You are in the middle of the recruiting and hiring process for a software engineer. You have tons of upcoming interviews, and you want to make sure your next hire has the right skills for the position and will help scale your business. But how to know if a candidate is the one? You should start by knowing the best questions to ask during the hiring process to find the right software engineer for your project.
With more than 8 years of experience as an IT recruitment professional, I helped numerous companies recruit global software engineering talent. So, I’ve created a list with key 10 technical interview questions for hiring software engineers, either remote or in the office, but our specialization is in recruiting remote IT talent (these apply to both cases).
These 10 interview questions for software engineers are some of the top questions you should ask to separate the good from the great and the great from the excellent potential software engineers candidates.
1. What is the biggest project you’ve worked on as a software engineer, and what was your involvement?
This question is useful for understanding the scope of the software engineer’s skills and how he/she has applied them to a demanding/complex project. It will allow you to go beyond the resume and focus on the individual contributions and abilities they have.
2. How do you manage a big project or task? – Can you think of an example
There can be a lot of answers to this question. What you are trying to find out is if a candidate knows how to manage projects and time efficiently. Keep in mind that the right answer depends on what type of project a developer is managing. Or if they follow a specific methodology. For example, software engineers who follow the Agile Methodology might tell you that they manage a project by having daily standups and defining tasks into smaller pieces.
3. With What Methodology Have you Worked With?
This depends if your company follows a determined project methodology. Many modern companies choose the Agile Methodology. Mainly because of its efficiency in managing workloads, due dates, design steps, debugging process, among other phases of a project. If your company works with the Scrum methodology, on interviews, you should make sure software engineering candidates know what Scrum or Agile is.
4. When was the Last Time That you Implemented X language/tool?
Let’s say that you need to hire a DevOps engineer because your company needs to improve its software. The most common languages DevOps developers use are Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Perl, C/C++, Go, and Java. These languages, although they were created years ago, keep receiving updates. For example, Python’s latest update is Python 3.8, which was released in October 2019. Because of these continual updates, it’s useful to know how recent a candidate’s experience is. And how they keep learning about the use and knowledge of their chosen programming languages and different tools.
5. Are you comfortable working in a fast-paced, changing environment?
This question helps to identify if the candidate has worked in environments that evolve dynamically. And if they accommodate and enjoy that experience. Many software engineers are used to a predictable environment that is typical of big companies. And they rely heavily on having a team where the responsibilities are limited for each member. This question is ideal when you need a tech lead or when hiring for a small/ medium/ startup company.
6. What do you do when you get stuck with a task?
In other words, are they problem solvers? Look for someone who answers this question quickly, and whose answer contains some of the following themes: asking team members for input, having a specific tool that helps, referencing a community of developers, or a book. Someone who answers like this is someone who has solutions ready for any problem. It’s impossible to hire the perfect developer that always does things right; after all, we are all humans. But a candidate who goes beyond their own knowledge and seeks help when problems arise is someone who:
A) Has good problem-solving skills
B) Is also a team player
7. Can you explain how [process name] works?
This question tests communication abilities. Being a remote worker is all about having communication skills. When asking a software engineer to explain a technical process or concept, you will see if they can communicate efficiently and explain the process in a clear (not memorized) way. This will help in the future whenever, for example, you need to decide the best method to speed up your website. If you don’t have any tech background, having a developer explaining the problem in human words will ease the decision process.
8. Have you been on a remote team before? What did you like the most? What did you didn’t like at all?
Despite all the benefits that come with remote working, not everyone is remote ready. If you hire a software engineer who hates video calls or hates working on his own, probably he would do a terrible job. Save money and time by making sure candidates enjoy working remotely and have the skills to do it. See if this candidate is open to regular check-ins, feedback, tools, instant messaging, screen-sharing, etc.
9. How do you feel about code reviews?
In the software development process, code reviews are extremely important. This type of question lets you get a hint on how a developer might take feedback and how he is willing to help other team members. Also, to know more about the candidate’s knowledge and experience. And if they use testing methodologies, frameworks, or tools.
10. How do you maintain work/life balance?
This question might be a small trick to see how a candidate prioritizes. You are not trying to find out how they handle their work and life daily. What you want to know is what’s important for them and how they act upon that. A candidate that finishes tasks on time and overall works hard but also makes time for themselves, their hobbies, family, and friends is someone who understands the importance of work/life balance and how to take advantage of time.
Is the Interview Process for Hiring a Software Engineer Too Much Work?
Recruitment is a long and boring process – if you do it wrong. Making a great hire is mainly about asking the right interview questions to your new software developer. And of being sure that a software engineer is:
- A good culture fit
- Fantastic problem solver
- Does what they preach (technically speaking)
- Excellent business communication and presentation skills
Hopefully, this general list of interview questions can help you select software engineer candidates carefully. Additionally, there are more specific questions you need to consider, based on the type of culture your company has, the tech stack, and the programming languages you use. At DistantJob, we are experts in the art of remote tech recruiting. Our goal is that all companies have the best tech talent that matches their culture and professional requirements. Let us help you find the best software developer in just two weeks!
