Computing & IT Interview Questions & Answers

My initial interview stages were the typical online assessment stage, after which I was invited by email to attend an assessment center.

The most difficult question I recall was being asked what you would do if another manager came and asked you to quickly do some work for them.

The answer was ofcourse ask *your* manager.

Be confident, there are many "right" answers. And be yourself - there's no point getting a job if you don't think it will suit you.

At the assessment center (when I managed to find the right building!) I met the other potential candidates, as well as several heads of department. As a group we were then briefed on the company in general, before starting our exercises. These ranged from group exercises such as "order these items if you were stranded at sea" testing how we worked as a group, to individual exercises such as presenting a business case to move a company to one of three potential sites. After the exercises (and lunch) we were taken for one-on-one interviews.

Started with the on-line assessment which consisted of numerical, verbal reasoning and psychometric analysis. After clearing this test, there was a telephonic interview which lasted for 15 mins where I was asked about my IT and project management skills and brief discussion about my previous work experience. Also, they asked me about the company and told me about their job specifications.

How will you implement your skills in our organisation?
How are you planning for your future?

Be clam, clear and compose. Read thoroughly about the company you are going to apply and clearly understand what the company wants from you for the applied job role. Don't be tensed.

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One on one interview discussing problem solving exercises. The interviewer was friendly and wanted to learn about your thought process as well as how you would improve your answers. The first problem was how to deliver messages between castles using different modes of transportation and the second was writing a flow-chart or pseudocode for a card game called flapjack. Was also asked a couple of questions about my CV.

How would you make your software a better flapjack player?

Nothing you can practice for really, the purpose of the tests is to assess your problem solving skills, and the interview was mainly discussing your answers. Learning about the company and the role might be an advantage but not really necessary at this stage.

First a short presentation of the company and role, followed by 3 aptitude tests and 2 problem solving exercises (Delivering messages and flapjack card game) and lastly a one on one interview mainly discussing the problem solving exercises. Total duration of the assessment day was 4-5 hours.

Applied online, did the tests, phone interview, then waited like 5 months for further info as they kept pushing back their deadline date with no mention to the fact, going months without updates. Really do not recommend if you like being in any way valued, as opposed to being just another resource.

Dealing with an uncooperative/struggling person - the struggling person part was a follow up and quite interesting as it's not an angle i'd come across for that question

Know about all the different services and competitors, it shows good awareness, and the interviewers were impressed by my ability to talk somewhat in depth about the field.

otherwise don't be afraid to take the lead in the group exercise, but make sure not to overpower others, as they will notice this. Rather try to make sure peoples voices are heard - facilitate rather than dictate

Standard assessment centre stuff, group exercise with about 5/6 others where you had to plan a project, and presentation followed by competency based interview with some forays into technical project management stuff - pretty much as you'd expect.

Fast track application sent in November and had assessment centre in February. Complete an idea in FinTech challenge #youwritewhatsnext presentation, and present it to a panel on the day, the idea is technology based and used at a bank or financial institute. Expect Q&A session at the end. Following this, a logical reasoning test, followed by 1:1 competency based questions.

How would you handle a situation where your manager has given you more work on top of your current projects?

Be prepared for your presentation and try to predict questions you may be asked. Keep the company values in mind at all times as you will be supervised and watched even when not in a formal interview setting.

Spacious area with refreshments, allows for free roaming.

The day started with a presentation from an academy head, basic info about the company, their clients and opportunities available. We then took a 20 minute Java test and 20 minute Logical test, they weren't too bad. Logical one was complete the pattern activities for example and the Java was basic keywords associated it.

After this we were given a topic, in our case, boxing. We were given little booklets with areas that we needed to cover as a group. This meant splitting the workload and working as team. This was the majority of the day and to be honest as it sounds more difficult than it is! As long as your confident enough to speak to people and just give ideas and participate you will find it ok! It's pretty fun to be honest.

The tasks involved were: business plan, create website, make a TV advert etc. We then had to present to two members of the QA team, and as long as your confident and speak well, it's not too much stress. During the group activities they take you out for 1-1 interview, basic questions about your future ambitions, uni experiences, likes and dislikes, then some Java questions, like explain what void means, inheritance etc! That's the end of the day then!

