Software Engineer Soft Skills Interview Questions

What Is The Difference Between A Process And A Thread

A process can be defined as the execution of a program, allowing users to perform the appropriate actions that are specified in a program. In other words, it means a program is in execution.

In contrast, a thread is an execution unit. It is part of a process and can be managed independently by a scheduler. A process may have multiple threads, which all execute at the same time.

How To Screen Candidates Soft Skills

The most common way to screen a candidates soft skills is in the interview process. However, traditional interviews can be very ineffective so much so that even studies from Harvard Business Review suggest making a quick skills assessment tests before conducting any interviews.

Asking all candidates to take a short skills assessment test before interviews or resume screenings is valuable because youll be empowered to zone in on the top candidatescompletely bias-free and based on data.

For instance, if youre using Toggl Hire skills-based recruiting software to pre-screen your candidates, you could include a few most important soft skills questions in your pre-qualification test. This will give you a better understanding of a candidates soft skills already before conducting any interviews.

Take A Short Coding Test:

If you are still not convinced with the answers then you can take a practice test to judge the developers skills. This is even a better option rather firing a bundle of questions. Taking a practical examination will determine the capability and quality of the developer. You can take possible tests like Fizzbuzz during the interview which is a small test. Or maybe you can ask him to create a high-level design for a small system.

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Software Developer Interview Questions And Answers

Hiring a perfect developer is quite a tough job. If you fail to analyze the right skills and qualities of a developer then you are putting your company at high risk.

Programming language is very complicated which includes lot of codes. And so interviewing with the right questions to developers is very necessary to find out the right developer for your organization.

What Do You Know About Non

Senior software engineers should understand non-deterministic programming and its relation to deterministic programming.

The two types of programming depend on nondeterministic and deterministic algorithms, respectively:

• A deterministic algorithm will produce the same output going through the same states
• Non-deterministic algorithms may produce different outputs in different runs

Non-deterministic algorithms can be slightly random in this sense.

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Software Developer Interview Questions

“Software developers design, write, test, and maintain the code for a software system. Extensive knowledge of programming languages, data structures, and algorithms are necessary to pass the technical interview which is designed to test these skills. Employers are looking for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field or equivalent work experience. “

software developer interview questions shared by candidates

What Soft Skills Should I Look For

Necessary soft skills vary across jobs. An executive assistant should be detail-oriented but doesnt necessarily need leadership skills. Often, different jobs require the same soft skills for different reasons. For example, interpersonal skills are valuable for salespeople and accountants. Salespeople need strong interpersonal skills to persuade and build rapport. Accountants need strong interpersonal skills to present data and explain accounting details.

No matter the context, there are a few soft skills that are highly sought after:

• Critical thinking

Important soft skills vary by company too. According to a 2014 U.S. News and World Report article, Google is looking for agile learning, leadership, intellectual humility and an inquisitive nature. In a 2011 interview posted in the Wall Street Journal, former HR Director of Microsoft India, Joji Gill, said Microsoft look for candidates who are real and open-minded. Individuals who do not have any preconceived notionswho are flexible. She added that integrity, accountability and how self-critical the individual is are also important.

Its difficult to find candidates who combine all the soft skills youre looking for. And assessing them is tricky. Interviewers often judge soft skills subjectively and end up hiring people who are similar to them. But, if you use effective questions during a structured interview, you have a better chance of getting it right and noticing candidates red flags.

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Relevant Skills 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.

What Do You Think Makes A Good Manager

I like this one because it’s a chance for the candidate to talk about others, and it’s expected that they think of their current boss .

The answer will give you an idea of how the candidate works on a team structure where somebody is on a position above them. And at the same time it will hint you if the candidate will do well with the current managers at your company.

I like the answers about leadership and motivation.

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What Distinguishes A Great Software Engineer From A Good One Do You Feel You Have Those Qualities

It helps to understand how a candidate feels about what makes someone the best in their career and how they feel about their skills and what makes them a good or great software engineer. What to look for:

• Thoughts on software engineering
• Honesty and introspection

Example:

A great software engineer has a healthy balance between perfectionism and pragmatism. Too often engineers want their code to be perfect, while losing sight of the overall goals of the project. A great programmer also learns not to fall in love with their own code, to keep a healthy skepticism until its been thoroughly tested, making sure it is the right choice for the project at hand. And yes, I believe have the qualities of a great programmer, though working on my need to be perfect is an ongoing battle.

