How to Answer IT Interview Questions

When interviewing for an IT role, hiring managers can ask questions ranging from your technical knowledge to interpersonal skills. Your responses can help them determine how you will perform in a professional environment and the relevance of your skills to their requirements. This makes it vital to understand the common questions to expect at an information technology interview. You can follow the tips in this article to improve your chances of impressing employers and landing the IT position. 

Why do employers ask specific IT interview questions?

During an IT job interview, interviewers ask specific questions for various reasons. Hiring managers ask technical questions to test your knowledge of the core technologies and procedures you need to deliver on the job. They use behavioral questions to gauge your ethics, honesty and character. 

Interviewers can also use questions about salary to determine your real motivation for the role. They can also test your knowledge of the company, its products or services and research and development efforts, making it important to research the employer before your interview. It is important to be familiar with the common IT interview questions to set yourself apart from other candidates. 

Common IT interview questions with examples

IT interview questions can come in different forms. It is important to read the job ad carefully to understand the specific skills and experiences required for the role. It is also vital to practice answering the common interview questions to position yourself as the ideal candidate. 

Follow these tips to answer common IT interview questions:

Tell me about yourself

Start your interview on a good note with a powerful pitch about yourself and the best skills that make you the ideal candidate for the job. Make a convincing case for the employer to hire you based on your relevant work experience, knowledge and achievements. You can describe three specific experiences or skills and how they will help you deliver results if hired. 

Example: ‘I am passionate about computer programs and how they solve everyday problems. At Clayton Inc., I managed 42 software development projects in the three years I spent at the company. I supervised a team of 15 developers to design, develop, implement and deploy over 100 enterprise applications and games. I’m so excited to leverage my expertise in Agile and project management to improve the productivity and efficiency of the talented team at this organization.’

Why do you want to work with us?

This is a classic interview question hiring managers use to gauge how well you know and care about their company. In your answer, describe the qualities that make the company the ideal place of work for you. Mention the organization’s goals, products and culture that appeal to you. It’s advisable to thoroughly research the company and practice this question with someone before the interview to develop a convincing response. 

Example: ‘I love companies that provide the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology. This firm will also allow me to collaborate with some of the best DevOps teams, which is the perfect environment to use my skills and experience.’

What makes you best qualified for this position?

This information technology question wants to know your greatest professional strength. It’s easy to deliver a convincing response if you read and understand the ‘Requirements’ sections of the job description. Outline only two to three specific skills and experiences relevant to the role. 

Make your answers more powerful with realistic descriptions of situations where your skills helped solve a problem or improve results. 

Example:’I have led 37 mobile application development projects in the last 24 months. I oversaw 10 system development teams and used Agile to reduce product delivery time by over 40%, increasing productivity by almost 70% in one year.’

What are your weaknesses?

This question is used to judge your integrity and how you learn from failure. The temptation to avoid mentioning a weakness can be high, but it’s better to be honest. Describe one or two weaknesses, the impacts caused in previous projects and the lessons you learned from the experience. 

The interviewer will respect you more for being honest. The goal here is to demonstrate how your weaknesses made you a better person at the job. 

Example: ‘I couldn’t deliver my first three project management tasks on schedule. During that time, I had not mastered the QA process and could not enforce discipline among the software engineering team. However, I now understand the implementation of quality assurance and use motivation to encourage compliance among teams.’

How do you update your technology skills?

This IT interview question can help the hiring manager test your enthusiasm for the profession. A good answer should highlight online courses, blogs, websites, competitions and personal tech projects that you engage in to keep your skills current. This information shows the level of interest you have for the role and your professional development efforts. 

Example: ‘I attend three conferences every year and take advanced courses in data science every quarter. I also have subscriptions to the top five trade magazines to keep myself up to date about the latest IT trends.’

What is your favorite online resource for IT-related projects?

Mention social media groups, websites, blogs and other forums where you connect with like-minded people whose expertise is related to the position you are applying to. 

Example: ‘I am very active on GitHub. I also have accounts on three social media platforms where I read and share news of the latest happenings in the industry.’

What are the advantages of Agile?

Interviewers ask different variations of this question, making it one of the most common in information technology interviews. The question aims to test your knowledge of Agile environments and whether you are a good collaborator and communicator. In your response, highlight the benefits of Agile and how it improves collaboration and feedback. 

Example: ‘I use Agile extensively in my work. It helps reduce project delivery time, increases collaboration and provides every stakeholder status updates to reduce error and deliver a product that meets user requirements.’