Workplaces are evolving continually, especially since the 2020 pandemic. Remote work has surged from 4% to 48% from 2020 through 2021. And the number is expected to grow even higher.
Imagine being a virtual team manager working behind the screens, with no physical interaction with the employees. How will you manage team activity, establish team coordination or achieve organizational growth without connecting to employees in a real environment?
This virtual reality can limit an organization's overall productivity if not handled well. That's why managers must define employees' propensity to lead or get lead, and behavioral assessments are the way to do that.
Read on to know all about behavioral assessment, senior software behavioral interview questions, and more.
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What are behavioral interview questions?
Behavioral interview questions are a way to evaluate a candidate's core competencies required to perform the job role. These questions are generated after a structured and rigorous analytical study. Employers mainly use these assessments during recruitment and talent development in the organization.
Behavioral questions, to be more specific senior software behavioral interview questions, are exposed to a series of simulated real-world work environments. In such a situation, actions taken by candidates are carefully evaluated to create behavioral evaluations using top talent assessment tools such as eSkill, iMocha, etc.
Why do interviewers ask behavioral questions?
Behavioral assessments are like that crystal clear ball that will help employers to estimate a candidate's overall job performance. Interviewers ask behavioral questions to measure the following factors:
- Individual dominance: Candidate's ability to dominate and influence the entire team. Employers will find candidates categorized in either the collaborative or independent category.
- Forbearance: This emotion is an indication of the candidate's stability. There will be a spectrum from driven to stable in individuals' behaviors.
- Formality: The trait of formality recognizes compliance with the rules of the environment. The tendency for people to conform to structures will fall on a spectrum between flexible and precise.
- Objectivity: Objectivity relies on judgment. Depending on the environment, a person may think more subjectively or objectively.
Structure of behavioral interview questions
Behavioral interview question Generally starts with phrases like-
- Describe a situation when you...
- Tell me about a time when you…
- How do you handle...
- Provide an example of a time you...
- Think about a situation in which you…
- Give an example of...
We have broken down behavioral interview questions in different categories
- Situation-based questions
- Action-based questions
- Hypothetical questions
- Communications based questions
- Strengths-based questions
- Weakness-based questions
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How to hire senior software developers?
Recruiting a senior software developer is no piece of cake; it takes rigorous work hours to get candidates to take interviews even. Due to talent shortage, developers are fewer, and senior developers are even lesser and more expensive.
So how to streamline hiring senior software engineers?
The first step of hiring a senior software engineer is to deploy a skills assessment portal. So take a subscription to one of the leading and ever-innovative platforms iMocha.
With the world's most extensive library of 2500+ skills in the content library, iMocha is the top technical skills assessment software.
The recruiters must define the proficiency level they are looking for in the candidate. Once the proficiency level is determined, recruiters can frame customized technical assessments from iMocha's vast question bank of 1Lakh + questions. You can include questions on coding skills, domain skills, next-gen skills, database skills, and more.
iMocha has 35+ programming languages, 2800+ coding interview problems, and 25+ coding compilers to evaluate candidates' technical expertise.
Recruiters can also use iMocha's exclusive technical skills assessing features such as:
- Live Coding interview: remotely assess candidates' logical skills and problem-solving abilities in a real-time coding environment
- AI-LogicBox: a pseudo coding platform that reduces candidates' turnover time drastically
- Code Replay: allows recruiters to watch candidates' way of writing code to determine their problem-solving tactics
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Situation-based behavioral interview questions to ask for senior software engineer
- Tell me a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or client.
- Give an example of when you overcome a major obstacle to achieve a goal.
- Explain a time when you had to make a difficult decision. Which things would you consider while making a decision?
- Can you give an example of a time when you had to adapt to a new technology or tool? How did you learn it, and what was the outcome?
- Explain a situation when you had a tight deadline. How did you manage your time, and what was the outcome?
Action-based questions:
- Explain to me the steps you took to complete a project on time.
- Describe a situation when you streamlined a process. What steps did you take to ensure its success?
- How did you prioritize and manage your workload?
- Can you give an example of a time when you had to take the lead on a project without much direction or guidance? What actions did you take to ensure the project's success?
- Can you give an example of a time when you had to troubleshoot and solve a technical problem? What steps did you take, and what was the outcome?
Hypothetical questions
- What steps would you take to improve a process or system and its effectiveness?
- How would you handle a situation where a client or customer is unsatisfied with the project?
- If you were asked to lead a project outside of your area of expertise, what steps would you take to ensure its success?
- How would you handle a situation where you disagree with your manager's decision?
- What steps would you take to address the underperforming team member?
Communications based questions
- Describe a situation where you had to write a report or document. How did you ensure that it was clear and easy to understand?
- How would you behave or communicate with a junior teammate when he is not performing as expected?
- Tell me about a time when you had to communicate bad news or deliver criticism. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?
- Describe a situation where you had to handle a difficult conversation or negotiation. How did you prepare, and what was the outcome?
- Describe a situation where you had to provide feedback or criticism to a team member. How did you approach the conversation, and what was the outcome?
Strengths-based questions
- Can you describe a situation where your attention to detail helped you to identify and solve a problem?
- Tell me about a time when your ability to multitask enabled you to complete a project on time.
- Describe a situation where your ability to adapt to change helped you to handle a difficult situation.
- Tell me about a time when your leadership skills helped a team to achieve a goal.
- Describe a situation where your strong communication skills helped persuade or influence others.
Weakness-based questions
- What are your most significant weaknesses?
- Can you give an example of a time when you struggled with a task or project?
- How do you handle criticism or feedback?
- In what areas do you feel you need the most improvement?
- How do you prioritize and manage your workload when faced with competing demands?
Bonus behavioral interview questions
- Why are you interested in working with us?
- What are some of your interests/hobbies outside of work?
- How do you upskill yourself for the latest technology trends?
- How will your skills contribute to our company's growth?
- How do you manage the priority and scope of work?
Here is the list of Senior Software Engineer Technical Interview Questions to hire job-fit candidates.
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Conclusion
To summarize the blog post, if recruiters are looking for ways to assess senior software engineers, try iMocha. iMocha has various skills, from technical and soft skills to language proficiency. You can find anything from senior software behavioral interview questions to communication skills. The software is a powerful tool for assessing employees' skills and competencies. It is flexible and customizable, allowing recruiters to create custom assessments and invite employees via link or mail at their convenience.
FAQs
Why behavioral interview questions are essential when hiring senior software engineers?
Behavioral interview questions play a crucial role when hiring senior software engineers since they help recruiters
- Assess technical skills as well as soft skills, work ethics, team collaboration, problem-solving skills, and much more
- Identifying candidate's leadership potential
- Understanding candidate's stress management
In short, behavioral interview questions are helpful in assessing candidates' technical and non-technical skills.