1B: Recommended Ways to Structure Your Responses to Technical Questions
It can be challenging to answer technical questions in an interview, but having a clear structure helps. This page gives you practical tips for organizing your responses. Whether it’s an experience-based, knowledge-based or situational question, these suggestions will help you deliver well-structured and effective answers.
1. Experience-based Questions
| Explanation | You are asked whether you have relevant experience, such as using a particular tool, or programming language in a project or work context. |
| Examples | • Can you share your experience with programming languages and any related project experience? • Please describe the last project you worked on. |
| Recommended Structure | • First, mention a related project • Next, describe the project’s purpose • Then, explain problems encountered • After that, discuss how problems were tackled • Finally, reflect on lessons learned from this project experience |
2. Knowledge-based Questions
| Explanation | You are asked whether you know a certain concept, technology, or design principle. |
| Examples | • What are the meanings of ____________ (e.g. data fabrics, data lakes and databases)? • How do you solve a coding task? Please explain the steps you will take. |
| Recommended Structure | • First, restate the subject of the question (technology, feature, or problem) to confirm understanding with the interviewer • Next, provide technical details • Then, give relevant examples • After that, evaluate the subject • Finally, conclude by commenting on its effectiveness |
3. Situational Questions
| Explanation | You are asked how you would handle specific work scenarios. |
| Examples | • If you make a mistake in a database, what steps would you take to resolve it? • Imagine your computer suddenly crashes while you’re coding. How would you communicate this issue to your colleagues? |
| Recommended Structure | • First, identify the problem mentioned in the question • Next, describe the approach to analyzing the problem • Finally, offer a solution by prioritizing the steps to be given. After that, evaluate the subject • Finally, conclude by commenting on its effectiveness |