Why Did You Want To Be A Software Developer

There might be certain reasons why the interviewee wants to be a software developer, but the most common answer would be, Because I love coding. A real developer would be passionate about his work and have a deep focus on his ongoing projects. If someone is being a developer just because they are paid high, then its better to ignore him.

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Communication Skills: Behavioral Interview Question Examples

10. Id be interested in hearing about a miscommunication you had with your supervisor. How did you solve it? What was the reason for that? How did you deal with that situation?

11. Tell me about an instance when you had to communicate a really bad piece of news to your supervisor or team members. How did you handle it? What was the outcome?

12. Provide an example of a time when you didnt agree with other programmers. Did you stand up for something that you believed was right?

13. Tell me about a time when you had to present a complex programming problem to a person that didnt understand technical jargon. How did you ensure that the other person understood you?

14. Describe a situation in which you felt you had not communicated well enough. What did you do? How did you handle it?

15. Tell me about a situation that you had to speak up and be assertive in order to get a point across that was important for you.

Describe A Situation Where Results Went Against Expectations How Did You Adapt To This Change

The interviewer may ask questions about your adaptability skills to understand how much change affects your approach to work. Note a time where you adapted to change, and highlight the effect it had on your previous employer.

Example:”While working as a marketing coordinator, I spent months collaborating with the marketing manager on details for a charity basketball game. However, it snowed the day of the game and all roads closed due to the weather. I moved the date of the event and coordinated with my manager and the host of the arena to ensure we could move plans to the newly scheduled date. Building relationships with key contacts can help you succeed, and I think my ability to work with people can serve me well with this company.”

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What Are You Working On Right Now

Find out what the software engineer is working on at the moment. Even if they are not currently working for a specific company, a good software engineer who is passionate about development will usually be working on a side project of their own.

If they are indeed working on a private project, ask them why they chose that project, what their goals are, what they enjoy about that project, and what they are learning from the process of working on that project.

Describe The Last Project You Worked On Including Any Obstacles And Your Contributions To Its Success

A question relating to a specific project will help the interviewer better understand your process and how you handle adversity while working on a specific task.

As you answer this question, use the STAR method to craft a detailed, informative answer. Start by describing the situation, which allows you to provide all the necessary details about the project on which you were working. Next, discuss the tasks you were assigned to outline your level of responsibility. When describing the action you took, include the steps you took to achieve a goal and finish with the result of the project.

Example:A previous employer tasked me with creating an internal online learning and training program for employees. The purpose of the program was to make sure all employees received proper training on certain topics, including customer service, compliance with legal requirements and workplace ethics. I began by researching other similar training systems to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Next, I used Java to code a simple program, which I then used to upload training courses.

After testing the simplified program, I added elements to make it more engaging to employees, such as games and interactive quizzes. This program was well-received by the employees of the organization, and their customer service success rates increased by 25% after all team members took the required course.

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Most Helpful Soft Skills Interview Questions And Answers

Kat Boogaard

I know what youre thinking: Soft skills dont actually matter. Theyre just the buzzwords you sprinkle throughout your resume when you cant think of any other key competencies that are worthy of that precious real estate.

But, heres the thing: Soft skills actually do carry some weight with employers. In Deloittes 2016 Global Human Capital Trends Report, a whopping 92% of respondents rated soft skills as a critical priority.

So, while they might not be quite as tangible or quantifiable as your more technical qualifications, employers are still going to attempt to gauge your soft skills throughout the hiring process.

Dont panic yet. While soft skills interview questions will obviously differ depending on your unique circumstances, weve pulled together some common ones that employers rely on to get a better feel for the less tangible qualities candidates bring to the tableas well as what you need to know to craft your own impressive answer.

Ace the interview

Craft your responses with our handy worksheet.

