Qualified IT talent is a precious commodity. As AI architecture evolves, demand for professionals who can design and scale complex technology projects continues to grow.
Credentials matter, but so do mindset and potential. At Howdy.com, our interview process uncovers how candidates think, collaborate, and adapt to real-world challenges.
Refined over the years, our multi-step vetting process filters for quality, motivation, and alignment. Steps include thorough screening, code tests, and culture-match interviews with our senior Howdy.com engineering mentors. Fewer than 1% of applicants make it to our final step: The partner interview.
General interview questions
1. Tell me about yourself and your background.
- What managers should look for: A career narrative and experience that match the role.
- What candidates should include: A concise, structured summary of career path.
2. Why are you interested in this role and our company?
- What managers should look for: Genuine interest in the company’s mission and role alignment.
- What candidates should include: Specific reasons they are excited about the company and how the opportunity matches their goals and values.
3. Describe a challenging technical problem you faced and how you solved it.
- What managers should look for: Technical depth, resilience, and how the candidate operates under pressure.
- What candidates should include: A defined problem, a step-by-step approach, and a clear resolution, including lessons learned.
4. How do you stay current with technology trends?
- What managers should look for: A commitment to continuous learning and professional development.
- What candidates should include: Specific blogs, communities, newsletters, courses, or practices they follow regularly.
5. Describe a time you worked with a complex stakeholder or user. How did you handle it?
- What managers should look for: Emotional intelligence and the ability to manage interpersonal challenges.
- What candidates should include: Context around the conflict, their communication strategy, and the eventual outcome.
6. What do you do when you don’t know the answer to a technical question?
- What managers should look for: Resourcefulness and intellectual humility.
- What candidates should include: A step-by-step approach to finding answers, including research, documentation, and asking peers.
7. How do you prioritize multiple projects with competing deadlines?
- What managers should look for: Time management and organizational clarity.
- What candidates should include: Prioritization frameworks or tools used (e.g., Eisenhower Matrix, Kanban) and examples of trade-offs made.
8. Describe a time you worked as part of a team to complete a project.
- What managers should look for: Team collaboration, ownership, and adaptability.
- What candidates should include: Their role, how they communicated with teammates, and how they contributed to the final result.
9. How do you explain technical issues to non-technical people?
- What managers should look for: Communication clarity and empathy.
- What candidates should include: Real-world examples of translating complex concepts for clients or business stakeholders.
10. Why do you want to leave your current position (or why did you leave your last job)?
- What managers should look for: Professional maturity and growth-oriented reasoning.
- What candidates should include: A candid, respectful explanation that highlights a desire for growth or change.
11. What are your salary expectations?
- What managers should look for: Transparent and realistic expectations.
- What candidates should include: A fair range based on market research and an understanding of contract terms.
12. Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What managers should look for: Long-term vision and career alignment.
- What candidates should include: Aspirations that show a growth mindset and potential to evolve with the company.
13. How do you handle constructive criticism?
- What managers should look for: Coachability and openness to feedback.
- What candidates should include: Examples of past feedback received and how they integrated it into their work.
14. What motivates you in your work?
- What managers should look for: Alignment with the company’s pace and mission.
- What candidates should include: Key motivators like problem-solving, mentorship, or building impactful systems.
15. Do you prefer working independently or on a team? Why?
- What managers should look for: Work style fit and versatility.
- What candidates should include: Personal preferences with examples of success in both solo and team contexts.
16. Describe a time when you had to learn a new technology or tool quickly. How did you approach it?
- What managers should look for: Fast learning and proactive initiative.
- What candidates should include: The challenge, how they learned, what resources they used, and the results.
General technical knowledge questions
17. What is the difference between RAM and ROM?
- What managers should look for: A foundational understanding of hardware components.
- What candidates should include: A clear explanation of RAM as temporary, volatile memory and ROM as permanent, non-volatile memory used for startup processes.
18. What is an IP address, and why is it important?
- What managers should look for: Grasp of basic networking concepts.
- What candidates should include: The role of IP addresses in identifying devices on a network and enabling communication.
19. Can you explain the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?
- What managers should look for: Awareness of security in web protocols.
- What candidates should include: Definitions of both protocols, with HTTPS emphasizing encryption and data protection.
20. What is DNS and how does it work?
- What managers should look for: Knowledge of internet infrastructure and domain resolution.
- What candidates should include: A description of how DNS translates domain names into IP addresses.
