On this page
How the interview loop works
Company-specific interviews
Behavioral interviews
Coding practice and platforms
System design interviews
Levels, salaries, and offers
Getting started and choosing a path
Resumes, recruiters, and follow-up
How to use this index
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
Tech Interview Questions Answered: A Complete Index
On This Page
How the interview loop works
Company-specific interviews
Behavioral interviews
Coding practice and platforms
System design interviews
Levels, salaries, and offers
Getting started and choosing a path
Resumes, recruiters, and follow-up
How to use this index
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
This is an index of the questions candidates ask about the interview itself, grouped by topic. Each entry links to a full answer.
The technical questions are covered separately. This index is about everything around them: how the loop is structured, what a specific company does, how the behavioral round is graded, how much practice is enough, and what happens after the interview.
The companion index for technical concepts is Software Engineering Questions Answered.
How the interview loop works
Before the questions come the logistics: how many rounds there are, what each one tests, and what the screening steps look like.
- What is a good score for an aptitude test?
- What to expect in a 30 minute interview?
- How many rounds for a software engineer interview?
- What is virtual online assessment?
- What is online technical assessment?
- What is an online assessment test for a job?
- What is a technology assessment test?
- How do you know if a technical interview went well?
- What to Expect in a Low-Level Design Interview Round
- What is HR round?
- What is an online technical assessment?
- What is a technical interview question?
- What is a full loop interview?
- What happens in 2nd round of technical interview?
- What is aptitude test in IT industry?
- What questions are asked in technical aptitude test?
- What type of questions are asked in an aptitude test?
- What is a technical interview?
- What is the best time for technical interview?
- What type of questions are asked in online assessment?
Company-specific interviews
Each company runs its own loop and builds on its own stack. These cover what to expect at specific companies.
- What database does Palantir use?
- Which database does Meta use?
- What programming languages does Palantir use?
- What methodology does Netflix use?
- What tech stack is used at Apple?
- How long does it take to hear back from a Pinterest interview?
- What is Apple's culture?
- Which backend framework does Amazon use?
- Who pays more Google or Apple?
- What is the dress code in IBM?
- What is the culture of the Anthropic company?
- Which degree is best for a Google job?
- Why am I interested in working for CrowdStrike?
- Why are you interested in working for CrowdStrike interview questions?
- What is the difference between AI and OpenAI?
- What coding language is Uber?
- How long is Google interview process?
- Is it OK to Google during coding interview?
- What backend does Meta use?
- Which is the hardest exam in Cisco?
Behavioral interviews
The behavioral round is graded against a rubric like every other round. These cover the questions that come up almost every time.
- What is your 3 strength best answer?
- What is the Carl technique?
- What is a mock presentation in detail?
- What are the hardest behavioral interview questions Reddit?
- Why should we hire you as a frontend developer?
- What is your weakness job interview question?
- What is your strength and weakness?
- What good weakness to say in an interview?
- What is your greatest strength?
- How many questions are asked in a behavioral interview?
- What questions are asked in an engineering internship behavioral interview?
- What are your weakness interview answers?
- Why should we hire you as a fresh graduate?
- Why do you want to join ServiceNow?
- What is the safest weakness to say in an interview?
Coding practice and platforms
How much to practice, on which platform, and in what order. These are the questions candidates ask before they start.
- Which is the best YouTube channel to learn DSA?
- What is the hardest part of DSA?
- What is the difference between NeetCode and Leetcode?
- Does LeetCode correlate with IQ?
- How many months to prepare DSA?
- How many days to master LeetCode?
- What is a good score on LeetCode?
- How many hours of LeetCode a day?
- Can you use LeetCode on mobile?
- How long to prep for LeetCode?
- Which language is best for DSA?
- What is the correct order to learn DSA?
- Is LeetCode 150 enough?
- Can we use LeetCode offline?
- What is the DSA syllabus?
- What is LeetCode about?
- Which platform is best for DSA practice?
- What is DSA in coding?
- Can solving LeetCode get you a job?
