How to Hire or be Hired

Christopher Shaw

Professional Development SIG ▪ Session Code 402 ▪ September 29th ▪ 1:30 pm – 2:45 pm

Goal of this session At the conclusion of this session you will be

better prepared to go through the hiring process of a DBA as the employer or as the candidate looking for a new DBA position.

Why this topic? Nightmare interviews I have had.

Mayo on my sandwich and its my birthday! I’m outta here! Something more than over-the-counter… How many interviewers does it take to change a

light bulb (or to hire a DBA)?

Hiring a DBA Discussion Points

Defining the search Posting the position Resumes Interviews

Define what the company needs

What is the employee experience level that is needed?

What is the workload? What kind of DBA does the company need?

Experienced Employees Positives

Learning curve is not as steep Growth of current knowledge base New ideas

Experienced Employees Negatives

Cost They may be looking for a promotion that is not

going to be there any time soon. Too many chefs in the kitchen. Possibility of losing the employee to the

consulting sector.

Workload Have a predefined list of what will be

expected in the first month of work. Place clearly defined goals on the workload

where the progression toward those goals can be easily tracked.

Decide within the first 30 days if the new DBA is the right person for the position they have been hired for.

What kind of a DBA do you need?

Database Administrator Database Developer Database Architect

Database Administrator Backups Restores Installs Updates Configurations Firefighting

Database Developer Stored Procedure Writing Performance Tuning Index Tuning Roll Scripts Rollback Scripts

Database Architect Database design Future planning Dataflow design Data dictionaries

Posting the position Make the posting clear on expectations and

position tasks. Highlight the benefits. Highlight the history of the company. Supply a link to the company’s web page.

Resumes Key items to watch for. Key items to watch out for. Cover Letters

Key items to watch for Mission Statements or Objectives Past Employment Organizations Certifications Salary

Mission Statements or Objectives With cover letters becoming a thing of the

past, make sure that the Mission Statement has been customized.

Check to see if it is more creative than the standard “develop a long term relationship with a company that is mutually beneficial.”

Past Employment Look for details on what they did in their past

employment. Look out for over-the-top dollar amounts Ask questions during the interview about the

accomplishments that are listed on the resume, for example: How did you save the company 10 million dollars? How long did that take? Did you manage that project? What was management’s reaction?

Organizations Are they a member of any professional

organizations? PASS Local SQL Server User Group Other User Groups Any organization where they hold a leadership

Certifications What certifications are listed?

MCSE MCDBA A+

Do they have comparable experience to a certification?

Salary If the salary is listed,

And the rate you’re offering is lower than what they were receiving at their last place of employment, they may only be there long enough to find a new job.

And the rate you’re offering is much higher than what they were receiving previously, pay close attention to where their last employment was and their experience.

If it looks to good to be true, chances are it is!

Key Items to Watch out for Microsoft Office Products Lack of information or “filler” Address Education

Microsoft Office Products I call this the E-Mail bug. Exceptions

MVP Advanced Certifications Advanced or pertinent knowledge

Mail merge Access pass through queries

Filler Too much formatting Organizations other than professional where

they are not in a leadership position. Bird watchers Marine Corp Veterans Hobbies

Personal non-relevant information My goal is to grow the largest African Violet in

the world.

Address How long will it take them to get to the office

if there is an emergency? Is there an extended commute? Will this

lead them into looking for a new position? Are they planning to move if their address is

too far away?

Education Did the candidate receive the degree that

they started courses for? What was the major? Do they have a Masters degree in biology?

If so, why are they not working in the biology field?

Cover Letters With growing popularity of some web sites

that auto submit resumes, I have been seeing a number of resumes come in without a cover letter.

If a hard copy of a resume is turned in, I always look for a cover letter.

The Interview The “I don’t know” answer The trick questions The scale of questions Examples of questions The hard questions Grading the interview

The “I don’t know” Answer This is an acceptable answer, and that

should be made known to the candidate during the interview.

How does the candidate handle not knowing the answer? Did they stumble and get frustrated, or make something up?

The “I don’t know” Answer Did the candidate get nervous and let it

interfere with the other questions? Did the candidate tell you they didn’t know

and then shared how they would research the question?

The Trick Questions I place 2 trick questions in every interview Many questions could have multiple

answers. I add these to see how someone handles the “I don’t know” answer, or to see how creative they are.

I am also looking to see if they start making something up. If I have clarified the “I don’t know” answer is acceptable, this counts against them.

The Trick Questions

Examples What steps would you take before creating a

server level role? What is the sysPW table used for? What is the difference between SQL Server

2000 Developer Edition and Enterprise Edition?

The Scale of Questions Group your questions into levels of difficulty.

This will give you an idea of the candidate’s knowledge.

I have 5 to 6 questions in each group. There should be some very difficult

questions to answer.

