What are your strong points as a software engineer? What are your weak points as a software engineer? How do you approach problem solving? What would you do if faced with an impossible deadline? How would you organize and structure an application from the ground up? Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team project with people who were not like-minded or did not agree with how things should be done. How would you design an application to handle large amounts of data? What is DevOps and how is it changing development processes? Do you consider yourself more of an “API” person or frontend person when designing solutions for clients and customers? Or do you think that distinction between those two is becoming less relevant as companies increasingly build “greater than the sum of their parts” applications that rely on APIs and frontend frameworks, such as React or Redux, rather than discrete static pages that serve all URLs themselves (i.e. single page apps).
What is a software engineer?
A software engineer is a person who writes and tests code. Software engineers are responsible for creating the software that powers devices, apps and the internet. They work in teams with other software engineers and developers to build the software that runs on computers.
What are your strong points as a software engineer?
How well do you work independently, and in teams?
What types of problems do you like solving most?
If you’re asked this question, be sure to talk about the things that make you stand out as an entry-level software engineer. For example: “I’m very good at solving problems on my own or with other team members. I also enjoy working with new technology and learning how it works.”
What are your weak points as a software engineer?
Don’t be afraid to admit your weaknesses. Your interviewer is not looking for someone who is perfect, and she will appreciate your honesty. If there’s something you don’t know or aren’t great at, say so! You can even give examples of how you’ve improved in the past (and how you plan on continuing to improve).
Don’t try to cover up your weaknesses by making up a weakness that isn’t true at all–this makes it seem like you’re lying or trying too hard (and even if it doesn’t come out during an interview, people will figure it out eventually). Instead, be honest about what areas are still developing in your career as well as those where your skills have already plateaued or improved significantly over time; this demonstrates both self-awareness and humility while also showing off some personality traits employers love: honesty, confidence (in yourself), adaptability/flexibility
How do you approach problem solving?
When you are asked this question, be sure to think about the problem before you start. Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it, and make sure that you have all of the information available. You may even want to try something new or different from what has worked in the past.
What would you do if faced with an impossible deadline?
If you’re faced with an impossible deadline, you should first find out why the deadline is impossible. Is it because of something that can be helped? If there’s no way around it, ask for an extension and see if your manager will give it to you. If not, then consider reducing scope of your project or splitting up work with other team members who might have less work on their plate at that time.
If none of these options work out and things still look dire, don’t give up! Keep trying until someone gives in and helps out in some way – whether by giving more resources like developers or money (or both). And finally, don’t be afraid to ask questions when necessary – this shows curiosity which can help lead down paths towards solutions; as well as trustworthiness since they’ll know they can rely on someone who isn’t afraid of asking questions when needed
How would you organize and structure an application from the ground up?
When asked this question, you should have a solid understanding of the framework or technology you are working with. You should also be able to explain how you would organize an application from the ground up, including naming conventions and other best practices.
Here are some examples:
Use a framework like Ruby on Rails (RoR) or Django as a starting point, which will provide default structures for models, controllers and views. For example, RoR has an Active Record object-relational mapper (ORM) that handles database interactions automatically for you; it’s made up of models that represent data entities in your program with fields corresponding to columns in tables; each model can inherit from other ones via inheritance relationships; controllers handle requests made by users and pass them along to their associated views; these are templates consisting primarily of HTML markup but may also include JavaScript code where needed.; finally there are additional components such as routing files which tell RoR what pages need loading when certain URLs are requested by users–this allows us not only greater flexibility but also makes maintenance easier since we don’t have any configuration files lying around that could get outdated over time!
Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team project with people who were not like-minded or did not agree with how things should be done.
Give a specific example of when you had to work with people who were not like-minded or did not agree with how things should be done.
How did you resolve the conflict?
What was your role in resolving the conflict?
How did the situation end up being resolved?
How would you design an application to handle large amounts of data?
A large amount of data can be handled in a variety of ways. You can use a database, cache or queue for example. If you are using an API and have to handle large amounts of data, then you should consider using a message bus or service bus. If your application is microservices based then it will be easier to handle large amounts of data because each microservice has its own database which makes scaling easier if one service needs more resources than others.
