Java isone of the most popular and evergreen programming languages with applications in different industries. As you can probably imagine, because of that, it offers immense career opportunities.
Now, if you want to land a job working with Java, you’ll first have to make it past the interview. Interviews are your chance to demonstrate not only your technical skills but also your problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and communication skills.
In this guide, we’ll dissect the interview process in Java-based companies, explore the preparation steps for Java job interviews and delve into the many types of questions that you might come across during a Java interview.
The Interview Process at Java-Based Companies
Before we start talking about Java questions and answers, let’s take a second to go over what the interview process typically looks like at these types of companies. In general, you’ll go through an initial screening with more basic questions before facing a techincal interview. Sometimes, there’s also a third round of interview questions you’ll need to get past.
Let’s take a closer look at these different interviews and what types of questions you’ll be expected to answer during each one.
Step 1: The Initial Screening
Your first challenge is typically a telephone interview or online screening. In the initial screening, the questions are primarily about your background, your academic qualifications, and your interest in the company and position. They might also touch lightly on your knowledge of Java, but it will be very basic.
Step 2: Technical Interviews
Your next hurdle will be one or more technical interviews. These interviews focus on your problem-solving skills and clarity of programming concepts. You’ll have a combination of theoretical questions, problem-solving questions, concept-oriented questions, and coding assignments.
Step 3: Final Interview
Once you clear the technical rounds, you usually proceed towards the final interview. This might be with a senior manager. They might still ask you a few technical questions, but the main focus will be on how well you fit into the company’s work culture, your work ethics, and your overall personality.
How to Prepare for a Java Job Interview
Now that you know what format your interview is likely to take, let’s go over what you’ll need to do to actually prepare for the interview. Interview preparation can range from brushing up on your Java skills to spending time perusing the company’s website to get a feel for who they are and what you’ll be expected to do.
Here’s a deep dive into some steps you should take to prepare for your interview.
1. Updating Your Java Knowledge
Start by refreshing yourself on basic concepts like OOPs (Object-Oriented Programming), loops, and data types. Then, try delving deeper into advanced topics such as multithreading, garbage collections, or JDBC (Java Database Connectivity).
Try to code regularly and create projects that will demonstrate your Java skills. Remember, practice is key, and prospective employers will likely be interested in what you can “do” rather than just what you “know.”
2. Practicing Problem-Solving and Coding Skills
Websites like HackerRank, GeeksForGeeks, and LeetCode offer Java coding problems that can be invaluable resources for practice.
Don’t just solve problems, but try to understand how you arrived at the solution. This will not only reinforce your understanding but also equip you with the ability to articulate your thought process during interviews. That’s a skill that interviewers often look for!
3. Brushing Up On Company Knowledge
Understand its mission, values, culture, and any recent news or updates. Show the interviewer that you’re not just interested in a job but in their specific organization.
Also, check if the company has open-sourced any software. If there are any Java-based projects, try to understand the codebase. Being able to discuss these could give you a significant edge.
Types of Questions Expected from a Java Interview
Beyond going over Java knowledge and problem-solving and looking into the company, you’ll also want to take time to practice different interview questions. In order to do so, however, you’ll first need to know what types of questions to expect.
Remember, these types of questions aim to provide a comprehensive view of your capabilities, not just as a programmer, but as a prospective member of their team.
Let’s take a look at a couple of different categories of questions you may come across during your interview.
Skill-Specific Questions
These questions are directed toward your understanding and proficiency in the Java programming language. For instance, you may be asked about the difference between an interface and an abstract class, the purpose of garbage collection in Java, or to explain the public static void main(String args[]).
Problem-Solving Questions
In these questions, you’re given a problem to solve using Java. These are designed to evaluate your problem-solving skills, creativity in code structure, and technical skills. For instance, you may be asked to write a program to reverse a string in Java or to write a Java program to sort an array using a bubble sort algorithm.
Behavioral Questions
Remember, your technical acuity is just one aspect of what interviewers will examine. They’re also keen on understanding your team collaboration, problem-solving capabilities in contingent situations, and whether you would fit into the company’s culture. Examples of behavioral questions include: “Can you describe a time when you faced a challenging situation and how you handled it?” or “How do you approach teamwork in a project?”
