Interview Prep Refreshers: Full-Stack Developer

The job hunt nowadays is incredibly competitive. With factors like the Great Resignation, the global pandemic, and general instability in the economy, organizations and jobseekers alike are exhausted trying to fill these positions. In the tech sector, this is especially difficult with the added involvement of a technical interview. Many people who were secure in their former positions are now looking again for something new and might be out of practice when it comes to interviewing. If this is sounding familiar, have no fear — we’re here to help. This is the first instalment in a series of interview prep articles for specific tech positions. For this article we’re focusing on the:

Full Stack Software Developer

Average Salary Range: $173,407 — $211,269

Interview Questions

Let’s start off with some of the more common interview questions you’re likely to get when applying for a full-stack developer position.

1. What programming languages are you comfortable working with?
State languages including HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These are minimum requirements. If you can also demonstrate knowledge of other languages like Python, C#, Ruby, MEAN — this can be a huge benefit you can bring to the engineering team. A full stack developer has responsibilities to both the client and the server side and should exhibit a genuine interest in a whole assortment of languages.

2. Can you relate of an experience when you found your colleagues code to be inefficient? How did you deal with it?

Make sure to give an answer that demonstrates your high standards in your own coding as well as an ability to assure quality in others. Don’t be too harsh when delivering your answer though, the hiring manager is still looking for someone who is able to critique their colleagues in a constructive and positive manner and is able to be team-player.

3. What are you coding currently?

Even if it is not in a professional setting, giving an example of your skillset is an important part of the interview process. It can also make you standout to your future employers if show an interest in coding outside of work. It shows that you’re self-motivated and driven and that you are continually developing and expanding your skillset. Try to have a project or two in your back pocket to talk about during your interview.

4.How do you stay updated on current trends in the tech industry?

Technology is always changing and upgrading, and the interviewer will want to ensure you are willing to continue to learn about new innovations, technological applications and evolving trends in the industry. Demonstrate your ability to learn new skills, take on challenges and advance your knowledge of your field.

This goes hand-in-hand with supporting that self-direction skill. Being able to talk about how you stay updated with industry trends will showcase your willingness to learn. And again, apart from your technical skills and experience, you’ll want to demonstrate to the interviewer your knowledge outside of just the responsibilities that are listed in the job description. This will make you stand out more.

5.What are some of the challenges of working in full-stack development?

It’s important to have examples of when you were able to overcome difficulties in the job to showcase your experience and critical thinking skills. Have a few experiences lined up to talk about that show how you successfully navigated through challenging tasks, projects that went downhill, or emergencies where you had to use quick-thinking.

Average Full Stack Developer Job Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science
• Working experience as a full stack developer
• Fluent in CSS (Foundation or Bootstrap), JavaScript and HTML, with an understanding of CSS preprocessors
• Strong knowledge of Linux, PHP and MySQL, with working understanding of MongoDB, PostgreSQL, AngularJS, Express.js, Oracle, React, Ember and Node.js.
• Experience working with languages such as Java, .Net, Python, PHP or Ruby
• Experience working with server technologies including Apache, ISS, Node.js
• Experience in API design and development
• Strong knowledge of data structures, system design, and algorithms

Responsibilities for the Average Full-Stack Developer

• Work with development teams and product managers to ideate software solutions
• Design client-side and server-side architecture
• Build the front-end of applications through appealing visual design
• Develop and manage well-functioning databases and applications
• Write effective APIs
• Test software to ensure responsiveness and efficiency
• Troubleshoot, debug and upgrade software
• Create security and data protection settings
• Build features and applications with a mobile responsive design
• Write technical documentation
• Work with data scientists and analysts to improve software

People to follow

Don’t just take our word for it: here are a few full-stack experts who have created a space for other developers to share their thoughts, grow, and learn from each other! Check them out!

Marc Backes: Marc is a full-stack developer based in Luxembourg who has been coding for 20 years! Check out Marc’s website where you can find blog posts all to do with web development.

Sarah Shook: Sarah is a freelance web developer currently based in Texas, balancing her life as both a parent and a coder. Most of her work involves custom Oracle SQL reports and automation using PowerShell and PHP. You can see more from Sarah here.

Bruce Hopkins: Bruce is a freelance JavaScript/TypeScript full-stack developer, currently working on a social media platform for developers with React! Check out his github!

Faheem Khan: Faheem is a full-stack developer and tech blogger based in India with many helpful posts about fundamental coding languages. You can check out his website here!