Interview prep
Developer interview questions
13 questions developers get asked, grouped by type. Under each one are the skills it is really testing, so you can pick a story from your own work that shows them.
Technical
- How do you approach reviewing a teammate's pull request?Tests: code quality, communication
- Describe how you would debug a production issue with no clear error message.Tests: debugging, system design
- How do you decide what to unit test versus what to cover with integration tests?Tests: test strategy, code quality
- Describe a time you improved the performance of a slow piece of code.Tests: performance, debugging
Situational
- Tell me about a time you chose a simpler design over a more sophisticated one.Tests: system design, judgment
- You're asked to add a feature to a codebase you didn't write and don't fully understand. How do you proceed?Tests: code quality, ownership
- A deadline moved up and you can't finish everything you planned. What do you do?Tests: prioritisation, communication
- How do you make the case for spending time on technical debt when the business wants new features?Tests: communication, ownership
Behavioral
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker and how you handled it.Tests: conflict resolution, communication
- Describe a project or task that did not go well and what you did about it.Tests: ownership, reflection
- Give an example of persuading someone to adopt an idea they initially resisted.Tests: influence, communication
- Walk me through how you decided what to work on when you had more requests than time.Tests: prioritisation, judgment
- Tell me about a time you had to learn something new quickly to get a job done.Tests: learning agility, ownership
Getting the resume right first? See resume guidance for Developers, or browse interview questions for every role.