You'll likely be asked difficult questions during the interview. Preparing the list of likely questions in advance will help you easily transition from question to question.
Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
Top sql queries interview questions and answers job interview tips
1. Top 20 sql queries interview questions
and answers
If you need top 7 free ebooks below for your job interview, please visit:
4career.net
• Free ebook: 75 interview questions and answers
• Top 12 secrets to win every job interviews
• 13 types of interview quesitons and how to face them
• Top 8 interview thank you letter samples
• Top 7 cover letter samples
• Top 8 resume samples
• Top 15 ways to search new jobs
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 1 of 29
2. Tell me about yourself?
This is probably the most asked
question in sql queries interview. It
breaks the ice and gets you to talk
about something you should be fairly
comfortable with. Have something
prepared that doesn't sound rehearsed.
It's not about you telling your life story
and quite frankly, the interviewer just
isn't interested. Unless asked to do so,
stick to your education, career and
current situation. Work through it
chronologically from the furthest back
to the present.
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 2 of 29
3. What is the difference between “delete” ,
“truncate” and “drop” commands
Delete Command : Delete Command
Belongs to DML
Can be Used to delete entire Table data
Can be used to delete specific rows using
where clause
Can be rolled back
Truncate Command: Truncate Command
Belongs to DDL
Can be Used to delete entire Table data
Can't be used to delete specific rows using
where clause
Can't be rolled back
Drop Command: Drop Command Belongs
to DDL
Can be Used to delete entire Table data and
also the structure Can't be used to delete
specific rows using where clause
Can't be rolled back
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 3 of 29
4. What Can You Do for Us That Other Candidates
Can't?
What makes you unique? This
will take an assessment of
your experiences, skills and
traits. Summarize concisely:
"I have a unique combination
of strong technical skills, and
the ability to build strong
customer relationships. This
allows me to use my
knowledge and break down
information to be more user-friendly."
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 4 of 29
5. What is the difference between primary key and
unique key
Unique Key:
a.A table can contain more than one
unique key
b.Unique key allows one null value
Primary Key:
a.A table can contain only one primary
key (can be one/more columns)
b.Primary key will not allow null values
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 5 of 29
6. What is the difference between sub queries and
joins
a.Sub Queries :
To write sub queries between two or
more tables, there is no need to be
relation exist among those tables
b.Joins:
To write joins between two or more
tables, there should be relation exist
among those tables
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 6 of 29
7. Write syntax for views and stored procedures
View Syntax:
Create view <view-name> as select
<column names> from <table-name>
where <condition>
Stored Procedure Sysntax:
Create procedure <procedure-name>
as begin select <column names> from
<table-name> end
Note: These are only sample
examples, we can write in different
ways also.
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 7 of 29
8. What are the different constraints available in
sql and Explain
Not Null -> enforces a column to
Not accept Null values
Unique -> uniquely identifies each
record in a database table
Primary Key -> uniquely identifies
each record in a database table and it
cannot contain NULL values.
Foreign Key -> A Foreign Key in one
table points to a PRIMARY KEY in
another table.
Check -> It is used to limit the
value range that can be placed in a
column.
Default -> It is used to insert a
default value into a column.
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 8 of 29
9. By default how the column data would display if
use order by <column>
By default the order by would display
the data in ascending order
Syntax:
a. select <col-names> from <table-name>
order by <col-names>
It will display the results in ascending
order
select <col-names> from <table-name>
order by <col-names> desc
It will display the results in descending
order
select <col-names> from <table-name>
order by <col-names> asc
It will display the results in ascending
order
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 9 of 29
10. What is the operator in sql to find pattern match
Like
Select <colnames> from <table-name>
where <col> like <pattern>
Ex:
a.
Select ename from emp where ename
like ‘v%’
It will display all the names which are
start with ‘v’
b.
