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Thread: Oracle DBA Job interview

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    I've just secured my first job interview for the position of Junior Oracle DBA - takes place in 2 weeks time.

    I became an Oracle Certified Associate (9i) a few weeks ago, and am working towards the remaining two exams for full OCP status. Whilst I have some commercial experience in SQL, I have no commercial experience as an Oracle DBA. My only experience is extensive 'playing-around' with Oracle databases on my home PC, putting into practice everything I'm learning during my studies. ie. starting up databases, shutting down databases; creating, amending, deleting objects; managing users, profiles, roles; backup and restore with RMAN and manually etc.etc. (I have also completed courses on Oracle database design etc. although it is not part of the certification.)

    I am reasonably comfortable with what I have done, though am fully aware that this is not even close to REAL-life experience. I made this clear in my application and am assuming the company is aware of this.

    The interview is a half-day affair involving various interviews, verbal and numerical tests, personal assessments etc.. I am quite comfortable with all these aspects and not nervous at all.

    However, there is a section on testing DBA skills. I have no idea what this might involve. Perhaps they will ask me to perform a series of actions on some test database. Or perhaps it will just be theoretical. I AM a little nervous on this section, as my lack of real-world experience will be clearly visible.

    Does anybody have any advice on what might be tested in this section? Hopefully, during the interview sections it will be made clear where my strngths and weaknesses lie, but I don't want to appear a complete idiot when they ask me to perform some 'simple' task that I may never have come across.

    Does anyone have any similar experience of an interview and what was expected of them?

    Cheers,
    Don


  2. #2
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    I love companies that test your skills. It just shows the candidates that they have nobody that knows how to interview and are more interested in filling a laundry list of requirements. They might as well be saying "You will be hired for one specific job and you have no chance of growing your career."

    Although I may be in a different situation, I thank those companies for their time, explain that it obviously won't be a good fit and move on.
    Jeff Hunter

  3. #3
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    This is a reasonably good thread to see what might be expected to do..
    http://www.dbasupport.com/forums/sho...threadid=11238

    All the best!

    Cheers

    Tarry
    Tarry Singh
    I'm a JOLE(JavaOracleLinuxEnthusiast)
    TarryBlogging
    --- Everything was meant to be---

  4. #4
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    Originally posted by marist89
    They might as well be saying "You will be hired for one specific job and you have no chance of growing your career."

    Although I may be in a different situation, I thank those companies for their time, explain that it obviously won't be a good fit and move on.
    Come to think of it, i personally find it rather discouraging when in the initial talks, you're told "Oh no, you have a very specific job and you'll stick to it"
    something maybe for someone who does not want to experiment. I personally think interviewing is a very different scenario, it can be challenging but can be very discouraging for someone who doesn't know what he must ask and has to go thru routine q&a.
    Tarry Singh
    I'm a JOLE(JavaOracleLinuxEnthusiast)
    TarryBlogging
    --- Everything was meant to be---

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    "When I interview people, and they give me an immediate answer, they're often not thinking. So I'm silent. I wait. Because they think they have to keep answering. And it's the second train of thought that's the better answer."
    -- Robin Leach
    yodaDBA@hotmail.com

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by yoda
    "When I interview people, and they give me an immediate answer, they're often not thinking. So I'm silent. I wait. Because they think they have to keep answering. And it's the second train of thought that's the better answer."
    -- Robin Leach
    I like this one!!
    Tarry Singh
    I'm a JOLE(JavaOracleLinuxEnthusiast)
    TarryBlogging
    --- Everything was meant to be---

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
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    Helsinki. Finland
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    Originally posted by don9999

    Does anyone have any similar experience of an interview and what was expected of them?

    Cheers,
    Don

    I think nobody can test your Oracle skills in one day. It is sort of silly if someone tries to do that. That is why in Scandinavia, and in many other countries there is 3 to 6 months trial period.

    If someone wants to prove that I know nothing about Oracle, (s)he will ask me 5-6 questions whose answers I will not know (anyone can find some questions like that). On the other side, how can they check if I know all DBA areas. Oracle has 5 tests for that and still many people claim that those test do not show anything :-)
    Oracle Certified Master
    Oracle Certified Professional 6i,8i,9i,10g,11g,12c
    email: ocp_9i@yahoo.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    [QUOTE]Originally posted by julian
    Oracle has 5 tests for that and still many people claim that those test do not show anything :-)
    I'm one among the many people. I have joined many people recently though initially I wasn't one... after looking at the kinda of questions posed by OCP DBAs in this forum... Forget about implementing techology, common sense questions... Like where to find this script/concept/doc ... Hope I change my mind and gain faith in OCP soon when Oracle tightens OCP program to stop paper OCPs... Of Course! I see its happening...

    I see in the industry too, People were little picky on OCP in last 12 to 18 months. Not recently, I have seen one very picky on OCP...


    Reddy,Sam

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by julian
    Oracle has 5 tests for that and still many people claim that those test do not show anything :-)
    I, too, am one of those individuals that have lost faith in the OCP Process. There are just too many paper OCP's out there that have not one minute of experience. I used to seek out OCPs, now I shy away from them.
    Jeff Hunter

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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    I think I too would be wary of employing a paper OCP.
    OCP 8i, 9i DBA
    Brisbane Australia

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