General Questions in a Java Interview
Now that you know what different types of questions to keep an eye out for, it’s time to get into the specifics. Here are a few different general interview questions you might face when applying for roles with Java to help you prepare.
Tell Me About Yourself
This is a deceptively simple question that often kicks off many interviews. When asked, try focusing on your background, achievements, and skills relevant to the Java developer role.
You could say something like, “I have a Computer Science degree and have spent the last three years working on Java-based applications, mainly focusing on cloud computing and data security. I have a strong passion for problem-solving, which drives my love for coding.
Why Did You Choose a Career in Java Programming?
This question aims to uncover your passion and commitment to the field.
A possible response could be, “I was always intrigued by how websites and applications worked. When I was introduced to Java in college, I found it to be robust and versatile. The more I learned, the more I loved the challenge it presented. The logical thinking, problem-solving ability, and creativity that Java programming requires is what appealed to me the most.”
Describe a Challenging Situation You Faced in Your Previous Role and How You Handled It
The idea here is to assess your problem-solving skills and how you operate under pressure. Remember to focus on the solution, not the problem. You could share an instance where a project hit a bottleneck due to unexpected bugs, explain the steps you took to identify the issue, and describe how you solved it.
How Do You Stay Updated With the Latest Java Trends?
This question gauges your commitment to continuous learning. You could mention activities like reading specific Java development websites, contributing to open-source projects, following top Java influencers on social media, and attending webinars or Java programming meet-ups in your city.
Java Interview Questions for Freshers
If you’re a fresher and this is your first time working with Java, there are a few specific questions to be prepared for. And of course, you’ll also need to make sure you properly prepare for the interview.
Firstly, equip yourself with the fundamental concepts of Java and be primed for questions revolving around those basics. Getting these right will not only build the interviewer’s confidence in your abilities but also set a strong foundation for more complex structures.
Let’s take a look at some common questions you can expect as a fresher, as well as what the answers are.
What is Java?
Knowing the history of Java and what it is showcases that you actually understand the tool you’re working with.
Here you might say, “Java is a high-level, versatile, and widely used object-oriented programming language. It was developed by Sun Microsystems in 1995 and is known for its “Write Once, Run Anywhere” (WORA) capability.”
Can You Briefly Explain the Major Differences Between Java and Other Programming Languages?
Here, interviewers want to know that you really understand the advantages of Java.
You could reply, “Java differs from other programming languages in several ways. A few primary distinctions include its clutter-free syntax, its robust nature, and its platform-independent characteristic due to the utilization of bytecode.”
Can You Explain the Difference Between Jdk, Jre, and Jvm?
Demonstrating the differences between these different environments showcases that you unerstand different aspects of Java.
Here you might reply, “JDK (Java Development Kit) is a software development environment required to develop Java applications and applets. JRE (Java Runtime Environment) provides the runtime environment in which Java code can be executed, and JVM (Java Virtual Machine) is an engine that provides a runtime environment to drive the Java code or applications.”
What Are the Main Features of Java?
Knowing the main features of Java is key if you plan to work in it on a daily basis. For this question, you could respond: “Some of the main features of Java include its object-oriented nature, platform-independent capabilities, secure coding environment, automatic memory management, and provision of multi-threading.”
Can You Explain Object-Oriented Programming in Java?
Object-Oriented Programming, or OOP, is a central part of Java. As such, employers want to know that you understand this concept.
To answer this question you could say, “It is a programming style that is associated with the concept of Class, Objects and various concepts like Inheritance, Encapsulation, Abstraction, and Polymorphism.”
What Are Wrapper Classes in Java?
Here, employers want to know that you understand the technicalities of Java and how it works.
You could reply, “Java has eight primitive types, but these are not objects. Whenever we need objects instead of primitive data types, we use wrapper classes. For instance, in Java, the int data type is converted into Integer, which is a wrapper class for int.”
