55+ Junior Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions

When interviewing a Junior Software Engineer, it is critical to ask the correct questions to assess their technical abilities, knowledge, and experience. Though technical questions are crucial, assessing the candidate's soft skills, such as communication, attitude, and problem-solving abilities, is vital.

Gone are the days when a software engineer's true ability was defined by their ability to write excellent code or create great products. The fast-changing and complex marketplace requires a perfect blend of technical and soft capabilities for recruiting.

To guarantee that you get the best candidate for the job, ask questions that cover both the technical and interpersonal aspects of the job. Probe for details that will help you evaluate the candidate's experience, qualifications, and overall suitability of the candidates for the position.

In this article, we will highlight the most common junior software engineer technical interview questions in 2024. We will look at some more specific questions related to their roles, such as system design and architecture, by taking an approach that covers high-level concepts and more practical tasks.

Let's get started!

But first, do you want to know how to find the top Junior software developers?

When recruiting a junior software engineer, it is critical to look for applicants with a basic understanding of common coding languages, a strong desire to acquire new capabilities, and the ability to operate in a team environment.

Begin by creating an enticing job description, next post it in places where junior software developers are likely to seek, followed by a recruitment process tailored to junior software developers.

Instead of resumes and conventional interviews, prioritize coding challenges and technical knowledge. So, here are the 10 best ways for recruiting IT professionals you can utilize to hire the best Junior software developers.

General Junior Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions

Although these questions are fairly common, it is critical to pay close attention to all of the minor nuances to assess a candidate's zeal for the engineering field.

1. Tell me about yourself. (Introduction)
2. What is your highest education?
3. Did you complete any certifications for becoming software developer?
4. What are some of your interests/hobbies outside of work?
5. Why do you want to work in software industry?
6. Why are you interested in working with us?
7. How do you stay updated on latest technology trends?
8. How do you upskill yourself for latest technology trends?
9. What responsibilities you handled in your last role?
10. How will your skills contribute to our company's growth?
11. What is your strength as a software engineer?
12. What is one weakness you're trying to improve?
13. Which are the important skills according to you to become a software developer?
14. What programming languages do you know?
15. How do you troubleshoot your code? Or how do you handle the bugs?

What skills to look for in junior software developers?

Junior developers should know the following:

• Basic programming languages, such as C++, HTML5, and JavaScript
• Write clean and maintainable codes
• Thorough understanding of databases and operating systems

Interview Questions to ask Junior software engineer about prior experience

Inquiring about previous employment allows you to understand how applicants respond to specific situations. Here are some potential interview questions for a junior software engineer about prior experience:

1. Can you tell us how proficient you are with programming languages such as Java, Python, and C++?
2. Explain any project you have worked on and your role in them.
3. How did you manage bugs and issues in a software project?
4. How did you overcome the difficulties that you faced?
5. How did you prioritize and manage your workload when working on multiple projects?
6. How did you manage your deadlines?
7. Did you ever manage to implement unexpected changes in a project?
8. What strategies did you implement to achieve your goals?
9. How good are you at maintaining documents of your programming work?
10. Can you describe a time when you had to work with a challenging team member or project?

What is the best way of assessing the technical skills of junior software developers?

Since it is difficult to assess a software developer's ability through limited live interviews, you can ask candidates to show off their coding skills through live coding interviews or take-home coding tests.

As a hiring manager, you will need some technical online assessment tools to narrow down your candidates, like iMocha. After all, you will want the interview process to be as quick as possible to avoid the best candidates dropping out of the pipeline.

What is more, you don't want to interview candidates who aren't fit for the role in question or don't have the right mindset. iMocha enables you to streamline your hiring process by helping you identify their strengths and weakness early in the hiring process.

It is an AI-powered skills assessment platform that offers talent acquisition services to evaluate the skill competency of candidates. It contains the world's most extensive pre-employment skills assessment library and coding simulators to help you shortlist the top applicants for a certain position.

It has several distinguished characteristics, such as the ability to create non-coding assessments, video interviews, project-based assessments, candidate ID verification, and role-specific tests.

Furthermore, by utilizing its patented AI-LogicBox, an AI-based pseudo-coding platform, this tool analyzes applicants' logical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Its extensive report function enables companies quickly assess performance. Its best-in-class cheating prevention technology eliminates the risk of cheating and allows you to maintain candidate integrity.

Junior Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions

Technical interview questions allow you to examine candidates' understanding of the tools and programming concepts required for the job.

It offers you a thorough understanding of their suitability for the desired role. Here are some common Junior Software Developers’ technical interview questions:

1. What is your experience using HTML?
2. What are the different data types in JavaScript?
3. How familiar are you with Java and its applications?
4. How do you implement a linked list in Java?
5. How do you implement a dynamic array in Java?
6. How do you implement a priority queue in Java?
7. Explain the implementation of a red-black tree in Java.
8. Explain the difference between a stack and a queue.
9. What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous programming?
10. Explain the difference between a hash table and a dictionary in Python.
11. How do you implement a binary search tree in Python?
12. Explain deque (double-ended queue) in Python.
13. Explain the concept of recursion.
14. How do you optimize a sorting algorithm for large data sets?
15. How do you implement a graph data structure in C++?
16. Explain the implementation of a circular buffer in C++.
17. Explain the concept of pointers and how they are used in C++.
18. How do you implement a min-heap in C++?
19. Explain the concept of dynamic programming.
20. Can you explain the concept of big O notation and how it is used to analyze the performance of algorithms?
21. Can you explain the concept of a heap and how it is used in data structures?
22. Explain the concept of a bloom filter and how it is used in data structures.
23. Explain the concept of a trie and how it is used in data structures.
24. Explain how you would optimize a slow algorithm.
25. How does a relational database work?

Some bonus interview questions

1. Explain the software development life cycle
2. How would you design a distributed workflow management system?
3. Explain OOP. Can you explain why it's important?
4. Explain non-deterministic programming.
5. Explain the steps to find the bugs in an application.
6. How do you manage the priority and scope of work?
7. How do you ensure code maintainability and maintain a codebase over time?

Conclusion

All the junior software engineer technical interview questions will help you make sure you are prepared when conducting the interview. In your search for the right candidate, focus on finding someone with a knack for problem-solving and a willingness to take on new challenges. Look for someone who can think outside the box and come up with creative solutions rather than someone who simply gets everything right.

FAQs

How to assess junior software engineers’ technical skills in an interview?

To evaluate the technical skills of junior software engineers, consider using a combination of techniques such as posing targeted questions, providing a situational challenge, offering a take-home assessment, or employing technical screening software.

What questions should you ask a junior software engineer?

You can frame questions about the following:

• Knowledge of databases
• Operating systems
• Knowledge of email systems
• Microsoft Office software