21. What is a firewall and how does it protect a network?
- What managers should look for: Understanding of security layers in network design.
- What candidates should include: The function of firewalls in filtering traffic and protecting systems from threats.
22. What is object-oriented programming (OOP)?
- What managers should look for: Familiarity with programming paradigms.
- What candidates should include: Definitions of key OOP principles such as encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism, with examples.
23. Explain the difference between a compiled and interpreted language.
- What managers should look for: Comprehension of programming language execution types.
- What candidates should include: A comparison with examples like C++ (compiled) and Python (interpreted), noting trade-offs in performance and flexibility.
24. What is version control? Provide an example.
- What managers should look for: Experience with team-based development workflows.
- What candidates should include: An explanation of tools like Git and how they help track code changes and support collaboration.
25. What is an API, and why is it used?
- What managers should look for: Understanding of system integration.
- What candidates should include: A description of APIs as interfaces that allow different systems to communicate, including a practical example.
26. What is the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?
- What managers should look for: Awareness of structured development processes.
- What candidates should include: A breakdown of phases like planning, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
27. What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL databases?
- What managers should look for: Knowledge of data modeling and database types.
- What candidates should include: A comparison of structured relational databases vs. flexible document-based or key-value stores, with examples.
28. Explain normalization and why it is essential.
- What managers should look for: Understanding of efficient data design.
- What candidates should include: A definition of normalization and how it reduces redundancy and improves data integrity.
29. What is a primary key and a foreign key?
- What managers should look for: Familiarity with relational database concepts.
- What candidates should include: Definitions and examples showing how primary and foreign keys establish relationships between tables.
30. How do you optimize a slow-running database query?
- What managers should look for: Troubleshooting and performance tuning skills.
- What candidates should include: Strategies such as indexing, query optimization, or database refactoring.
31. What is data integrity?
- What managers should look for: Commitment to accurate and reliable data.
- What candidates should include: An explanation of data consistency principles and mechanisms, like constraints and validations.
32. What is the OSI Model? Can you name its layers?
- What managers should look for: Basic understanding of network communication layers.
- What candidates should include: A list of the seven layers (Physical to Application) and their purpose in network communication.
33. What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
- What managers should look for: Insight into transport protocols.
- What candidates should include: A side-by-side explanation of reliability (TCP) versus speed (UDP), and use cases like video streaming or email.
34. What is a VPN and why would a company use one?
- What managers should look for: Awareness of secure access protocols.
- What candidates should include: A definition of VPNs and how they secure remote access to corporate networks.
35. What is subnetting and why is it important?
- What managers should look for: Advanced networking proficiency.
- What candidates should include: An explanation of dividing IP ranges to improve network efficiency and security.
36. What is load balancing?
- What managers should look for: Knowledge of system scalability and reliability.
- What candidates should include: A definition of distributing traffic across multiple servers and the benefits of high availability.
37. Describe how you would handle a user reporting a slow computer.
- What managers should look for: Customer service and diagnostic process thinking.
- What candidates should include: Steps such as checking for background processes, memory usage, and system updates.
38. How do you prioritize multiple technical support tickets?
- What managers should look for: Ability to manage support queues effectively.
- What candidates should include: Methods like prioritizing by severity and impact, and using ticketing tools to track progress.
39. What steps would you take if you can't reproduce a reported issue?
- What managers should look for: Persistence and creative problem-solving.
- What candidates should include: Techniques such as requesting logs, recreating environments, and consulting with users for more context.
40. How do you ensure clear communication with non-technical users?
- What managers should look for: Patience and user-centered communication.
- What candidates should include: Examples of translating jargon into simple language, using visuals or analogies when necessary.
41. What are the basic principles of cybersecurity?
- What managers should look for: Foundation in data protection principles.
- What candidates should include: Concepts like confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA triad).
42. How do you secure a web application?
- What managers should look for: Knowledge of secure coding practices.
- What candidates should include: Techniques such as input validation, HTTPS usage, and authentication mechanisms.
43. What is two-factor authentication and why is it important?
- What managers should look for: Familiarity with authentication methods.
- What candidates should include: A description of 2FA and how it adds a layer of security beyond passwords.
Conclusion
Finding quality IT talent is challenging. Our carefully curated interview questions identify quality candidates by going beyond surface-level questions and digging into real-world problem-solving.
Need help sourcing, screening, and presenting top-tier IT professionals from Latin America? Book a demo with Howdy to see how we help fast-growing tech companies find the right talent faster.
