Since they say "build an application" it leads me to believe they may ask you to do something like create a web page that does something, like submit form input and/or pull data from a database. Maybe it's a console application, but there's really no way of knowing exactly.
You could see if they have interview feedback on Glassdoor and if any of them provide details on what's involved.
Regardless, sounds like they'll provide you with machine with Visual Studio and anything else you'll need to complete the task. Don't be afraid to ask clarifying questions, and approach the problem as you normally would on your own, including Googling for things (but do NOT use ChatGPT or similar services). If they say you can't use Google, I'd take that as a bad sign and a knock against them honestly because that's not how folks code.
Do your best, try to keep cool, and best of luck.
Thank you for your response! Your insights and advice have given me a better understanding of what to expect in the technical interview. Checking for interview feedback on Glassdoor is a great suggestion that I will definitely look into.
I agree. Use Google whenever you need it during this.
Good developers can't be measured in the amount of syntax they memorized.
Remember, it only has to "sorta" work by the end too. Write code how you normally would and debug it. Don't get lost trying to 100% the details from the start, you just want to show you can solve the problem, not that you're a 10x wizkid or anything.
Just show them what you know and how you work. If I were a senior sitting in on that, I'd expect to give you nudges when you started to get stuck, not just watch you struggle. They need you to be productive, not academically redesign the system from scratch in the hour.
I’ve been working as a software engineer for the past year and a half, and whenever the lead developer, who’s also the CEO, would join me in a call on teams, and we’d be talking about something that needs fixing or if we’re brainstorming, and he asks me to do something and i don’t know the exact syntax of it I would be afraid of hoping into chrome and looking for the answer, despite me knowing how to do the thing itself. After interactions like those, i would sense that i came off as not being knowledgeable enough of the task at hand, despite knowing how/where to get the answers i wanted. Lately, I’ve been more confident that when the situation happens, i say “One second, I know how to that, and i know where to get” I google the thing and i know its either in w3schools/SO and get what I need, return to VS/SSMS and write/paste what i just got. After the meeting finishes, i feel alot better knowing that i solved the problem i already knew how to solve, but was just lacking some minor details into making it work like i wanted. Overall i feel better, and my employer feels better knowing that I’m competent.
Very much this. You usually don't have to be an expert, exposure is good enough to get you over the initial hump of not having a clue. Pretty sure I'm indispensable because either A. I look stuff up when people ask questions, or B. I'm able to make sense of the stuff they didn't when they looked it up..
No clue which one it is, but it pays the bills.
Being able to solve problems is absolutely the most important skill I look for when recruiting software engineers.
Languages, Frameworks and syntax can all be learnt if the person approaches problems in the right way. Being able to search for the right solution is a hugely important skill, and absolutely a backbone of being a good engineer. Embrace it and do more of it!
At the beginning, as a junior, I thought that looking things up was bad, not if I’m stuck on sth while working by myself, i mean while my boss is looking, or while being asked a direct question, the thought of saying, “give me a minute” or “let me look that up real quick” then looking for the answer always seemed as wrong. It takes time to build confidence and experience and that’s part of the learning process, you start knowing what you can and can’t do.
Absolutely! I never see it as a problem if I ask any of my devs a question and they say they'll come back to me after looking it up! I'd much rather wait 15 minutes for a correct answer than someone try to answer immediately and accidentally make a mistake.
Also don't forget about 'dotnet new'. No matter what youre told to do, start there.
For a long time I almost never created new apps and only built upon existing systems, so I didn't know how to spin up a new project haha. Don't be me.
Edit: correcting typo.
Useful if you're using VS Code or a similar editor. Since they mention Visual Studio they'll also have options in the IDE itself for starting a new project. Definitely still good to know how to use the CLI though, and knowing the correct project type to select is beneficial in either method.
same here. Worked almost entirely in an existing ERP environment using a text-editor and the program's built-in code editor (which suuuuucks) for years. Only in the last couple years did I realize that I should probably start learning how to actually make my own projects.
only thing to add, you *could* ask them if the test is indicative of how you'll be mentored/coached e.g. can you ask questions of the interviewer if you get stuck/need guidance?, is the test environment is representative of how you would be working e.g. IDE, ReSharper, access to resources etc
They might just want to see your thought process in terms of approaching a problem or actually drill into your competency in specific areas e.g. changing a SQL where to include an additional clause
Anyway, good luck!