What is a Java Collection Framework?
Here, interviewers are looking at your understanding of data structures and how to manage groups of objects. Be ready to discuss interfaces such as Set, List, Queue, and their implementation classes.
Intermediate and Advanced Java Interview Questions
Landing an interview for a Java role is exciting, especially if you’ve mastered the basics already. But, as you build your experience, hiring managers will begin to test your knowledge depth with intermediate Java interview questions.
Thoroughly preparing for these more intricate questions will require both theoretical and practical understanding of Java. The answers provided here offer brief and straightforward explanations. To stand out, it’s wise to expand on these with your own experience or knowledge, showing your skills in Java go beyond the textbook.
Here’s what you can expect and how you might answer.
What’s the Difference Between Overloading and Overriding in Java?
Answer: Overloading in Java is when you define two methods with the same name but differing parameters in the same class. Overriding, however, is a feature that allows a child class to provide a different implementation for a method that’s already present in its parent class.
Could You Explain Exception Handling in Java?
Answer: Definitely! Exception handling in Java is a powerful mechanism that’s used to handle runtime errors, maintain a normal flow of application execution, and prevent code termination. The five keywords used in handling exceptions are try, catch, finally, throw, and throws.
What Is the Purpose of Garbage Collection in Java, and When Is It Used?
Answer: In Java, garbage collection is an automatic memory management system. It recovers the runtime unused memory automatically. It’s used to free up memory by removing objects that are no longer in use when no references to them exist.
Can You Describe Multithreading in Java?
Answer: Absolutely, multithreading in Java is a feature that allows concurrent execution of two or more threads. It helps in maximizing the utilization of CPU. Threads are independent, and they don’t affect the execution of other threads. An exception in one thread won’t affect other threads.
What Is the Purpose of Static Keyword in a Java Class?
Answer: The static keyword in Java is mainly used for memory management. When a member is declared as static, it can be accessed before any objects of its class are created and without any reference to any object.
What Do You Understand by Java Servlets?
Answer: Java Servlets are server-side programs that handle client requests and return a customized or dynamic response for each request. They are the foundation of any Java-based web application. For example, the Java employee login servlet manages the login credentials of every employee in an organization.
Post-Interview Steps
Once the Java interview is over, you might think your job is simply to wait for a reply. However, there are actually a couple of other steps to take in order to leave a positive impression.
Here’s what you’ll want to do once your interview is said and done.
Send a Thank You Note
After concluding the Java interview, it’s essential to show your professionalism and appreciation by sending a simple thank you note via email or LinkedIn. Make sure to personalize the note and include references to any compelling discussion points during the interview.
Below is an example of a thank you note you could write.
“Dear [Interviewer’s Name],
I want to extend my sincerest thanks for taking the time to discuss the Java developer role at [Company] with me. I genuinely appreciate the insights you provided about the job, and the opportunity to explain how my skills align with the company’s needs. Your comments about the team’s latest project on implementing microservices were quite exciting, and I’m thrilled about the potential of contributing to such groundbreaking work.
Looking forward to the potential next steps!
Best regards,
[Your Name]”
Send a Follow-Up
If you haven’t heard back from them within the stated time frame, feel free to send a polite follow-up message asking about the status of your application. It’s also a chance to reiterate your interest in the role and the company, but remember to maintain a polite and professional tone.
Conduct a Self-Evaluation
Crafting your self-evaluation following the interview is often an overlooked step. Take some time to consider what went well and what areas might need improvement. Think about questions that challenged you and craft better responses for them. This self-reflection will prepare you for future interviews.
Land your Dream Job With Java
Acing a Java job interview is a blend of demonstration of technical proficiency and showcasing your soft skills. While it’s essential to prepare and anticipate common Java questions whether you are a fresher or an experienced professional, it’s also equally important to demonstrate your problem-solving skills, communication abilities, and cultural fit within the company.
With that said, you’re now ready to take the first steps toward landing a job working with Java. Or, if you feel that you need a little bit more preparation, check out our other interviewing articles for all the tips, tricks, and advice you need to fully ready yourself!
