May 12, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Jeff Moden (5/12/2012)
I absolutely do understand about the type of "test" interviews that you're talking about but being nervous under fire is all a part of what it means to be a DBA. Of course, it's also a good measure as to whether or not you think the company might be good to work for. If they come off in the interview as short and "testy", then they might not be someone you'd want to work for. Perhaps they actually did you a great favor.
Well I can kind of see what you're saying here but the fact of how I handle pressure and stress levels in a job I already have and the stress and nervousness of "do they like me?" in an interview is totally different... at least for me. I also don't think how well a person answers test questions on the fly is how well they would handle a real time high pressure situation at work.
May 12, 2012 at 1:56 pm
being a DBA nowadays is much more than performance tuning and recovery models. I know guys who are dedicated to HA while others are migration experts or build and deployment experts. not every dba should be familiar with activity monitor , execution plans , server side traces and DC and resource governor and PAL and RMl and Counters and DMV and Foglight and ........ so senior is no longer about experience but exposure.
unfortunatley if you are exposed to these thing too frequently your probably not a good dba 😀
Working under pressure and how you can handle it and arrive at a logic conclusion is what i look for.
May 12, 2012 at 1:59 pm
The last two technical interviews I had were tense only in the level of detail they wanted. But in both cases later they comment how relaxed I came accross. I also reference my contributions here on my resume. What I believe this gives is a window to my skills and demeanor that are not dependent on what I say to them.. I have thousands of posts here over several years and if that doesn't give some clue to my skills then a short test isn't going to give them much either.
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..
CEWII
May 12, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Elliott Whitlow (5/12/2012)
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..
That's why I let them know how and why their questions are wrong. 😀
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 12, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Jeff Moden (5/12/2012)
Elliott Whitlow (5/12/2012)
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..That's why I let them know how and why their questions are wrong. 😀
I wonder sometimes if I would pass a Jeff Moden or Gail Shaw technical interview.
May 12, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Elliott Whitlow (5/12/2012)
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..CEWII
One of my favorite questions was, what is the difference between a CTE, a table variable and a #temp table and when would you use each.
May 12, 2012 at 2:38 pm
For my current position, all three interviews were actually technical, and all on the phone.
The last interview was the longest and the manager had done research on me. He had read my blog posts, my articlses. He may have even checked the forums, that I'm not sure about. I did really good on those since I got the job.
Some of the questions were text book type, but I didn't miss a beat in answering them. Some were situational, and I did okay with them as well.
May 12, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Lynn Pettis (5/12/2012)
Jeff Moden (5/12/2012)
Elliott Whitlow (5/12/2012)
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..That's why I let them know how and why their questions are wrong. 😀
I wonder sometimes if I would pass a Jeff Moden or Gail Shaw technical interview.
My interviews are actually a piece of cake. I ask nothing trivial or arcane although I do ask some thought provoking questions. I am quite sensitive to someone who tries to BS me, though. I've been known to stop interviews rather abruptly because of BS. I've also been known continue to ask questions in the apparent weak areas to let people hang themselves for many questions in a row just so I have enough ammunition to convince my boss(es) that their prime candidate is pulling a huge "Hail Mary" with a shedload of BS. Either someone knows what I'm asking or they don't. How they handle the things they don't know is all a part of the interview. I certainly don't want a BS artist or a liar guarding the data. I want someone honest enough that, if they ever make a mistake, they'll readily come forward with it so we can fix it as soon as possible.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 14, 2012 at 9:45 am
It has been my experience that most IT people have no business even conducting interviews.
Many lack the understanding of the real goal of the interview.
Often it becomes more about establishing technical dominance as the top IT guru in front of the potential new guy.
This is very common at Microsoft.
May 14, 2012 at 9:53 am
JamesMorrison (5/14/2012)
It has been my experience that most IT people have no business even conducting interviews.Many lack the understanding of the real goal of the interview.
Often it becomes more about establishing technical dominance as the top IT guru in front of the potential new guy.
This is very common at Microsoft.
