am well competent with SQL DTS! Thanks to Google I put the right bits on the application form.

London salaries aren't that surprising when you look at London living costs and house prices.

As a DBA in the wilds of beautiful rural Wiltshire I can buy a four bed house with a decent sized garden, double garage and plenty of off road parking for my cars and boats for only ten times my salary. I can drive into work in 10 to 15 minutes without any traffic jams and am as likely to meet deer as cars on the way. I can also be at the sailing club or walking in the country (or in a country pub!) within 10 minutes of leaving the office.

£50 to 100K in the city sounds wonderful but I reckon my lower salaried post has the far, far better quality of life. If not why do so many Londoners queue their way down the A303 each Friday night to join us in the West Country??

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Yelena Varshal — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 16:27:00 GMT

Hi,

I agree with earlier posters that SQL EM or EM are more common abbreviations than SEM.

My favorite question probably is about 2PC which is not about 2 PCs (2 personal computers) but about.... (hint: related to the word Distributed)

Yelena.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

rudy - Doctor "X" — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 15:32:00 GMT

I think that jvarunok quite eloquently stated the change in the profession that I've chosen to call the 'command line' DBA de-evoultion into the 'GUI' DBA. I'll stay a dinosaur thank you ... take away the GUI and mouse then watch Darwin-ism take over !

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Kenneth Lee — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 15:02:00 GMT

Q - what's the difference between char() and varchar()My answer, nothing, they'll both give you the same syntax error. They also can both store just one character:--DECLARE @cr char(),@vcr varchar()--Line 1: Incorrect syntax near ')'.DECLARE @cr char,@vcr varcharset @cr='Ftest'set @vcr='Vtest'select @vcr variable,@cr fixed

I'd probably shoot the DBA that would declare a field or variable varchar(1) or char(1000). Oh, wait, I've got to shoot myself because of that example.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Laurel Todd-245733 — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 15:00:00 GMT

Good comic relief but you could have left out the "with a bottle of lotion in one hand, and a Kleenex in the other" comment!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

mcloney — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:50:00 GMT

I really want to thank Sean McCown for this article. I've been the only SQL DBA at my small company for about 5 years. When we first got SQL 7 back in 2000, we hired a consultant to help me get on the right track with SQL programming and administration, but I haven't had the chance to actually work with anyone else who knew more about SQL than I know.I've been considering getting my resume together, just to see what's out there, but I've been intimidated by my perceived lack of experience. Sure, I've been writing SQL in my sleep for years, but I had no idea how I stacked up against other potential candidates. I don't have a degree in computer science, or even any formal training outside of one VB class at the local community college. But I know the answers to most of these questions, and I'd like to think I'd admit to my ignorance of ones I couldn't answer.I'm not saying this article represents the population of applicants I would be up against, or even a representative sample. I think the most valid point in the article is "Pick up a book." I don't have the opportunity to do a lot of stuff with SQL Server in my small organization, but I'd like to think I could talk about a lot of things I'd never done, in theory at least, in a job interview or with a peer. Therefore, I'm always reading this Web site, Inside SQL Server 2000, The Guru's Guide series, etc.I also agree that honesty is important. I've never been the type to try to BS myself into a job. I guess I've been lucky enough that I haven't had to do that so far.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

jvarunok — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 14:04:00 GMT

I really believe that much of this lack in knowledge comes from the advent of MS SQL server. I am not putting down MS SQL; I have been working with it since the original version . But before MS SQL Server the only other database engine that I can think of, that didn’t require command line administration was Sybase. Before MS SQL you actually had to know what you were doing when you worked on main frame databases. And yes, SQL databases existed on main frames well before MS SQL server. Originally I worked on main frame SQL Databases, SQL/DS and Ingress writing FORTRAN with embedded SQL. There were no wizards or tools, not even a GUI to help you create a database and its’ objects. Every thing was command line and you had to understand what you were doing. The database engines were not forgiving so you had to understand how to tune to get the best performance. I was lucky enough to work for a manager who fully understood database architecture and fundamentals and who insisted that his employees get the proper training.

