64 Tough Interview Questions

Question 1

Tell me about yourself

Answer 1

I am a software developer with 17 years of experience translating business requirements into well engineered, tested, and deployed applications.

Improving processes to increase productivity and and to assist with cross-training is what I am well known for among my peers. I do this by writing tools and documentation.

I am looking for a software development and test position where I can collaborate with others to provide an application with a great user experience.

Question 2

Greatest strengths?

Answer 2

I continuously look for opportunities to improve and automate processes.

Fo example, our testing process needed improving to enable better reuse and to show better test evidence. So I did two things.

1. First I developed a test reporting template.
2. Second I developed a test tool in which developers tested by writing SQL queries and test scripts, executing the test scripts, and saving the results in a test library. The results which is an HTML file for easy viewing, would contain
   
   1. the script so you know exactly how test was performed
   2. input and output files used by program being tested
   3. both before and after snapshots of the data.

The results were higher quality testing and consistency in test results.

Question 3

Greatest weaknesses?

Answer 3

I sometimes have a problem staying engaged, performing tedious manual work. So I like to automate processes whenever I can.

Some examples include:

1. Tool to transform Audit data from reports into a format that could be imported into a spreadsheet.
2. Several tools to enable validation of deployment installs.

As an example, I was helping to capture some information for an audit which required adding data from various reports to an Excel spreadsheet. So I automated the process which could be reused in future audits and reduced the risk of manual human errors.

Question 4

Tell me something you did or failed to do that you are ashamed of.

Answer 4

I do wish I had the insight to have developed the test tool much sooner. I had been automating my testing without the use of a test tool, but had I developed the test tool sooner, other developers and testers could have more easily done so too and we would have had a library of reusable test scripts.

Question 5

Why are you leaving (or why did you leave)?

Answer 5

Every year IBM moves jobs offshore to increase profits and my position was one of many that was moved this year. But I am looking forward to new opportunities to utilize my many talents.

Question 6

The silent treatment…

Answer 6

Is there anything else I can answer related to that last point?

Question 7

Why should I hire you?

Answer 7

[Requires good understanding of job requirements to answer this.] I have earned a reputation as a developer that gets the job done.

For example, when there is a very tight schedule I have found ways to divide the work up, having developers help each other. I would have an under assigned developer help with the planning and implementation of unit test cases.

I have a passion for improving and automating processes.

Question 8

Aren’t you over qualified?

Answer 8

Currently I am unemployed. I want to work, very much, and this position closely matches what I really like to do. Also there is great potential to gain more technical skills which is something I am striving to accomplish.

Question 9

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Answer 9

I am interested in making a longtime commitment for my next position as I have done in the past working for IBM. I am confident I will have similar opportunities here.

Question 10

Describe your ideal company, location, and job

Answer 10

1. Company: Company that respects their employees, is customer-centric, and strategic.
2. Location: Southeastern state as I prefer warmer climates with plant life that accommodates my interest in gardening and garden touring.
3. Job: A job where I am engaged and can make a difference.

Question 11

Why do you want to work for our company?

Answer 11

Your company meets my top goals: Company that is strategic, customer-centric, and respects their employees. [Must do homework to best answer this question. When possible explain how company meets my goals] Best sources for researching your target company: annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the trade press.]

Question 12

What are your career options right now?

Answer 12

I am actively following some job leads, networking, and researching companies to identify my target companies.

Also, I am studying up on various technlogies to expand my skills.

Question 13

Why have you been out of work so long?

Answer 13

Having spent my entire career working at IBM, this job search process is all new to me. So I have spent time learning the process. I am looking forward to the change and to new opportunities.

Question 14

Tell me honestly about the strong and weak points of your boss (company, management team, etc.)

Answer 14

Doesn’t micro-manage unless needed. Self managed for the most part.

Question 15

What good books have you read lately?

