How to Succeed in an IT Interview

IT or software engineering interviews can be difficult or challenging. It is best to be prepared before showing up to an interview. This includes what you are wearing, the answers to common questions, and the questions that you have for the interviewer. You always need to have questions. Below is a list of potential questions and answers. Here, you will also see examples of jobs that a person could have worked previously without a degree and examples of stories that can be shared for a job interview.

1. Tell Me About Yourself and Why You Will Be a Strong Fit for This IT Position

"I am someone who takes their work seriously, and I have a very strong passion for IT and computer science. I enjoy solving simple and complex IT problems and I love helping and working with other people. I am perfectly fine working by myself. However, working with a team would give me a chance to show my communication skills and give me more satisfaction in an IT role.

I believe I am a strong fit for this role because I believe I have the qualifications to succeed in this role. I have been working with IT and computer science for years. I always think it is important to keep an open mind and have the ability to learn new skills. By hiring me for the position, I believe that you will be impressed with my strong work ethic and my aptitude for improvement."

2. Why Do You Want This Job and What Has Attracted You to Our Company?

"I believe that I am ready to take the first step in my career and I am very excited about this position. I am looking for a challenge and a great company to work for, which I believe I have found. I see that this company has a great future planned and I understand your loyalty to your customers. I see that this company wants someone for the long term in this position, and I could not be more excited to work in this field for the long term. Working in a position long term is important to gain trust from others and important work experience. I believe that my skills will be important to your company, and I am always looking to create new and innovative solutions to IT problems."

3. What Are the Most Important Skills in IT?

"Someone who is competent in IT must have many important skills. The most important for a role like this or for any job would be the abilities to effectively communicate, manage time, and plan and execute. Creating a plan and properly executing it is the way to solve a simple or complex problem. I believe that time management and effective communication are important in these processes so that the team understands what needs to be done and how much time they have to complete a variety of tasks, as well as when and how they should complete them.

I also believe having passion for the role is very important. This will show others that you love what you do, and you will show signs of leadership qualities. I believe I have all these skills and I can be relied on to deliver great results on time."

4. How Would You Begin a Newly Assigned IT Project?

"I would always start off by understanding the reason for the project, the purpose, and the technical requirements and accomplishments of the end result. After this stage, I can then start understanding what is required to complete this task. This is mainly considering who is qualified or needed to work on this project, the resources that are needed, finances, and the amount of time that it needs to be completed. Having a full understanding of this will result in a successful completion of any IT project."

5. How Would You Describe Something Technical to a Non-Technical Person?

"I would first ask someone their technical background before describing a topic. If they have a good technical background, I will talk to them normally in regards to what I know in my field of study. For someone who is unfamiliar, I would explain certain topics based on what they use and explain to them certain topics that they do not know (only if they ask)."

6. What Are Your Salary Expectations?

"The average salary for an IT Specialist in (example state) is somewhere between 45 to 80 thousand a year. I am willing to negotiate this regarding what would work best for the company and based on my current education."

7. So Tell Me About Yourself

"So I am a student finishing my bachelor’s degree in (say your degree). I work full-time at Amazon in the inventory control and outbound department to fund my education (example of job). They have provided tuition assistance to complete my degree. I have been working with computers for years and I have a great understanding of computer hardware and operating systems and software. I am very excited to start working in IT and what I can learn, and I would love to apply my skills."

8. Strengths and Weaknesses

For strengths, talk about problem-solving, critical thinking, empathy or interpersonal skills, and communication. Others can be programming skills. For weaknesses, only mention leadership qualities and public speaking. Explain that you do not use them often and that is why they are your weakness. Say that any opportunity to use these skills would be appreciated.

9. How Do You Deal with Stress?

"I understand that stress is mainly created from too many tasks piling up at once or from fear of failure of some kind. I deal with stress by giving myself plenty of time to complete tasks. This avoids procrastination, which would cause many important projects to miss deadlines."

10. Hobbies and Interests

Hiking and walking my dogs, reading, and improving my technological skills with software and hardware.

11. STAR Method: Situation, Task, Action, Result

Use the STAR method to structure your answers to behavioral questions. For example:

Situation: A colleague stowed inventory physically but not virtually in the database. Task: Ensure the inventory was correctly scanned. Action: Scanned the inventory and informed the manager. Result: The issue was resolved, and similar problems were minimized.

12. Other Topics to Talk About

• Operating Systems: Experience with Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 10, 11), MacOS, and Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Debian.
• Antivirus: Familiarity with AVG, McAfee, Avast, and Bitdefender.
• Backup: Knowledge of MacOS Time Machine and Windows Backup and Restore.
• Encryption: Understanding of symmetric and asymmetric encryption, as well as hashing.
• Networking: Experience with routers, modems, network hubs, and switches, as well as DNS and DHCP.
• IT Business Concepts: Understanding of B2B, B2C, and B2E models, as well as enterprise architecture.

13. Questions to Ask the Interviewer

• "What does a high-performing worker look like in this role?"
• "Why do you stay at this company? Do you see yourself here for the long term?"
• "Based on my performance today, would you be willing to move me forward in the interview process? Why or why not?"

14. Stories (Development)

• Finance Application: Describe the whole process, including making objects, the MVC, and graphical user interface.
• Inventory Problem: Situation: Person stowed inventory physically but not virtually in the database. Task: Scan the pallet of inventory into the database. Action: Completing this and letting the manager from inbound and ICQA know. Result: Inventory was scanned in and this problem rarely happens anymore.
• The Facebook Project: One project that I worked on was a Facebook research project for one of my IST classes. Each person had to research different corporate strategies that are used by the company to make money.
• Working with Linked Lists: One project for a previous application class was to create a GUI with two linked lists. The goal was to be able to swap, delete, and add items to the lists. A comparator was also required to be implemented. This sorts the list automatically.
• Data Analyst: One work project that I worked on was creating virtual openings for inventory at Amazon. I worked with a data analyst to accomplish this. I was shown how the database works at an Amazon site.
• Automation in the QA Environment of Salesforce: I worked on writing automation scripts in Java at (company). The goal was to test the application they were working on to assist customers with several lines of business. These included their email system and several products.

15. Describe the Software Development Process

"First, when creating software, there are two different types of development. This is mainly front-end and back-end development. Front-end focuses on the visuals, or what the user can see on a website or application. Back-end development focuses on the functionality of the program. When creating software, there is first a planning phase, which focuses on the design. Then there is the create, test, and maintain phases. These are all self-explanatory."

Conclusion

These are some simple examples of information technology or software development interview questions that you may be asked. Make sure to practice speaking and remember these answers. Always be prepared. Make sure to be overdressed rather than underdressed, and be ready to start your career. With the right preparation, confidence, and mindset, you can excel in your IT interview and secure the role you’ve been working toward.