If you’re currently seeking JAVA developers, you know it remains one of the most popular coding languages and is still one of the most sought-after skills employers are looking for when hiring new team members. When you’re seeking employees who write JAVA, it’s important to vet their compatibility in terms of the culture of your workplace, but, most importantly, to vet their knowledge of the skill you’re looking to hire them to do. Asking the right questions in an approachable way could be the game-changing key to you finding your ideal employee.
Here are a few of our suggestions of questions to ask when interviewing JAVA developers to hire.
- In the way that makes most sense to you, can you explain what JVM is and if it can be used on any chosen platform?
The answer to this question should include a complete understanding of JVM, and the interviewee should give examples of projects they worked on that have used JVM. For a further look into their understanding of JAVA, ask what their favorite features are.
- Can you discuss what your typical JAVA development process is in terms of jumping in on a project that has already been written by other people with their code?
This question will test their skill in adapting to the way previous code has been written on a project and quickly getting themselves up to speed, while also gauging their willingness to ask for help from coworkers or clarity from superiors. Since hiring a new employee to take on previously written or unfinished projects is common, it’s important to hire someone that isn’t afraid to ask questions and can jump right in.
- How do you keep your JAVA code organized? What is your workflow like in terms of keeping things easy to work with?
It’s important to understand whether or not a potential employee can keep their work easily organized and trackable in the case that someone else has to take on their work and pick up where they left off. This question helps you to find out their willingness to organize their work, to understand whether or not they’ll be a team player, and can really help you truly gauge exactly how skilled they are in JAVA.
- Inevitably, projects can fall behind in the projected schedule, which can be frustrating for everyone. How are you able to adapt to this scenario, and can you think of a time where this happened when you were also able to help bring things up to speed?
Asking this question can give you insight into how the interviewee manages their time, especially when the pressure is on. Look for their communication of which JAVA elements should be prioritized, how well they work under pressurized deadlines specifically on a JAVA project, and if they were able to implement any best practices that caught the project up to where it was projected to be.
- What is AJAX, and is it helpful to use when you’re coding?
This may seem like an easy one, but this question further tests their technical knowledge and years of experience. Do they know what AJAX is beyond just a broad definition? Have they used it before? How has it helped their work?
- Which JAVA frameworks have you worked with before, and why?
They may not have previously worked with frameworks, which is fine, but they should still be able to understand what they are and how they help. When asking this question, look for answers covering how frameworks were able to help them streamline their workload and save time, as well as making their work easier to keep up with by other team members.
- Do you prefer to use a specific method when you’re declaring a class in your code? Which one and why?
This is another question that easily tests their technical knowledge of JAVA. If they’re familiar with working with code, then they should be able to answer this one easily. A good answer to this question should cover their understanding of classes within JAVA, and should convey their ability to efficiently communicate a JAVA concept, which also tests their team member and communication skills.
- What is the most important thing to check for when reviewing team members’ code?
A question like this really applies if you’re hiring an expert level developer, or someone to manage a team of JAVA developers. By asking this, you’re looking for their knowledge of common mistakes and fixes for them, checking their own ability to pay attention to detail, and what their analytical skills are.
- How would you learn about a new JAVA class?
This is an important question to ask, because in asking this question of the interviewee, you’re learning more about how they learn. Do they have an idea of the information they need and where to find it on their own? Can they take the initiative to do it themselves? Are they able to learn quickly from tutorials?
- Tell me about a time you received feedback on a project that you didn’t expect to get. What was that like, and what did you learn?
There’s no one answer to this question. The thing to look for in their response, however, is a sense of how willingly they process feedback, how they are able to communicate questions they may have, and how easily they can act on the feedback they’re given.
Whether you’re hiring a junior developer or a Tech Lead, these questions can help you get a sense of the interviewee’s experience, technical knowledge, and how well they will contribute to your team. These questions will also help you to determine if the person you’re interviewing is a good fit for the culture of your company.