Telephonic Interview Preparation
Guide: SQL | Python | Power BI +
Bonus Interview Tips
SQL Telephonic Round Questions
1. What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING in SQL?
2. Explain the use of GROUP BY clause.
3. What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?
4. How do you find duplicate records in a table?
5. What is a Primary Key and a Foreign Key?
6. Write a SQL query to fetch the second highest salary from an Employee table.
7. What are Indexes and why are they used?
8. Difference between TRUNCATE, DELETE, and DROP commands.
9. How can you fetch the current date in SQL?
10. What is the purpose of using CASE statement in SQL?
Python Telephonic Round Questions
1. What are Python’s key data types?
2. Difference between a list and a tuple in Python.
3. What is a dictionary in Python?
4. Explain the concept of List Comprehension with an example.
5. What is the use of lambda functions?
6. What is the difference between is and == in Python?
7. What are Python’s exception handling keywords?
8. How do you read a CSV file in Python?
9. What is the difference between append() and extend() methods in lists?
10. What are *args and **kwargs in function definitions?
Power BI Telephonic Round Questions
1. What is Power BI? How is it different from Excel?
2. What are the different types of filters available in Power BI?
3. What is DAX in Power BI?
4. Name a few commonly used DAX functions.
5. Difference between a measure and a calculated column.
6. What is a Power BI Dashboard vs Report?
7. What are slicers in Power BI?
8. How can you schedule data refresh in Power BI Service?
9. What data sources can Power BI connect to?
10. Explain the importance of relationships between tables in Power BI.
🎯 Bonus Rapid Fire Questions (SQL + Python + Power BI)
Bonus SQL Questions
1. What is the default sorting order of the ORDER BY clause?
2. How do you fetch only unique records from a table?
3. What is a subquery? Can you use a SELECT statement inside another SELECT?
4. Explain the difference between UNION and UNION ALL.
5. What is normalization? Why is it important in databases?
Bonus Python Questions
1. How do you check the data type of a variable in Python?
2. Explain the use of the with statement in Python (context managers).
3. What is the difference between break, continue, and pass in loops?
4. How would you remove duplicates from a list in Python?
5. What are Python modules and packages?
Bonus Power BI Questions
1. What is a Power BI Gateway? Why is it used?
2. What is the difference between DirectQuery and Import mode?
3. What visuals are available by default in Power BI?
4. What is a drill-through in Power BI?
5. How do you handle many-to-many relationships in Power BI?
TIPs
How to handle when you don't know the answer:
Say something like this:
"I’m not 100% sure about the exact answer right now, but I have worked with similar
concepts and I’m confident I can quickly figure it out or learn it if needed."
or simply:
"I haven't directly worked with this yet, but I'm eager and capable of learning it fast if
required."
Why this works?
• It shows you are honest (no bluffing ).
• It shows you have a growth mindset (which companies love ).
• It leaves a positive and confident impression even if you miss a few questions.
