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