Hello Reader,

In today’s post, let’s look at another correct but average answer and a great answer that gets you hired for common cloud interview questions. And this ties to a larger thread - most candidates fail their Solutions Architect interviews - not because they’re underqualified…

But because they don’t know how to communicate like a Solutions Architect.

How to stand out as a must-hire? Let's start with a common question, and we will go from there!

Question - What's the difference between SQL and NoSQL databases?

Common but average answer - SQL holds structured data, No SQL handles semi-structured or unstructured data. SQL needs a schema, NoSQL is schemaless. Sounds correct, right? Yes. But that's just the bare minimum.

What the interviewer is looking for is how this impacts different design factors and how one is chosen vs another. Keep in mind, as an SA, YOU will be responsible for talking to the app team and coming up with appropriate databases.

A great answer is - you start with the structure versus semi-structure, non-structure. Then you talk about the schema and schema less

• But then you also talk about how SQL databases need to scale vertically for the writer instances and NoSQL databases scale horizontally.
• How SQL databases support complex queries and joins. NoSQL databases do not support complex joins.
• Then talk about ACID versus CAP theorem.
• How NoSQL database is inherently highly available, but in SQL you are responsible for that part
• How NoSQL provides single-digit millisecond read out of the box
• Even better - you can delight the interviewer by going one level deeper. You add, for example, at Company X, during the release of a very popular product, we chose DynamoDB to hold the information and the price of that product, which handled 10X the regular traffic without latency or scale issues.

Here is what I do - I study interview questions beforehand, write them down in a spreadsheet, and ask myself, how can I make this answer stand out?

I bring in hands-on experience examples from real world projects and show my depth and nuance. That's how I went from good candidate to "Hell yes, hire this person". But having deep, delightful technical answers is only one piece of the puzzle. Here is the real reason many strong candidates still get rejected...

Biggest Reason for Failure

 This is where many strong technical candidates stumble. They think they answered the question. After the rejection, they believe the interviewer just did not like them.

I used to believe that too, until I started sitting in the debrief sessions after interviews, and I saw the real reason candidates were rejected. You must answer the question behind the question.

When we ask behavioral questions, we are not just looking for what you did. We want to know, how do you approach complex problems? Can you prioritize? Do you show leadership? Are you capable of high judgment? Do you understand the business impact?

The biggest failure in behavioral interviews - most candidates focus on WHAT they did. When thinking about behavioral answers, use the 5W and H framework.

Layer the information related to 5W and 1H on the answer as below:

• Who did you work with?
• What did you do?
• Where was this project (i.e. which company)?
• When did this project happen? (Ideally in last 5 years)
• IMPORTANT - Why did you take these actions? (E.g. why did you use Lambda instead of EC2? Why NoSQL?)
• How did you achieve the task?

If you think like this, you will be able to answer any follow-ups.

• For T(Tasks), clearly mention what you were tasked to achieve, and what was your role (e.g., Developer, Tech lead, Architect, etc)
• For R(results), include measurable data

This is how you delight the interviewers for both technical and behavioral rounds.

Want to get personally trained by me and get cloud jobs?

I run AWS SA Bootcamp with Live Classes covering Technical, Behavioral, Mock Interviews, 1:1, Hands-On, LinkedIn/Resume Improvement, and more. Past students got high paying jobs including at AWS.

• If you’re interested, I encourage you to attend the webinar on May 17th, 12 Noon EST on my YouTube channel. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, learn more about the program, and decide if it’s the right fit for you. I’ll share the webinar link and details closer to the date.
• I pride myself on building personal connections with each student, which I believe is key to their success. To maintain this level of engagement, spots will remain limited for the May cohort.
• The program continues to offer a 30-day full money-back guarantee. There are no catches, no questions asked, and no partial refunds. If you feel the program isn’t right for you, you’ll receive your full refund.

Keep learning and keep rocking 🚀,

Raj