Software Developer

Software Developer qualifications to look for

Software Developers sit front and center in your engineering department, building fully functional systems and applications. They are also tasked to upgrade and maintain existing software and keep coding and design standards within compliance. 

Your top candidates will have an extensive portfolio and a B.S. in Computer Science or a related field. The best software developers have an insatiable desire to be on the forefront of tech, so ask if they participate in seminars or other communities related to their field. 

It’s a good idea to test your candidates’ skills to better evaluate how they would handle their role in your company. 

Keep an eye out for candidates who have:

• A solid technical background
• Strong communication skills
• A knack for collaboration  
• Practical skills
• Problem-solving skills
• An innovative mindset
  

Top tip: Hire candidates willing to grow by making sure their personal career goals align with your company's mission.

Problem-solving interview questions

• What steps would you take to install a new software system? What would you do prior to starting the project? 
• What’s important when reviewing somebody else’s code? What do you look for? 
• When debugging a program while it’s being used, how do you make sure it will not affect the functionality?
• What features would you like to add to Java and/or Ruby? Why?
  

Role-specific interview questions

• What techniques do you use to prioritize program requirements?
• What programming processes are at work from the time you type in a website’s URL to when it finishes loading on your screen?
• Explain when to use polymorphism and delegates.
• Explain String, StringBuilder, and StringBuffer in Java. What are the key differences?
• Describe cloud systems to a non-tech person. What are their pros and cons?
  

Behavioral interview questions

• What is your field of expertise? What are you currently learning about?  
• What do you do when a program you developed won’t run? How do you troubleshoot your code?
• How do you reduce the user’s perception of waiting? What features should you use?
• What’s your most challenging project so far? What was your role? Describe the challenges you faced during this project.
• What fun project are you working on outside of work?