- What is Grind 75?
System design interviews
The design round is a conversation about tradeoffs. These cover what it tests and how it differs from the coding round.
- What is the software architecture of twitter?
- What is a three-tier architecture (presentation, logic, data) in system design?
- Key System Design Patterns to Know Before a Big Tech Interview
- Which AI is best for system design?
- What is a firewall in network architecture and how does it secure a system’s perimeter?
- What is HTTP and how do HTTP requests and responses work in web architecture?
- What is system design in MIS?
- What is the difference between system design and system analysis?
- What is Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and how can it inform the design of microservices or system architecture?
- What is the Lambda architecture and the Kappa architecture in big data, and how do they differ?
- What is system design in CS?
- What are Reddit system design interview questions?
- How to access grokking system design content on Design Gurus and other learning platforms
- What are the basic steps of system design?
- What is system design diagram?
- Which app to use for system design interview?
- Which programming language is good for system design?
- What is a good framework for structuring your answer in a system design interview (e.g. RESAT or a four-step approach)?
- Which language is best for LLD?
- Best Online Courses for System Design Interview Prep (2026)
Levels, salaries, and offers
What the ladder looks like and what each rung pays. A fuller breakdown of the level systems is in FAANG Software Engineer Levels Explained.
- What is the highest salary in Splunk?
- What is the highest paid software engineer salary?
- Who is the highest paid coder?
Getting started and choosing a path
Questions from earlier in a career: which language to learn first, which degree matters, and where to begin.
- What is the work flow of backend developer?
- What is the first language to learn for backend?
- Which is harder CE or CS?
- Which is better CS or CSE or CE?
- What is the tech industry?
- Which language is best for multithreading?
- What percentage of software engineers have no degree?
- How long can I learn networking?
- Which country in Asia is best for software engineers?
- Which YouTube channel is best for aptitude?
- Which language is good for networking?
- Which language is best for network engineer?
- Which is better, CS or IT?
- Which country is best the coding language?
- Why CE over CS?
- What is a BS/CS degree?
- Which country pays software engineers the most?
- What degree for software engineer?
- What are the skills required for a backend developer?
- What is the difference between a bootcamp and a course?
Resumes, recruiters, and follow-up
Everything around the interview itself: getting seen, staying in touch, and handling the silence afterwards.
- What is the difference between a profile and a portfolio?
- What is a lazy portfolio?
- What is a technology portfolio?
- What are the strategies for re-applying after a rejected application?
- What is an example of good feedback for a recruiter?
- What is the last line of a resume?
- Why do recruiters go silent?
- What is portfolio and example?
How to use this index
Work backwards from your next interview. Start with the section on the loop, then the company section if you know where you are interviewing, then the round that worries you most.
If the answer is that you need structured practice rather than more reading, Grokking the Coding Interview covers the coding patterns, Grokking the System Design Interview works through complete designs, and Grokking the Behavioral Interview covers answers that hold up to follow-up questions.
Frequently asked questions
How many rounds does a software engineer interview usually have?
Most loops run four to six rounds: a screen, two or three coding rounds, a design round for mid-level and above, and a behavioral round. The entries in the first section cover the variations.
Which round should I prepare for first?
The one that is furthest from your daily work. Engineers who write code all day usually need the design and behavioral rounds more than the coding round.
Does company-specific preparation actually help?
Yes, for the process and the domain. Knowing the loop removes surprises, and knowing what the company builds makes the design round easier to reason about.
Related reading
What our users say
KAUSHIK JONNADULA
Thanks for a great resource! You guys are a lifesaver. I struggled a lot in design interviews, and Grokking System Design gave me an organized process to handle a design problem. Please keep adding more questions.
Nathan Thomas
My newest course recommendation for all of you is to check out Grokking the System Design Interview on designgurus.io. I'm working through it this month, and I'd highly recommend it.
Arijeet
Just completed the “Grokking the system design interview”. It's amazing and super informative. Have come across very few courses that are as good as this!
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