Data Analyst
Most Asked Interview Questions
SQL
Here are Top 10 Advanced SQL Interview Questions with real business
scenarios that interviewers frequently ask, especially for data analyst and
data engineering roles. Each question focuses on writing SQL queries, not
just theory.
1. Find the Second Highest Salary
Scenario: Your company wants to know who earns the second-highest
salary in the employees table.
Table: employees(emp_id, name, salary)
Question:
SELECT MAX(salary) AS second_highest_salary
FROM employees
WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM employees);
2. Get the Top 3 Products by Sales in Each Category
Scenario: Your manager asks for the top 3 best-selling products in each
category.
Table: sales(product_id, category, sales_amount)
Question: Use ROW_NUMBER() window function.
SELECT *
FROM (
SELECT product_id, category, sales_amount,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY category ORDER BY
sales_amount DESC) AS rn
FROM sales
) ranked
WHERE rn <= 3;
3. Identify Customers Who Purchased in All Months of 2024
Scenario: Marketing wants a list of loyal customers.
Table: orders(customer_id, order_date)
Question:
SELECT customer_id
FROM (
SELECT customer_id, COUNT(DISTINCT MONTH(order_date)) AS
month_count
FROM orders
WHERE YEAR(order_date) = 2024
GROUP BY customer_id
) monthly_orders
WHERE month_count = 12;
4. Detect Duplicate Records in a Table
Scenario: Data quality check is needed.
Table: users(email, name)
Question:
SELECT email, COUNT(*)
FROM users
GROUP BY email
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
5. Calculate the Running Total of Sales per Month
Scenario: Your finance team needs a cumulative revenue report.
Table: sales(order_date, amount)
Question:
SELECT order_date,
SUM(amount) OVER (ORDER BY order_date ROWS BETWEEN
UNBOUNDED PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW) AS running_total
FROM sales;
6. Find Products That Have Never Been Ordered
Scenario: Inventory team wants to clean up old listings.
Tables:
• products(product_id, product_name)
• orders(order_id, product_id)
Question:
SELECT p.product_id, p.product_name
FROM products p
LEFT JOIN orders o ON p.product_id = o.product_id
WHERE o.product_id IS NULL;
7. Find the Longest Sequence of Consecutive Login Days per User
Scenario: Engagement team wants to reward consistent users.
Table: logins(user_id, login_date)
Challenge: Use window functions and date arithmetic.
(Advanced query – ask if you want a full solution.)
8. Calculate Year-over-Year Growth in Sales
Scenario: Executives want to compare performance with last year.
Table: sales(order_date, revenue)
Question:
SELECT YEAR(order_date) AS year,
SUM(revenue) AS total_revenue,
LAG(SUM(revenue)) OVER (ORDER BY YEAR(order_date)) AS
prev_year_revenue,
ROUND((SUM(revenue) - LAG(SUM(revenue)) OVER (ORDER BY
YEAR(order_date))) /
LAG(SUM(revenue)) OVER (ORDER BY YEAR(order_date)) * 100, 2)
AS YoY_growth
FROM sales
GROUP BY YEAR(order_date);
9. Identify Employees Who Earn More Than the Average Salary in Their
Department
Scenario: HR wants to review salary structure.
Table: employees(emp_id, name, dept_id, salary)
Question:
SELECT *
FROM employees e
WHERE salary > (
SELECT AVG(salary)
FROM employees
WHERE dept_id = e.dept_id
);
10. Rank Customers Based on Their Total Spend
Scenario: Loyalty program is being redesigned.
Table: orders(customer_id, order_amount)
Question:
SELECT customer_id,
SUM(order_amount) AS total_spent,
RANK() OVER (ORDER BY SUM(order_amount) DESC) AS
spending_rank
FROM orders
GROUP BY customer_id;
(Dipankar pal)
(www.linkedin.com/in/dipankar-data-analyst)
(Dipankar pal)
(www.linkedin.com/in/dipankar-data-analyst)
