Please find the below topics and reply with your answer with yes or No.
1) Performance tuning must be hands-on, not conceptual The candidate should be able to actively diagnose and optimize slow queries not just describe best practices.
What this means:
- Read execution plans and identify bottlenecks
- Optimize joins, filters, and indexing strategies
- Reduce query latency under real workload conditions
- Demonstrate examples of production tuning they personally handled
- Expectation: Immediate problem-solving ability in live scenarios.
2) Deep indexing knowledge is mandatory Indexes are tied to core business logic — mistakes directly impact a time-critical payment system.
Candidate must be able to:
- Explain index types and when to use each
- Identify missing/fragmented indexes
- Perform index maintenance strategy decisions
- Balance performance vs write overhead
- Expectation: Confidence handling indexing decisions without trial-and-error.
3) Rapid troubleshooting mindset The environment does not allow experimentation cycles — the candidate must operate with precision under time pressure.
4) Strong SQL fundamentals, no gaps Basic relational understanding is non-negotiable.
Candidate must clearly articulate
- Left join vs inner join behavior and use cases
- Query impact on result sets and performance
- Practical examples of join misuse causing issues
- Expectation: Core database fluency, instantly recallable.
5) Stored procedure optimization skills Candidates must show a systematic approach to slow stored procedures.