35 Questions About Data Backup for an Interview (With Sample Answers)
Data backup jobs are important for many organizations’ safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. When hiring for these kinds of jobs, employers often look for people who know what they’re doing, have good qualifications, can be trusted, and are responsible. If you want a job as a data backup specialist and are getting ready for an interview, practicing answers to possible interview questions may help you do well. This article talks about the kinds of questions you might be asked at an interview for a job backing up data. We also give you some tips and five examples of questions and answers to help you do well. 35 Questions About Data Backup
Questions about backing up files in general
During an interview for a data backup job, you might be asked the following general questions about your work style, personality, and goals:
- Tell me about yourself, please.
- Have you ever backed up your data?
- Do you prefer to work alone or with a group?
- How well do you get what you want?
- Tell me about a time at work when you had to solve a tough problem.
- About our company, what do you know?
- What makes you want to work for us?
- What about this job makes you want it?
- In five years, where do you see yourself?
- Why did you want to back up your files?
How much knowledge and experience do you have about backing up data?
During interviews for data backup jobs, employers may ask the following questions about experience and background:
- What does SQL mean, and what does it do?
- What kinds of SQL server backups are there?
- How can you tell how far you’ve come?
- What does it mean to get better?
- What are the most common reasons why restoring data doesn’t work?
- Can you tell me how to get back files that I deleted by mistake?
- What does the word “RAID” mean?
- How do you use forensics to look at a hard drive?
- Why is keeping a room clean so important?
- What is the purpose of a log switch?
Interview questions that go into depth about backing up data
Here are some questions that data backup job interviewers may ask to find out how much you know about the job:
- Can you explain what stored procedures are and how they are used?
- How do you keep T-logs safe?
- Can you tell me the difference between solutions for recovering software and solutions for fixing hardware?
- What kinds of files does an NTFS system have?
- How do you best change out parts on a logic board?
- How do you get back an instance that you lost?
- How can a parallel server be linked to a database?
- What does the noarchivelog mode do?
- How do you rebuild a resource system’s database?
- How does a backup that is logical work?
Sample answers to questions about backing up data at a job interview
Here are some questions and answers about data backup that might come up in an interview:
1. Do you have any other experience in this field?
Jobs like database administrator, storage engineer, or software engineer can help you learn skills that can help you do well in data backup jobs. Since jobs in data backup often require a lot of specialized knowledge, employers often want to know if their applicants are ready to do hard work. You might want to talk about your most relevant experience and the hard and soft skills you learned at those jobs when you answer this question.
For example, my last job was as a SQL server database administrator for a big software company. I did that job for three years and learned a lot from it, so I feel ready to take on the responsibilities of this job. Before that, I worked as an IT specialist for a few years, where I learned the basics of backing up and restoring data.
2. Can you tell me about a time you had to recover data that you’ll never forget?
When data is lost or corrupted, one of the main jobs of the people in charge of backing up data is to restore backups. When you talk about a memorable data backup experience, you show the interviewer that you know how to do this important job. Try to give a detailed answer that includes the exact steps you took to try to get your data back.
Last year, someone at the company where I work spilled water on a hard drive that was running a program that was essential to keeping production going. First, we moved our process to the backup hard drive to make sure the move didn’t cause any problems. Then, we looked to see if any of the data on the drive had been lost because of the water damage. We finally figured out that the drive had lost the production data from the week before, so we had to get the data back from the stand-by drive. The production data could be moved from the standby drive to the backup drive. We didn’t have to deal with bigger problems because of this.
Can you make a full backup, and if so, can you tell me how?
Making full copies of important data is one of the most important things that people in data backup positions have to do. Since this is a basic step for professionals who back up data, employers often want a clear answer to this question. It’s important to talk clearly and with confidence about the steps you take.
I’ve done full backups more than once during my work life. For a full backup, you can make a copy of all the data, log files, and control files that make up the database and the parameter in the operating system.
4. How do you get an instance back?
Instance recovery is a more complicated process that is often done in several steps and is a part of many data backup positions. Employers who ask this question are usually looking for candidates with advanced skills so they don’t have to train them as much once they’ve been hired. Try to explain each step in your answer if you know how the whole process works. If you’ve never done this before, you might want to explain the parts you know and give a list of resources you can use to help you.
Recovery of an instance is a process with a number of steps. First, you should roll forward to make sure you can get back data you haven’t saved yet. Next, I go back and cancel any transactions that haven’t been completed yet. After that, you can release resources that transactions were already using. Any transactions that are still open can now be closed.
Why might it not work when you try to restore a database?
With this question, an employer might be interested in how you solve problems. When the first plans don’t work out, people who work in data backup often have to figure out what went wrong. In your answer, you might want to list as many reasons as you can think of to show how much you know about the topic and how willing you are to try as many strategies as needed.
For example, there could be a syntax error, a problem with the server version, or, more often than not, the server backup location is wrong. After that, I might check to see if the LSN is broken or if the current account doesn’t have the permissions it needs. Lastly, there may not be enough room on the drive to finish the restoration.
How to talk about backing up data in an interview
Here are some tips that might help you do well in data backup interviews:
- Show off what you know about how things work. You can show that you can do a good job as a data backup person if you know about certain processes, applications, and hardware. Think about sharing the specific information you know that proves you are qualified.
- Show how good you are at solving problems. Many jobs in data backup require you to find answers to hard technical problems. So, it’s important to stress how you approach problems with different strategies and how you use any resources you have.
- Pay attention to how reliable you are. People who work in data backup may have to deal with sensitive or private information to make sure it can be saved and accessed in the future. Try to show that you can keep information private and follow rules about how to keep data safe.
