Technical screening questions
Ask for one example per question and listen for specifics.
- Walk me through the last feature you built from ticket to production. A good answer: Look for the design choice, the tests, the review and what they would change.
- How do you find the cause of a slow endpoint? A good answer: Profiling or logs, then the database query or the loop; not guessing.
- When do you choose a hash map over a list? A good answer: Lookup cost, memory and ordering trade-offs in plain terms.
- How do you handle a failing build the morning of a release? A good answer: Roll back or fix forward, tell the team, and add a check so it does not repeat.
- How do you keep a change small enough to review? A good answer: Slicing work, feature flags and clear commit messages.
Quick screening questions
Use these when you have only a few minutes.
- Which language and framework did you ship to production last, and what did it do?
- How do you decide what to unit test and what to integration test?
- Describe a bug that took you a long time to find and how you found it.
What separates the levels
Match the level to the requirement before you submit.
- Junior: completes well-scoped tickets with guidance.
- Mid: owns a feature end to end.
- Senior: shapes the design, mentors others and reduces risk.
Red flags
Any of these is a reason to probe further.
- Cannot name the language version used.
- Describes only tutorials or course projects.
- Never wrote tests.
Tools you should hear mentioned
A software engineer with real experience usually names several of these without prompting.
- Git and pull requests
- An IDE and a debugger
- A CI system such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions
- Jira or similar tracker
- A test framework for the language
- Docker
Run the call well
Ask for the last project first, then dig into the second or third question. Take notes on versions, team size and outcomes, and record them with the submission so the vendor’s later technical interview does not surprise you.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a software engineer screening call take?
Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough to cover the project, three technical questions and availability, rate and work authorization.
Do recruiters need to know the technology?
Working vocabulary is enough. Use the sourcing guide for the role and listen for specifics instead of judging technical depth yourself.