10 Seaboard SQL Interview Questions (Updated 2024)

Updated on

October 31, 2024

At Seaboard, SQL is used to analyze shipping data, allowing them to pinpoint the most efficient routes and schedules for their marine logistics operations. They also rely on SQL to query databases for predictive modeling, helping them forecast demand and manage inventory more effectively, which is why, Seaboard asks SQL questions in interviews for Data Science, Data Engineering, and Data Analytics jobs.

Thus, to help you prep for the Seaboard SQL interview, we've collected 10 Seaboard SQL interview questions – can you solve them?

Seaboard SQL Interview Questions

10 Seaboard SQL Interview Questions

SQL Question 1: Identify Top Spenders at Seaboard

At Seaboard, we consider a customer as a 'whale' if they have spent in the top 1% within the last month. Can you write a query to identify these customers, their total expenditure in the last month and their average expenditure per transaction?

Assume you have access to the following tables:

Example Input:

customer_idfirst_namelast_name
101JonSnow
202DaenerysTargaryen
303AryaStark
404SansaStark
505TyrionLannister

Example Input:

transaction_idcustomer_idpurchase_dateamount
10011012022-09-30120.50
20021012022-09-2475.00
30032022022-10-01280.00
40042022022-09-26530.00
50053032022-09-30210.00

Answer:


This SQL query first finds the total and average expenditure for each customer within the last month using a windowing function. Using that result, we calculate the 99th percentile of the total expenditure - this is our threshold for determining who is a 'whale' customer. The final query then selects the customers whose total expenditure is above this threshold. They are output along with their total and average expenditures.

To work on a similar customer analytics SQL question where you can code right in the browser and have your SQL solution automatically checked, try this Walmart SQL Interview Question:

Walmart Labs SQL Interview Question

SQL Question 2: Second Highest Salary

Suppose there was a table of Seaboard employee salary data. Write a SQL query to find the 2nd highest salary among all employees.

Seaboard Example Input:

employee_idsalary
12500
2800
31000
41200

Example Output:

second_highest_salary
1200

Write a SQL query for this problem and run your code right in the browser:

2nd Highest Salary SQL Interview Question

Answer:


You can find a step-by-step solution with hints here: 2nd Highest Salary.

SQL Question 3: When would you use the / commands in SQL?

Note: interviews at Seaboard often aren't trying to test you on a specific flavor of SQL. As such, you don't need to exactly know that is available in PostgreSQL and SQL Server, while is available in MySQL and Oracle – you just need to know the general concept!

Your answer should mention that the / operator is used to remove to return all rows from the first statement that are not returned by the second statement.

Here's a PostgreSQL example of using to find all of Seaboard's Facebook video ads with more than 50k views that aren't also being run on YouTube:


If you want to retain duplicates, you can use the operator instead of . The operator will return all rows, including duplicates.

Seaboard SQL Interview Questions

SQL Question 4: Analyzing Monthly Average Product Rating

Seaboard Corporation would like to analyze the performance of their products based on customer reviews. They are particularly interested in understanding the trends of customer satisfaction across different months.

Given a table containing , , , and (which indicates the rating given by the user for a particular product at a certain date), write a SQL query to calculate the average rating each product received for each month in 2022.

Example Input:

review_iduser_idsubmit_dateproduct_idstars
61711232022-01-18500014
78022652022-02-20698524
52933622022-03-25500013
63521922022-03-26698523
45179812022-02-15698522

Example Output:

monthproduct_idavg_rating
1500014.00
2698523.00
3500013.00
3698523.00

Answer:


This query extracts the month from the using function, then groups the reviews by month and to calculate the average (rating) for each product per month. Additionally, we filter the query to only consider reviews submitted in the year 2022. The results are then sorted by and .

Pro Tip: Window functions are a frequent SQL interview topic, so practice all the window function problems on DataLemur

DataLemur SQL Questions

SQL Question 5: What's the SQL command do, and can you give an example?

combines the results from two or more statements, but only returns the rows that are exactly the same between the two sets.

For example, let's use to find all of Seaboard's Facebook video ads with more than 10k views that are also being run on YouTube:


SQL Question 6: Designing a Shipping Order Database for Seaboard

Seaboard is a global transportation company and deals with various shipping orders every day. The company wants to implement a SQL database to track all their shipping orders. The database should hold information about each shipping order, such as , , , , and .

Design the tables and their relationships in this database and write an SQL Query that will list all the customers who have at least one order that is yet to be shipped.

Example Input:

OrderIDCustomerIDOrderDateItemIDShippingStatus
1012012022-09-01301Shipped
1022022022-09-02302Not Shipped
1032032022-09-03303Shipped
1042042022-09-11304Not Shipped
1052052022-09-15305Not Shipped

Example Input:

CustomerIDCustomerName
201John Doe
202Jane Smith
203Bill Gates
204Elon Musk
205Tim Cook

Answer:

To get this data, we will join the and tables on and filter where is 'Not Shipped'.


The above SQL query will return a list of the names of customers who have at least one order that has yet to be shipped. By using , we ensure that each customer name appears only once in the result set, even if they have multiple unshipped orders.

SQL Question 7: Can you explain the concept of a constraint in SQL?

Think of SQL constraints like the rules of a game. Just like a game needs rules to keep things fair and fun, a database needs constraints to keep things organized and accurate.

