Marketing

How to talk to recruiters during a phone call

1. Common questions asked during the call.
 Are you available on the market right now?
Yes, I am available on the market right now.
 How soon are you ready to start the job?
As soon as possible because my contract with my company is about to end in the
coming two weeks.
 What is your day-to-day activity? Please try to refer to the statement below.
I am production SQL DBA at (mention your current company). Regarding our
SQL environment, it is a SQL clustered environment with 6 nodes. Within 1
instance in each node, we have an average of 120 databases. Active- passive
cluster environment. The passive is the backup of the active nodes.

We use SQL 2008 and 2012. As SQL server technology in addition SQL server
cluster Always On and replications are used on many databases.

We use spotlight for performance and LiteSpeed for backup and restore from third
party tool.

I am responsible for managing 25 production SQL servers. The servers should

always be online, backed up, and corruption-free.

1.Checked the failed process- backup failures, agent jobs error, login error,
system error
2.Validate disk space is not low
3.Replication monitor
4.Validate queries to make sure they run quickly
5.Validate none of the databases are offline or corrupted
6.Work on the ticket based on the requirement
Additional

1. SPACE USED BY DB'S

2. CHECK BACKUP DETAILS
3. SQL RESTART CHECKING
4. FIND ALL THE BLOCKED PROCESSES
5. DBCC OPENTRAN
6. MIRRORING
7. KEYWORD IN A JOB STEP
8. MEMORY BASED INFORMATION
9. SESSION USED BY THE USER
10. Replication monitor
 How many years of experience do you have?
Please try to reply to your experience based on your resume.
 Tell me about yourself.
I am Microsoft Certified professional in SQL server 2012 database administrator
professional; I have bachelor’s degree in computer science with over 6 years of
experiences in
Administrating, managing and Supporting SQL server Databases.

• Working in the development, test, and production environment.

• My Team includes DBA, Developers, App Team, Release Team
I started my career as junior DBA at Ethio Telecom, moved up my career become
senior SQL DBA.

I learned a lot of things, which later helped me to prosper SQL DBA profession.

I learned discipline, capacity Planning, Different backup strategies, different

migration strategies, documentation, installation, configuration, upgrading on
various version of SQL server on
like 2000/2005/2008/2012
Now, I do have working experience and solid knowledge on different
technologies of SQL Server Database like:

1. Backup/Recovery,
2. Performance Tuning,
3. Applying Patch (SP)/HOT fixes,
4. HA /DR
5. Migration
Besides that, I can manage multiple projects simultaneously with excellent
organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, excellent interpersonal,
verbal, and written communication.
skills and Ability to work independently.
For your information, First I entered to SQL DBA profession by accident; my
friend gave the idea to become a SQL DBA more about it. After a while, I
realized that changing my profession to a DBA.
improve my family life.
The more I became involved, the more I enjoyed the profession.
As of today, I know for sure, SQL Server DBA is my long-term career
commitment.
It is my goal to become someone who makes a difference on SQL server DBA
profession.
Therefore, I am looking forward to becoming a member of a professionally strong
team and to being involved on technically and analytical challenging projects.
 This position and your company represent a very special interest me because It
Perfectly match with my Experiences, skills and educational background I have
possessed over the past 8 years.
Bringing together my passion for SQL Server DBA, My Education and Skill with
my previous experience at (mention your company), beyond any dream to me and
it is a unique lifetime opportunity.

 Why are you leaving your current job?

Make sure to state that your contract is about to end in the coming one or two
weeks.
 Tell me about your experience? Tell your skills and abilities from your resume.
I am responsible for the production and the development server.
In the Production server, I am responsible for managing the SQL Server
instances- making sure the servers are always online, backed up, and corruption-
free. Including clustering, SAN storage and security.
I am working closely with the developers. Most of the time developers store data
in SQL Server, and my role is to help them get that data in and out more
efficiently. We are working with them on data modeling, writing T-SQL, and
performance tuning the code.

 What is the largest database that you have worked on so far?

You can state 4TB,5TB.
 How many servers have you worked with?
You can mention 30 and above.
 What is the last project that you are working on?
For this question you can pick any topic and get prepared for it.
For instance, you can mention Migration for SQL server from older versions to the updated one
or specifically migration from SQL Server 2016 to SQL Server 2019 using side by side
migration. The reason that me and my team chose the side-by-side migration is because in an in-
place migration, the existing system is updated or upgraded, and the migration takes place on the
same system. On the other hand, in a side-by-side migration, a new system is created, and the
migration takes place from the old system to the new system.
The advantage of using a side-by-side migration over an in-place migration is that it allows for a
more seamless transition. With a side-by-side migration, the new system can be tested and
configured before the migration takes place. This means that there is less downtime for the
system, as the migration can take place in stages, and there is less risk of data loss or corruption.
Additionally, with a side-by-side migration, the new system can be brought up to date with the
latest software and hardware, while the old system can continue to operate without interruption.
This allows for a more gradual migration, which can be less disruptive to users.
Overall, a side-by-side migration can be more complex and time-consuming than an in-place
migration, but it can also be more reliable and less risky, making it a better choice for large,
mission-critical systems.

 Negotiation of salary.
 What is your plan for the coming 5 years?