What is DevOps and how is it changing development processes?
DevOps is a set of practices that help teams work together to deliver software faster, more reliably, and with better quality. The DevOps movement is about collaboration between development and operations (Dev/Ops). It aims to bring together the best practices from both sides of the table–including automation, scalability, security and continuous integration–in order to create an efficient workflow that produces high-quality code at scale.
Do you consider yourself more of an “API” person or frontend person when designing solutions for clients and customers? Or do you think that distinction between those two is becoming less relevant as companies increasingly build “greater than the sum of their parts” applications that rely on APIs and frontend frameworks, such as React or Redux, rather than discrete static pages that serve all URLs themselves (i.e. single page apps).
API is a term used to describe a type of software that allows other software to interact with it. It’s usually used by software developers to build applications, but you could also think of an API as being like an electrical plug on one side and a socket on the other–they can be plugged into each other, but they aren’t necessarily part of the same thing.
Frontend refers to anything that’s visible in an application or website (e.g., graphics) while backend refers to everything behind those things (e.g., databases).
I hope that this post has been helpful in giving you a better idea of what to expect in an entry-level software engineer interview. Please remember that the most important thing is not to panic! If you do well on these questions, it means that you have a strong foundation in computer science concepts and programming languages like Java or C++. You can certainly add some of these more advanced topics into your repertoire if they come up during an interview (like DevOps), but don’t let them distract from what really matters: being able to solve problems quickly and efficiently with minimal resources at hand.
You’ve reached the interview stage of your job search and you’re getting ready for an entry-level software engineer interview. You’ve made it this far! By now, you know you have a great resume and cover letter, but what can you expect from an entry-level software engineer interview? An interview is your chance to show off your skills and knowledge, so be ready to talk about everything from object oriented programming (OOP) to debugging strategies. We’ve collected 36 questions that might come up during an entry-level software engineer interview in this article—and more than half of them are technical!
What is the difference between object oriented programming and procedural programming?
Object oriented programming is a programming paradigm that focuses on the data structure of an application, rather than its flow. Data structures are defined by classes, which can contain multiple attributes and methods (functions). Classes can also inherit from parent classes, allowing you to reuse code and create more complex objects by combining simpler ones.
Procedural programming is based on procedures and functions rather than objects and classes. In procedural languages like C or Java, you’ll write code for specific tasks instead of thinking about how those tasks relate to each other within your program’s overall structure
What is the difference between an interface and an abstract class?
When you’re asked to explain the difference between interfaces and abstract classes, it’s important to remember that they’re similar in many ways. Both don’t have any implementation (just methods), but they differ in that:
an interface is a contract between the class and the method–it says what a method must do
whereas an abstract class is a class that can’t be instantiated
What is an abstract method?
An abstract method is a method that can be overridden by a subclass. It must be declared as such in the superclass, and it must be defined in the subclass. An abstract method cannot be called directly from outside of its class–it’s only meant to provide an interface for subclasses to implement. Think of it as a contract between parent and child classes: If you want to use this superclass, then you better implement this specific behavior!
What is polymorphism?
Polymorphism is a way to allow different types of objects to respond to the same message in different ways. It’s often used as a way to make code more generic and reusable.
Example: A dog can eat food, but so can a cat – so we don’t need two separate methods for eating (eatFood(), eatCatFood(), etc.). Instead, we can write one method that takes an object parameter and uses polymorphism to handle each case differently:
This will work because when you call it with any type of object as its parameter, Java knows how to handle it based on what kind of object you pass in!
What are some advantages of using polymorphism in place of inheritance?
Polymorphism allows you to reuse code. If you want a class that has all the functionality of another class, but wants some additional functionality, then polymorphism allows you to do this by extending or inheriting from the other class. This way, if there is any code that does not need changing, it won’t be affected by your changes.
Polymorphism allows you to write more generic code. Polymorphism allows us to write functions and classes in such a way that they can work with different types of objects without having hard-coded assumptions about what those types are (i.e., they aren’t tied down). This makes our code cleaner because we don’t need separate implementations for every possible type out there; instead we can just use one generic implementation which will work regardless of what kinds of objects happen upon it later down stream–meaning less maintenance overhead!