Select ename from emp where ename
not like ‘v%’
It will display other than all the names
which are start with ‘v’
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 10 of 29
11. What is the purpose of ‘distinct’ in sql
Distinct is used to display only the
different values
Ex:
Select distinct <col-names> from
<table-name>
Select distinct ename from emp
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 11 of 29
12. What is the difference between union and union
all
The UNION operator selects only distinct
values by default. To allow duplicate
values, use UNION ALL
Select <col-names> from <table1> union
select <col-names> from <table2>
Select <col-names> from <table1> union
all select <col-names> from <table2>
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 12 of 29
13. How can I find total number of employees with
more than 40 years?
SELECT
COUNT(EMPLOYEES.*) FROM
EMPLOYEES
WHERE EMPLOYEES.Age>40
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 13 of 29
14. How to create Identity Column using Query?
SELECT
row_number() OVER(ORDER by
TESTTABLE.p1) as SRNO,
result=CASE
WHEN TESTTABLE.p1 IS NOT
NULL THEN TESTTABLE.p1
WHEN TESTTABLE.p2 IS NOT
NULL THEN TESTTABLE.p2
END
FROM TESTTABLE
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 14 of 29
15. How do I select 2nd highest salaried employee
from my EMPLOYEE table?
SELECT
EMPLOYEE.*,
MAX(EMPLOYEE.Salary) AS
SalarySecondHighest
FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE EMPLOYEE.Salary<
(SELECT
MAX(EMPLOYEE.Salary) AS
SalaryFirstHighest
FROM EMPLOYEE)
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 15 of 29
16. How to select top 3 employees from EMPLOYEE
table which is grouped in the salary groups?
SELECT
EMPLOYEE.*
FROM
(SELECT EMPLOYEE.*,
rank() OVER(PARTITION BY
EMPLOYEE.Salary ORDER BY
EMPLOYEE.Salary ASC) AS Rank
from EMPLOYEE
) EMPLOYEE
where Rank<3
-- if you want to top n employees for each
grouped salary
-- replace 3 in the query with (n+1)
ORDER BY EMPLOYEE.Salary
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 16 of 29
17. How to find all the employees from EMPLOYEE
table who earns more than the average salary of
their department
SELECT
OUTEREMPLOYEE.*,
OUTEREMPLOYEE.Salary
FROM
EMPLOYEE OUTEREMPLOYEE
WHERE OUTEREMPLOYEE.Salary >
(SELECT
AVG(INNEREMPLOYEE.Salary)
FROM
EMPLOYEE INNEREMPLOYEE
WHERE
OUTEREMPLOYEE.DepartmentID =
INNEREMPLOYEE.DepartmentID)
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 17 of 29
18. How to list employees with period of service in
terms of years and months?
SELECT
EMPLOYEE.*,TO_CHAR(TRUNC(
MONTHS_BETWEEN(SYSDATE,
EMPLOYEE.HireDate)/12))
AS
Years, TO_CHAR(TRUNC( MOD(MO
NTHS_BETWEEN(SYSDATE,
EMPLOYEE.HireDate),12))) AS Months
FROM EMPLOYEE
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 18 of 29
19. How to display only Even Records from
EMPLOYEE table?
SELECT
EMPLOYEE.*
FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE (rowid,0) in
(SELECT rowid,mod(rownum,2)
FROM EMPLOYEE)
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 19 of 29
20. How to display only Odd Records from
EMPLOYEE table?
