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  • Hello, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

  • and in this tutorial, I am going to teach you how to pass a software engineer interview.

  • It does not matter which company or organization you have your software engineer interview

  • with, please do make sure you watch this from beginning to end, because, as always, I promise

  • you, it will make a huge difference to your preparation and your performance at the interview!

  • And this is what I will cover to make sure I achieve that objective. I will give you

  • a number of tips for passing your software engineer interview. I will also give you example

  • software engineer interview questions and also suggested answers to the more common

  • type of software engineer interview questions. I will also tell you three questions that

  • I think you should ask at the end of your software engineer interview. And I will also

  • give you further resources to help you be the standout candidate during your software

  • engineer interview. There are five really good reasons why you should watch this from

  • beginning to end. Now, before I get in to the tutorial, a very warm welcome to the software

  • engineer interview training tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the

  • center. I've been helping people for about 20 years now to pass their interviews and

  • I always do that by giving you top scoring answers to the interview questions. Please

  • do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel by clicking the red button below the video

  • and also turning on that all-important notification bell so you immediately get notified when

  • I upload additional videos. We have about 250,000 subscribers now within the community

  • here on YouTube. Many of you are passing your interviews as a result, which is great news!

  • Please… I would very much appreciate it if you gave the video a LIKE! That tells me

  • you enjoy the content and I will therefore create more for you. OK. Let's get into the

  • training, those Software engineer interview questions and answers. The first question

  • I want you to prepare for is, tell me about yourself and why you want to become a software

  • engineer? My tip for answering this question positively is, in your answer to this interview

  • question, provide a list of skills and qualities you possess that will enable you to perform

  • to a very high standard in the role of a software engineer. Here is my suggested answer to the

  • interview question: Tell me about yourself and why you want to become a software engineer?

  • Before applying for this software engineer role with your company, I spent time reading

  • the job description and the person specification. I wanted to make sure I was both properly

  • qualified for the role, and that I also had the appropriate experience and skills to help

  • drive the company forward. I am hard working, driven, technically astute and someone who

  • will work closely with people within your organization to achieve your commercial and

  • financial objectives. I want to be a software engineer simply because it is a role that

  • I am extremely passionate about, and also one I get immense job satisfaction from, especially

  • when I get to see first-hand the positive contribution my work makes to the organization

  • I am working for. If you hire me as your software engineer, I will not only work hard to deliver

  • consistent positive results, but I will also use my developing, researching, analytical

  • and technical skills to help the company continually thrive and develop.” So it is a very positive

  • answer, and it gives some really good reasons why you want to become a software engineer

  • and also about yourself and why they should hire you. Let us now take a look at another

  • software engineer interview question, one that I want you to prepare for. Why do you

  • want to work for our company as a software engineer? So this is pretty much guaranteed

  • to come up during your software engineer interview. My tip for answering this question positively,

  • is to show the interviewer you have conducted some research into their organization. My

  • advice is to be complimentary in your answer and talk about what makes their company unique.

  • So let's take a look at the suggested answer to the interview question: Why do you want

  • to work for our company? “For me, the company I work for is very important. I believe that,

  • to be able to perform your duties and responsibilities as a software engineer competently, you need

  • the support of your employer, and you also need to work with like-minded people who are

  • all working towards a common goal. During my research into your organization, it soon

  • became apparent that you are not only a leader within the industry, but you also continually

  • look for ways to grow and develop. You also clearly hire some of the best people available,

  • and this means I’ll be working with other professionals who all genuinely care about

  • the work they produce. I am someone who is ambitious; I don’t like to sit back and

  • just do the bare minimum, and if you hire me, I feel confident you will be impressed

  • with my work values, ethics and high standards.” That’s a great answer! You are giving lots

  • of valid reasons why you want to work for their company. You are being complimentary

  • and most importantly, it shows that you've conducted some research before applying for

  • the position. Let's take a look at another software engineer interview question. How

  • would you deal with a member of your team who disagreed with the work you carried out

  • as a software engineer? Now, my tip for answering this question. This interview question is

  • subtlety assessing your teamworking capabilities. Do you put the needs of your team and the

  • organization first, or are you more concerned about your own reputation and your competence?

  • Here is my suggested answer to the interview question: How would you deal with a member

  • of your team who disagreed with the work you carried out as a software engineer? “I have

  • a lot of experience as a Software Engineer, and I feel the work I produce is to a very

  • high standard. Having said that, I am also aware that when I do work as part of a team,

  • it is important to listen to other people as they may have valid contributions to make.

