13 Behavioral Software Engineer Interview Questions, Answers

Software Engineering interviews aren’t all about coding questions. As has been Simple Programmer’s message from the start: Your “Soft Skills” can make or break you in your job hunt and your career success as a whole. 

Learn how to display the exact behavioral attributes companies are looking for — so you can win at your next interview, and go far as a Software Engineer.

How to answer behavioral questions

Be goal-oriented & socially savvy

When the interviewer is asking you to tell them about yourself, it’s not to make small talk — they’re judging you for certain attributes they like to see in a candidate.

By telling compelling stories about your experiences, you can let your favorable qualities shine through without being on-the-nose or coming across as dishonest or bragging.

Know what they’re looking for

The main attributes companies are screening for are:

• Your ability to solve problems while displaying empathy & leadership towards your team members.
• Your passion for achieving goals in service of the company’s mission
• Your commitment to your technology and using it as well as you can
• Your personal presentation: How charismatic you are & your communication skills

Prepare your stories in NSAR format

This template for answering behavioral interview questions was created by Gayle McDowell of Cracking the Coding Interview:

1. Nugget – tease and give a short summary of your story
2. Situation – explain what happened in a succinct, engaging way
3. Action – show how you handled the situation, displaying your positive qualities
4. Result – let them know what happened because of the actions you took or influenced. Back it up with numbers if you can

Make a grid with your practiced stories

To remember the stories you want to use in your answers, it helps to visualize them in a simple grid. Here’s an example layout you could choose (again, this is influenced by Gayle McDowell’s work):

Want to go deeper? We also have a post on the best strategies and tactics in behavioral software engineering interviews for you to check out.

Most Frequent Software Engineer Behavioral Interview Q’s & A’s

Let’s now get into the questions you’ll likely be asked.

You’ll find the qualities each question is screening for, how to best approach your answer, and an example answer for all of them.

“Tell me about yourself.”

<

p dir=”ltr”>Screens for

• Skills fit
• Cultural fit

• Motivation

• Goal-orientation

How to

answer

• Don’t ramble or rattle off buzzwords
• Tell your background in a compelling story
• Connect everything back to the company you’re interviewing for

“Which principles should all Software Engineers follow?”

Screens for

• Domain mastery
• Processes / Work ethic

• Teamwork

• Problem-solving ability

How to

answer

• Mention positive qualities for SWE’s: Resourcefulness, critical evaluation, commitment to excellence
• Include your coding approach (e.g. code design, clean code, effective debugging)
• You could give examples of where SWEs go wrong — and how you’d do it better

“What’s a recent technical challenge you’ve faced — and how did you solve it?”

Screens for

• Domain mastery
• Processes / Work ethic

• Teamwork

• Problem-solving ability

How to

answer

• Go step-by-step using the NSAR framework
• Allude to curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, leadership and grit 
• Sum up how it better prepared you for challenges at your next job

“Why do you want to take this Software Engineering position with our company?”

Screens for

• Ability to research
• Genuine connection

• Skills fit

• Vision

How to

answer

• Talk about how you found out about them
• Tell a story about your connection to what they’re working on
• Outline future projects you’d like to be part of

“Why should we hire you as a Software Engineer?”

Screens for

• Skills fit
• Passion & Motivation

• Resilience

• Longevity

How to

answer

• Don’t oversell or be fake
• Emphasize that you love doing the relevant skills
• You’re happy solving their problems and growing further at their company

“What are your strengths as a Software Engineer?”

Screens for

• Technical skills
• Soft skills

• Self-awareness

• Excessive Ego

How to

answer

• Tailor it to the company, its stage, goals and needs
• Show how you can fill the current skill gaps in their team
• Give examples and tell stories

“What are your weaknesses as a Software Engineer?”

Screens for

• Self-awareness
• Humility

• Proactivity

How to

answer

• Confidently say the weakness
• Give an example & state why it’s an issue
• Explain how you’re working to improve on this

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years as a Software Engineer?”

Screens for

• Vision
• Personal Development

• Dependability

• Humble confidence

How to

answer

• Don’t say something generic like “I’ll be a respected Engineering Manager”
• Outline the growth journey of your last five years
• If you’ve kept developing, and can look back at how much you’ve grown after the next 5 years, you’ll know you’ve been successful

“What makes you passionate about Software Development?”

Screens for

• Motivation
• Grit

• Curiosity

• Initiative

How to

answer

• Avoid sounding overblown and fake
• Make sure your answer fits what the company is doing
• Give examples for your being a motivated problem-solver

“Why did you choose Software Engineering as a Career?”

Screens for

• Passion
• Motivation

• Personality

• Talent

How to

answer

• Show your passion for tech
• Explain how you love solving problems
• Mention the ability to create useful things from scratch

“How do you stay up-to-date on new technologies related to Software Development?”

Screens for

• Curiosity
• Initiative

• Learning ability

• Discipline

How to

answer

• Summarize why it’s important to stay up to date
• List your favorite ways to learn
• Give specific examples of how you’ve learned about new trends 

“How do you deal with a member of your team who disagrees with the work you did as a Software Engineer?”

Screens for

• Teamwork
• Confidence

• Empathy

• Ego

How to

answer

• Never blame others or make excuses
• Display your openness to constructive criticism
• Show how you’d handle the situation confidently

“How do you handle conflict with co-workers?”

Screens for

• Team spirit
• Humility

• Leadership & Confidence

• Empathy

How to

answer

• Don’t say you never have conflicts – they happen at every job
• Explain handling conflict professionally without compromising your reputation
• Show your ability to reason and persuade