How to Impress at a Junior Developer Interview: Questions & Preparation

Have you been approached for an interview for a junior developer position at an esteemed organisation? Hurray! All you have to do now is pack your stuff, head to the interview site, and get the job.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It certainly does. Do you have confidence? Maybe, not really. Nervousness is a common feeling. We’ve put together the most common interview questions for junior developers, and we look at some of the preparations needed before going into the interview room.

Junior Developer Interview Questions

Junior developers are responsible for writing basic code, maintaining apps, addressing and resolving bugs, and distributing app updates. To accomplish these duties, junior developers collaborate closely with other developers.

Though the position is entry-level, it is vital for both the firm and the individuals. So it is no surprise that firms take it very seriously when it comes to hiring junior developers.

Though it may appear that we are emphasising the importance of the interview, it is not that complicated, and there is no reason to be wary of it. However, anxiousness is natural, so here are some sample questions to help you prepare for interviews.

General Questions to Get To Know You

‘First impression is the best impression’, you probably have heard this phrase a lot. With junior developer interviews, your first question isn’t necessarily going to be about programming or technical concepts. Instead, it will most likely be about you.

The reason behind asking general questions is for the interviewers to get to know you better. Whether you are responsible or good at communication is determined based on these questions. For example: 

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your career goals?
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?
• What are some technology blogs you read?
• How did you hear about our company?
• What are your strong points?
• What is one of your weaknesses that you are attempting to improve?
• How would your abilities help our company grow?
• What is your salary expectation?
• Do you have any concerns regarding the job?

While answering general questions, make sure to respond in a clear, concise and confident tone.

Questions About Your Experience 

The next series of questions would be related to your previous work experience or training. The purpose of these questions is for the firm to assess your level of knowledge and skill, and approach to various situations. These types of questions are usually trickier to answer. For freshers, queries will be about your projects and other activities listed in your resume.

• What programming languages are you familiar with?
• How well do you collaborate with others?
• What has your experience as a junior developer been like?
• Describe one of your development projects.
• Do you have any personal projects from your training?
• What is your preferred framework for working with?
• How do you keep up with current technological advancements, news, and products?
• What are the most challenging aspects of software development for you?
• How do you organise your projects and tasks?
• Describe your technical training.
• What were your responsibilities in your previous position?

When answering experience-related questions, respond in a calm, poised manner and explain clearly. Don’t forget to maintain your confidence throughout the interview session.

Coding Questions 

The most pivotal stage of all is the coding round. Since this is an interview for a position as a junior developer, there will be programming questions. Interviewers may ask you:

• Explain HTML meta tags.
• What are the different data types in JavaScript?
• Explain the three primary methods for applying CSS styles to a web page.
• What is Git?
• Could you describe the Gitflow workflow?
• How would you resolve a software bug?
• How do you set up your workflow to finish web development projects?
• What is Node.js?
• What exactly is Continuous Integration?
• Explain the CSS box model and the layout components it contains.
• Reverse each word in the sentence given in a string.
• What is DOM?
• Explain the distinction between cookies, session storage, and local storage.
• What is a CSS Grid System?
• What is the difference between span and div?
• Can you name a few project management tools?
• What is a CSS preprocessor, and why should you use one?
• What’s new in HTML5?
• What is Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)?
• How well do you know relational databases?

HTML, CSS, Javascript and Python are examples of programming languages in which you should have a comprehensive understanding of both fundamentals and advanced concepts.

Preparation Tips to Ace Junior Developer Interview

Before attending an interview, it is necessary to have good knowledge of the concepts and be prepared for any questions the interviewers will ask you.

Understand Coding Concepts

Since coding is the essential feature firms expect from an ideal candidate, you must be well prepared for those questions. Practice as many coding problems as you can find on the internet. Learn new concepts and employ them in solving coding problems. Also, make sure to have a firm grasp of data structures and algorithms.

Know the Company

Do your homework on the company for which you will be attending the interview. Some interviewers will ask you questions about the company’s mission and services to see if you are genuinely interested in working there.

Be a Good Communicator

Last but not least, improve your communication skills. During an interview, the hiring manager will analyse your knowledge of the profession and your communication skills. To make a good impression on the interviewers, be confident and speak coherently.

Careers Hub

Code Institute has been training new software developers since 2015, and their career change is priority number one. Our careers hub and team are in place to help our new developers through the interview process and much more. The careers team is why 98% of career services users are employed within a year of graduation.  

If you’ve been thinking about changing careers to software development, then find out more about our university credit-rated online coding programme here. 

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