Interview Tips for SQL Server

Having recently changed companies and working on a new and exciting project, I have played a big part in secure colleagues roles in other organisations for more money.

One of the main things I strongly enforce is to be yourself.

Most recruiters or interviewers want people that have a sense of humour and good people skills. People who work well within in a team and who can adjust to a new environment easily.

There is always a first time for everything. This time being behind the other side of the desk conducting an interview.

So where do you start.
I would look at every inch of this person CV. Looking at timelines, how long they were at each workplace, as well as the way they write and communicate through their CV. Any relevant certifications. How recent are they? Is there newer certifications out there?

Here are some of the questions that I thought weren’t too technical but would separate DBAs from someone who dabbles with SQL:

1. What motivates you?
2. Who is Ola Hallengren?
3. Fastest way to get a 1000 records in a database?
4. How to tell if a query will scale for PROD.
5. Always-On cluster build instructions.
6. What do you use for SQL Server monitoring?

With the questions above, there is no right or wrong answer. What is interesting is to hear the answers. You generally can spot the Developers from the DBAs from the answers. For example, question 4. Most of the time DBAs will look at the execution plan as well as the statistics IO to see if the query is ready for PROD. Developers will generally say that the appropriate indexes are there. Both answers are right but it gives you an idea of how the person thinks

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