20 questions asked to interview web developers
Recently, SEOmoz interviewed candidates for the position of web developer . In preparing for the interview, the author of the article has compiled a list of technical questions that, in his opinion, it would be appropriate to ask. After the interviews, he decided to summarize the results and compile a more extensive list of questions that can be useful to both interviewers and interviewees .
The resulting list is not focused on any particular position, it is balanced, on the one hand, between design, HTML and usability, on the other - between back-end, databases and programming. The focus is slightly biased towards web development, so there are no questions like “Why do you want to work in such a company?” (The order of questions in this list is arbitrary).
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1. What professional websites and blogs do you regularly read?
This question will help you to get an idea of ​​how well a person is aware of current trends, as well as how well he is interested in this topic. You will be able to separate people for whom it is not only a job, but also a hobby, from those who are just trying to chase a high salary.
2. Do you prefer to work alone or in a team?
The answer to this question is important depending on the intended working environment. If your project involves close interaction between developers, it’s very good if the new person has experience in productive teamwork . On the other hand, for many developers, everything is much better if they work solo. Try to find a person who in this sense would meet your expectations.
3. How confident do you feel if you have to write HTML “by hand”? (+ task)
Despite the fact that a person can write in a resume, that he is an expert in HTML, in practice it may turn out that he does not know how to write HTML from scratch. Such people rely on third-party programs or on the fact that they can always peek into the manual. Any worthwhile developer simply has to be able to write simple HTML code without spying anywhere. A simple task can be that you draw a scheme of a fake site and ask to write the corresponding HTML code. Complicating is not necessary - you just have to make sure that the person is aware of the most important thing, and also pay attention to errors such as missing tags
<head> </head> <image src="/some/image.gif"> it is quite possible to say goodbye to him and call the next candidate.4. What is w3c?
These are web development standards, according to which (I would like to believe) everything is being done. No need to require quotes about the mission of w3c, but a person should, at a minimum, imagine what it is.
5. Can you write static XHTML? Do you validate your code?
Eliminate the old-fashioned table design! Find a developer who uses HTML elements in the way they were originally intended. There are also developers who say that they can write without tables, but in reality - out of habit or from convenience - they still use them. You can draw a simple navigation menu or an article and ask to create an HTML code for it. It is possible to cheat and present the data as if in a tabular form - it will be a bonus if the person guesses that in this situation the table is just appropriate.
6. What development tool do you like the most and why?
If a person says that Notepad, you probably talk to the wrong person. Such a question will not only allow you to “test” the level of competence, but also to understand how organically the applicant’s tools relate to what you use.
7. Describe or show what you can do in the * nix shell?
Pay attention to how a person works without the familiar interface. Ask a couple of questions, such as how to recursively copy a directory or how to make a file readable only by the owner. Find out what operating systems a person can work with.
8. What skills and technologies would you most like to learn or improve?
Probe the soil for how much the interlocutor’s plans are in line with what is expected of him at this particular workplace or in the company as a whole.
9. Show me your portfolio!
A portfolio can tell a lot about a developer. Does he have a taste? What is more important for him - creative or logic? The most important thing is to pay attention to solid, large-scale, COMPLETED projects. Heel-another sketches and hacked scripts - a sign of inexperience and incompetence.
10. What sites of scale did you work with?
Look for a developer who has experience with sites similar to yours. A person who can handle heavy traffic and large sizes may be helpless in simply setting up Apache or optimizing heavy SQL queries. On the other hand, developers who usually deal with small sites may notice things that are not available to their "larger" colleagues. Suppose we can talk about the elementary visual appeal of the solution.
11. Show me your code!
Archaic HTML or heaped Ruby on Rails? Never mind! Anyway, ask to show code samples. Source codes can tell a lot about human habits, much more than you think. Clean, elegant code can often point to a methodical, powerful developer. The summary may say that a person has more than 7 years of experience in writing perl scripts, but this may be 7 years of poor performance. Also try to get a lot of source code, not just pieces of HTML. Everyone can prepare 20-30 lines for the interview, but it is important for you to see the state of affairs as a whole. No need to require full application code, it just has to answer all your questions.
12. List several sites that you really admire (in terms of development)?
Understand that person is inspired . It does not have to be from the “everyone should know” series, but a good developer always has a few favorites.
13. Correct it, please ...
Give the person code written in the language in which you are developing that you want to know in the proposed position. Let the applicant pass this code line by line and point out all errors.
14. I just opened the site you created, and it shows me a blank page. Show me step by step what you will do to solve the problem ...
This is an excellent question to determine how the candidate as a whole can apply his skills. Here abilities in the sense of support will become clear, from the most basic ones to resolving server problems.
15. What is your favorite development language and why? What features would you like to add to this language?
The question of additional features is extremely useful - it reveals how experienced a person is in programming in general.
16. Is there any language that scares you?
When one riddle clears up, ten others open up behind it. If the interviewee tells you about his failures, it will help to understand how much he really knows.
17. Time abbreviations
Some may state that knowledge of abbreviations is nonsense, but there are some such abbreviations that must be sewn into the developer's brain (say, HTML and CSS). This is a question from a telephone series that helps weed out unsuitable people on the outskirts of your company.
18. What browser do you use?
The correct answer is: everyone. A competent developer should be familiar with the concept of cross-browser compatibility, and moreover, be familiar in practice. It is clear that everyone has a favorite browser that is used for surfing, but the answer to this question can help you smoothly move on to the topic of cross-browsing. In addition, if we are talking about a post related to CSS / HTML, it is useful to inquire about the installed toolbars.
19. Rate on a scale from 1 to 5 how interesting you are for the following tasks (1 is not at all interesting, 5 is extremely interesting)
Suggest a list of tasks for this position. When you see a rating, it will help you understand how much a person fits into place.
20. What are your own projects you are going to continue?
Almost every developer has personal projects that he likes to do at his leisure. This is another question that helps to separate passionate developers from those who are used to working strictly in the mode from nine to five. It is also a good question to complete the interview (because the answer is usually easy and pleasant).
Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294492/
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