Job Interview Prep: 23 Generic Questions You’ll Likely Be Asked
One of the most important parts of job preparation is anticipating the kind of questions that might come your way — especially the generic ones that every interviewer asks.
In this chapter, I’m sharing a curated list of frequently asked interview questions along with my approach to framing thoughtful, confident answers.
Whether you're a fresher or an experienced developer, these tips will help you articulate your thoughts clearly and make a great impression.
Table of Contents (Click to Expand)
Personal Introduction & Background
- Can you introduce yourself?
- Can you give an overview of your engineering experience?
- What technologies have you worked on?
- Do you have any certifications related to your projects? What’s your opinion on certifications?
Project & Technical Experience
- Can you explain any one of your projects or your current project?
- Can you explain a recent functionality you developed?
- Have you faced a performance optimization scenario? What was the solution?
- Do you have any web development experience?
- Do you have experience working with legacy code?
- What is your preference: Back-end, Front-end, or Full-stack development?
Work Style & Collaboration
- How do you work under pressure?
- Are you fine with taking others’ responsibilities in their absence?
- Are you an individual contributor or a team player?
- Have you ever had a disagreement with your Team Lead? How did you handle it?
Software Development Practices
- How does your team follow Daily Practice / Sprint / Agile methodologies?
- How do you ensure your development passes QA?
- How do you approach developing a functionality or a software module?
- What is your approach to learning a new programming language or technology?
Motivation, Fit & Career Goals
- Why are you looking for a job change? What are your expectations in the new role?
- What has been your most and least favourite project?
- In your opinion, who is a good software engineer?
- What are your expectations from a team? What should a good team be like?
- Can you describe an accomplishment you are proud of?
Final Thoughts
Personal Introduction & Background
1. Can you introduce yourself?
Give an overview about who you are. You can start off with where you come from, what educational qualifications you have, your work experience, and also the tech stacks you are strong at.
Example Answer:
I'm from Bangalore, and I have a degree in Computer Science.
I’ve worked as a full-stack developer for 3 years, primarily using React, Node.js, and PostgreSQL.
I enjoy solving complex problems and have led several key projects in my current organization.
2. Can you give an overview of your engineering experience?
Here you can brief about the projects you carried out as a part of academics, outside it, and also about the internships you were part of.
Example Answer:
During college, I built a smart parking system as part of my final year project.
I also interned at Fabrikam Ltd., where I worked on automating internal tools.
After graduation, I joined Contoso Tech as a software engineer and contributed to multiple microservices-based applications.
3. What technologies have you worked on?
State all your strong technical skills here. You can also brief about the projects where you have used those technologies.
Example Answer:
I've worked extensively with JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Node.js, and MongoDB.
In one project, I built a data dashboard with React and used Express to expose the backend APIs.
4. Do you have any certifications related to your projects? What’s your opinion on certifications?
If you have carried out certifications related to projects, brief why it was taken up and what were the results. If not directly related, explain your interest in the certification and the importance of using that skill set.
Example Answer:
I completed a certification in AWS Solutions Architect to better understand cloud deployment.
While my current role didn't require it, it helped me optimize server-side code for scalability and cost.
Project & Technical Experience
5. Can you explain any one of your projects or your current project?
Give a brief overview about the project, and highlight all your contributions to the project in an impressive manner.
Example Answer:
I worked on an internal HR portal that automated leave management.
I developed the frontend in Angular and integrated the backend APIs.
I also implemented role-based authentication.
6. Can you explain a recent functionality you developed?
Explain the functionality and how you achieved it. Start from the analysis you carried out, the challenges encountered, how you tackled them, and how the functionality was achieved without discrepancies.
Example Answer:
I built a dynamic form builder feature for a reporting tool.
The main challenge was managing nested form state in React.
I used React Hook Form and integrated it with backend schema validation.
7. Have you faced a performance optimization scenario? What was the solution?
Explain clearly the challenge faced, how it was impacting the application, the possible solutions for optimization, what was implemented, why and how it was implemented, and the impact after implementation.
Example Answer:
One of our APIs was taking 4 seconds to respond.
I added indexing to frequently queried fields in MongoDB, used pagination, and improved the query logic.
This reduced the response time to under 500ms.
8. Do you have any web development experience?
If yes, let the interviewer know which technologies you are familiar with. If there’s only one such project, you can even brief about the project along with the technologies used.
Example Answer:
Yes, I’ve built multiple full-stack web apps using the MERN stack.
One example is an e-commerce site where I integrated Stripe for payments and Firebase for authentication.
9. Do you have experience working with legacy code?
If yes, explain the strategies you have used. If not, give a convincing explanation of the approach you will use to start working on legacy code.
Example Answer:
I’ve worked on a legacy PHP application.
My approach was to first write regression tests, understand the existing functionality, and then refactor small components while keeping behavior intact.
10. What is your preference: Back-end, Front-end, or Full-stack development?
Answer based on where your interest lies. But remember that full-stack developers are in good demand, so answer wisely.
Example Answer:
I enjoy full-stack development because it gives me a holistic view of the product.
I lean slightly towards backend work where I can design APIs and work with data.
