Re: Interview Question

Steve Dover wrote:
>
> Frank Hubeny wrote:
> >
> > I have been able to eliminate about 50% of the candidates that get
> > past nontechnical screenings by simply asking them if they can do an
> > "hello world" program in the language in which they claim to be expert.
> >
> > So, the first question I would ask someone who claims to be expert in
> > SQL on Oracle would be
> >
> > Display the string "hello world" in SQL*Plus.
> >
> > --
> > Frank Hubeny
> > fhubeny_at_ntsource.com
> > Wheaton, IL 60187

I must agree with a previous poster that this would be no real test for an oracle developer or DBA. Many people who are skilled in SQL*PLUS, and could answer this question in three or four ways are nowhere near the technical level that I would expect in my technical interviewees. SQL*PLUS expert does not an Oracle expert make.

Now, to backtrack a little, I have caught self proclaimed "experts" in PL/SQL and forms with very simple questions -- but I've also realized that an inability to answer a rather strange "simple" question is not a reason to eliminate people. I deal every day with pretty complex problems, and if someone asked out of the blue for me to do this, chances are I'd freeze for a minute or two before I could answer. Most of my tech interviews are full of "situational" questions -- how would you solve this.... type things, which give me a much better idea of how skilled someone is.

Robin

-- 
phouka_at_frii.com                                     
http://www.frii.com/~phouka/
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away