Asking the right questions and knowing the red and green flags to watch out for is an essential skill if you want to recruit the best software development talent. If your trying to find a developer for a client or even putting together a team, conducting an effective interview allows you to find the talent you need while keeping the best developers interested. Here we look at the essential questions an HR recruitment professional should ask when interviewing software developers.
What Coding Languages Have You Worked With?
The wording of this one is essential. Worked with is different to “know.” It takes only a few hours to learn the basics of a coding language, but the skill in that language will be developed over years of use and application in specific projects. Developers who rattle off long lists of programming languages might not actually have a lot of experience with those languages, so it’s important to probe a bit deeper.
What Projects Have You Worked on Before?
This question is extremely valuable because it covers experience, coding knowledge and the results and outcome of previous projects. Getting the candidate to talk you through each project they’ve worked on before, the knowledge and skills they used and learned, the people they worked with and the companies they worked for, can help you assess their suitability for this project.
What Is The Biggest Problem You’ve Faced, And How Did You Solve It?
This question is a classic in job interviews, and for a good reason. It answers two questions at once, by revealing where a software developer might have struggled in the past, as well as giving an example of their problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills are essential for software development, and not just on the engineering side. Being able to work with a team and coordinate a project is just as important as coding skills.
Which Design Patterns Have You Used?
Design patterns are general, reusable solutions to common problems that a software developer has developed. Every good developer won’t hesitate to list a few that they’ve used, so it’s a good indication of experience and knowledge.
What’s Your Software Design Process?
Understanding the way a software developer goes about the development process, gives you an insight into how they will work on your project, and how they will work with a team. It also provides an insight into the thoroughness and quality of their process, from the design and architecture phase to testing and quality control.
Related Content: Top Things to Understand About the Software Development Process
What Tools Do You Use To Keep Track Of Requirements?
This is a technical question, but a good software developer won’t hesitate to tell you which requirement are tracking tools they use. These tools help to keep project management on a course and track any changes made throughout the software development process.
How Do You Quality Test Your Code?
This identifies the programmers who will go above and beyond, and those who might leave your project only half done. Full quality testing is essential to iron out bugs and ensure your project provides an excellent user experience.
We know that the technical aspect of interviewing software developers can be daunting. Preparing for interviews with these questions will help you identify the highest quality software developers with honed technical and soft skills, to deliver outstanding results for your clients.
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