How to Prepare and What to Expect During an Entry-Level Software Engineering Interview Phone Screening in 2023

Software engineering interviews will vary just like any other type of interview, but there will always be similarities in common. I have been a software engineer since graduating with my bachelor's degree in Computer Science in May 2019. I have had two jobs programming in my professional career, but I have had many more interviews and have turned down just as many offers. I would like to give a bit of my experience so your time can be well spent and you will know what to expect.

When you hear back from a software engineering application the first objective the recruiter will likely want to accomplish is scheduling a fairly quick phone interview or phone screening. This is often considered the first round of a series of rounds of interviews. In fact, every single interview I have had in the last 3 years has begun this way, so I would say it is pretty much guaranteed. If you have never had a phone screening before, you will probably want to know what to expect and what the desired outcome is. 

Some very common similarities for phone screenings are:

• They are short, typically 15-30 minutes.
• They are meant to be introductory. They give the company a good chance to explain who they are, what they have to offer, what they build, how they build it, and to see if you are still interested by the end.
• Phone screenings are also meant to vet you as well. They give you a chance to explain your background, what you work on, and what you are capable of.
• Most often they are not technical-based. Rarely have I been asked technical questions, and if I was, they were very simple questions I should definitely know the answer to.
• Finally, they usually end with your salary expectation and let you ask any questions you have. Companies have a budget for salaries so if you're asking way more than they can afford they will likely politely tell you so and move on. This has happened to me because I like to aim for the stars. 😄

Software engineering interview

Introductions

Most often the phone call lasts a mere 15 minutes, but I did have a single call last an hour, which was very surprising to me. Usually, the first contact is through some type of recruiter, whether this is a 3rd party or someone from the company. Typically, this person does not have an engineering background. They often have a sheet where they have predetermined questions to read from, most often these are behavioral and lightweight questions to gauge your interest and to get a better idea of your technical background. In most cases, these are very easy to pass. You just need to be able to talk about yourself as if you were giving a quick summary. Usually, the conversation begins with the other person on the line introducing themselves and possibly talking a little bit about the company meaning what they do or make along with possibly mentioning the technology they use in the process.

This often leads to an opportunity for you to talk about yourself. I often would begin by mentioning where I went to school, where I am currently working, the tech stack that I am using in my current professional work, and any programming I do in my free time such as mobile app development and game development. I try not to spend more than 60-90 seconds describing myself. I think being concise and having a really good mental script is a good idea. Someone that can talk smoothly and seems to be able to think quickly looks a lot better than someone who stumbles, especially during an introductory phone call. These recruiters are typically pretty good at communicating so it will impress them if you are as well. You already know they will ask you to talk about yourself, so that is one answer you can definitely prepare for. Having a little bit of programming you do on the side is fairly important in my opinion. If you are still in school and do not have side projects, perhaps talking about a tough school project or a semester-long project is a suitable substitute. Nevertheless, side projects make you seem like someone who is eager to learn and progress, especially if you're carving out time on weekends to build new programs. It often does not matter what they are, but in my case, I spent a decent amount of time working on a mobile game and various small mobile apps. I always talk about my game and how my wife and best friend made the pixel artwork, my brother made the soundtrack, and I wrote all the code. It's a really good story to get the conversation going and it shows I am willing to learn something new to enhance my background, plus it's just fun to talk about. 

A bit More Technical

At this point you and the other person know each other, they know your education, current job, and what you do at that job, plus maybe whatever side projects you do in your free time. This is where a little deviation can occur. I have had recruiters read technical questions from a sheet such as "What are the different types of SQL Joins" and I've had recruiters just start talking about the role I am applying for and the work expectations. Typically, technical questions are not asked, but the one or two times they have been they caught me off, guard. In fact, I left one of the SQL joins out of my answer because I was so caught off guard, but when the recruiter said "Alright, you're missing one" it jogged my memory. I would suggest you know the ins and outs of what you put on your resume and job application. If you have that covered, I would also suggest taking a look and being able to talk about common concepts surrounding your role. For example, I work mostly with object-oriented programming. I always make sure I am ready to talk about SOLID design principles and basic concepts of object-oriented programming (abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism). I do this just in case but have only been asked about these principles during a single phone screening.

The Wrap-Up

Hopefully, you have done some research about the company so you may know a bit about the role and what to expect, this will definitely be helpful in keeping the phone conversation going. Having a couple questions prepared to ask is a good idea, not only to make you look like you're more invested, but so you can truly better understand the work environment. I often will ask about the tech stack, team size, what role management has in design decisions, QA-related questions, and sometimes questions about the industry. No one wants to go into a job blind and wasting your time on future interviews for a job you won't like is not a good idea unless you just want the practice.

Absolutely be ready for the final part of the call, which is usually the big question of what your salary expectations are. I know for me this can be a bit daunting. I come from a pretty humble work background of working at Walmart for 5 years, so when I first graduated and began saying I was expecting values ~$60,000-80,000 more than I was earning at Walmart it felt really out of place but never undervalued myself. Once you give a number and undersell yourself you're pretty much locked in. Now I always say at least $10,000 more than I actually want, but you also need to know what the company can afford. It's pretty much useless to say you want $190,000 for a role when it's a small company and you know executives are not even being paid that much. Checking Glassdoor is pretty key to getting an idea of what engineers are making. Glassdoor also has a section to see what other people that have interviewed at the company think about the interviews so you can get a more realistic idea of what interviews will be like. 

In summary, you just need to be ready to be comfortable talking about yourself. Know your resume front and back in case they want to better understand specifics. Be sure you understand the fundamentals of the work surrounding the job you are applying for in case the interviewer feels a bit cheeky. Use resources like Glassdoor to get a head start in preparing for the interview. Be ready to put a price tag on your work because they will almost always ask for salary expectations. Good luck and have fun, we have all been the person on the other end of the phone. Everything is one big learning experience and other opportunities will always be there.