How to get an Oracle DBA Job

In just 48 hours, 120 resumes from Oracle DBAs landed on the desk of Debbie Reames, a senior technical
recruiter for Los Angeles-based staffing company Commercial Programming Systems. So Reames did what a
lot of recruiters do. She wiped out half the pile in a three-step process. Need an H-1B visa? Gone. Need to
relocate? Not for this job. Only worked at small companies? This job might be too big for you.

Despite the steepest downturn in the history of IT, there are jobs to be had by Oracle certified professionals and
DBAs, according to many surveys. Of course, there are also longer lists of qualified candidates. When it comes
to searching for a job in this market, even the most experienced IT pros need to remember some of the rules
they learned long ago and apply some new strategies as well.

In many ways, the DBA market can be divided into two groups – juniors and seniors.

The junior DBAs, those with less than three years of experience, are the ones facing layoffs and a meaner job
market, according to Don Burleson, owner of Kittrell, N.C.-based BC Oracle Consulting. Burleson is the author
of 17 books related to Oracle technology and careers, including Conducting the Oracle Job Interview, a guide
for IT managers who have to assess Oracle job candidates.

"Many companies will not hire beginners, period," Burleson said.

However, Burleson said, there is hope for junior DBAs. Companies that are not willing to spend $120,000
annually for a seasoned professional will sometimes take rookies and train them. Burleson suggested the health
care industry and universities as two places that new DBAs should look for that critical first job.

Government security clearance key for veterans

Then there are the veterans. DBAs who have more than 10 years of experience, who hold advanced degrees and
who have specialized skills are still in strong demand.

Knowledge of Oracle financials, SAP, PeopleSoft, 9i RAC, 9iAS and Unix are qualities that carry weight,
Burleson said. Also, government security clearance is something that gets many Oracle DBAs past the first
round of resume cuts. In addition, development skills such as Java, Windows, J2EE and portals lend candidates
a competitive advantage.

More important, Reames said, a candidate's skill set has to match a company's needs. "They really need to have
every skill," Reames said.

"If the job calls for someone with data modeling," she said, "and I don't see any specific data modeling
experience, I'll discount it."

In addition to specific technical skills, Burleson says, many companies are looking at educational backgrounds,
preferring to hire candidates who have graduate degrees or MBAs. Companies value DBAs who have an
understanding of finance or accounting, the business processes that DBAs support.

Follow-up calls, first-round interviews

For both groups, there are some basic ground rules to getting through the critical first round of interviews.

Simply getting the resume in as early as possible can help. With 120 to read, Reames might not see each of
them before she finds enough qualified candidates to interview.
Candidates should call recruiters too see whether their resume was received, she said. "Don't be afraid to call to
follow up," Reames said. "It may give you an advantage, and we may not have looked at the resume otherwise."

Applicants who make the first cut are usually interviewed on the telephone. It's important to remember that the
person conducting the interview may not have a technical background, Burleson said. At this point, candidates
are being judged on their non-technical qualities. Communication skills are crucial here, experts say.

Because communication skills are so critical on the job, Burleson recommended that candidates provide
potential employers with writing samples, preferably ones that have been published. Several online sites,
including this one, accept submissions of technical tips, he pointed out.

Real techie talk

The handful of applicants who survive the telephone interview can expect an interview at the job site and what
Burleson calls the "teching" of the candidate. He advises interviewers to ask specific questions, such as "What
is the default password for the sys user in Oracle?"

There's no faking answers to those questions, and an interviewer can easily judge the technical skills of the
candidates. "Only a practicing DBA knows the answer is 'change_on_install,'" Burleson said. "A seasoned DBA
can spot a faker instantly."

Then comes the last stage, on-site meetings with a company's IT staff. These meetings typically last about half a
day, and this is where the potential hires will really be tested. Sometimes there are open-ended questions, such
as "What would be the first thing you would do if an end user complains that performance is poor?" The
answers to these questions can be very revealing, Burleson said, because they don't have one right answer, and
they show how candidates can think on their feet, or how innovative a DBA is.