Answer 15

1. Emotional Intellegence
2. Steve Jobs (official biography initiated by Steve)

Question 16

Tell me about a situation when your work was criticized.

Answer 16

I have rarely been criticized.

But I did work with a developer in which we greatly respected each other’s work, but we sometimes didn’t agree on each other’s methods. This could be challenging at times and sometimes required compromises.

Question 17

What are your outside interests?

Answer 17

Gardening, garden tours, swimming, walking, and just being outdoors in nice weather. These can all be great stress relievers which often accompanies the IT profession.

Question 18

The fatal flaw question

Example: Why no recent certifications.

Answer 18

It has been something I had considered, but I wasn’t sure which direction my career at IBM was going. As more jobs were being moved offshore, there were less opportunities at IBM. Thus I was unsure of what certifications would be of best use.

Question 19

How do feel about reporting to a younger person (minority, woman, etc.)?

Answer 19

Every employee is deserving of respect regardless. I enjoy working with a diverse group.

Question 20

On confidential matters

Answer 20

Probably not applicable to my situation… Just proceed with caution and don’t reveal anything.

Question 21

Would you lie for the company?

Answer 21

[Ask for clarification.] Do you mean withholding of information which can be critical in some situations? Can you provide an example? I would never do anything to hurt the company.

Question 22

Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?

Answer 22

Every experience in life is a lesson. Learning to appreciate the value of these lessons is important. I am sure that in hindsight I would do some things differently such as better balance my career against the needs of the projects.

Question 23

Could you have done better in your last job?

Answer 23

The potential for doing better always exists. We are all human and have both good and bad days. But overall I did an excellent job as reflected by my appraisals.

Question 24

Can you work under pressure?

Answer 24

Software development can be stressful at times, but at the same time interesting.

Examples:

1. Story about how I spent 3 weeks fully implementing 3 modules which another developer failed to accomplish.
2. Story about how John and I worked on sev 1 data replication problem around the clock.

Question 25

What makes you angry?

Answer 25

1. People that aren’t doing their job properly, repeatedly even after being provided with directions.
2. Poorly designed, implemented, or supported applications.

Question 26

Why aren’t you earning more money at this stage of your career.

Answer 26

In the past my focus has been to the projects and not so much on my career. I have come to realize that it is important to balance both more equally.

Question 27

Who has inspired you in your life and why?

Answer 27

My colleague John at IBM. When problems would arise he would get people to not focus on blaming someone but instead resolving the problem. He is the most proactive person I have ever met. I was very fortunate to work with him for 13 years.

Question 28

What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?

Answer 28

There was a sev 1 problem with the data due to a replication problem. Users had to be kept off the system while being fixed impacting the SLA. I had to decide how to best fix the problem, minimizing down time and impacting the least number of users.

My project manager asked me if developers tested thoroughly because function test was unable to meet their schedule. He wanted to understand the risk in releasing code to User Acceptance Test. I decided that although not optimal, in this case it was okay. Code was released with little impact.

Question 29

Tell me about the most boring job you ever had

Answer 29

The least interesting job I ever had was in the build and support of the VM operating system platform which was used internally and globally within IBM.

I prefer a software development role, but I found opportunities to develop tools. Also I gained a better understanding on how to write documents for a lesser skilled audience which helped me later on other jobs.

Question 30

Have you been absent from work more than a few days in any previous position?

Answer 30

I have been fortunate to have not had anything keep me from working other than an occasional illness. Even when sick, I usually continue to put in at least some hours of work each day, working from home.

Question 31

What changes would you make if you come on board?

Answer 31

I would need to discover what procedures are being used and identify what improvements are needed. I would work with the team to make the improvements which may be a combination of documentation or automated tools.

Question 32

I’m concerned that you don’t have enough experience as we’d like in…

Answer 32

I understand the importance of this qualification and am very interested in expanding my skills in this area. I have experienced learning new skills quickly in the past and am confident that this won’t be a problem.

Question 33

How do feel about working nights and weekends?

