Technology Interview Questions

Technology Interview Questions

Job interviews take a lot of time and practice. Most of us are lucky enough to not have to do too many, which means they stay daunting and overwhelming for a lot of people, perhaps more so in the technology space.

This guide is designed to even the scales by helping you to prepare yourself for some of the key interview questions that you are likely to face when looking for a job in the IT field. You can read our original article from 2016 for a couple of extra tips on technical questions

Staple Interview Questions

We’ve all heard these interview questions before, but they are asked for a reason. The following questions are the basis for most interviews and the way you answer them can be the difference between getting the job or continuing your search. They test your soft skills and the way you communicate.

What Do You Know About Us?

Do your homework on the company that you’re applying to work for. Not knowing anything about the company can encourage interviewers to write you off without listening to anything else. If you haven’t bothered to research the role, they won’t think you want it. Showing off too much knowledge can backfire too, so don’t go into too much detail. Find out what the company does, what field they operate in, the product or service they provide, what your role would be, and what technology or methods they use.

You can also get to know the background and job duties of the person who will interview you. This can help you to know what to expect, and give you some areas of mutual interest. Look on company About Us pages, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Why Do You Want This Job?

Answers to this question will depend on the job and the candidate, but there are some answers to avoid. Stay away from saying you want the job for the pay or benefits package. Some might respect your honesty, but you run the risk of being seen as someone who doesn’t care about the work or the company and will quickly move on.

What attracted you to the role? Do you want a new challenge? Is the company in a field you want to work in? Does the work have something unique about it that interests you? Is the company known for having a good culture? These are all good answers that recruiters like to hear. If the benefits are your main reason, there are ways to express this without putting people off. For example, if the role offers flexible hours or remote working, you can say that the flexibility and work/life balance this job offers appeals to you.

What Is Your Biggest Strength And Your Biggest Weakness?

For your biggest strength, think about technical and soft skills, and which skills are best suited to the role. You might have many strengths, but if they aren’t relevant to the role, then don’t list them. If you’re interviewing for a role in programming, you could mention your C++ skills, but if you’re applying for a role in management, talk about your communication skills instead.

It’s tempting to say that your biggest weakness is that you’re a perfectionist. Try to answer honestly. Don’t rattle off everything that you’re bad at and leave it there. Pick a weakness, and follow it with the actions that you have been taking to address it. For example, if you know that time management is a problem for you, say that, but immediately follow it by explaining that you have been tracking the time you spend on each activity to make sure it stops being a problem. This shows that you’re honest enough to admit your faults, but are also motivated enough to address it.

Behavioral Questions

These are a standard part of job interviews. These questions are built around specific situations, and are intended to reveal how candidates will act in certain environments. These questions are asked with the understanding that past behavior will predict future behavior.

Tell Me About A Complicated Problem That You Had To Solve

This is meant to reveal your problem solving methods. The way you find issues and put solutions in place are important in IT, where problem solving makes up a large proportion of most roles, especially in more technical roles.

Prepare a specific example before the interview, so you’re ready for this question. His best examples would be complicated issues that you had to tackle a few times before you succeeded. Talk about the times you failed, what you learned from that, and how you used that knowledge to come up with the right solution. With an answer like this, you should be willing and able to learn from your mistakes and make something better.

Tell Me About A Time You Worked In A Team

You will be asked about a project you worked on as part of a team, how you worked in that team, and how successful your role and the project was. Do you need a lot of direction when you work in a team, or do you work self-sufficiently? Are you good at communicating and easy to work with? Ask yourself these things before heading to your appointment, so you can answer this question honestly in more detail.

Tell Me About A Time You Overcame Conflict

This could be a time you dealt with difficult colleagues or how you reacted to an approach you disagreed with. The interviewer wants to know how you handle adversity.

Prepare an example in advance. Think about a project where you had to deal with some conflict and talk through what you did to remedy the situation and create the best outcome for the project. Make sure you don’t make yourself look bad with your example, so avoid examples where your actions caused the conflict, or when someone else solved it. The focus should be on showing your good qualities and skills.

Summary

With so many new job opportunities opening up already this year, we hope this guide helps you to get your job search off on the right foot, and walk into that interview more confident and ready to succeed. If you’re looking for more interview advice, or you’re looking for IT jobs in New Zealand, reach out to IT recruitment agencies like Sourced in Christchurch.