During an interview a DBA candidate is expected to answer a variety of questions, however, most of the questions fall under the following categories, and as a DBA job candidate, if you answer these questions effectively, you would be able to meet most of the interviewer’s expectations.
DBA Interview Questions -> Generic questions
- Tell us about your area of expertise as an Oracle dba.
What are your main achievements when you were working in your previous position?
Why are you interested in
Tell us about yourself, who would be normally on top of the list?
Where are you working currently, and why do you want to move?
Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years time?
What are your strengths as an oracle DBA?
What is your weakness as an oracle DBA?
How do you respond to the change in the workplace?
“First Impression is the Best Impression”
This will also help the interviewer assess you at the beginning stage of the interview. The better impression you create at the beginning, the more likely to help you get the job. While practicing and rehearsing, do it loudly, so that you hear your own voice nicely and clearly. Don’t you love hearing your own voice?
Apart from these generic questions, it is important you prepare yourself for more specific questions normally expected of you as an oracle dba job candidate from the interviewer during the interview.
DBA Interview Questions -> Specific questions:
“knowledge at any given moment will be a function of the thresholds of our available means of perception.”
Marketing yourself is an art. If you are not a champion in this art, don’t worry about it. Let’s treat this as a Science and you can learn to master it.
Sometimes it is almost impossible for an employer to find a job candidate who matches the job description perfectly. In a situation like this, what are the options an employer has, to find someone who comes the closest to his or her expectations?
This is where it’s your responsibility to convince the employer that it is you who is willing to go that extra mile and convince the employer that you are the one.
“As irrigators guide water to their fields, as carpenters carve wood, the wise constantly strive/reach to expand their awareness.”
A few years ago if someone asked you the question “What is the definition of quality?”
The most likely answer you would expect is “Quality is nothing but customer satisfaction”. These days, customers are not just happy with satisfaction, they expect something more than that. And the modern-day answer to that same question would be “Quality is nothing but customer delight”
Now the delight could vary from customer to customer, however, it is up to the manufacturer to customize the product and deliver it beyond customer expectations.
Yes, convincing your employer would be something similar to this. Where you are the supplier and your interviewer is your customer.
“The kind of decisions, type of life one spends depends on the level of his or her own awareness.”
Know why you are specifically applying for this job.
Be aware of your Short term and long-term goals.
Be prepared to answer about your job responsibilities in your previous positions.
Be prepared with all the achievements you have achieved in previous job titles.
“Most people drown because they jump but never decide to swim”
When you explain any achievements, remember 4 key principles and keep your explanation to the point.
S Situation
T Task
A Action
R Result
Demonstrate that you are a person who is willing to learn and is open to new ideas.
Express clearly your abilities, work-related experience, training & education, and specific skills.
Express your willingness to take up the responsibilities of the job
“Once Einstein was asked how he got so many ideas for so many inventions. He replied, ideas are in the air, if I didn’t use them someone else would have used them.”
DBA Interview Questions -> General questions about the employer
These questions would be about the employer, their products, and their expectations from you. This gives an indication of how much you are interested in their company and working with them in this position.
- What type of business is your future employer in?
Who are their competitors?
Where do they stand in the market with respect to other competitors?
Who are the main consumers of these company products?
What are their product ranges or what type of service do they provide?
What are their expectations from you?
How big is the dba team and how big are the databases?
DBA Interview Questions -> Common questions
There are some dba interview questions that are commonly asked during the interview. These are related to specific technical skills related to your previous career history and also expected of you on the Job.
- Tell us about yourself.
Why did you choose to be an oracle dba?
What interests you on the job as an oracle dba?
The motivation behind choosing this career.
How many years of experience do you have?
How would you describe yourself?
How would your colleagues and friends describe you?
What are your main contributions to your previous position?
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
Do you like to work independently?
Do you prefer to work with the other team members?
What style of management do you like?
Do you like to take instructions from others/peers?
How do you approach the problem when a customer calls you and says they cannot access the database?
How do you manage your time?
How do you manage stress at your workplace?
How do you respond to change?
Tell us about your strengths.
What is your main weakness?
What kind of job activity do you enjoy most and why?
What motivates you on the job?
Which jobs or job activities have you enjoyed the least, and how did you manage them?
What are your hobbies or interests?
Given that dba knowledge needs constant updating, how do you keep up and update your knowledge and skills?
What are the job-specific training courses you have attended in recent years?
Do you have any preference for regular working hours?
Do you have any previous management experience?
Do you normally enjoy decision-making?
What is it that brings out the worst in you?
How do you handle people to get the best out of them?
What are your major achievements as a dba?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Where do you see yourself in 2 years, 5 years from now?
Why do you want to leave your current employer?
What do you know about our company?
Can we get a reference from your employer, and will they be happy to provide the reference?
How long is the notice period for your current employer to leave the job?
If you are successful and if we offer you the job, how soon are you willing to join?
How long have you been with your current employer?
How long are you planning to stay with us?
Finally, towards the end, they would normally ask “Do you have any questions”?
“One of the most difficult things in the world is to listen. Do you think a capitalist wants to see what is good in the communist system? Do you think a communist wants to see what is good and healthy in the capitalist system? We don’t want to look, and if we look, we might lose control of the life that we are so precariously holding together. “
DBA Interview Questions -> Final word from me:
Keep a relaxed composure throughout the interview.
Do not argue only to express your opinion.
Thank the interviewers for their time when you leave the interview room.
If you are a perfect match, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t get the job. So believe that this job is yours.
When you want to make a strong Oracle DBA career then you should be aware of database services and other database technology. Without having knowledge of Oracle internals, Oracle performance tuning, and skill of Oracle database troubleshooting you can’t be an Oracle DBA expert.
This expert DBA Team club blog always provides you latest technology news and database news to keep yourself up to date. You should need to be aware of Cloud database technology like DBaaS. All Oracle DBA tips are available in a single unique resource at our orageek. Meanwhile, we are also providing some sql tutorials for Oracle DBA. This is the part of Dbametrix Group and you would enjoy more advanced topics from our partner resource.
