10+1 Interview questions I ask every engineer (and the red flags I’m listening for)
The questions I use to find great engineers (not just great coders).
👋 Hey, it’s Stephane. I share lessons, and stories from my journey to help you lead with confidence as an Engineering Manager. To accelerate your growth see: 50 Notion Templates | The EM’s Field Guide | CodeCrafters | Get Hired as an EM | 1:1 Coaching
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I’ve interviewed a lot of software engineers over the years.
I have always been very passionate to connect and talk to people who are curious, people who are excited about their craft and looking for a change.
Not every interview is smooth though.. Candidates often don’t really prepare well enough, struggle to answer simple questions, and that’s a huge miss.
As someone wise said:
Interviewing might be your highest ROI skill
So, in this issue I would like to share with you my go-to questions - the ones that help me figure out if someone’s not just a good coder, but a strong teammate, a sharp thinker, and someone I’d trust when things get messy (because they always do).
1. Tell me about a project you’re proud of. What was your role in it, and what impact did it have?
Looking for: Clear personal contribution, ownership, measurable outcomes, thoughtful trade-offs. Bonus if they learned or adapted something.
Red flags:
Overuse of “we” with no individual responsibility
Vague or inflated impact (“it was a huge success!” with no evidence)
Focus on technical complexity without any user or business value
Follow-ups to ask:
“What made it successful?”
“If you had to do it again, what would you change?”
“How did the rest of the team respond to your contributions?”
2. What’s something you had to push for that wasn’t initially prioritized or understood? How did it go?
Looking for: Initiative, persistence, ability to influence others, and strategic thinking - especially on non-obvious value (e.g., tests, infra, UX).
Red flags:
“I just did it anyway” (no collaboration)
Blaming others for lack of understanding
Struggles to explain why it mattered
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you convince others?”
“What resistance did you hit?”
“What did you learn from that experience?”
3. Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight deadline. What did you do to ensure success?
Looking for: Prioritization, time management, communication under pressure, and thoughtful trade-offs around quality and scope.
Red flags:
Heroics over planning (“I worked all weekend”)
Lack of collaboration or updates to others
No learning or change in behavior after the crunch
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you decide what to cut or keep?”
“What would you do differently next time?”
“How did you communicate with others during that time?”
4. Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a team member or manager. How did you handle it?
Looking for: Empathy, communication skills, willingness to understand the other side, and emotional maturity.
Red flags:
“They just didn’t get it” or “I had to escalate it”
No reflection or mutual learning
Hiding behind authority or process
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did the other person respond?”
“What would you do differently now?”
“Did you change your own mind at any point?”
5. Have you ever worked with someone who wasn’t responsive or had a very different communication style? How did you manage the collaboration?
Looking for: Adaptability, proactiveness, emotional intelligence, and constructive approaches to misalignment.
Red flags:
“I waited until they replied”
Blames the other person for everything
No attempt to understand or adjust
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you try to bridge the gap?”
“Did you talk to them directly about it?”
“What happened in the end?”
6. What’s some constructive feedback you’ve received? What did you do with it?
Looking for: Growth mindset, reflection, humility, and actual change in behavior based on the feedback.
Red flags:
“I can’t think of anything”
Feedback was trivial (“I should speak louder”)
No change or impact described
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you feel when you heard it?”
“What did you change after that?”
“Who gave you the feedback, and why did it stick?”
7. Tell me about a failure or setback in a project. What did you learn from it?
Looking for: Ownership of failure, resilience, learning, and systemic thinking. Did they prevent recurrence or share the learning?
Red flags:
Blames others or circumstances
Failure is too small or sugar-coated
Can’t articulate what they’d do differently
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you bounce back?”
“What would you do differently now?”
“Did you share the lesson with your team and others who would benefit from it?”
8. What’s a new skill or technology you’ve picked up recently, and how did you apply it?
Looking for: Self-motivation, relevance to the role, application of learning, and resourcefulness in acquiring knowledge.
Red flags:
Learned something trendy with no real application
No explanation of why they chose it
Passive learning only (e.g., “watched videos” with no hands-on use)
Follow-ups to ask:
“Why did you decide to learn that?”
“How did you apply it at work?”
“What resources did you use?”
9. Can you walk me through a time you noticed something wrong in a product or system and took action to improve it?
Looking for: Product sense, attention to detail, proactivity, and the ability to drive small improvements without being asked.
Red flags:
Needed permission to fix obvious issues
No follow-up on impact
Fix was superficial or didn’t solve root cause
Follow-ups to ask:
“How did you spot the issue?”
“What was your process for fixing it?”
“How did the change affect users or the team?”
10. If you had full freedom, what’s a project or improvement you’ve always wanted to build but haven’t had the chance to yet?
Looking for: Curiosity, creativity, product thinking, and intrinsic motivation. You’ll learn what excites them, how they think about user value or systems, and whether they proactively notice and dream up improvements.
Red flags:
“Not sure” or “Never thought about it” (lacks curiosity or drive)
Overly vague or wildly unrealistic ideas
Focuses only on personal gain (e.g., “something with the latest tech” with no mention of impact)
Follow-ups to ask:
“What’s held you back from starting it?”
“What’s the first step you’d take to explore or validate it?”
“Who do you think it would help, and how would you know it’s working?”
11. Tell me about a time you found or prevented a bug in production. What did you learn from it?
Looking for: A strong sense of ownership, quality mindset, and responsibility for shipped code. Ideally, they demonstrate initiative, monitoring practices, post-incident learning, and collaboration with others (not “just fixing it and moving on”).
Red flags:
Blames QA or other teams
Downplays impact or avoids accountability
Fixes it but doesn’t reflect or improve anything long-term
Follow-ups to ask:
“How was it discovered, and how did you respond?”
“What changed after the incident?”
“What do you personally do to prevent issues in production?”
Final Thoughts
Interviews are about far more than just checking boxes.
When done right, they’re a window into how someone thinks, how they show up for their team, how they deal with complexity, and whether they truly care about the craft of engineering.
That’s why I lean on questions that go beyond code syntax and frameworks, but ones that reveal ownership, curiosity, and emotional intelligence.
If you're a hiring manager:
Don’t just look for the “right” answers. Listen for how candidates think, why they made certain choices, and what they did when things got tough.
If you're a candidate:
Don’t just prep your resume. Prepare your stories. The ones where you learned something, changed your mind, made someone’s life easier, or made a system better. Those are what we remember.
Because ultimately, the best engineers aren’t just great coders.
They’re thoughtful teammates, great communicators, and relentless improvers.
And those are the people worth hiring.
That’s all, folks!
See you in the next one,
~ Stephane
PS. Even if you’re not looking for a new role, I strongly recommend interviewing every 12–18 months. It will help you keep your skills sharp, your confidence high, and your stories fresh.
This feels more like a guide to growth than just hiring.
Great write-up Stephane.
Number 7 is a big one for me. I believe that's one of the key ways to find the most promising prospects.
How we deal with failure really shows how we deal with anything.
If you were on the other side of the interview, and the interviewer didn't ask a question like that, how would you make sure you highlighted it?