Perhaps more important, this final interaction is where the intangibles, like interpersonal skills, are judged.
Having a DBA who is a team player is a priority for most, if not all, companies. In many cases, the intangibles
make the difference.

"I've seen companies reject the most technically qualified candidate. It happens all the time," Burleson points
out. "DBAs have to be able to play well with others."

Finally, Burleson said, forget casual Fridays.

"It's the kiss of death to underdress for an interview," he said.

"Appearance does count."

Position Sought : ORACLE DBA
Age : 25 years Experience : 1.2 years
Qualification : MCA
Preferred Location :
Job Category : System Administration/DBA
Expected Salary : 250000
•
• Resume
• Skills Summary
1 year experience as Oracle DBA consultant in Soft Tech World, a company on solutions in the scope of e-commerce, web
site development, software development on multiple platforms, multimedia presentation design, and internet marketing.
Experience
IT Company

DBA Consultant
PROJECT
Title : Consumer Analysis Tools (CAT) at APSPDCL, Vijayawada
Client : Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company

Client Profile: - APSPDCL (Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company) under the umbrella organization of A.
P. TRANSCO is the Electricity Distribution Co., for six districts in Southern Andhra Pradesh. The Southern Distribution Co.
head quarter is situated at Tirupati has 46 lakh consumers, 180 PAA's (Private Accounting Agents).

Platform :HCL-Infinity Server with Windows/ 2000

Database :Oracle9i Enterprise Edition release 9. 2. 0. 1

Responsibilities: -

1 Database Set up and administer database security (creating new users, roles, profiles, etc. ).
2 Monitoring the growth of the database like table, index and table spaces etc.
3 Monitoring the response of the Systems like load and CPU usage.
4 Reorganization of tables and indexes
5 Performed backup (hot backup, cold backup) of the databases.
6 Analyze the tables and indexes.
7 Monitoring activities included verifying that databases are up; databases have enough space in the table spaces, reviewing
alert logs, etc.
8 Monitored database using Toad tool.
9 Taking Hot Backups.
10 Knowledge on Internet Concepts
11 Loading and Transforming Data (exports, imports).

BPO Industry

Software Trainee
Projects

1 Tool for Addition of LOB(VB 6 & SQL Server)

2 Ticket System(Java & SQL Server)
3 Reporting Software(VB 6 & SQL Server) 8/ 06-present

01/ 06-07/ 06

Certifications & Course

1 Red Hat Linux Trained (RHCE) from SQLSTAR PVT LTD NEW DELHI
2 Oracle 9i Database AdministratorTrained (DBA) from SQLSTAR PVT LTD NEW DELHI

Technical SKILLS

DATABASE: - Oracle 9i (SQL, DBA-1 & DBA-2, PT), Ms Access.

Language: - Java, Visual Basic, C, and C++.
Platforms: - Red Hat Linux 4(RHCE), Windows (NT, 98, 2000, XP).
 Other :- Knowledge of Software Testing (SDLC)

Education
MCA (2003-2006) with 66% marks from GJIMT Mohali
BCA (2000-2003) with 68% marks From JDIMT (Affiliated to PTU) Muktsar.
•

Position Sought : DBA, Software Developer

Age : 26 years Experience : 4.6 years
Qualification : msc(com sc)
Preferred Location : All India, NCR, Bangalore, Delhi
Job Category : System Administration/DBA
•
• Resume
• Key Skills:

1)Oracle 8i/ 9i DBA ( on unix, windows platform)

2) Knowledge of oracle 10g.
3)Good knowledge of ORACLE RDBMS/ SQL/ PL-SQL/ Developer 2000 (forms. report), oracle
discoverer, other reporting tools. migration tools.
3)Oracle tuning (Sql/ Database)
4)Knowledge of Solaris system administration
5)Backup and restoration management for databases
6)Database Capacity and Resource planning
7)Handling various database, forms, report performance issues
8)Good exposure to version migration
9)ability to handle production environment independently

Educational Qualification :
-2001 - 2002 Guru jambeshwar University Hissar, Haryana
- MSC (comp sc) Master in computer Science.

