Database Administrator Interview Experience - Irvine, California
Process
The position was entry-level, and I went through a total of four rounds.
First Round: A 30-minute screening with the recruiter. They asked basic HR questions about my background and experience, why I was interested in the position, and my ability to commute.
The recruiter informed me that I would proceed to the next round and sent an email later the same day.
Second Round: A couple of days later, I had a 30-minute on-call interview with the manager I would be working with. This involved a few basic technical questions (e.g., experience with NoSQL databases, how a JOIN works) and some background-related inquiries.
He allocated the last 15 minutes for me to ask any questions.
I received an email confirmation for the next round the same day.
Third Round: The following week, I had a technical interview via video call with the Principal DBA. This round focused heavily on databases and MySQL, but the questions were manageable.
Fourth Round: Another week later, I had an in-office interview. I spoke with four people individually:
- A talent manager from the Boulder, CO office.
- The Senior DBA.
- The manager from round 2.
- The Principal DBA from round 3.
The interviews with the DBAs were technical.
I was informed a few weeks later that they had moved ahead with a different candidate.
Overall, my experience was quite good. Everyone I spoke to was polite and courteous.
Questions
How does a table join work?
What is the difference between relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases?
How did you handle a difficult situation at work?
What is something you said at work that you regretted, and how would you have changed it if you could have?
What do you do when you have a bad day at work?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the SendGrid Database Administrator role in Irvine, California.
Success Rate
SendGrid's interview process for their Database Administrator roles in Irvine, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for SendGrid's Database Administrator interview process in Irvine, California.
SendGrid Work Experiences
- 3.0Not as cool as you thinkSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeMarch 12, 2018Pros: Great benefits. Nice coworkers; and an exceptional Executive Team.Cons: Engineering SDLC is worse than most companies. Managers are too much into metrics and shipping fast, and this promotes bad behavior, and they often lose sight of the bigger picture and push employees to deploy low quality code. Deployment is a mess, and there's no parity between environments if you are lucky to have a development or staging environment at all. It's ironic that a company with a dedicated devops team can't have a consistent devops story.
- 2.0Engineering is under appreciatedSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeAnaheim, CAMay 7, 2013Pros: Great startup perks like a gym, phone, and commute reimbursement, lots of beer flowing, trips to conferences, and games to go all around. They give you anything you want for the workplace like a standing desk, MacBook Airs with Thunderbolt displays, and more. There is also the annual company trip to Mexico that is always unforgettable.Cons: There is a bias and favoritism felt towards the Colorado office. There are many people who work in engineering that do nothing and are lazy. And the others who work hard are not appreciated at all. It takes HR and management a few resignations to see that they need to give mass promotions and raises so it's unorganized and not based on actual merit. They've gone through a few VPs of Engineering in only 2 years, so the engineering department is always unstable.
- 4.0Mostly good so far but...Software Engineer • Current EmployeeJune 12, 2019Pros: - Great offices - Great culture & values - Awesome perks - Stock performance that is outstanding - Rewarded for good performance - I love my teammates - Lots of opportunities to learn, challenge, and grow - Interesting work - Processes that are good - Sameer & Craig who are great It might be the best decision of my career so far, but for all the good being said, some issues have come up.Cons: Politics and disingenuity are on the rise. It's often said that the cultural value we're the worst at is the Honest H. Time and time again leadership says to be more honest. But when we give fair, direct feedback to leadership, people get political, and then we're commended to our faces and called bellyachers behind our backs. It's incredibly disingenuous and feels like we're only going downhill from here.
