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Use these five non-technical questions to learn how a software developer collaborates, handles challenges, prioritizes work, learns from feedback, and explains technical ideas. They are useful examples, not a verified ranking of the questions employers ask most often. Pair them with coding, work-sample, and other job-specific assessments rather than using them as a substitute.
Five questions that reveal how a developer works
Ask for specific examples and focus on what the candidate did, said, and learned. The prompts below draw on behavioral and developer-interview examples from Indeed’s software-engineer behavioral interview guide, Indeed’s employer guide to behavioral interview questions, and Indeed’s developer interview guide. Adapt the wording to the role, but keep the underlying prompt consistent between candidates.
1. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker. How did you handle it?
Listen for how the candidate understood the other person’s view, explained their own reasoning, and worked toward a resolution. Ask what they personally did and what they learned. A useful follow-up is: “What would you do differently if a similar disagreement came up again?”
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This can show how someone makes sense of an unfamiliar or difficult situation. Ask how they identified the problem, chose a course of action, involved others when needed, and assessed the outcome. Keep the focus on their approach, not on whether the story sounds dramatic.
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3. Tell me about a time you had several responsibilities or a tight deadline. How did you prioritize?
Look for a clear account of how the candidate weighed urgency, impact, dependencies, and available time. Follow up on how they handled trade-offs: “What did you defer or reduce in scope, and how did you communicate that to others?” A strong account should make their decisions and updates understandable, not imply that every task was completed at any cost.
4. Tell me about feedback or a mistake that changed how you work.
Ask for a specific example and listen for ownership, the response the candidate took, and what changed afterward. A useful follow-up is: “What do you do differently now?” The point is to understand reflection and learning, not to reward a polished story or penalize someone for acknowledging a genuine mistake.
5. How would you explain a technical limitation or concept to a non-technical colleague?
Ask the candidate to explain a real example in plain language, or give a short explanation of a role-relevant concept. Notice whether they avoid unnecessary jargon, choose an apt example, and adjust when you ask a follow-up or signal that something is unclear. This tests communication as an interaction, not just the ability to deliver a prepared explanation.
How to structure the conversation
Decide in advance which role-related behaviors each question is meant to illuminate. Ask every candidate the same core questions in the same order, and use consistent follow-ups to clarify evidence. Indeed’s guide to structured interviews describes predetermined questions and a grading system as ways to make comparisons more consistent; it also notes that this format takes preparation and can feel generalized. A shared scorecard, digital or paper, can help interviewers capture evidence against the same criteria.
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For behavioral answers, invite the candidate to cover four elements: the situation, their responsibility, the actions they personally took, and the result. This is commonly organized as STAR: situation, task, action, result. Reflection on what they would do differently can add useful evidence about learning. Do not treat confidence, verbal polish, or similarity to the interviewer as a substitute for job-related evidence.
What to assess across candidates
Use the same job-related dimensions for each answer. These practical criteria can help interviewers compare evidence without turning the conversation into an improvised second test:
- Role relevance: Does the example connect to the work and responsibilities of this position?
- Personal contribution: Can the candidate distinguish their own actions from the team’s work?
- Reasoning under constraints: Do they explain how they made decisions with limited time, information, or resources?
- Collaboration and communication: Do they describe how they worked with others and kept people informed?
- Reflection: Can they identify what they learned or would change?
- Audience awareness: In the explanation prompt, do they use accessible language and respond constructively to questions or confusion?
These criteria are practical ways to organize interview notes, not a validated scoring instrument. The cited guides support structured comparison and offer question examples; they do not establish an official rubric or a legal-compliance standard. Tailor questions and scoring to the role and applicable hiring requirements.
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Why these are not a proven “most asked” ranking
These five prompts are editorial selections from published interview question examples, not the results of a frequency survey. The cited guides do not report an original study establishing which non-technical questions employers ask most often. Treat them as commonly useful examples covering collaboration, problem-solving, prioritization, learning, and communication—not as a ranked list or a predictor of hiring outcomes.
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