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 technicalrecruiter for Los Angeles-based staffing company Commercial Programming Systems. So Reames did what alot of recruiters do. She wiped out half the pile in a three-step process. Need an H-1B visa? Gone. Need torelocate? 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 andDBAs, according to many surveys. Of course, there are also longer lists of qualified candidates. When it comesto 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 guidefor 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 healthcare 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 andwho 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 som ething that gets many Oracle DBAs past the firstround of resume cuts. In addition, development skills such as Java, Windows, J2EE and portals lend candidatesa competitive advantage.More important, Reames said, a candidate's skill set has to match a company's needs. "They really need to haveevery skill," Reames said." I f t h e j o b c a l l s f o r s o m e o n e w i t h d a t a m o d e l i n g , " s h e s a i d , " a n d I d o n ' t s e e a n y s p e c i f i c d a t a m o d e l i n g experience, I'll discount it."In addition to specific technical skills, Burleson says, many companies are looking at educational backgrounds, p r e f e r r i n g t o h i r e c a n d i d a t e s w h o h a v e g r a d u a t e d e g r e e s o r M B A s . C o m p a n i e s v a l u e D B A s w h o h a v e a n 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 tofollow 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, candidatesare being judged on their nontechnical qualities. Communication skills are crucial here, experts say.B e c a u s e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s k i l l s a r e s o c r i t i c a l o n t h e j o b , B u r l e s o n r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t c a n d i d a t e s p r o v i d e 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 whatBurleson calls the "teching" of the candidate. He advises interviewers to ask specific questions, such as "Whatis 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 thecandidates. "Only a practicing DBA knows the answer is 'change_on_install,'" Burleson said. "A seasoned DBAcan spot a faker instantly."Then comes the last stage, on-site meetings with a company's IT staff. These meetings typically last about half aday, and this is where the potential hires will really be tested. Sometimes there are open-ended questions, sucha s " W h a t w o u l d b e t h e f i r s t t h i n g yo u w o u l d d o i f a n e n d u s e r c o m p l a i n s t h a t p e r f o r m a n c e i s p o o r ? " T h e answers to these questions can be very revealing, Burleson said, because they don't have one right answer, andthey 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 intangiblesmake the difference."I've seen companies reject the most technically qualified candidate. It happens all the time," Burleson pointsout. "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, website 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, VijayawadaClient : Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution CompanyClient 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/ 2000Database :Oracle9i Enterprise Edition release 9. 2. 0. 1Responsibilities: -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 indexes5 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, reviewingalert logs, etc.8 Monitored database using Toad tool.9 Taking Hot Backups.10 Knowledge on Internet Concepts11 Loading and Transforming Data (exports, imports).BPO IndustrySoftware TraineeProjects1 Tool for Addition of LOB(VB 6 & SQL Server)2 Ticket System(Java & SQL Server)3 Reporting Software(VB 6 & SQL Server) 8/ 06-present01/ 06-07/ 06Certifications & Course1 Red Hat Linux Trained (RHCE) from SQLSTAR PVT LTD NEW DELHI2 Oracle 9i Database AdministratorTrained (DBA) from SQLSTAR PVT LTD NEW DELHITechnical SKILLSDATABASE: - 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)