With the advent of MS SQL server, companies who before could not afford a database now had the opportunity of running database applications. That along with the internet boom caused a high demand for all types of IT people making it easier for those with less than adequate skills and even non-technical individuals to obtain work in the industry. This also pertains to management. Many managers can not determine whether their systems are being efficiently and properly administered so these DBAs with less than adequate skills continue to hold down positions and are not required to get proper training and skills. Many of these database people have never worked with any one who does have good experience from which they can learn. I can’t count the times I have seen the word “sequel” written by a manager or even a CIO when referring to SQL. And by the way, how many people know that it stands for Structured Query Language?

In the past 7 years I have worked with so many so-called DBAs who have no experience prior to MS SQL 7.0 and when you ask them to set up maintenance they use the Wizard and couldn’t begin to write a script to do maintenance. Microsoft it’s self, with the roll out of MS SQL 7.0, marketed and totted that MS SQL server was basically a self contained database that needed minimal administration. So why would you need to hire technically experienced individuals to be a DBA. An individual could much more easily take a course to teach them how to take the MS certification tests and get a job. But passing the test and getting a certification does not always mean they have obtained the knowledge.

I would never claim to be a SQL Guru however I have passed many 2 to 3 hour technical interviews and the positions I have held are indications that I can answer the basics and many of the more complex SQL characteristics. In the first two companies where I worked as a Database developer/DBA I had the good fortune of working with highly competent and knowledgeable individuals. My first couple of years I had some great mentors and as I became more experienced I still had highly skilled individuals to bounce things off of. That is why I could not believe 7 years later, when I moved to a new area and started contracting for a different company, the abundances of DBA’s/Database developers who do not know such basics as those questions. I started asking my self why there were so many people that had such little SQL knowledge and I started seeing the pattern, as I mentioned above, that 90% of these individual’s only database experience was with MS SQL and had never had to really understand a database engine. Many of these individuals were hired during a time when the demand was high and supply was low.

The pendulum has gone from a point, where 20 years ago you needed mathematics or an engineering degree to be in the computer industry to the other extreme where 16 years old that have played around with coding can get a job. Like most things the pendulum with time usually balances out.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Jamie Thomson — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:25:00 GMT

Oh yeah. I guy I know went for an interview 5 years ago for a junior consultant role. His CV said that he had "some experience of using Oracle". When probed it turned out that he had been extracting from an Oracle instance via ODBC from MS Access.

I have to confess...the guy was me!! And I got the job somehow as well. The guy who hired me is now a good mate and we still laugh about this to this day!

-Jamie

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

JeepThing — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:03:00 GMT

Thanks for the laugh!

And to think I lose potential jobs to people like this every day.

And to the guy pronouncing it 'squeal', I would contend that it is pronounced 'see-kwal'... LOL

In addition, I have a few good questions for weeding out the... weeds...

Where can you find the physical device name for the last backup made to a database? (there are several correct answers to this one, but the answer I would be looking for is how to do it with QA)

That's another good one... if you know what EM or SEM is, then what is QA or SP?

What command do you use in QA to set a database to single or multi-user?

What command do you use in QA to truncate a log file?

Should you name stored procs you create for application functionality begin with sp_?

What is a situation that would require GUIDs for ID fields?

Enjoy

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Mike C — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:39:00 GMT

Well, technically they are "virtual"... so they don't actually "exist" hehe

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

RichB — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:01:00 GMT

So, what has scanning electron microscopy got to do with being a good dba

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Katie Walsh — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:56:00 GMT

Holy crap. I'm not even a DBA and I know the answers to those question. I feel much better now.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Joseph Chestnut-218855 — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:44:00 GMT

I've been working with SQL Server specifically less than a year and know these questions. But right on about the education, information is overflowing on this stuff. But i think people dont realize the importance of the foundational stuff like the phsyics of the hardware and the role of the operating system. Being a former mechanic, these were the topics i felt like i must get a handle on before i ever started worrying about software applications like DBs. And it has paid off well. I use those harware, OS, and NOS fundamentals everyday. I spent a few grand on just educating myself on these things (books, certs, hardware to play with, etc) while i pursued my BS degree in Comp Sci. But honestly i make this point because these things are the foundation, but ive met many many people i thought were professionals that disapointed me. At first i looked to them as mentors, until i realized they didn't have a clue, then i began to trust myself alot more and realized i wasn;t crazy, they were. So right on, its amazing how people hold such positions without having the fundamental knowledge you expect.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Razvan Socol — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:28:00 GMT

Q: What is checkpointing?

