Novice developers often ask themselves: “How do I pass an IT interview? Is it difficult to pass an IT interview?” and what do I need to know to get an offer from a large company? In 2025, the requirements for candidates continue to grow, but preparing for the right scenario increases your chances of success.
Stages of an interview at an IT company
The selection process usually consists of several stages:
- Resume screening: your technical skills, projects, and education are evaluated. Make sure your resume is concise, reflects your technology stack, and includes links to GitHub or your portfolio.
- Phone interview with a recruiter: discussion of motivation, experience, and basic technical knowledge. Be prepared to briefly talk about yourself, your projects, and your career plans.
- Technical interview: solving algorithmic problems, discussing programming principles, knowledge of system design. Use the “think out loud” method so that the interviewer understands your logic.
- Soft skills interview: testing your ability to work in a team, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. Be prepared to talk about teamwork and examples of difficult situations.
- Final interview: a conversation with a manager or lead to assess your values and fit with the company culture. Here, it is important to show that you understand the company’s mission and are interested in growing within it.
Typical interview questions
- Algorithms and data structures
- How do basic data structures (arrays, lists, hash tables) work?
- What is the difference between a stack and a queue?
- What is the time complexity of searching for an element in a binary search tree?
- Write code to reverse a singly linked list.
- Optimize the array sorting algorithm.
- OOP and design patterns
- What SOLID principles do you know?
- What is the difference between an abstract class and an interface?
- How do you implement a singleton in your programming language?
- What design patterns have you used in your projects?
- Databases
- The difference between SQL and NoSQL.
- How does indexing work in databases?
- Write an SQL query to select duplicates in a table.
- How would you optimize database performance for a high-load service?
- System design
- How would you design a URL shortener similar to bit.ly?
- What storage would you choose for a high-load service?
- How would you implement caching and load balancing?
- How would you scale a web application for a million users?
- Questions about soft skills
- Tell us about a difficult task you faced and how you solved it.
- How do you deal with conflicts within the team?
- What motivates you at work?
- What was the most difficult feedback you received and how did you work with it?
Mistakes made by junior developers
- Insufficient preparation: don’t underestimate algorithms and data structures.
- Ignoring soft skills: communication and teamwork are just as important as technical knowledge.
- Not understanding the project and the company: learn about the company’s technology stack, culture, and goals before the interview.
- Not asking the interviewers any questions: ask questions about the team, processes, and tasks to show your interest.
- Overestimating your abilities: if you don’t know the answer, it’s better to be honest and try to reason it out.