SELECT
EMPLOYEE.*
FROM EMPLOYEE
WHERE (rowid,1) in
(SELECT rowid,mod(rownum,2)
FROM EMPLOYEE)
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 20 of 29
21. What are DDL and DML commands?
DDL (DataDifinition Language):
Create
Alter
Truncate
Drop
DML (Data Manipulation
Language):
Select
Insert
Update
Deletet
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 21 of 29
22. Useful job interview materials:
If you need top free ebooks below for your job interview, please visit:
4career.net
• Free ebook: 75 interview questions and answers
• Top 12 secrets to win every job interviews
• Top 36 situational interview questions
• 440 behavioral interview questions
• 95 management interview questions and answers
• 30 phone interview questions
• Top 8 interview thank you letter samples
• 290 competency based interview questions
• 45 internship interview questions
• Top 7 cover letter samples
• Top 8 resume samples
• Top 15 ways to search new jobs
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 22 of 29
23. Top 6 tips for job interview
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 23 of 29
24. Tip 1: Do your homework
You'll likely be asked difficult questions
during the interview. Preparing the list of
likely questions in advance will help you
easily transition from question to question.
Spend time researching the company. Look
at its site to understand its mission statement,
product offerings, and management team. A
few hours spent researching before your
interview can impress the hiring manager
greatly. Read the company's annual report
(often posted on the site), review the
employee's LinkedIn profiles, and search the
company on Google News, to see if they've
been mentioned in the media lately. The
more you know about a company, the more
you'll know how you'll fit in to it.
Ref material: 4career.net/job-interview-checklist-
40-points
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 24 of 29
25. Tip 2: First impressions
When meeting someone for the first time, we
instantaneously make our minds about various aspects of
their personality.
Prepare and plan that first impression long before you
walk in the door. Continue that excellent impression in
the days following, and that job could be yours.
Therefore:
· Never arrive late.
· Use positive body language and turn on your
charm right from the start.
· Switch off your mobile before you step into the
room.
· Look fabulous; dress sharp and make sure you look
your best.
· Start the interview with a handshake; give a nice
firm press and then some up and down movement.
· Determine to establish a rapport with the
interviewer right from the start.
· Always let the interviewer finish speaking before
giving your response.
· Express yourself fluently with clarity and
precision.
Useful material: 4career.net/top-10-elements-to-make-a-
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 25 of 29
26. good-first-impression-at-a-job-interview
Tip 3: The “Hidden” Job Market
Many of us don’t recognize that hidden job
market is a huge one and accounts for 2/3
of total job demand from enterprises. This
means that if you know how to exploit a
hidden job market, you can increase your
chance of getting the job up to 300%.
In this section, the author shares his
experience and useful tips to exploit hidden
job market.
Here are some sources to get penetrating
into a hidden job market: Friends; Family;
Ex-coworkers; Referral; HR communities;
Field communities; Social networks such
as Facebook, Twitter…; Last recruitment
ads from recruiters; HR emails of potential
recruiters…
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 26 of 29
27. Tip 4: Do-It-Yourself Interviewing Practice
There are a number of ways to prepare
for an interview at home without the
help of a professional career counselor
or coach or a fee-based service.
You can practice interviews all by
yourself or recruit friends and family to
assist you.
Useful material: 4career.net/free-ebook-
75-interview-questions-and-answers
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 27 of 29
28. Tip 5: Ask questions
Do not leave the interview without
ensuring that you know all that you
want to know about the position. Once
the interview is over, your chance to
have important questions answered has
ended. Asking questions also can show
that you are interested in the job. Be
specific with your questions. Ask about
the company and the industry. Avoid
asking personal questions of the
interviewer and avoid asking questions
pertaining to politics, religion and the
like.
Ref material: 4career.net/25-questions-to-
ask-employers-during-your-job-interview
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 28 of 29
29. Tip 6: Follow up and send a thank-you note
Following up after an interview can
help you make a lasting impression and
set you apart from the crowd.
Philip Farina, CPP, a security career
expert at Manta Security Management
Recruiters, says: "Send both an email as
well as a hard-copy thank-you note,
expressing excitement, qualifications
and further interest in the position.
Invite the hiring manager to contact you
for additional information. This is also
an excellent time to send a strategic
follow-up letter of interest."
Ref material: 4career.net/top-8-
interview-thank-you-letter-samples
Interview questions and answers – free pdf download Page 29 of 29