A: Checkpointing is the point at which the system checks to see if the transaction log needs to be truncated.

This answer is not completely wrong, because "Automatic checkpoints truncate the unused portion of the transaction log if the database is using the simple recovery model." However, the simple recovery model is not the default model (and it's not recommended for production databases), so a more appropriate answer would be "Checkpoints flush dirty data and log pages from the buffer cache of the current database, minimizing the number of modifications that have to be rolled forward during a recovery."

Razvan

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Mike Yeager — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 11:05:00 GMT

You know, I come from a VFP background and have been using SQL exclusively for only a couple of years. I would certainly not consider myself a DBA. This actually makes me feel better about myself! The only one I couldn't nail and show a thorough understanding of was about restoring a single table. I didn't know you could (can you?) and have never come up against the need, so I don't feel too bad about not knowing that one. On the other hand, I have no qualms about saying, "I don't know" when I don't. Oddly enough, I DO sometimes have trouble finding work and wonder if I've lost out to guys like these!?!? Anyway, I'm off to the BOL to find out about restoring a single table...Mike YeagerTaos, NM

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

arrowdrive — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:57:00 GMT

Have been on both sides. Interviewed at MS for a SQL Support position (way way back). Walked in with the attitude that "these people know a LOT more than you do, don't bluff, be honest".

Of the 15 people interviewed, one other person and myself got the jobs. All where competent people, some much more experienced than myself. The two of us where the only ones to say straight out that we did not know the answer to some of the questions, but, give us a copy of the SQL manual (back in the day when those still came printed) and we would find the answer. The rest had tried to fib.

The best one was when I was sent by my consulting company to intreview for a position doing replication. I had ZERO replication experience at the time. My opening statement was "I don't know anything but the theory of replication. Do we want to continue this interview?" Got the job on that one.

Have had some bad answers giving the interviews, but not that bad. Very few candidates I have declined has been for lack of specific knowledge, although some were underqualified in general.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

BReuter — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:56:00 GMT

Outstanding rant. In addition to providing some LOL entertainment, this is a great source of interview weed-out questions.

Well done!

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

rudy - Doctor "X" — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:36:00 GMT

Anything 'virtual' is something that appears to be there but really isn't.

Oh, by the way, my spelling is not great but my pronunciations is usually on 'target' ...

It's pronounced "squeal" ...

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

Lee Dise — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:36:00 GMT

There was a study done recently that found that incompetent people are quite often unaware of their incompetence -- they simply don't know what they don't know. In fact, perversely, they found that the higher one's level of competence, often, the less confident in their knowledge they became; and vice versa. Fortunately, there was a cure for the inflated sense of confidence incompetent people have, and that was to acquire more competence.

There is at least some degree to which competence is in the eye of the beholder. I am much less interested in hiring someone with specific SQL Server knowledge than in hiring someone with good all-around database knowledge. If someone understands the concepts of good database design, of general approaches to troubleshooting, of the importance of having a backup plan that supports the mission, etc., and seems like a good person to work with, I figure the SQL Server-specific stuff can be picked up. I'm not going to throw out someone just because he achieved his experience in Oracle or Informix. But that's my opinion.

RE: How do you spell S-Q-L?

sqluser@sqluser.com — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:35:00 GMT

On a general more interviewing theme, remember the maxim 'The way you do one thing is the way you do everything'. This is why it is always so crucial to ask what are seen as the 'soft' questions - eg 'Tell me about a time things went badly wrong, and how you dealt with the situation'. People tend to repeat patterns when under stress. This is much more useful to you, the interviewer, than 'What would you do if x went wrong?' (which requires a textbook answer).Someone asked what my nasty/impossible questions were...try just flicking through BOL at some section you don't recognise, or specifics on why truncating transaction logs doesn't always shrink as much as you'd expect, or even vague questions. If the question is vague, do they ask you for clarification (which is what you hope they would do on the job when you ask them to do something)?Nobody has ever cried after one of my interviews [note to self - must try harder ], and I've managed to get some spot-on people And turning up 10 mins early (to chill out), and prepared (doing a bit of homework on the prospective employer) is a minimum requirement, of course!