Technical interview questions depend on the round you're in. A live coding round, a fundamentals round, and a system design round ask different things and are judged differently, so a single list of "top questions" prepares you for only part of the process. Use this page as a map: find your round, see what it asks, and follow the link to the full guide with worked answers.
The map
A technical interview is any round that tests whether you can do the technical part of the job. Here is what each type asks.
| Interview type | A typical question | What's judged | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruiter technical screen | "Which languages did you use in your last role?" | Whether your background matches the posting | Phone screen questions |
| Live coding | "Merge these overlapping intervals." | Problem solving, clean code, talking while you work | Software engineer questions |
| Online assessment | Timed coding problems on a platform | Correct, working code under a time limit | CodeSignal guide |
| Take-home | "Build a small API that does X." | Code quality, tests, and your written notes | REST API questions |
| CS fundamentals | "What's the difference between TCP and UDP?" | Whether you understand the systems you use | Networking questions |
| Stack round | "How does the event loop work in Node?" | Depth in the tools the posting names | See the stack table below |
| System design | "Design a rate limiter." | Trade-offs, scale, and clear communication | System design questions |
| Technical behavioral | "Tell me about a hard bug you fixed." | Ownership and how you work with others | Behavioral questions |
| Non-engineer technical | "Which CRM have you used, and how?" | Hands-on use of the job's tools | See the role list below |
Find out which rounds you have
Most of your preparation time depends on this, and recruiters will usually tell you. Send these questions after the first call:
- How many technical rounds are there, and what does each one cover?
- Will I write code? In a shared editor, on a whiteboard, or in my own environment?
- Can I pick the programming language?
- Is there an online assessment or a take-home? How long should it take?
Our guide to questions to ask a recruiter has more.
What we found when we sorted a list from the search results
On November 3, 2026, we read three pages from the search results for "technical interview questions" and counted what's in them.
| Page | Questions | How they're organized |
|---|---|---|
| Built In | 20 | Seven types by topic, then one numbered list |
| Coursera | 30 | Tech-heavy and non-tech-heavy jobs, then tools, processes, situational |
| The Forage | 5 | One list for all careers |
None of the three sorts its questions by interview round. We then read the wording of Built In's 20 question headings. Seventeen ask you to explain, describe, or define something, and three ask how you would do something (design a scalable system, optimize a slow SQL query, design for high availability). None of the 20 headings asks you to write code.
That sort is our own reading of the headings, and Built In's page does discuss coding practice separately. Still, it shows the limit of a question list. Reading a list prepares you for the fundamentals round. A live coding round needs reps in an editor, and that's a different kind of preparation.
Live coding questions
You solve a problem in a shared editor while you explain your thinking. The problems draw on a fairly small set of patterns, so learn the patterns before you collect more problems.
- Start with the Blind 75 list, a widely used short set of practice problems.
- Learn to state time and space costs with the Big O cheat sheet.
- Work through harder examples with explanations: merge k sorted lists, clone graph, and word break.
- Get used to the setting with our CoderPad sandbox practice guide.
Online assessments and take-homes
An online assessment is a timed test, usually sent early in the process. We cover the process and preparation in our CodeSignal guide and DRW online assessment questions. Read the instructions before you start, since they say what's allowed, and follow them.
A take-home is a small project you do on your own time. Ask how long it should take and whether AI tools are allowed, then stay within both. Include a short README that explains your choices, because the follow-up round often asks you to defend them.
Stack questions by technology
The stack round tests the tools named in the job posting, so pick from this table by reading the posting. We have a full guide for each.
| Area | Guides |
|---|---|
| Languages and frameworks | Python, TypeScript, Node.js, Angular, Spring Boot |
| Cloud and DevOps | AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, DevOps |
| Data | Data engineer, Kafka, Snowflake, Databricks, Power BI |
| Testing and APIs | Selenium, REST APIs |
Spend your time in proportion to the posting. If it names one tool in the first line and another under "nice to have," prepare for them accordingly.
System design questions
These are open problems, such as designing a URL shortener, with no single right answer. You're judged on the questions you ask first, the trade-offs you name, and how you explain them. Our system design interview questions guide has worked examples. New grad interviews often skip this round, and senior ones tend to give it more weight, as our software engineer guide explains.
Technical questions for non-engineers
Coursera's list splits these into tools, processes, and situations, which is a good way to prepare. Tools questions ask what you've used, such as a CRM or budgeting software. Process questions ask how you do the work, and situational ones give you a scenario, such as prioritizing competing deadlines.
Role guides with these questions:
- Data analyst, business analyst, and quant
- Product manager and technical program manager
- Cybersecurity analyst and electrical engineer
- Marketing, sales, and accounting
How to handle a question you can't answer
It will happen, and it isn't the end of the interview. The Forage's guide treats this as its own topic and points out that there's often more than one right answer. We'd use three moves, in this order.
- Clarify. "Do you mean within one service, or across services?"
- Say where your knowledge stops. "I haven't used this in production, but I know the concept."
- Reason out loud. "I'd expect the trade-off to be speed against consistency, because..."
Don't bluff. A follow-up question will expose it quickly. For the behavioral questions that come with most technical loops, use the STAR method, and prepare a short answer to tell me about yourself.
Where YesToTheOffer fits
We make YesToTheOffer, a desktop app for macOS and Windows, so read this with that in mind. It gives live transcription, answer suggestions based on your resume, coding-question help, and a review after the interview. You get up to 30 free minutes, then you pay per minute, and packs don't expire.
Many employers ban AI assistance in technical interviews, and online assessments and proctored tests usually have their own rules. Follow them. The review afterward is useful either way, if you're allowed to transcribe the call, because it shows which questions you were asked and where your answers wandered. That tells you what to study for the next round.
Sources
Last checked November 3, 2026:
- Built In: https://builtin.com/software-engineering-perspectives/technical-interview-questions
- Coursera: https://www.coursera.org/articles/technical-interview-questions
- The Forage: https://www.theforage.com/blog/interview-questions/technical-interview-questions
Review the technical questions you were asked
YesToTheOffer is a macOS and Windows desktop app with live transcription, coding-question help, and a post-interview review. Up to 30 free minutes, then pay per minute. Follow your employer's rules.