Answer 33

I do my best work during the day, but I understand that in the IT profession working at night or weekends occasionally is necessary. I work hard to be productive and this helps to maintain a work/life balance.

Question 34

Are you willing to relocate or travel?

Answer 34

I prefer to stay in Georgia or in the Southeastern area. How much travel is required? I prefer to minimize to about 25%, but based on compensation, I might consider more.

Question 35

Do you have the stomach to fire people. Have you had experience firing many people?

Answer 35

I have not had a management role requiring me to fire anyone.

Question 36

Why have you had so many jobs?

Answer 36

Haven’t

Question 37

• What do you see as the proper role of a good lead software developer?
• What do you see as the proper mission of a good leading company in our industry?

Answer 37

• Proper role of good lead software developer:
  
  • Looks for opportunities to reuse existing code or write new code to make it reusable.
  • Writes code, keeping in mind the importance of ensuring code is easily maintainable.
  • When making assignments, keep in mind each developer’s experience and interests. Apply caution to the the most complicated and most impact requirements.
• Leading companies:
  
  • Must be strategic; always look toward the future and both make and implement plans to stay on top.
  • They must also be customer-centric so as to keep loyal customers and to attract new customers.
  • Respect their employees and compensate well to maintain top performers.

Question 38

What would you say to you boss if he’s crazy about an idea, but you think it stinks?

Answer 38

I would ask questions to better understand the idea and evaluate what the strong points of the idea.

• Possibly idea seems crazy because I don’t have a good understanding.
• Possibly with some changes, idea could be probable.
• Possibly the boss would come to own conclusion that idea isn’t any good.

If boss still wants to proceed, then I would need to support him/ her to make it work.

Question 39

How could you have improved your career progress?

Answer 39

In retrospect, it may have been better had I got involved in commercial work within IBM so I would have more opportunities to expand my technical skills. Being a single parent and being that commercial work required travel, this wasn’t possible for many years. But in the latter years I could have considered this more seriously.

Question 40

What would you do if a fellow colleague wasn’t pulling his/her weight and this was hurting your department?

Answer 40

I would go to the colleague to see if I can understand if there is a reason for it. Possibly it is a temporary situation causing the issue. I would work with the colleague to resolve the issue, only involving other colleagues if necessary.

Question 41

You’ve been with your company a long time, would it be hard switching to a new company? Variation: switching from large company to small company

Answer 41

All changes have their challenges and lessons to be learned. But I am looking forward to the opportunity for a change. [explain what you like about the company, what is similar, etc.]

Question 42

May I contact your present employer for a reference?

Answer 42

N/A; not currently employed. Yes, I encourage you to contact my past employer IBM. Let me give you my references.

Question 43

Give me an example of your creativity (analytical skill, managing ability, etc.)

Answer 43

Creativity: I have created several tools (Pautotest, Validation tools, Audit tools, etc.)

Analytical skill: To better understand a program that requires updating or fixing, I will dissect applicable parts of the program by documenting key points. I often write and run DB2 queries to better understand the data.

Managing ability: Remind developers to document issues with resolutions in designated library. I consider the experience and interests of developers when giving out assignments.

Question 44

Where can you use some improvement?

Answer 44

I am interested in expanding my technical skills into new areas to benefit the company where I will work.

Question 45

What do you worry about?

Answer 45

I sometimes have concerns about the often tight schedules which my projects have been required to meet. But I will consider various options we have to deliver what is needed without impacting quality.

1. Have developers help with each other’s testing
2. Identify pieces that can be delivered later
3. De-scoping inessential parts

Question 46

How many hours a week do you normally work?

Answer 46

I have always worked hard, putting in long hours when needed. But at the same time I appreciate having a balanced work/life.

Question 47

What is the most difficult part of being a [lead software developer]?

