Have a .NET interview lined up? Here's a guide to answering some common .NET interview questions.
Considering the competition for top .NET developers, you may have more than one interview on the horizon. Make sure you're well prepared to field everything from the tricky interview questions to the specific .NET ones.
Your .NET interview question cheat sheet
Here are eleven questions – with sample answers – to help you prepare for your .NET interview. Keep in mind, however, that the sample answers are just a guide; you'll have to elaborate on your answers in the actual interview and provide relevant examples. The goal is to get you thinking about the types of questions you may be asked, and how to tailor your answer.
Also, if you have any additional .NET interview questions you've asked or been asked, please post them in the comments.
1. Describe your recent experience developing .NET Windows or web applications. What technologies did you use?
Answer: My recent experience had me developing applications in ASP.NET, C# and SQL Server. I developed applications for an HR intranet in C#.
Note: Make sure you prepare relevant examples and talk about your involvement in the development from concept to completion.
2. What type of migration work have you done?
Answer: I've migrated VB HR application to C#.
3. Which methodologies did you work most with?
Answer: Agile; Scrum; Iterative
Note: Many companies are embracing agile methodology and an interviewer would be interested in hearing your experience with specific extensions of Agile including Scrum, Kanban, TDD (test driven development) and BDD (Behavioural Driven Development).
4. What types of business applications were you involved in developing?
Answer: Inventory control system; reporting system; intranet
5. How much database knowledge do you have? Give examples of your experience.
Answer: I have experience developing stored procedures, triggers and queries; I have experience supporting the production database.
6. What phases of the SDLC were you mostly involved in?
Answer: I was involved in requirements gathering; architecture; design; implementation and/or maintenance.
Note: End-to-end development experience is highly sought-after and most valuable as it demonstrates you can understand all aspects of a project from initial requirements through to implementation.
7. Describe the ideal environment you would like to code in.
Answer: My ideal environment is in new development; maintenance and enhancements; team; front end or presentation layer; middle tier or business logic layer; backend or server side/data layer.
8. How and why are design patterns used?
Answer: Design patterns are optimised, reusable solutions to the programming problems that we encounter every day. They are templates, formulated by programmers who’ve faced these problems before, which are used as a common solution.
9. Why would a business utilise C#?
Answer: C# is a popular amongst businesses as it is cost-effective and a modern, simple, general-purpose object-oriented option.
Note: The hiring manager wants to gauge your understanding of different development frameworks. Demonstrate your knowledge of the pros and cons of each and the value of one language over another.
10. Describe a time you had to deal with changing requirements or a difficult stakeholder.
The hiring manager is trying to assess your soft skills, particularly your communication, collaboration and influencing abilities. Working with people from different areas of the company and perspectives is an area where non-technical skills are key.
Prepare a scenario in advance where you can talk through a situation you faced. Break it down using the STAR technique – explain the Situation or Task, outline the Action you took and the Result you achieved.
11. Coding challenges
These days, many employers are presenting developers with some sort of coding challenge. This could involve being shown a piece of code and being asked to describe what’s wrong with it or being sat in front of a computer and asked to implement code.
Alternatively, you could be presented with a problem and be asked how you would go about finding solutions. What the hiring manager is looking for is insight into your thought processes and general competency. Be prepared to articulately talk through your thought processes and solutions.
There you have it – our eleven .NET interview questions with sample answers to get you started.
Want more examples of common job interview questions and answers? Take a look at our job interview tips hub or search for current jobs.