Work Style & Collaboration
11. How do you work under pressure?
You can answer this question intelligently. Convince the interviewer saying that you usually carry out work much more in time, so there will not be situations where there is a lot of pressure at the last minute.
Example Answer:
I plan my work with buffers, so last-minute pressure is rare.
However, when urgent issues arise, I prioritize calmly, focus on solutions, and communicate openly with the team.
12. Are you fine with taking others’ responsibilities in their absence?
An ideal candidate will be the one who pitches in and takes others’ responsibility in their absence. So, showcase that you are such a candidate.
Example Answer:
Yes, I’ve often stepped up when teammates were on leave.
I believe in teamwork and make sure shared responsibilities don’t get delayed.
13. Are you an individual contributor or a team player?
Portray yourself as a Team Player, but also mention that you are capable of working individually. Even if you prefer working alone, it’s best not to say that directly.
Example Answer:
I’m a strong team player who enjoys collaborating, but I’m also confident working independently when needed.
14. Have you ever had a disagreement with your Team Lead? How did you handle it?
If yes, explain how you resolved it maturely. If not, explain how you would handle such a situation — listening, clarifying misunderstandings, using respectful tone, staying unbiased, and ensuring everyone feels heard.
Example Answer:
Once, I disagreed on sprint priorities.
I scheduled a 1:1, shared my reasoning, and listened to theirs.
We found a middle ground and maintained a great working relationship.
Software Development Practices
15. How does your team follow Daily Practice / Sprint / Agile methodologies?
Ideally, these methodologies are used everywhere. So, depending on your project methodologies, elaborate on the Sprint length, Scrum calls, Development cycle, Testing, Releases, Iterations, etc.
Example Answer:
We follow 2-week sprints with daily standups, sprint planning, and retrospectives.
Jira is used for task tracking, and code reviews are mandatory before merging.
16. How do you ensure your development passes QA?
Start with analysis of the use case and all the conditions, follow code quality standards, and implement test cases. Testing all cases from the developer’s end before handing over to QA is vital.
Example Answer:
I write unit tests and run the feature through all edge cases before handoff.
We also use linting and static code analysis tools to maintain quality.
17. How do you approach developing a functionality or a software module?
Break it into small tasks. Handle independent and dependent tasks accordingly. Plan timelines, clarify requirements, seek help when blocked, and follow good coding practices.
Example Answer:
I break down the feature into subtasks, confirm requirements, write pseudo-code or diagrams, then code and test incrementally.
18. What is your approach to learning a new programming language or technology?
Mention that you refer to official documentation, apply hands-on learning, and create mini-projects using the same technologies for better understanding.
Example Answer:
I usually go through official docs and tutorials, then build small projects to reinforce what I’ve learned.
I also read source code or open-source projects.
Motivation, Fit & Career Goals
19. Why are you looking for a job change? What are your expectations in the new role?
Be honest—location, work-life balance, benefits, compensation. If it’s for compensation, justify why you deserve more (skillset, underpaid). If hard to justify, mention stagnant growth or lack of learning.
Example Answer:
I'm looking for a role that offers better learning opportunities and career growth.
While compensation is a factor, I’m more focused on joining a team that values mentorship and innovation.
20. What has been your most and least favourite project?
Answer carefully here because what you answer can result in a judgement about you. Give proper justification. Emphasize the learning aspect in different projects.
Example Answer:
My favorite was a real-time chat app because I learned about sockets and concurrency.
My least favorite was a simple CRUD app with outdated tech and minimal challenge.
21. In your opinion, who is a good software engineer?
Mention traits like: self-motivated, proactive, responsible, humble, willing to learn, open-minded, strong technical knowledge, adaptable, able to prioritize, collaborative, etc.
Example Answer:
A good engineer is curious, humble, and continuously improving.
They write clean code, communicate well, and help others grow too.
22. What are your expectations from a team? What should a good team be like?
A good team avoids blaming, supports and encourages, is reliable, open to feedback, and has the traits listed above for good engineers.
Example Answer:
I value teams that are collaborative, respectful, and transparent.
A good team learns from mistakes and celebrates wins together.
23. Can you describe an accomplishment you are proud of?
Mention any professional accomplishment, especially those that were tough, critical, or required extra effort. Show yourself as someone who stands out.
Example Answer:
I once led a migration from a monolith to microservices.
It involved heavy planning and coordination, but we improved app performance by 30%.
Final Thoughts
Preparation is key to cracking any interview, especially when it comes to commonly asked questions.
Having a clear structure for your answers not only shows confidence but also demonstrates self-awareness and communication skills — two traits every recruiter values.
Which of these questions do you find the most challenging to answer?
Drop a comment below or share your own strategies — we’d love to hear from you!
This article is part of our Job Search Success Series:
- How to Create a Resume That Gets You Hired (With Examples & Formatting Tips)
- Master LinkedIn and Naukri Profile Optimization to Land Your Dream Job Faster
- Smart Job Search Strategies: What Successful Job Seekers Do Differently
- Salary Negotiation Tips – Know Your Worth & Ask for It
Ready to boost your interview prep?
Check out our comprehensive guide: Cracking Tech Interviews: From Resume Preparation to Offer Negotiation
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