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Being a good software engineer is more than just being a good coder with technical knowledge and skills. It's about embracing the holistic approach of the process – working collaboratively in a team, embracing self-learning, being flexible and adaptable, being committed and determined, paying close attention to detail, and embracing your professional and technical curiosity.

Whether you’re an employer or a potential employee, there are some important things to keep in mind when considering software developer interview questions.

Software engineer interview questions and answers

To give you a helping hand, here are ten of the most common questions used in software engineer interviews and the guidelines for potential answers.

1. Why did you decide to become a software engineer?

Learning about potential employees and why they decided to pursue the career they have found themselves in will tell you a lot about their character. Furthermore, revealing an interviewee's passion is sure to give you a pretty good idea of how they will fit into your company and its values.

2. Describe your understanding of the process of software developing

This is one of the most fundamental software engineer interview questions. While the interviewees’ answers may take slightly different forms, the gist ought to be roughly the same. The process encompasses several integral stages:

• Requirement analysis
• Specification
• Software architecture
• Implementation
• Testing
• Documentation
• Support and training
• Maintenance

The above list names the most important parts of the process, and it’s good to know that an interview candidate has a thorough understanding of it.

3. What are your preferred programming languages?

Of course, the importance of this question depends on your language preference. Not only does it give the interviewer some information about the languages the interviewee has experience in, but it may also indicate their curiosity and interest in personal development by learning more.

4. What do you think is the role of a software project manager?

Learning about the interviewee’s understanding of the role of a software project manager will indicate their expectations of the job at hand – that being their role as an employee and, potentially, a project manager.

Ideally, a software project manager will be responsible for managing development projects. This involves planning, monitoring, and communication, as well as managing relevant risks to be able to deliver the final product within a timely manner and other cost and quality constraints.

5. Describe a difficult bug that you needed to fix? How did you fix it?

Interviewees' answers to this question in a software engineer interview will be indicative of not only their technical skill set and experience, but also their ability to perform under pressure and make use of critical thinking.

6. What is important when you are checking a team member’s code?

The process of checking team members' codes will tell you about the candidate's technical insight, as well as their affinity to teamwork and collaboration with colleagues – both of which are intrinsic components of being a good software developer.

7. Talk about a project you have completed successfully. Why do you think it was successful?

If you’re trying to get a good, all-round idea of the candidate – including their experience, character and ability to work in a team, among other things – this is a good question to ask.

Furthermore, it provides the candidate with an opportunity to demonstrate confidence in themselves and their own initiative – both of which are important values in software engineers.

8. Do you enjoy working alone or as part of a team?

While the common perception of software engineers is that of lone rangers working in isolation, the reality is quite different. To be successful in the industry, software engineers need to be able to work in teams and collaborate on projects to produce top-quality software.

This will tell you a lot about the candidate’s willingness and ability to work alongside colleagues and is one of the most common software engineer interview questions.

9. How do you ensure the quality of the software you develop?

It’s normal for software engineers to encounter bugs. However, what’s important is:

• How they deal with them
• That they have protocols to deal with issues
• That there are specific tools in place to use to test their results
• That they have methods to fix the problems

Encountering issues is part of the job, it’s how the problems are dealt with that matters.

10. What questions do you have for us?

The answer to this will vary widely – it may have to do with specific aspects of the company or just about anything else:

• Company policy
• Work culture
• The company’s goals
• What you’re looking for in a software engineer
• Technical questions

However, regardless of a candidate’s response, these answers are indicative of several things:

• Experience
• Genuine interest in the job and all it entails
• Knowledge of the work required
• Commitment to working in a team
• Long-term commitment

There are no correct answers, but you’ll be able to tell a lot from an interviewee by their answer to this question – or lack thereof.

Final thoughts on common job interview questions for software developer candidates and interviewers

Whether you are the interviewer or interviewee looking to prepare the questions or answers for a software engineer job interview, these ten questions ought to give you a decent idea of where to start.

There aren't necessarily any right or wrong answers. But how a candidate responds to the above questions will provide great insight into their ability, experience, character, and attitude, and whether they will be a right fit for the company.

Interested in a career in software development or have any other enquiries, feel free to reach out to us.