  • On that basis, I would certainly be open to listening to why they felt the work I was

  • carrying out could be altered or improved. At the end of the day, we are all working

  • for the same organization, and if it means changing the way I do things for the benefit

  • of the team goal, I will certainly do that.” That is a really good answer, and it shows

  • that you are more concerned about the organization and the team objectives. I've got lots more

  • questions to run through, but when you are ready, if you would like to download a copy

  • of these slides to save you having to write things down, you can CLICK THE LINK in the

  • top right hand corner of the video. It will take you through to my website where you can

  • download a copy of these slides. Let's move on to the next question. In your opinion,

  • what are the skills and qualities needed to be a software engineer? So, this is a question

  • that gets asked a number of times during software engineer interviews. This question is clearly

  • assessing your understanding of the role of a software engineer. And the best way to answer

  • this, is to give them a DEFINITIVE LIST of the skills and qualities that are needed to

  • excel in the position. Here is my suggested answer to the interview question: In your

  • opinion, what are the skills and qualities needed to be a software engineer? And there

  • is a clever way of answering this. Here we go. “Whilst there are numerous skills and

  • qualities needed, there are 9 in particular that are essential to becoming an effective

  • Software Engineer. In no particular order, these are TECHNICAL COMPETENCE, COMMUNICATION

  • and INTERPERSONAL SKILLS whilst dealing with clients and internal team members, EXCEPTIONAL

  • ORGANIZATIONAL AND PLANNING capabilities, a level of COMMERCIAL AWARENESS, and also

  • an understanding of how important it is to MAINTAIN COMPETENCE in your role through professional

  • development. You also need an ability to EXPLAIN TECHNICAL INFORMATION in a simple and concise

  • manner so people understand it, an AWARENES OF CURRENT ISSUES impacting the industry you

  • are working in, and also strong ANALYTICAL and ATTENTION TO DETAIL skills.” What I

  • like about our answer is you are starting off and saying there are numerous skills needed,

  • but there are 9 in particular that are essential. That shows that you really do know your role

  • inside out, and then you can list those 9 skills and qualities. And if you want to add

  • some yourself, feel free to do so. The next software engineer interview question that

  • we want to prepare for is: tell me a time when you worked as part of a team to solve

  • a complex task? So this is a behavioral type interview question. And as such, my advice

  • is to use the STAR technique to create your answer. So the question is, tell me a time

  • when you worked as part of a team to solve a complex task? You have to give a specific

  • situation you have previously been in to score this answer highly. Use the STAR technique.

  • What is that? Well, it is situation, task, action and result. You start off with your

  • answer and you describe briefly the SITUATION you were in. You then move on and explain

  • the TASK that needed to be done. You then detail the ACTION you took to achieve the

  • task, and you finish off your answer by revealing the RESULTS following your actions. It's situation,

  • task, action and result. Let's take a look at a sample answer using the STAR technique

  • to that interview question: Tell me a time when you worked as part of a team to solve

  • a complex task? Here we go. “I was part of a multi-agency project building a software

  • application for an important client. Towards the end of the project, we encountered a number

  • of bugs and problems with the software application, and time was against us to get everything

  • fixed before the official handover date. I felt it was my responsibility to come up with

  • a solution to get the issues fixed. I stayed behind late that evening with two other experienced

  • team members to come up with a plan that would ensure the bugs were not only fully rectified,

  • but that a support system was in place to respond to any future issues if they were

  • to arise, post-handover. We started off by CREATING A LIST of all bugs and issues. We

  • then attempted to RECREATE EACH BUG so that we could assess what was causing the issue.

  • We managed to recreate all of the bugs and it was then my task to CREATE A TIMESCALE

  • for rectifying and testing each issue. Once we had a PLAN IN PLACE, we could then allocate

  • tasks to team members based on their area of technical competence the following morning.

  • By creating a plan of action, and by working closely together as a team, we were able to

  • tap into the combined team expertise and competence to not only provide a time-sensitive solution

  • to the problem, but to also implement a support mechanism for our client.” That is an organized

  • answer. It is concise and logic in the way you are answering it, by using the STAR technique

  • of situation, task, action and result. And don't forget, if you want to click the link

  • in the top right hand corner of the video, you can DOWNLOAD THESE SLIDES to save you

  • the hassle of having to write everything down. Next interview question is: tell me how you

  • would handle the stress and pressure of being a software engineer? Now, you and I know,

  • that being a software engineer can be a stressful. When you answer this software engineer interview

  • question, show you already have a plan in place for dealing with the stress and pressure

  • of the position. Here is my suggested answer. “I think as a software engineer, you have

  • to realise that stress and pressure is all part of the role. And in actual fact, I feel

