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PostgreSQL test for hiring

See how candidates interpret PostgreSQL queries, settings, commands, and query plans.

10 minuten
15 vragen
Intermediate
Multiple choice
Questions in Engels
Phone and desktop

Use this test free See the question formats

Het korte antwoord

The PostgreSQL test is a 10-minute, 15-question assessment of practical intermediate skills. It covers schema and SQL, administration, replication and recovery, and monitoring and tuning through short questions about queries, commands, settings, and query plans. Use it to inform hiring for database administrators and engineers, backend and software engineers, and operations roles.

Wat het meet

Practical PostgreSQL knowledge: schema and SQL, administration, replication and recovery, and monitoring and tuning.

Schema and SQL

Questions cover designing tables and writing SQL, including interpreting short queries and their results.

Administration

Questions assess knowledge of administering a PostgreSQL server and interpreting its commands and settings.

Replication and recovery

Questions cover keeping data available through replication, backups, and recovery.

Monitoring and tuning

Questions ask candidates to find and fix slow queries using information such as a query plan.

Question formats

Multiple choice

The candidate: Reads a short situation, table or statement and picks the right answer, or every right answer.

You see: Whether the candidate knows the material well enough to apply it, not just recognize it.

15 questions in 10 minutes, served one at a time.

Roles this test fits

Database administrators and database engineers, backend and software engineers, site reliability and operations engineers, and system administrators who run or build on PostgreSQL.

What the PostgreSQL test can show

Practical knowledge, not just a job title
See how a candidate reasons about short PostgreSQL queries, commands, settings, and query plans, alongside what their resume says.
A focused follow-up
Use results to focus interview time on schema and SQL, server administration, recovery, or tuning areas relevant to the role.
Four areas in one short assessment
The same 10-minute test samples database design and SQL, administration, replication and recovery, and monitoring and tuning.

What you get for each candidate

Example report (fictional data)PostgreSQL

74%Percentile 53. Benchmark: HireValid candidates, n = 2.007

Schema and SQL61%

Administration64%

Replication and recovery79%

Monitoring and tuning90%

Integrity ScoreHoge betrouwbaarheid

Stayed on the test tab throughout
No pasted answers
Answered at a steady pace

Scores, profiles and integrity signals are evidence for you to review alongside an interview, never an automatic decision.

Use this test free

Test integrity features

Each candidate receives a different set of questions from large pools. Question order and answer options are shuffled, and the browser shows one question at a time. Answer keys stay on HireValid’s servers. The 10-minute timer runs on the server, so reloading brings back the same question with only the time left. Candidates cannot return to earlier questions. Question text cannot be copied or selected, and blocked copy attempts appear in the timeline. Personal invitation links expire, and a finished test cannot be taken again. HireValid records signals such as time away from the test tab, pastes into answers, and answers faster than a question can be read. An Integrity Score and evidence timeline give the employer signals to review; neither decides on its own. With candidate consent, random webcam photos can be added.

Hoe we fraude met AI tegengaan · Integrity signals

Use the score as evidence

Review the score alongside a short work sample and a structured interview. Ask the candidate to inspect a brief query, setting, or query plan and explain a likely outcome or fix. Use the interview to explore their reasoning about schema and SQL, server administration, recovery, or tuning. For a separate view of query writing, see SQL Coding: Querying. If the role also calls for related technical skills, consider the separate Linux or Snowflake tests. Treat the score as evidence for a person to review, never as the sole basis for a hiring decision.

Vragen voor gestructureerde sollicitatiegesprekken

A query against an orders table is slower than expected. How would you investigate it and choose a change?
Listen for a reasoned approach to examining the query and its plan, identifying a possible cause, and checking whether a change helps.
You need to change a schema while an application uses the database. How would you plan and check the change?
Listen for how the candidate would think through the table design, SQL changes, and their effect on the application.
A PostgreSQL server needs recovery after data loss. How would you decide what to restore and check availability?
Listen for a clear explanation of how backups, recovery, and replication relate to restoring service.

Understand scoring and benchmarks

Fairness and accommodations

Questions use neutral sample data such as orders, tickets, sensors and stock, with names from many backgrounds and no money symbols or local knowledge. They describe the behavior of currently supported PostgreSQL releases under default settings and name the release whenever behavior differs between versions. No hosting provider or add-on product is assumed. Code is kept short, with narrow lines, so it can be read on any screen.

You can give any candidate extra time as an accommodation. Results are evidence for a person to review, never an automatic decision.

Provisional: reliability is reported once 200 candidates have completed it.

Lees hoe we met eerlijkheid omgaan

Test details

Short, timed questions on running PostgreSQL at an intermediate level. They cover four areas: designing tables and writing SQL, administering a server, keeping data available through replication, backups and recovery, and finding and fixing slow queries. Most questions show a short query, command, setting or query plan and ask what happens, what it returns or which fix is right.

Questions are in English.
No aids are needed.
Each question is answered once, in order, with no going back.
4 practice questions, 4 minutes, before the timed test.

PostgreSQL is a trademark of its owner. HireValid is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.

Veelgestelde vragen

What does the PostgreSQL test measure?+

It measures practical knowledge of schema and SQL, server administration, replication and recovery, and monitoring and tuning. Questions use short queries, commands, settings, or query plans and ask what happens, what a query returns, or which fix is appropriate.

Who should take the PostgreSQL test?+

It is intended for intermediate database administrators and database engineers, backend and software engineers, site reliability and operations engineers, and system administrators who run or build on PostgreSQL.

How does the PostgreSQL test differ from a query-writing assessment?+

Along with schema and SQL, this test includes server administration, replication and recovery, and monitoring and tuning. Short questions can ask candidates to interpret a command, setting, or query plan, not only a query.

What question formats are in the PostgreSQL test?+

The test has 15 multiple-choice questions in English and takes 10 minutes. Most questions show a short query, command, setting, or query plan and ask what happens, what it returns, or which fix is right.