Answer 47

It can be challenging to meet very tight schedules that are often imposed. But I will consider various options we have to deliver what is needed without impacting quality. - have developers help with each other’s testing - identify pieces that can be delivered later - de scoping inessential parts

Question 48

The “Hypothetical Problem”:

How would you handle …

Answer 48

I would analyze the problem, consult with others as needed, generate possible solutions, choose the best course of action, and monitor results.

Question 49

What is the toughest challenge you ever faced?

Answer 49

It can be challenging to meet very tight schedules that are often imposed. But I have considered various options we have to deliver what is needed without impacting quality.

1. Have developers help with each other’s testing
2. Identify pieces that can be delivered later
3. De scoping inessential parts

Question 50

Have you ever considered starting your own business?

Answer 50

There are a lot of extra responsibilities and risks in owning a business and thus I have never had a strong interest in starting my own business.

Question 51

What are your goals?

Answer 51

1. To be both business-centric and customer-centric.
2. To consistently improve over time anything I do.
3. Respect others as they deserve.
4. Work well as a team.

Question 52

What do you look for when you hire people?

Answer 52

1. Is the person qualified to meet the technical needs of the job?
2. Does the person exhibit needed soft skills (works well with others, motivated, etc.)?
3. Is it a good fit by meeting each other’s expectations?

Question 53

Sell me this stapler (or some other object on interviewer’s desk)

Answer 53

1. What features are important to you?
2. Do you have an interest in purchasing a stapler?
3. If not, anything else on the desk that is of interest?
4. Then describe the great features of the object being sold.

Question 54

The “Salary” question.

How much money do you want?

Answer 54

In the past I made 85,000. I am looking for something in that general amount.

Question 55

The “Illegal” question

Answer 55

[either answer truthfully or address the concerns behind the question] Age: I am planning on working for many more years.

Question 56

The “Secret Illegal” question

Answer 56

[you detect that interviewer has a concern without directly asking the illegal question; try to assure him]

Question 57

What was the toughest part of your last job?

Answer 57

Nothing I found was overly difficult. But there are the general challenges in understanding other developers’ code when poorly commented or written. To overcome this I would add comments to areas of code that I need to better understand and draft what I call understanding documents. I would encourage others to do a better job on writing comments and writing better structured code. This often occurs during code reviews.

Question 58

How do define success and how do you measure up to your own definition?

Answer 58

1. Happy customers
2. Reusable, maintainable, high quality deliverables
3. Collaborative and motivated teams

I have been fortunate in that I have been successful. Rated highly by my customers whom are very appreciative. My team has worked hard and collaboratively to deliver high quality applications.

Question 59

The “Opinion “ question.

What do you think about: Abortion The president Death penalty Etc.

Answer 59

Why do you ask? [ask a question instead or give general uncontroversial answer such as… actually I am finding it difficult to pick any politicians these days.]

Question 60

If you won $10 million lottery, would you still work?

Answer 60

I rarely play the lottery since I have heard too many stories of lives being ruined by given too much money at once. If I did play, it would be to just win enough money to be comfortable and to give me more work options. I think that work is important to the well being of one’s self. Hopefully I would be well satisfied in my current job that I would want to stay.

Question 61

Looking back at your last position, have you done your best work?

Answer 61

I always try to do my best. I use past experiences to build onto in each new job.

Question 62

Why should I hire you from the outside when I could promote someone from within?

Answer 62

I am highly motivated to keep developing best practices for teams I work with by writing tools and documents . Also I have earned a reputation as getting the job done. If you have a strong contender within your company that is available and meets those requirements, then possibly that would be you best choice. Otherwise, I am your better choice.

Question 63

Tell me something negative you’ve heard about our company…

Answer 63

I am just starting to do research on your company and I haven’t noticed anything specific.

Question 64

On a scale of one to ten, rate me as an interviewer

Answer 64

Tough? You have been thorough and tough-minded which I am sure helps you identify the best candidate. Methodical? You have been methodical and analytical which I am sure helps you identify the best candidate.