-1996-1999 Mharashi Dayanand University Rohtak, Haryana

- B. SC (stat).

-1996 - 2000 Aptech LTD (Pvt) South ext, new delhi

- 3 yr advance diploma in software engg (APTECH)

- 1994 - 1996 CBSE New delhi

- Intermediate (science)

Total Job Experience ( 4 + yr)

Dec 2000 - Present IT Company, pitampura, new delhi

As Database coordinator/ Technical consultant/ Manager (design) (3. 4 yr)

Job Profile:
- Database architecture Designing (oracle 8i) and making strategies
- Managing Information system and DSS planning
- Handling university database and various franchisees database records
- Planning, controlling and monitoring
- Developed project on Franchisee system and Remote maintenance system
- Tunings, recovery, backup of data
Oct - 1999 - Nov 2000 ESKON Softech LTD(pvt) bhuwaneshwar, orissa
as Software engineer/ DBA (1. 2 yr)

Job Profile:
- Developed software using oracle and d2k based of distributed system.
- Assist as DBA for tuning and Maintaining of data in oracle of client.
- Good exposure to version migration
- Backup and restoration management for databases.
- Handling Client side problem i, e DBA on demand.,

Technical knowledge

I. Languages Known: :C, C++, C#,. Net, Cobol, Java, Visual Basic 6. 0
II. Networkng: :Win 2000, Unix, Linux 5. 0, 7. 0
III. RDBMS : Foxpro, Foxpro Window Ms-Access, Oracle 8, Oracle 9i, SQL Server.
IV. Client - Server Arch : D2k 4. 5, 5. 0, 5. 5, Form 6i, Form 9i, oracle10g AS, Oracle Express,
V. Design : : UML, OOD, OOSE, Microsoft Visual Modeler, Report Designing, Msproject
VI. Socket Programming : Visual Basic, Unix
VII. Miscellaneous : Html, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Director, Java Script

IT projects:

Project 1

Name :Stock Maintenance Registration Process System

Client : Poompuhar shipping corporation., Chennai

Team Size: Four.

Duration (in months):4 month
Development, Environment/ Technology :d2k5. 0, oracle8i

Role: Software engg

Responsibility :
- Requirements analysis
- High level design
- Low-level design
- Coding
- Integration testing (Preparation of test cases, execution, analysis)
- Server configuration and Deployment at Client-s place (onsite

Project 2

Name :University Activity Management System

Team Size :10 Members
Duration :6 months (May 2003 to October 2003)
Development, Environment/ Technology:

Java, JDBC, Servlets, JSP, Javascript, HTML, Oracle 8. 0, Apache Web Server
Role :Database architecture
Responsibility :
- Database design
- Integration testing (Preparation of test cases, execution, analysis)
- Server configuration and Deployment at Client-s place (onsite)

Project 3
Name :Inventory and Customer Management System
Team Size : 12 Members
Duration : 8 months
Development, Environment/ Technology : D2k and oracle 9i

Role Technical consultant

Responsibility :
- Requirements gathering from Client (onsite)
- Requirements analysis using Use Cases
- low level design
- Development of Test Plans

Project 4
Name : Banking Automation & transaction maintenance system
Client :State bank of India (Bhubaneshwar)
Team Size 8 Members
Duration 6 month
Development, Environment/ Technology : Forms5. 5, reports and oracle 8i

Role : Software enng/ DBA

Responsibility :Designing, Coding, Documentation, deploying

 Taurus DBA Oracle 10g DBA Course Contents
• Introduction
• Installing the Oracle Database Software
• Creating Database
• Oracle Database 10g Architecture.
• Controlling the Database
• TableSpace Management
• Control files management
• Redologfile Management
• Archivelog files management
• Administering Users
• Oracle Net Services
• Flashback Technologies
• Logical Backups
• Physical Backups
• Backup and Recovery Concepts using RMAN
• Database Cloning
• Data Guard (Disaster and Recovery)
• Up gradation from Oracle 10g to 11g
• Patch Management
• Database Tuning
• Automatic Storage Management (ASM)
• Database Server Troubleshooting
• SQL Loader
• Shell Scripting.