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SWE programming interviews?
What are programming interviews like for software engineering positions?
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Teon’s Answer
Software Engineering interviews range in intensity and difficulty depending on the experience level of the position you are applying for as well as the type of position of you are applying for(Front-end Engineer, Backend Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer) and lastly, the industry you plan to work in.
Most companies will require anywhere from 2-4 rounds of interviews including a first round with a phone screening, or an online, technical assessment in a given programming language, or they may even schedule a video call for you to code a solution to a problem with a time limit. The second round will often be an in-depth review of the experience you outlined in your resume. Should you make it to the round, you will likely be invited on-site if the position is local and you will meet the team. They may ask technical questions requiring that you solve the problems on a white board or on a laptop they provide you.
Research on Glassdoor and ask your peers about the interview process at the company you are applying to.
Take note that tech companies have a far more in-depth interview process.
Learn and review technical concepts relevant to your own expeiences and the position you apply
Do mock interviews so that you can quickly and accurately answer questions using the STAR method.
Practice solving coding challenges on LeetCode and Hackerrank
Most companies will require anywhere from 2-4 rounds of interviews including a first round with a phone screening, or an online, technical assessment in a given programming language, or they may even schedule a video call for you to code a solution to a problem with a time limit. The second round will often be an in-depth review of the experience you outlined in your resume. Should you make it to the round, you will likely be invited on-site if the position is local and you will meet the team. They may ask technical questions requiring that you solve the problems on a white board or on a laptop they provide you.
Teon recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
Programming interviews for software engineering positions can vary in format and difficulty, but typically include a mix of technical and behavioral questions. Here are some common elements that you might encounter during a programming interview:
Technical coding questions: These questions may involve solving coding challenges or puzzles that test your knowledge of programming languages, data structures, algorithms, and software development methodologies.
Design questions: These questions test your ability to design and architect software systems, and may involve discussing how you would approach a specific software development problem.
Code reviews: You may be asked to review code samples or identify potential issues in existing code.
Behavioral questions: These questions are designed to assess your interpersonal and communication skills, as well as your ability to work effectively in a team. They may include questions about your past experiences and how you have handled specific situations in the workplace.
System design questions: These questions are geared towards assessing your knowledge of high-level system design and architecture, as well as your ability to break down complex systems into smaller components.
Whiteboarding exercises: These exercises involve drawing or writing code on a whiteboard or piece of paper, without the aid of an IDE or computer. They test your ability to explain your thought process, write clean and efficient code, and solve problems under pressure.
Pair programming exercises: In these exercises, you will work collaboratively with an interviewer to solve a programming challenge. This will test your ability to communicate and work effectively with others, as well as your programming skills.
Overall, programming interviews for software engineering positions can be challenging and rigorous, but they are designed to help companies identify candidates who have the skills and experience needed to be successful in the role. It's important to prepare for your programming interview by practicing coding challenges, studying software development methodologies, and researching the company and the position you are applying for.
Technical coding questions: These questions may involve solving coding challenges or puzzles that test your knowledge of programming languages, data structures, algorithms, and software development methodologies.
Design questions: These questions test your ability to design and architect software systems, and may involve discussing how you would approach a specific software development problem.
Code reviews: You may be asked to review code samples or identify potential issues in existing code.
Behavioral questions: These questions are designed to assess your interpersonal and communication skills, as well as your ability to work effectively in a team. They may include questions about your past experiences and how you have handled specific situations in the workplace.
System design questions: These questions are geared towards assessing your knowledge of high-level system design and architecture, as well as your ability to break down complex systems into smaller components.
Whiteboarding exercises: These exercises involve drawing or writing code on a whiteboard or piece of paper, without the aid of an IDE or computer. They test your ability to explain your thought process, write clean and efficient code, and solve problems under pressure.
Pair programming exercises: In these exercises, you will work collaboratively with an interviewer to solve a programming challenge. This will test your ability to communicate and work effectively with others, as well as your programming skills.
Overall, programming interviews for software engineering positions can be challenging and rigorous, but they are designed to help companies identify candidates who have the skills and experience needed to be successful in the role. It's important to prepare for your programming interview by practicing coding challenges, studying software development methodologies, and researching the company and the position you are applying for.
Updated
John’s Answer
I manage the engineering interviewing process for a AAA games studio. Here's what it looks like for us:
- A 30 minute phone screen with one of our recruiters. This conversation is to cover some basic information about both you and the position, as well as making sure you are going to answer the phone/be on time (yes, that's a thing) and have a good attitude.
- A 60 minute call with one of the engineering hiring managers. This call would consist of talking about the candidates resume, asking them technical questions and math questions, asking cultural fit questions, and letting the candidate ask any question they might have.