There are several types of SQL constraints like:

Here’s your text with backticks added to SQL terms:

: This constraint is like a bouncer at a nightclub - it won't let anything through the door. : This constraint is like a VIP list - only special, one-of-a-kind values get in. : This constraint is like an elected official - it's made up of and values and helps identify each row in the table. : This constraint is like a diplomatic ambassador - it helps establish relationships between tables. : This constraint is like a referee - it makes sure everything follows the rules. : This constraint is like a backup plan - it provides a default value if no other value is specified.

So, whether you're playing a game or organizing a database, constraints are an important part of the process!

SQL Question 8: Filter Seaboard Customers Based on Specific Conditions

In Seaboard, a leading global shipping company, there are thousands of customers. Due to some internal policy, the company wants to filter all the customers who are from the USA and have made a shipment in the last 30 days. Also, ignore the customers who have a 'black mark' against their name in the company records. Can you write the SQL query to filter these customers?

Here's an example of how the customers table might look:

Example Input:

idnamecountrylast_shipment_dateblack_mark
1John DoeUSA2022-09-01No
2Jane SmithUSA2022-08-20Yes
3Mark TwainUK2022-09-05No
4Emily JohnsonUSA2022-08-25No
5Robert BrownUSA2022-09-04Yes
6Oliver DavisUK2022-07-30No
7George WilsonCanada2022-08-29No
8Michael JacksonUSA2022-09-08No

Answer:


With this query, we are retrieving all columns of the records that belong to the customers from the USA who made a shipment in the last 30 days, excluding those who have a black mark. The clause is used to filter records, and the operator allows multiple conditions to be applied.

The date is chosen as '2022-09-01' because this date works as a reference point for "today" in this case. Depending on the database system, a current date command would be used in practice (i.e., CURRENT_DATE in PostgreSQL). In this case, the condition will check for all dates that are later than 30 days before the reference date.

SQL Question 9: Calculate Clickthrough Conversion Rates

Company Seaboard runs multiple digital ads leading to product pages on their website. When users click on these ads, they are taken to product pages where they can add the product to their cart. The click-through conversion rate is a key measure of the effectiveness of these ads.

Your task is to calculate the click-through conversion rate for the company. For each ad, this would be the number of user views of a product page that result in an added product to cart, divided by the total number of user views resulting from ad clicks.

Here are some sample data tables:

Example Input:

click_iduser_idclick_datead_id
1017892022-06-08 00:00:004001
1027542022-06-10 00:00:004002
1033212022-07-18 00:00:004001
1046542022-07-26 00:00:004002
1059872022-07-05 00:00:004003

Example Input:

view_iduser_idview_datead_idproduct_id
2017892022-06-08 00:00:0040016001
2023212022-07-18 00:00:0040016002
2039872022-07-05 00:00:0040036003

Example Input:

activity_iduser_idactivity_dateproduct_id
3017892022-06-08 00:00:006001
3023212022-07-18 00:00:006002

Answer:


This query first joins the , , and tables on and the relevant item identifiers. It counts the unique users who added a product to the cart and divides this by the unique users who clicked on an ad. This resulting rate provides the click-through conversion rate by ad.

To practice a related SQL problem on DataLemur's free interactive coding environment, try this Facebook SQL Interview question:

Facebook App CTR SQL Interview question

SQL Question 10: In SQL, are values same the same as zero or a blank space?

NULLs are NOT the same as zero or blank spaces in SQL. NULLs are used to represent a missing value or the abscence of a value, whereas zero and blank space are legitimate values.

It's important to handle NULLs carefully, because they can mess up your analysis very easily. For example, if you compare a NULL value using the = operator, the result will always be NULL (because just like Drake, nothing be dared compared to NULL). That's why many data analysis in SQL start with removing NULLs using the function.

Seaboard SQL Interview Tips

The key to acing a Seaboard SQL interview is to practice, practice, and then practice some more! In addition to solving the above Seaboard SQL interview questions, you should also solve the 200+ SQL coding questions which come from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and smaller tech companies.

DataLemur SQL Interview Questions

Each exercise has multiple hints, detailed solutions and most importantly, there's an interactive coding environment so you can easily right in the browser your SQL query answer and have it checked.

To prep for the Seaboard SQL interview it is also a great idea to practice SQL problems from other food and facilities companies like:

But if your SQL skills are weak, don't worry about diving straight into solving questions – improve your SQL foundations with this SQL tutorial for Data Analytics.

Interactive SQL tutorial

This tutorial covers topics including aggregate window functions and filtering data with WHERE – both of which show up often during Seaboard interviews.

Seaboard Data Science Interview Tips

What Do Seaboard Data Science Interviews Cover?

Besides SQL interview questions, the other types of questions to prepare for the Seaboard Data Science Interview include:

Seaboard Data Scientist

How To Prepare for Seaboard Data Science Interviews?

To prepare for Seaboard Data Science interviews read the book Ace the Data Science Interview because it's got:

  • 201 interview questions taken from tech companies like Netflix, Google, & Airbnb
  • a refresher covering Stats, ML, & Data Case Studies
  • over 1000+ reviews on Amazon & 4.5-star rating

Ace the Data Science Interview by Nick Singh Kevin Huo

Don't forget about the behavioral interview – prepare for it with this list of common Data Scientist behavioral interview questions.

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