Teamwork Interview Questions For Job Applicants

Every great effort is a team effort . Companies can be compared to living organisms, in which employees stand for different limbs and body organs. If they cant coexist and cooperate together, the entire organization will struggle .

Following questions should help you assess whether your new employee will be a team player.

• Do you consider yourself a team player? What makes you a good team player?
• Have you worked in a team in your last job? Describe the experience.
• Tell me about a time you stepped up into a leadership role.

Group interview as a great test of teamwork ability

Perhaps the best opportunity to test this particular soft skill happens in a group interview.

You divide people to teams of 3 to 5 people, and let them work on a certain problem .

You observe them while they try to solve the problem, watching who takes the initiative, whether they argue, who works most earnestly and who just sits and watches the others, and so on. This should give you a good idea of each person in the roomwhether they can work in the team, what role they have in the team, and so on.

Special Tip: We have also a separate article on teamwork interview questions, with more than 15 questions. Do not forget to check it out.

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What Are The 3 Principles To Simplify Your Life

This might sound something spiritual and related to life, but this is related to what youre thinking right now. A developers life gets complex with extreme coding and so the 3 principles- KISS, YAGNI and DRY help him in overcoming it.

• KISS is Keep it Simple Stupid
• YAGNI stands for You Arent Gonna Need It
• DRY indicates Dont Repeat Yourself.

This question generally stands out for experienced and senior developers, but still, you can let the interviewee learn about this to simplify his life.

Senior Engineer Interview Questions Related To Experience

You can use the following 11 senior software engineer interview questions to learn more about your candidates past experiences.

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Question #: How Do You Ensure Quality And Fix Errors

Errors and bugs are common software development issues. To be considered for a software developer job, youll need to demonstrate proficiency in quality assurance. Software developer interview questions about QA are a measure of your problem-solving abilities.

Make sure you cover the following when answering:

• How you identify and diagnose software errors.
• Methods you employ to fix errors.
• An example of an error youve corrected.

When Writing Your Own Database Server What Should You Consider

Most of the time software engineers use data stores especially those working on backend applications. Do they understand the underlying factors of the application? How would they write an application like MongoDB or MySQL?

This type of open-ended question tests the bounds of a software engineer interviewees knowledge and could lead to a discussion of database principles such as file storage, sharding, threading, query optimizers, the big four NoSQL types, indexing, and others.

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Planning Priority Setting Time Management Behavioral Interview Questions

33. Tell me about a situation when you were responsible for project planning. Did everything go according to your plan? If not, then why and what kind of counteractions did you have to take?

34. Tell me about a situation when you were responsible for project planning. Did everything go according to your plan? If not, then why and what kind of counteractions did you have to take?

Soft Skills Interview Questions And Answers

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Soft skills consist of an individual’s communication skills, social skills and personal attributes. Interview questions on soft skills allow you to explain personality traits that you can showcase in the workplace. Learning more about potential interview questions and answers on soft skills can help you convey to a hiring manager how you can work with your coworkers to accomplish goals.

In this article, we take a look at 10 sample interview questions and answers related to soft skills.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

Hard Skills

Hard skills are technical knowledge or training that you have gained through any life experience, including in your career or education.

Soft Skills

Soft skills are personal habits and traits that shape how you work, on your own and with others.

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What Are Your Most Used Design Patterns And In What Contexts Do You Use Them

Similar to the previous question, this probes your knowledge of more abstract, theoretical concepts. Very few people are familiar with all of the formalized software design patterns. In fact, many well-established engineers have a hard time even naming more than a few. After reviewing the topic, you may realize that you leverage many of these patterns daily, even if you aren’t aware of the formal name. Reviewing these concepts helps provide a common shorthand, streamlining complex discussions.

Example:”For gaming projects, my level state and player character are generally implemented as singletons. For enemy creation, Ill use a factory that will produce differing enemies based on some inputs. Additionally, the bullets being fired by the character will be implemented in an object pool to avoid performance hits from excessive instantiation and garbage collection. If the game is more complex, I may switch to a compositional model such as Entity-Component-System. The system functions would then leverage dependency injection to better separate concerns and increase testability of the game logic.”