Polymorphism also helps build more complex systems because it makes communication between components easier/more efficient since each component only needs knowledge about its own type rather than every possible type within its scope – again reducing maintenance overhead over time!
How would you debug code that wasn’t working the way you expected it to?
You can set a breakpoint in your code, and when it’s hit, the debugger will stop execution. This allows you to step through each line of code and see what’s going on.
You can also use print statements to output values at certain points in your program. This will allow you to see what data is being passed around, which helps when debugging issues with data flow or state management (such as with session cookies).
Takeaway:
Here are the takeaways:
Know the difference between object oriented and procedural programming.
Know the difference between an interface and an abstract class.
Know what is an abstract method, and why it’s important to use them instead of regular methods when appropriate (e.g., when writing code that implements polymorphism).
Understand that you should use polymorphism over inheritance whenever possible because it makes your code more flexible and easier to maintain over time.
Conclusion
The best way to prepare for an interview is to practice and get experience. Try answering these questions out loud and see how they feel. You can also use them as a checklist when reviewing your resume so that you know what topics to cover in your interview.
Answers ( 2 )
What are your strong points as a software engineer? What are your weak points as a software engineer? How do you approach problem solving? What would you do if faced with an impossible deadline? How would you organize and structure an application from the ground up? Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team project with people who were not like-minded or did not agree with how things should be done. How would you design an application to handle large amounts of data? What is DevOps and how is it changing development processes? Do you consider yourself more of an “API” person or frontend person when designing solutions for clients and customers? Or do you think that distinction between those two is becoming less relevant as companies increasingly build “greater than the sum of their parts” applications that rely on APIs and frontend frameworks, such as React or Redux, rather than discrete static pages that serve all URLs themselves (i.e. single page apps).
What is a software engineer?
A software engineer is a person who writes and tests code. Software engineers are responsible for creating the software that powers devices, apps and the internet. They work in teams with other software engineers and developers to build the software that runs on computers.
What are your strong points as a software engineer?
If you’re asked this question, be sure to talk about the things that make you stand out as an entry-level software engineer. For example: “I’m very good at solving problems on my own or with other team members. I also enjoy working with new technology and learning how it works.”
What are your weak points as a software engineer?
How do you approach problem solving?
When you are asked this question, be sure to think about the problem before you start. Do not be afraid to ask for help if you need it, and make sure that you have all of the information available. You may even want to try something new or different from what has worked in the past.
What would you do if faced with an impossible deadline?
If you’re faced with an impossible deadline, you should first find out why the deadline is impossible. Is it because of something that can be helped? If there’s no way around it, ask for an extension and see if your manager will give it to you. If not, then consider reducing scope of your project or splitting up work with other team members who might have less work on their plate at that time.
If none of these options work out and things still look dire, don’t give up! Keep trying until someone gives in and helps out in some way – whether by giving more resources like developers or money (or both). And finally, don’t be afraid to ask questions when necessary – this shows curiosity which can help lead down paths towards solutions; as well as trustworthiness since they’ll know they can rely on someone who isn’t afraid of asking questions when needed
How would you organize and structure an application from the ground up?
When asked this question, you should have a solid understanding of the framework or technology you are working with. You should also be able to explain how you would organize an application from the ground up, including naming conventions and other best practices.
Here are some examples:
Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team project with people who were not like-minded or did not agree with how things should be done.
How would you design an application to handle large amounts of data?
A large amount of data can be handled in a variety of ways. You can use a database, cache or queue for example. If you are using an API and have to handle large amounts of data, then you should consider using a message bus or service bus. If your application is microservices based then it will be easier to handle large amounts of data because each microservice has its own database which makes scaling easier if one service needs more resources than others.
What is DevOps and how is it changing development processes?
DevOps is a set of practices that help teams work together to deliver software faster, more reliably, and with better quality. The DevOps movement is about collaboration between development and operations (Dev/Ops). It aims to bring together the best practices from both sides of the table–including automation, scalability, security and continuous integration–in order to create an efficient workflow that produces high-quality code at scale.
