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I've seen some requests on here about interviewing and what kind of questions will be asked and what kind of answers to give. I am trying to come up with what kinds of questions to ask potential employers before you accept an offer. Obviously some of these questions, items would not be answered during the first interview but I was wondering if anyone can suggest other questions they feel are important to ask.
Unix Hardware and O/S Issues
1. How many servers do you have that are hosting Oracle databases?
2. For each server that is hosting a database, what is the hardware type and what OS version is it running?
3. For each server, how many CPU’s, Memory, and Disk Capacity does the server have?
4. Are there vendor support contracts in place for each of the servers? What kind of support do we have 24/7, 8/5 etc.
5. Do we have disaster recovery documentation in place? When was it last reviewed? When was it last tested?
Oracle Issues
1. How many instances are you running?
2. For each instance, what is the version of Oracle that you are running and which server is it running on? What patches have been applied?
3. For each instance, what type of database is it (OLTP, DSS, Mixed)?
4. For each instance, how large is it?
5. Approximately how many users does each server support? How many of these are concurrent?
6. Do we have disaster recovery documentation in place? When was it last reviewed? When was it last tested?
7. Do we have Oracle support contracts for each of the systems? What level of support do we have?
Unix Performance Issues
1. What performance monitoring tools are used?
2. Are regular statistics kept for each server for trending and analysis?
3. What type of disks/disk arrays are being used?
Oracle Performance Issues
1. What performance monitoring tools are being used?
2. Are regular statistics kept for each server for trending and analysis?
3. Are there any “trouble systems” or current issues with the databases? If so, which/what are they?
4. Get a copy of the following for each instance:
a. A copy of the initialization file
b. A copy of the alert log
c. A copy of control file to trace
d. A listing of select * from v$sysstat
e. For instances using the CBO when were the
statistics last ran (dba_tables, dba_indexes)
( There will be a bunch more here but I am too tired right now to figure out everything I would like to have from the databases to know what I'm getting into.
Unix Personnel
1. How many senior-level administrators? For each, how long have they worked with Unix and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?
2. How many junior-level administrators? For each, how long have they worked with Unix and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?
Database Personnel (Oracle)
1. How many junior-level DBA’s? For each, how long have they worked with Oracle and how long have they been with the company? How long have they been in their current position?
2. Do any of the junior-level DBA’s continue to do development?
3. What is the average level of compensation for the junior DBA’s? (Basically, how long are they going to be around)
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The important question to be asked the Interviewer is:
Is this post a new one? If so, what are the responsibilities ?
If not, why was the previous person left the organization?
From the answers, you can judge the company!
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I'm looking at a senior position w/ 6 junior DBA's in the company. The juniors were all brought up from development under 6 months ago. The senior dba went on vacation and then told the company that he was staying in Florida supposedly. I'm a little nervous as to what is going on there - I think it's strange that someone in that positiion would just pick up and leave like that.
Your answer is well taken and I do plan to ask all of that as well. I just want to get as clear a view on their environment as I can before I would consider the position.
Thanks for your input Tamilselvan!
Joe
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These are great questions, Joe! I printed them out for myself. To this list I would add off-hours support. This issue can make almost any salary seem irrelevant.
Ask what is the off-hours support policy? Is there one? Is there further compensation?
Emergency On-call:
1. Who determines what is an emergency?
2. What is the on-call schedule?
3. How many calls a week does a DBA receive? What is resolution time, on average? (i.e. longer calls may mean no other on-call support)
4. What are the expectations for call-back? for initiation of problem resolution? for resolution? (i.e. must you remain at home the entire on-call schedule?)
5. Are there other support personnel on-call like sys admins or application folk?
Scheduled Off-hours:
1. Do you get a say in deciding the schedule?
2. What will be the means of communication between different groups (if they are involved)?
3. Does the team think frequent re-orgs are a good idea? (differences in admin style come up here)
Listen carefully to these answers; they may provide clues as to whether sys admins, application admins, and the DBAs in the team work co-operatively or combatively. I have worked with both styles, and a combative colleague can turn an hour-long issue into a weekend endeavor. This is also a good way to determine any dysfunction in the DBA team.
Best Wishes, D.
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Actually that was something I hadn't really thought of, I'm so used to just being on call 24x7x365 *laugh* It is something to ask about though, just to see what the environment is like :) Thanks for the input.
Joe
