Senior Software Developer

Be frank, but don’t just make it all about the money and the benefits. Obviously, these are important elements, and any recruiter knows that those two are key components in your decision-making process. But talk about workplace culture, creative fulfillment, the satisfaction of solving real-world problems etc.

Show you’ve done your homework and that you have researched the company. Express your sincere desire to work at said company – but keep it balanced and don’t be sycophantic or overly enthusiastic and saccharine.

Data is increasingly important. And employers like to know that you have the necessary skills to analyze data that’s presented to you, draw conclusions, and make informed decisions based on your analysis. Tell the panel about a scenario where you received data, whether that’s from surveys, interviews, beta testing, or customer usage, and the decision you made based on that. Did you work to improve accessibility? UX? UI? And so on. Be clear, concise, and detailed.

Answer this in a balanced way. Avoid “Nothing. I hate it. The place sucks” responses. Pick a couple of elements that your company does well. The way they foster a good work/life balance or a family-like culture. Perhaps you enjoy your work, being able to create something that solves problems/fulfills a need. If this is your first job, talk about what you enjoyed while learning or interning.

Here’s your chance to expand on the answer above. Make those transferrable skills shine and relate them back to the role you’re applying for. Leading a team on a survival weekend to build a raft and cross a river uses the same leadership skills as leading a team of engineers to build something exciting and useful out of code that solves a problem.

Be honest. If you don’t have much experience in that particular language, tell them so – it’s not like you can wing it if you make it through to the technical interview. But point out what languages you are familiar with and express that you’re more than capable of learning. Remember, the desire and ability to learn is a hugely positive attribute and skill in itself.

The first question tests the way the candidate thinks when working with difficult bugs. Every candidate has their own process, but they must use a debugging tool, understand how to sift through each line of code using that tool, and then understand what must be done to fix the bug without affecting other code within a project.

The second question helps gauge how often a developer needs to debug his or her own code. Developers that need to spend a vast amount of their development time debugging may be ones who need extra help improving the code that they write.

Object-relational mapping (ORM) is a way to use software code so it can map to database tables. This technique turns tables into their own classes, so then developers can use those classes for LINQ queries. The candidate might mention Hibernate, which is one of the most common ORM frameworks.

Come up with something that aligns with the culture of the company you’re interviewing for. What do you need to succeed? A steady supply of coffee? A relaxed atmosphere? A quiet space to complete your work or catch your breath? A communal/collaborative workspace?

While there’s no definitive right or wrong, this question is designed to test your knowledge, how well you articulate your process, and whether you’re a victim of tunnel vision. Think about it: if you say “Design. Or how well the team member’s code fits into the existing architecture”, you’re ignoring other elements that may be of equal import to the end result. What about:

☛ Functionality

☛ Readability

☛ Maintainability

☛ Security

☛ Simplicity

☛ Regulatory requirements

☛ Resource optimization

Be concise. Don’t ramble on and bore the recruiter. Be direct and succinctly describe the most notable/relevant projects you’ve been involved with at your current gig. If it’s your first job, again, be honest and instead describe some of your portfolio projects.

This will help you understand how the candidate organizes their code. There is no one "right" way to answer this question, but your team probably has a set standard and it helps to know if the developer organizes code in a way that is easily maintained and can be further documented.

This is an important question, because it identifies how the candidate deals with obstacles, delays, and any problems that come up during the project. Most software development projects have hurdles of some kind, so a developer that has troubles identifying an obstacle with their previous project may raise a potential red flag. If you decide to hire a software developer, you need to know how they are able to overcome problems to get the job done and within the deadline.

This question allows the engineer to openly discuss their previous project without getting too technical. There are several advantages with this discussion. The first one is that you can identify if the candidate worked with a team and if he or she was able to work together to brainstorm solutions. It also helps you understand their management skills, time estimates, interactions with project managers, and their contribution to the overall project.

Unit testing and test driven development (TDD) are often regarded as best practices in software development and code maintenance. Unit testing is an extra set of code that tests various methods and procedures for logic errors and coding flaws. This helps eliminate many of the bugs that could be promoted to production.

Every developer should be familiar with unit testing, and it’s important to know how much a software developer prioritizes it in their workflow.

This is a time for you to shine, to tell the panel of your coding prowess, and describe the project you are most proud of. It doesn’t have to be that time when you built Facebook single-handedly in a single afternoon. It can be something as simple as building an app using a new language or your work on a collaborative project that solved a real problem faced by thousands of everyday folks. Don’t just brag. Yes, be confident and proud of your achievement, but try to relate the “why” to other people. “This is the project I’m most proud of because it filled a genuine need.”