Scale 1 Examples What is RAID? Give an example. What are a couple of the differences

between DBO and SA? Give an example of a built-in Database

Scale 2 Examples What steps would you take to improve a

poor performing query? What is the difference between the sysusers

and the syslogins tables? What DBCC commands do you commonly

use? What do they do?

Scale 3 Questions What is De-Normalization and why would

you use it? What are your thoughts on Embedded SQL

vs. Stored Procedures? Describe the different kinds of replication

that you can set up in SQL Server. What are the agents that are involved?

The Hard Questions What would your previous employer say is

your best asset? What would your previous employer say is

your area that needs the most improvement?

When you are presented with a stressful situation, how do you handle it? Give an example?

Grading the Interview I personally don’t like the candidate to know

how they are doing on the interview while I am asking questions.

I don’t mind letting them know how they did after the interview is over.

I believe that it adds to the nervousness.

Grading the Interview Use a scale to record whether an answer is

correct or not. This will save you time in having to “grade” it after the interview.

I use “1-10 “ Or ” +, – or 0“

Your Reactions Your reaction may cause stress in a

candidate. That may be your goal, however, if this stress is created, there is a chance that the candidate will start missing questions they may normally answer correctly.

However, this is a good preview on how they may handle stress.

Your Reactions I prefer not to correct a candidate during an

interview. If they ask me if they responded correctly to a question, I tell them I am willing to discuss it after we have completed the interview.

What you should look for during the Interview Focus Personality Where is the candidate in their professional

growth? Would employment be a Win/Win situation?

Focus Did they stray away from the questions? Where the answers too crisp and short? Where were they looking? Were they

focused on the interview? Were they bored or watching the clock?

Personality If there is more than one DBA in the group,

a second interview with the other DBA’s present may show how the candidate will work as a team player.

If there is a second interview, I do the introductions and then let the candidate ask questions to the team. If they have no questions, I ask about the candidate’s background.

Where is the candidate in their professional growth? What are their goals? Do they take part in Pass Conferences,

Read articles, write articles? Are they a leader or a follower? Are they over-qualified?

Would it be a Win\Win situation? In every interview I give, I explain that I want

the candidate to be in a win/win situation. The candidate needs to be able to further

their career. The employer needs to be able to fill an

open position.

So how do you decide? Do they meet the company’s needs? Will they fit in with your group? Is it a Win/Win situation?

Looking for a New Position Where to start your search Deciding what you want Resumes Interview How do you decide

Where to Start your Search Local SQL Server User Group www.Dice.com www.Monster.com Friends/Contacts Recruiters Web pages for companies in your area

Resumes Things to watch for Things to watch out for

Items to Avoid Mission Statement should be short, to the

point, and honest. Don’t exaggerate accomplishments. Don’t forget the dates and titles of past

employment. Be ready to explain why you left or were relieved of your position.

Items to Include Professional organizations. Organizations where a leadership position is

held. Certifications. Include awards and special recognition and

a description of why you received them. Be specific on tasks that you have done,

and what you were responsible for.

Cover Letters Submit a cover letter each time you submit

a hard copy of your resume. Don’t use a form cover letter. Each cover

letter should be specific to the company you are applying for.

Match your skills and accomplishments to the job posting.

Pre-Interview Do your homework, learn what the company

does, how big they are, how many locations they have.

Learn where the company is, you don’t want to get lost on your way to the interview.

Be sure that you are not offensive. Take a shower, use a little cologne or perfume.

Don’t go out partying the night before.

The Interview The basics The “I don’t know” answer Your actions and reactions Questions you should be asking

The Basics Dress nice. Don’t be too flashy. The $500.00 briefcase with

your initials in the leather is a little over-the-top if you’re not interviewing for the CEO opening.

Arrive 15 minutes early. Bring your “A Game” with you through the front

door. Even the receptionist is interviewing you. Be professional, if you are using curse words or

inappropriate comments, then you are showing them what they can expect from you as an employee.

The “I don’t know” Answer Don’t get nervous and let one missed

question ruin a whole interview! If you don’t know the answer, explain how

you would research the question/problem and move on.

Some questions may be there just to rattle you.

Your Actions and Reactions Shake hands Don’t fidget Keep eye contact Show interest

If you get the chance, ask questions Asking questions shows your interest. If bonuses are part of the compensation

package, how many times have they paid bonuses out in the last 4 years?

Can you meet the team? Can you tour the work area? How does the management work on team

building?

So how do you decide? Does the position help further your career? How are the benefits? Is the position in your salary range? Are there opportunities for promotion? If you currently have a position, make a list

of why you would leave it. Does the new position fill these voids?

List and weigh the positives compared to the negatives.

Questions

Thank you!

Thank you for attending this session and the 2005 PASS Community Summit in Grapevine! Please help us

improve the quality of our conference by completing your session evaluation form. Completed evaluation forms may be given to the room monitor as you exit or to staff at the

registration desk.

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