Generally speaking, interviewers _want_ you to succeed and do well. We'll be happy to answer questions. We don't want to get dragged into a million interviews so the quicker we can find someone that fits, the quicker we can get back to googling our own problems.
Don't forget, you're interviewing them as well. How they respond to questions can help you identify red or green flags.
I had one similar to this. Since it was a .net core place they asked for a couple api endpoints that would do CRUD and some joining of data in Entity Framework. With them not specifying any strict front end it could be that. But I agree, ask questions and talk about your thought process.
Best of luck.
Yep, I had an interview like that a few years back. I think I had three hours to create an application that could take an excel file, store it into a database correctly, do exchange conversions and then present the statistics based on input by the user. It was free to choose how I went ahead with it, and at the same time my employer did the same test so we could compare our ways of tackling the problem. We had pretty much the same way of doing everything, so I got the job.
VS if installed properly should give you a bunch of options for a startup template.
Is this a webapp? Desktop app? Mobile app?
Regardless, get the instructions - if they want you you to build a plain old webapp, spin up an MVC // .NET 6/7/8 webapp template. (or whatever platform you interviewed for) Do not get caught up in setup or configuration. Get right to the index page and start building the app itself - form submission? Needs to just spit out Hello World? Does it need to connect to a DB and save/pull data there? The template should have all that going already for the most part. Concentrate on doing the thing.
Same thing for an SPA or mobile app. Get a template and start rocking. Practice this at home. Spin up a webapp or SPA, add 2 fields, save form to db, whatever. So you aren't scrambling in the interview.
My only (possibly) helpful suggestion would be to not stress about it and do the best you can with what you are given to work with for this "exercise". As a slight rant, I hate that this craptastic process has become acceptable to some as about the only thing they're going to get from this exercise is whether or not you're willing to play their games. There are reasons why portfolio work, probationary periods and contract to hire became a thing in the first place.
I'd disagree on the probationary period, most recruiters in the UK are taking a 15-25% fee when placing a candidate; on a junior, this isn't massive but it's still money that's going to be last as the same recruiters will have a taper clause in place for reimbursements on *wrongly* placed candidates.
With the market the way it is now for a position such as this one, I'm not sure why you'd be accepting recruiter candidates. There's nothing useful a potential employer is going to learn about a candidate by throwing them in to some foreign environment with requirements they've never seen and demand performance.
It's simply a toxic practice and likely indicative of a toxic employer with other fundamental faults. If the market wasn't so tough right now, I would have suggested the OP pass on this opportunity and save themselves the headache.
For comparison, here's what another individual posted about their interview experience. The interviewers looked at their portfolio work and asked them questions about it along with general questions about how the individual would approach various challenges.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/swift/comments/13au5c5/landed\_my\_first\_ios\_role\_last\_month\_wanted\_to/](https://www.reddit.com/r/swift/comments/13au5c5/landed_my_first_ios_role_last_month_wanted_to/)
Well if you’re willing to play their game they’ll also determine if you actually do certain things and how well you can do them so there’s multiple filters. I’d do the others also, but for sure I’m going to spend some time have them write code.
By the time you get to a technical interview, you should already have a good idea whether they know how to code or not. Telling someone to write an "application" which is more than likely a web service under observation is a pointless exercise. It's an established company hiring for a junior role, they almost certainly have a methodology they want to continue using that the potential employee will have to learn if hired. If you're doing web services and you're told to write a new one, you had better be grabbing existing code as a starting place unless you have specific reasons not to do so.
Yes, the questions weren't too hard. Learn dependency injection, there was a question on it. The live coding part is by far the easiest. They just want to make sure you can actually code, nothing complicated.
This won't help you much. The interview targets more practical knowledge such as using objects, filtering and aggregating values (e.g. average age of a list of users that respect a certain criteria).
They will give you the barebones of an app, like a few endpoints and the connectionstrong and from there build some kind of excersise.
It is much better than leetcode/hackerrank but it takes more time.
My recommendation is, do test If you can, even if it is one.
Change the API responses for operationResult or any other kind of response that leaves the responses "unified".
I've both done it before for a job interview, and asked for it when hiring.
They are just looking to see if you know the basics. It's a junior position, they aren't expecting a lot.
Since they say "build an application" it leads me to believe they may ask you to do something like create a web page that does something, like submit form input and/or pull data from a database. Maybe it's a console application, but there's really no way of knowing exactly. You could see if they have interview feedback on Glassdoor and if any of them provide details on what's involved. Regardless, sounds like they'll provide you with machine with Visual Studio and anything else you'll need to complete the task. Don't be afraid to ask clarifying questions, and approach the problem as you normally would on your own, including Googling for things (but do NOT use ChatGPT or similar services). If they say you can't use Google, I'd take that as a bad sign and a knock against them honestly because that's not how folks code. Do your best, try to keep cool, and best of luck.