If that is the case, then those individuals shouldn't be doing the interviews. IT personnel should be involved din the interview process to be sure that the people being interviewed actually know what they are talking about and not just trying to snow management with BS and technobabble.
May 14, 2012 at 1:55 pm
JamesMorrison (5/14/2012)
It has been my experience that most IT people have no business even conducting interviews.Many lack the understanding of the real goal of the interview.
Often it becomes more about establishing technical dominance as the top IT guru in front of the potential new guy.
This is very common at Microsoft.
Funny... I was going to say the say thing about HR and management. 😛
I agree though. A lot of times the idiot giving the interview seems like a ring knocker with some cross to bear. Those types of people shouldn't be allowed in interviews. Actually, I don't like working with that type of person, either so it's actually a blessing that companies make the mistake of allowing such people to do the interview. I typcially "throw them on the floor" with information about the very questions they ask because they really don't know anything real and then tell them I don't want the job because of the ring knocking shown during the interview. 😀
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 14, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Jeff Moden (5/12/2012)
Elliott Whitlow (5/12/2012)
As a further point, I dislike most aspects of technical interviews purely because in MANY cases they are very subjective and if you don't give them the answer THEY are looking for, you answered wrong, regardless of the fact you might have given an answer that was right on.. Some are less subjective than others like whats the diff between clustered and non-clustered index if any..That's why I let them know how and why their questions are wrong. 😀
Heh! I've done that too. Had a question once about which sequence rows were processed in a trigger, first-to-last or last-to-first. I still, almost 2 years later, hope it was a trick question, but I'm really not sure it was.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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May 14, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Have to admit, I'm amazed this discussion is being resurected yet again.
Since the last time it hit the active threads, I've concluded that the lack of senior DBAs is directly the result of a complete lack of jobs for junior or mid-level DBAs. How can there possibly be anything but a shrinking pool of senior DBAs if nobody will hire a guy with less than 10 years of experience? No way to get that 10 years, so look for a different line of work!
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
May 14, 2012 at 2:57 pm
GSquared (5/14/2012)
Have to admit, I'm amazed this discussion is being resurected yet again.Since the last time it hit the active threads, I've concluded that the lack of senior DBAs is directly the result of a complete lack of jobs for junior or mid-level DBAs. How can there possibly be anything but a shrinking pool of senior DBAs if nobody will hire a guy with less than 10 years of experience? No way to get that 10 years, so look for a different line of work!
Just my opinion here...
There are plenty of opportunities for junior or mid level DBAs. But those jobs are not lateral opportunities and are rarely advertised.
Most of the time when a company is hiring a DBA, they have a need or a gap to fill and they only go outside when it is serious and they need a pro. That is why most of the advertised jobs are for senior level of experience.
But within a company, if you are looking to add a new member to an existing DBA team, a junior or mid-level DBA, then it is often due to growth. There are typically many volunteers from the dev team or QA teams that want to make some sort of career change. I see most DBAs coming from those ranks. There doesn't seem to be a logical path directly from school into the DBA role.
May 15, 2012 at 7:02 am
JamesMorrison (5/14/2012)
GSquared (5/14/2012)
Have to admit, I'm amazed this discussion is being resurected yet again.Since the last time it hit the active threads, I've concluded that the lack of senior DBAs is directly the result of a complete lack of jobs for junior or mid-level DBAs. How can there possibly be anything but a shrinking pool of senior DBAs if nobody will hire a guy with less than 10 years of experience? No way to get that 10 years, so look for a different line of work!
Just my opinion here...
There are plenty of opportunities for junior or mid level DBAs. But those jobs are not lateral opportunities and are rarely advertised.
Most of the time when a company is hiring a DBA, they have a need or a gap to fill and they only go outside when it is serious and they need a pro. That is why most of the advertised jobs are for senior level of experience.
But within a company, if you are looking to add a new member to an existing DBA team, a junior or mid-level DBA, then it is often due to growth. There are typically many volunteers from the dev team or QA teams that want to make some sort of career change. I see most DBAs coming from those ranks. There doesn't seem to be a logical path directly from school into the DBA role.
Same point I'm trying to make.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
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