- A 2 hour call with the team. This is usually 3 engineers from the team plus a hiring manager. Format is similar to above, except they will go further in depth on technical questions, and will do some whiteboarding exercises.
- A 20-30 minute call with studio leadership, a chance for them to get to know you, answer any lingering questions, and (if its going well) kick off the negotiation process.
- Offer/negotiation process, usually via email with the recruiting team.
For our technical questions, we usually ask things that test your core CS skills. Data structures, algorithms, problem solving, etc.. is all fair game. A few language specific questions too (C++ for us, since we work in it most often) but we're flexible as long as you can back up your answers in some programming language.
- A 30 minute phone screen with one of our recruiters. This conversation is to cover some basic information about both you and the position, as well as making sure you are going to answer the phone/be on time (yes, that's a thing) and have a good attitude.
- A 60 minute call with one of the engineering hiring managers. This call would consist of talking about the candidates resume, asking them technical questions and math questions, asking cultural fit questions, and letting the candidate ask any question they might have.
- A 2 hour call with the team. This is usually 3 engineers from the team plus a hiring manager. Format is similar to above, except they will go further in depth on technical questions, and will do some whiteboarding exercises.
- A 20-30 minute call with studio leadership, a chance for them to get to know you, answer any lingering questions, and (if its going well) kick off the negotiation process.
- Offer/negotiation process, usually via email with the recruiting team.
For our technical questions, we usually ask things that test your core CS skills. Data structures, algorithms, problem solving, etc.. is all fair game. A few language specific questions too (C++ for us, since we work in it most often) but we're flexible as long as you can back up your answers in some programming language.
Updated
Charanya’s Answer
Interview for a software engineer can vary from company to company. But a general pattern that is followed by most companies are
1. Code challenge that need to be completed and submitted - This is the screening step to understand your coding skills and your software development processes
2. Once you are successful with the coding challenge there will be a technical interview where you will be asked question to understand you technical knowledge on a specific skill set like knowledge or front end development (Javascript, react etc) or Backend development(Java, C# etc), knowledge on basic software development principles, Quality practices etc. This round will differ based on what level they are interviewing for.
3. Once you are successful with the technical interview, some companies have a pair programming round where they ask you to write code live with another developer to see how you work in real time. This is not done by all companies
4. You will then have a behavioral interview where they will question you on hypothetical scenarios to understand your work style and how well you can work with the team.
If you have done well in all the above rounds you will be hired. Some companies have more technical rounds.
1. Code challenge that need to be completed and submitted - This is the screening step to understand your coding skills and your software development processes
2. Once you are successful with the coding challenge there will be a technical interview where you will be asked question to understand you technical knowledge on a specific skill set like knowledge or front end development (Javascript, react etc) or Backend development(Java, C# etc), knowledge on basic software development principles, Quality practices etc. This round will differ based on what level they are interviewing for.
3. Once you are successful with the technical interview, some companies have a pair programming round where they ask you to write code live with another developer to see how you work in real time. This is not done by all companies
4. You will then have a behavioral interview where they will question you on hypothetical scenarios to understand your work style and how well you can work with the team.
If you have done well in all the above rounds you will be hired. Some companies have more technical rounds.
Updated
Simone’s Answer
From what I have seen, Gitlab in the software space does the best job of preparing folks for an interview with them, yet the principles can be applied to any interview. They are all opensource so their philosophy is make everything open, accessible and available..have a look for yourself, just browse all the questions:https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/hiring/conducting-a-gitlab-interview/
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Mickael’s Answer
It really depends of the company that is hiring you. For most of them though, you should expect questions about algorithms, data structures, and some coding exercises.
The part they will focus on then really depends on that company, its main business, and the project the position is opened for. Google and Microsoft, for example, are really coding heavy. Dell, way less.
You have many examples of interviews from ex-candidates that posted their coding exercises on the web. Other companies care more about your potential growth so they just make sure you know the basics.
The part they will focus on then really depends on that company, its main business, and the project the position is opened for. Google and Microsoft, for example, are really coding heavy. Dell, way less.
You have many examples of interviews from ex-candidates that posted their coding exercises on the web. Other companies care more about your potential growth so they just make sure you know the basics.
Updated
Tony’s Answer
Jesse, Software Engineer interviews are brutal. Three years ago, I was laid off from my company, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so I interviewed with other companies. Most of them gave me on-line exams that required writing and/or fixing code, in a variety of languages. I learned new languages Rust, Python, and Go just to complete some of their "homework assignments" that I needed to get done before the interview. It took me three weeks to get a new job, which is the longest I had been without work since I was 15 years old.