Explain the 4 major principles of Object Orientated Programming and give an example of one of them?

Brush up on your Java understanding and the meaning of keywords! If your not a comfortable speaker, try practicing that, it can be a big part of the interview and we were given the impression it was a big factor in their choosing of who to employ.

It was supposed to be in their academy , but they were so busy they moved us to a hotel literally across the street! Meant we missed out on the chance to talk to people currently on the training and job, no big deal though.

Phone interview: Got asked questions like why I would be good for the role, my interest in IT, my grades etc.

Video interview: got asked to describe personality, would I be willing to be geographically flexible, what I like about IT, and current IT events.

Assessment day: Had to give a little speech about yourself, informal just to see your confidence I imagine. Had to do tests: there were a maths test, a set theory test (you got info in a booklet) an IT test which asked you things like what does HTML stand for etc? The tests were fine, they don't expect amazing results on the IT because you get trained on it.
There were also three 5 minute interviews. Things like: which of the values are you most like? Do you think change is always good? Would you prefer to complete a task on time which is okay or not on time which is perfect? Why FDM? Apple or Android?

Most difficult question would be the ones I wasn't expecting. Like Apple or Android? Whether change is always good, whether I would prefer to get a task done on time or perfectly?

If you do get the job (like I did) be aware of the contract you are signing. As there are a lot of stipulations that you may not like or be feasible. The assessment day is fun and a good experience all around. Just relax, do the tests and try be logical and reasoning when answering the questions.

The assessment centre was fine. A very long day though. The tests were fine, the people were nice.

There were several interviews, some with senior management. A little time was spent discussing my background and experience but the majority was going through the solutions I had come up with during the problem solving exercises. They would challenge points you had made, ask you to expand on certain ideas and push you to make further refinements and improvements to your initial answers.

One of the tests and subsequent interviews was an abstract problem solving exercise which involved having to decode an 'alien' numbering system to answer the questions.

Other than the presentation (which doesn't carry too much weight overall) you can't really prepare or practise much. Essentially you just have to be intelligent enough and display 'blue sky ' problem solving skills (their words).

The first stage was an online aptitude test, essentially an IQ test. The second stage was at one of their offices. It featured a longer version of the online test, two problem solving exercises and then interviews based largely around the exercises. The third stage featured 3 more problem solving exercises, giving a half hour presentation and more interviews around the exercises with senior management.

At the start of the day, we were given a short presentation on the history of the company and the work it does, after which we were given a comprehension test and a Java test for 40 mins. The main part of the assessment day was the group task, though. We were asked to come up with an idea for a food-based technical product, design a marketing campaign and website, and finally present everything as if to a board of investors after which we had to answer any questions they had. During the day, we also had 1-1 technical interviews. The whole day was enjoyable, but pretty stressful.

What are the principles of object-oriented programming?

Brush up on Java and your presentation skills. The main purpose of the assessment is to see how you work with others as well as making sure you are competent for the role. Try to stay relaxed and it should be fine.

The assessment day wasn't help in the office as usual, but in a museum just down the road. While a nice setting, it wasn't a a reflection of the usual working environment.

After updating my CV on graduate-jobs.com, I was contacted on the phone by a recruiter representing QA consulting. He explained the role in detail and sent over documentation via email for me to review. After reviewing the material I was rung back and he gave me an overall summary of the offer and answered any questions I had. At this point I was asked for availability for a telephone interview, to which I responded that I could do it immediately.
The phone interview involved speaking in detail about my university course along with some typical interview questions. After the interview the recruiter got back to me within the hour informing me that I passed the phone interview and if I would be available to speak to one of the trainers on skype. I however was busy the rest of the day, so the video interview took place the day afterward.
The video interview was instead of an assessment day and involved a face to face interview with a trainer who asked technical questions (mainly object oriented programming and Java based) and some business based questions. Shortly after the video interview finished, I was contacted by the recruiter who offered me a position on the training scheme.

- Describe the concept of object oriented programming
+ follow up

- Study object oriented proramming ocncepts if you have not done it before
- Study some basic java
- Be ready to speak in detail about any relevant courses or projects you have done in the past
- It is helpful to have good presentation and speaking skills

Video interview instead