  • I tend to perform better when I am up against it and there is a definitive timeframe to

  • work towards. I manage stress in three ways. First and foremost, I ensure I plan my work

  • well in advance, so I know what I need to do, and by what deadline. By having a plan

  • in place, it means I work more efficiently and I can decide which tasks need my attention

  • first. The second way I handle stress and pressure, is to make sure I work closely with

  • other members of the team, and that communication is a constant theme throughout the day. Finally,

  • I handle stress and pressure by making sure I dedicate some time each week to keeping

  • up-to-date with developments from within the industry. This gives me the confidence in

  • my role as a Software Engineer, and it also eliminates any unwelcome surprises when updates

  • do come out or changes within the industry are released.” That shows that you know

  • how to handle stress and pressure. And you are essentially saying… “It doesn't matter,

  • I can handle the stress. It's all part and parcel of the role. I have a plan in place,

  • but I do tend to perform better when I am up against it.” The next software engineer

  • interview question is: what's your biggest weakness? If any software engineer interview

  • question is going to catch you out, it is this one! Now the issue is, we have to give

  • a weakness in our answer, but we do not want to give a weakness that is needed to be competent

  • in the role of a professional software engineer. Here is a great answer to this question. “We

  • all have weaknesses, and I know my own is the fact I find it really hard to strike a

  • healthy work-life balance. I love my job as a software engineer, and even when I am not

  • at work, I am usually spending time with computer systems or developing additional skills and

  • qualities so I continue to grow in the role, much to the dissatisfaction of my partner!

  • This is an area I have been working to improve upon, and I am trying to spend more time relaxing

  • with my family so I can then maintain optimum energy levels when I am at work. Conversely,

  • one of my strengths is the fact I am always prepared to listen to feedback, and I do genuinely

  • want to improve and develop as a person on both a personal and a professional level.”

  • So that shows you are giving a weakness that does not actually impact your chances of passing

  • the interview, and you are then saying what you are doing about it. But you'll see the

  • answer is actually quite clever, because that weakness you give is actually a STRENGTH and

  • it's attractive to any employer. Because you are saying you enjoy being at work, you're

  • always working, you love your role and you are prepared to put the hours in necessary.

  • Next interview question: What are your salary expectations? Now, again, this is a tricky

  • interview question because on the one hand, we don't want to go in with an unrealistic

  • salary expectation, but on the other, we don't want to devalue ourselves either. So your

  • answer has to offer a win-win situation: one that is of benefit to you, but also to the

  • hiring manager or the employer. We can answer this in the following manner. “I have conducted

  • some research prior to attending the interview on what I feel would be a fair salary for

  • this position. The average salary for a software engineer in this industry is $90,000 to $110,000.

  • Whilst I do feel I am worth the higher salary band, I understand you don’t know me, and

  • I need to prove to you my worth. On that basis, I would feel comfortable with a salary of

  • $102,000 and I feel you will see a positive return on your investment at this level if

  • your hire me.” So you are not going in there overconfident, but you are not devaluing yourself

  • either. So that is a WIN-WIN situation. Do your own research and look at what the average

  • salary for a software engineer is within your industry, and then look at the band and go

  • slightly above the middle of the average salary range. OK. Three questions to ask in your

  • software engineer interview. You get to the end of the interview and they say to you,

  • do you have any questions you would like to ask us? My advice is to ask three questions.

  • These questions are designed to show that you are keen, you are enthusiastic, and you

  • have the success of their organization at the forefront of your mind. The first question

  • is, what has frustrated you about software engineers you have employed in the past? That's

  • quite clever question, because it shows that you want to go in thereyou want to do

  • a good job and you are putting their needs first, above your own. Second question is,

  • what are the plans for the company over the next five to 10 years and how could I help

  • you to achieve them? Again, you are looking to the future. This tells me that you are

  • considering staying with my organization for many years to come, and you want to help me

  • achieve my goals. And finally, what's the first thing you would like me to concentrate

  • on in this role? So those three questions are great because they put you across as a

  • positive person and somebody who is interested more in the success of their company, as opposed

  • to the success of yourself. So, again, download a copy of these slides by clicking the link

  • in the top right hand corner of the video. You can connect with me on LinkedIn.com if

  • you want to. My LinkedIn.com description is, sorryMy LinkedIn.com link is in the description

  • below the video. Go through to that, click it and connect with me on LinkedIn.com. It's

  • always good to connect with like-minded professionals. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE

  • and hit the LIKE button. Thank you very much. And I wish you all the best to passing your

  • software engineer interview. Have a brilliant day. Thank you very much!

Hello, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com,

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