Software Engineer Interview Coding Questions

Software Engineer Interview Coding Questions

Learn Mastering the Software Engineering Interview from University of California San Diego. You’ve hit a major milestone as a computer scientist and are becoming a capable programmer. You now know how to solve problems, write algorithms,. Dear readers, these Software Engineering Interview Questions have been designed especially to get you acquainted with the nature of questions you may encounter during your interview for the subject of Software Engineering. As per my experience, good interviewers hardly planned to ask any particular.

40-50% of interviewees fail their software engineering interviews for non technical reasons. Don't let yourself be one of them!

This course will teach you about each step of the process and how to prepare for each of them along with the soft skills needed to impress your interviewer and crush every coding interview.

You will

  • Learn to differentiate between different types of interviews and how to approach them (i.e. behavioral, white board/coding questions, take home challenges, refactoring, system design, etc.)
  • Learn how to organize your interview prep material and company communication
  • Learn what you should research when preparing for a specific job
  • Complete a self analysis activity to prepare yourself to answer popular traditional and culture fit interview questions
  • Develop stories so you have a response to any type of behavioral question
  • Be given the steps you should take anytime you get asked a white boarding question
  • Create a list of questions to bring to your interview

If your ready to feel confident going into each and every interview and land you dream job, this course is for you!

Here is a review from the first student to complete my course:

'WOW. For how relatively short this course is (a few hours), it has everything I was looking for and much more. Katelyn explains everything with clear, concise real-world examples. There are a lot of great pdf's to download with each section of the course that are super useful; checklists, exercises, common questions, etc. Just fantastic. What's even more awesome is there's a whole section of the course devoted to the technical part of the interview. I liked how there were exercises to do along the way that can be used and stored for your own interviews/interview prep. In addition I really liked how there were some hints/examples of things you could say in response to some of the questions in the exercises to help get your creative juices going, extremely helpful. Overall a fantastic and invaluable course I would recommend to anyone.' - Justin H.

  • Interns and New Grads who want to learn about the ins and outs of the software engineering interview process.
  • Junior/Mid Level Engineers who are looking for pro-tips to help them feel more confident through interviews.
  • Engineers who have been practicing coding questions, but can’t seem to land the job.
  • Engineers looking to land their dream job!

Interview Questions For Software Engineer

Software engineers are responsible for developing, testing, deploying, and revamping computer programs. If you're interviewing for a position as a software engineer, it helps to know what types of questions to expect.

Many interview questions will focus on your tech skills, such as what programming languages you know. However, employers will also want to know about your problem-solving skills and analytical abilities. They will also want to know whether or not you will fit in well with the company culture.

By practicing your answers to the most common software engineer interview questions, you can display confidence and impress the employer during your interview.

Common Software Engineer Interview Questions

There are certain interview questions that employers ask candidates in every industry. These range from questions about you (“tell me about yourself”) to your past work experiences (“tell me about your best boss”). Make sure to practice answering these common questions, since they will likely come up in any interview.

Tech Skills Interview Questions

Typically, interviewers are eager to find out about your tech skills (such as what programs and languages do you know). Before your interview, review the job listing to make sure you know the technical requirements of the job. Be sure you are familiar with the programs and other technical skills necessary for the position.

Some of these technical questions will be straightforward questions about your tech knowledge and experience, and how you perform certain technical tasks. These will not necessarily have a clear right or wrong answer.

  • What programming languages have you used?
  • Describe the process you use for writing a piece of code, from requirements to delivery.
  • What books have you read on software engineering that you would recommend to someone in the business?
  • How do you make sure that your code can handle different kinds of error situations?
  • How do you find an error in a large file with code that you cannot step through?
  • How do you design scalable applications? Walk us through your process.

Others will be quiz-like questions. Many of these will have a clear answer, some with a 'yes or no' answer and others that require you to demonstrate your concrete understanding of concepts. These are designed to test your knowledge of particular aspects of software engineering.

  • What is the difference between a mutex and a semaphore? Which would you use to protect access to an increment operation?
  • What is the difference between re-engineering and reverse engineering?
  • What is the difference between local and global variables?
  • What is the agile software philosophy?
  • Name one or two examples of how an application can anticipate user behavior.

Relevant Skills Interview Questions

Senior Software Engineer Coding Interview Questions

Some questions will focus on other, non-technical skills required of software engineers. These skills range from problem-solving to logic to analytical thinking.

Also, since most software projects happen on tight schedules, interviewers will be eager to find out how you perform under deadlines, manage your time, and communicate about setbacks and delays to project managers and team members.

Some of these questions will be behavioral interview questions. A behavioral interview question is one in which a person asks you about your past work experience. For example, an employer might ask, “Tell me about a time when you struggled to meet a deadline,” or “Describe a time you used logic to solve a complex problem at work.”

A similar type of question is a situational interview question. A situational interview question is one in which a person asks how you would handle a hypothetical work situation. For example, the employer might ask, “What would you do if your team member did not complete their part of a project on time?”

Whether answering behavioral or situational interview questions, use the STAR interview technique. Describe the situation you were in, explain the task you had to accomplish, and detail the action you took to accomplish that task (or solve that problem). Then, describe the results of your actions.

To prepare for these questions, match your skills to the job requirements. Review the skills mentioned in the job listing. Then think of times that you have demonstrated those skills in the workplace.

  • What would you do if a coworker asked you to review their code, and it was full of errors?
  • Describe your ideal level of interaction with coworkers that would allow you to achieve the most success.
  • Tell me about a time you worked with coworkers to solve an issue at work.
  • Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem, but you didn’t have all the necessary information about it in hand.
  • Imagine your manager wants to buy new software for the office, but you think it will decrease productivity. What do you do?

Company Culture Questions

Software Engineer Technical Interview

Employers want to know that you will be a good fit not only for the job, but also for the company. You will likely get questions about what kind of work environment you like, and whether or not you will be a good fit for the company culture.

To prepare for these questions, research the company before your interview. Give honest answers, but also try to emphasize that you would fit in well at the company.

Software Engineer Interview Coding Questions

  • What kind of work environment do you thrive in?
  • How do you feel about a collaborative work environment?
  • How comfortable are you in a startup environment?