By Tom Hausler, Director of Recruiting and Business Operations
As a software developer, the interview process isn’t just about answering questions—it’s also your opportunity to evaluate whether a company and role align with your career goals, values, and working style. The questions you ask can reveal crucial insights about the company culture, growth opportunities, and day-to-day realities of the position.
Here are ten essential questions every software developer should ask during their interview process.
1. “What does a typical day or week look like for someone in this role?”
This question helps you understand the actual workflow and responsibilities beyond the job description. You’ll learn about meeting schedules, collaboration patterns, individual work time, and how much time is spent on different activities like coding, debugging, code reviews, and meetings.
What to listen for: A balance between focused coding time and collaborative work, realistic expectations about meetings and interruptions, and clarity about daily responsibilities.
2. “How do you approach technical debt and code quality?”
Technical debt can significantly impact your job satisfaction and career growth. This question reveals the company’s priorities and whether they invest in maintaining clean, scalable code or constantly rush to ship features.
What to listen for: Regular refactoring cycles, code review processes, automated testing practices, and a balanced approach to feature development versus code maintenance.
3. “What opportunities are there for professional development and learning?”
Technology evolves rapidly, and staying current is crucial for your career. Understanding how the company supports continuous learning will help you assess long-term growth potential.
What to listen for: Conference attendance, learning budgets, internal training programs, mentorship opportunities, time allocated for learning new technologies, and support for certifications.
4. “How do you handle work-life balance and prevent burnout?”
Sustainable work practices are essential for long-term success and personal well-being. This question helps you gauge the company’s culture around overtime, deadlines, and employee wellness.
What to listen for: Realistic project timelines, respect for personal time, flexible working arrangements, mental health support, and how they handle crunch periods.
5. “What is the team structure and how do different roles collaborate?”
Understanding team dynamics and cross-functional collaboration will help you assess whether you’ll thrive in their environment and have the support you need to succeed.
What to listen for: Clear role definitions, effective communication channels, collaborative decision-making processes, and healthy relationships between developers, designers, product managers, and other stakeholders.
6. “How do you measure success for this role, and what would success look like in the first 90 days?”
This question clarifies expectations and helps you understand how your performance will be evaluated. It also shows your commitment to delivering results.
What to listen for: Specific, measurable goals, reasonable timelines for onboarding, clear success metrics, and alignment between stated expectations and your capabilities.
7. “What are the biggest technical challenges the team is currently facing?”
This reveals the complexity of problems you’ll be solving and whether they align with your interests and skill level. It also shows the interviewer that you’re thinking strategically about the role.
What to listen for: Interesting technical problems that match your expertise, challenges that offer growth opportunities, and realistic assessments of current obstacles.
8. “How do you handle deployment, testing, and release processes?”
Understanding the development lifecycle and deployment practices will help you assess the team’s maturity and your day-to-day experience with shipping code.
What to listen for: Automated testing and deployment pipelines, code review processes, staging environments, rollback procedures, and frequency of releases.
9. “What does the career progression path look like for developers here?”
This question demonstrates your long-term thinking and helps you understand advancement opportunities, whether you’re interested in technical leadership, management, or specialized expertise.
What to listen for: Clear advancement criteria, multiple career tracks (technical vs. management), mentorship programs, promotion timelines, and examples of internal career growth.
10. “What do you enjoy most about working here, and what has been most challenging?”
This personal question often yields honest insights about company culture, management quality, and real workplace dynamics. It’s particularly valuable when asked to potential teammates or direct supervisors.
What to listen for: Authentic enthusiasm about the work or culture, honest acknowledgment of challenges, and whether the positives align with what you value in a workplace.
Making the Most of Your Questions
Remember these tips when asking your questions:
- Time your questions strategically. Some questions work better with different interviewers—ask technical questions to developers, culture questions to potential teammates, and career development questions to managers.
- Listen to what’s not said. Vague answers, deflection, or reluctance to discuss certain topics can be as revealing as detailed responses.
- Follow up when appropriate. If an answer raises concerns or piques your interest, don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions.
- Take notes. You’ll likely interview with multiple companies, and specific details about each opportunity will help you make informed decisions.
Conclusion
Remember that interviews are a two-way evaluation process. While the company is assessing your technical skills and cultural fit, you should be equally thorough in evaluating whether the opportunity aligns with your career goals, values, and preferred working style.
The best questions demonstrate your genuine interest in the role while gathering the information you need to make an informed decision. By asking thoughtful questions, you’ll not only gather valuable insights but also demonstrate your professionalism and strategic thinking to potential employers.
Take the time to prepare these questions in advance, and don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions based on the responses you receive. Your future career satisfaction may depend on the clarity you gain during these conversations.
For more interview tips, view our Interview Guide for Job Seekers.
Related: Salary Guide – Engineering & Technology