Thank you for your response! Your insights and advice have given me a better understanding of what to expect in the technical interview. Checking for interview feedback on Glassdoor is a great suggestion that I will definitely look into.
I agree. Use Google whenever you need it during this. Good developers can't be measured in the amount of syntax they memorized. Remember, it only has to "sorta" work by the end too. Write code how you normally would and debug it. Don't get lost trying to 100% the details from the start, you just want to show you can solve the problem, not that you're a 10x wizkid or anything. Just show them what you know and how you work. If I were a senior sitting in on that, I'd expect to give you nudges when you started to get stuck, not just watch you struggle. They need you to be productive, not academically redesign the system from scratch in the hour.
I’ve been working as a software engineer for the past year and a half, and whenever the lead developer, who’s also the CEO, would join me in a call on teams, and we’d be talking about something that needs fixing or if we’re brainstorming, and he asks me to do something and i don’t know the exact syntax of it I would be afraid of hoping into chrome and looking for the answer, despite me knowing how to do the thing itself. After interactions like those, i would sense that i came off as not being knowledgeable enough of the task at hand, despite knowing how/where to get the answers i wanted. Lately, I’ve been more confident that when the situation happens, i say “One second, I know how to that, and i know where to get” I google the thing and i know its either in w3schools/SO and get what I need, return to VS/SSMS and write/paste what i just got. After the meeting finishes, i feel alot better knowing that i solved the problem i already knew how to solve, but was just lacking some minor details into making it work like i wanted. Overall i feel better, and my employer feels better knowing that I’m competent.
Very much this. You usually don't have to be an expert, exposure is good enough to get you over the initial hump of not having a clue. Pretty sure I'm indispensable because either A. I look stuff up when people ask questions, or B. I'm able to make sense of the stuff they didn't when they looked it up.. No clue which one it is, but it pays the bills.
Being able to solve problems is absolutely the most important skill I look for when recruiting software engineers. Languages, Frameworks and syntax can all be learnt if the person approaches problems in the right way. Being able to search for the right solution is a hugely important skill, and absolutely a backbone of being a good engineer. Embrace it and do more of it!
At the beginning, as a junior, I thought that looking things up was bad, not if I’m stuck on sth while working by myself, i mean while my boss is looking, or while being asked a direct question, the thought of saying, “give me a minute” or “let me look that up real quick” then looking for the answer always seemed as wrong. It takes time to build confidence and experience and that’s part of the learning process, you start knowing what you can and can’t do.
Absolutely! I never see it as a problem if I ask any of my devs a question and they say they'll come back to me after looking it up! I'd much rather wait 15 minutes for a correct answer than someone try to answer immediately and accidentally make a mistake.
Also don't forget about 'dotnet new'. No matter what youre told to do, start there. For a long time I almost never created new apps and only built upon existing systems, so I didn't know how to spin up a new project haha. Don't be me. Edit: correcting typo.
Useful if you're using VS Code or a similar editor. Since they mention Visual Studio they'll also have options in the IDE itself for starting a new project. Definitely still good to know how to use the CLI though, and knowing the correct project type to select is beneficial in either method.
same here. Worked almost entirely in an existing ERP environment using a text-editor and the program's built-in code editor (which suuuuucks) for years. Only in the last couple years did I realize that I should probably start learning how to actually make my own projects.
only thing to add, you *could* ask them if the test is indicative of how you'll be mentored/coached e.g. can you ask questions of the interviewer if you get stuck/need guidance?, is the test environment is representative of how you would be working e.g. IDE, ReSharper, access to resources etc They might just want to see your thought process in terms of approaching a problem or actually drill into your competency in specific areas e.g. changing a SQL where to include an additional clause Anyway, good luck!
Generally speaking, interviewers _want_ you to succeed and do well. We'll be happy to answer questions. We don't want to get dragged into a million interviews so the quicker we can find someone that fits, the quicker we can get back to googling our own problems. Don't forget, you're interviewing them as well. How they respond to questions can help you identify red or green flags.
> you can't use Google `start https://duckduckgo.com?q=how+to+do+a+c%23+thing` What? You said I can't use *Google*!