Do you consider yourself more of an “API” person or frontend person when designing solutions for clients and customers? Or do you think that distinction between those two is becoming less relevant as companies increasingly build “greater than the sum of their parts” applications that rely on APIs and frontend frameworks, such as React or Redux, rather than discrete static pages that serve all URLs themselves (i.e. single page apps).
I hope that this post has been helpful in giving you a better idea of what to expect in an entry-level software engineer interview. Please remember that the most important thing is not to panic! If you do well on these questions, it means that you have a strong foundation in computer science concepts and programming languages like Java or C++. You can certainly add some of these more advanced topics into your repertoire if they come up during an interview (like DevOps), but don’t let them distract from what really matters: being able to solve problems quickly and efficiently with minimal resources at hand.
entry level software engineer interview questions: 36 Interview Questions for Entry-Level Software Engineers
Introduction
You’ve reached the interview stage of your job search and you’re getting ready for an entry-level software engineer interview. You’ve made it this far! By now, you know you have a great resume and cover letter, but what can you expect from an entry-level software engineer interview? An interview is your chance to show off your skills and knowledge, so be ready to talk about everything from object oriented programming (OOP) to debugging strategies. We’ve collected 36 questions that might come up during an entry-level software engineer interview in this article—and more than half of them are technical!
What is the difference between object oriented programming and procedural programming?
Object oriented programming is a programming paradigm that focuses on the data structure of an application, rather than its flow. Data structures are defined by classes, which can contain multiple attributes and methods (functions). Classes can also inherit from parent classes, allowing you to reuse code and create more complex objects by combining simpler ones.
Procedural programming is based on procedures and functions rather than objects and classes. In procedural languages like C or Java, you’ll write code for specific tasks instead of thinking about how those tasks relate to each other within your program’s overall structure
What is the difference between an interface and an abstract class?
When you’re asked to explain the difference between interfaces and abstract classes, it’s important to remember that they’re similar in many ways. Both don’t have any implementation (just methods), but they differ in that:
What is an abstract method?
An abstract method is a method that can be overridden by a subclass. It must be declared as such in the superclass, and it must be defined in the subclass. An abstract method cannot be called directly from outside of its class–it’s only meant to provide an interface for subclasses to implement. Think of it as a contract between parent and child classes: If you want to use this superclass, then you better implement this specific behavior!
What is polymorphism?
Polymorphism is a way to allow different types of objects to respond to the same message in different ways. It’s often used as a way to make code more generic and reusable.
Example: A dog can eat food, but so can a cat – so we don’t need two separate methods for eating (eatFood(), eatCatFood(), etc.). Instead, we can write one method that takes an object parameter and uses polymorphism to handle each case differently:
“`java public void eat(Object food){ System.out.println(“Eating ” + food); } “`
This will work because when you call it with any type of object as its parameter, Java knows how to handle it based on what kind of object you pass in!
What are some advantages of using polymorphism in place of inheritance?
Polymorphism allows you to reuse code. If you want a class that has all the functionality of another class, but wants some additional functionality, then polymorphism allows you to do this by extending or inheriting from the other class. This way, if there is any code that does not need changing, it won’t be affected by your changes.
Polymorphism allows you to write more generic code. Polymorphism allows us to write functions and classes in such a way that they can work with different types of objects without having hard-coded assumptions about what those types are (i.e., they aren’t tied down). This makes our code cleaner because we don’t need separate implementations for every possible type out there; instead we can just use one generic implementation which will work regardless of what kinds of objects happen upon it later down stream–meaning less maintenance overhead!
Polymorphism also helps build more complex systems because it makes communication between components easier/more efficient since each component only needs knowledge about its own type rather than every possible type within its scope – again reducing maintenance overhead over time!
How would you debug code that wasn’t working the way you expected it to?
Takeaway:
Here are the takeaways:
Conclusion
The best way to prepare for an interview is to practice and get experience. Try answering these questions out loud and see how they feel. You can also use them as a checklist when reviewing your resume so that you know what topics to cover in your interview.