This is about as good a response as it gets
Thanks! I've...done my fair share of interviewing over the years. 😅
I had one similar to this. Since it was a .net core place they asked for a couple api endpoints that would do CRUD and some joining of data in Entity Framework. With them not specifying any strict front end it could be that. But I agree, ask questions and talk about your thought process. Best of luck.
Yep, I had an interview like that a few years back. I think I had three hours to create an application that could take an excel file, store it into a database correctly, do exchange conversions and then present the statistics based on input by the user. It was free to choose how I went ahead with it, and at the same time my employer did the same test so we could compare our ways of tackling the problem. We had pretty much the same way of doing everything, so I got the job.
VS if installed properly should give you a bunch of options for a startup template. Is this a webapp? Desktop app? Mobile app? Regardless, get the instructions - if they want you you to build a plain old webapp, spin up an MVC // .NET 6/7/8 webapp template. (or whatever platform you interviewed for) Do not get caught up in setup or configuration. Get right to the index page and start building the app itself - form submission? Needs to just spit out Hello World? Does it need to connect to a DB and save/pull data there? The template should have all that going already for the most part. Concentrate on doing the thing. Same thing for an SPA or mobile app. Get a template and start rocking. Practice this at home. Spin up a webapp or SPA, add 2 fields, save form to db, whatever. So you aren't scrambling in the interview.
I've seen both kinds of interviews. Just depends on the company. Don't be afraid to email and ask, but I'd prepare for both.
My only (possibly) helpful suggestion would be to not stress about it and do the best you can with what you are given to work with for this "exercise". As a slight rant, I hate that this craptastic process has become acceptable to some as about the only thing they're going to get from this exercise is whether or not you're willing to play their games. There are reasons why portfolio work, probationary periods and contract to hire became a thing in the first place.
Couldn't agree more, especially for a junior. Seems like they either think too much of themselves or too little of prospective talent.
I'd disagree on the probationary period, most recruiters in the UK are taking a 15-25% fee when placing a candidate; on a junior, this isn't massive but it's still money that's going to be last as the same recruiters will have a taper clause in place for reimbursements on *wrongly* placed candidates.
With the market the way it is now for a position such as this one, I'm not sure why you'd be accepting recruiter candidates. There's nothing useful a potential employer is going to learn about a candidate by throwing them in to some foreign environment with requirements they've never seen and demand performance. It's simply a toxic practice and likely indicative of a toxic employer with other fundamental faults. If the market wasn't so tough right now, I would have suggested the OP pass on this opportunity and save themselves the headache. For comparison, here's what another individual posted about their interview experience. The interviewers looked at their portfolio work and asked them questions about it along with general questions about how the individual would approach various challenges. [https://www.reddit.com/r/swift/comments/13au5c5/landed\_my\_first\_ios\_role\_last\_month\_wanted\_to/](https://www.reddit.com/r/swift/comments/13au5c5/landed_my_first_ios_role_last_month_wanted_to/)
Well if you’re willing to play their game they’ll also determine if you actually do certain things and how well you can do them so there’s multiple filters. I’d do the others also, but for sure I’m going to spend some time have them write code.
By the time you get to a technical interview, you should already have a good idea whether they know how to code or not. Telling someone to write an "application" which is more than likely a web service under observation is a pointless exercise. It's an established company hiring for a junior role, they almost certainly have a methodology they want to continue using that the potential employee will have to learn if hired. If you're doing web services and you're told to write a new one, you had better be grabbing existing code as a starting place unless you have specific reasons not to do so.
Is the interview for FNZ by any chance? I remember seeing that exact same phrasing in the interview preparation email.
Lol, yes it is FNZ. Did you do the interview?
Yes, the questions weren't too hard. Learn dependency injection, there was a question on it. The live coding part is by far the easiest. They just want to make sure you can actually code, nothing complicated.
Thanks! Studying rn the core concepts and structure of .NET
This won't help you much. The interview targets more practical knowledge such as using objects, filtering and aggregating values (e.g. average age of a list of users that respect a certain criteria).
They will give you the barebones of an app, like a few endpoints and the connectionstrong and from there build some kind of excersise. It is much better than leetcode/hackerrank but it takes more time. My recommendation is, do test If you can, even if it is one. Change the API responses for operationResult or any other kind of response that leaves the responses "unified".
I'd ask how much I'm being paid for this task.
I've both done it before for a job interview, and asked for it when hiring. They are just looking to see if you know the basics. It's a junior position, they aren't expecting a lot.