Top 5 Senior Frontend Developer Interview Questions

Hiring a new employee can be a lengthy process, especially if you’re hiring for a technical role like a developer. Tech interviews will involve additional assessments based on skills as opposed to the usual question and answer-based style.

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Before the interview, it’s useful to be aware of what makes a good Frontend Developer and how you can spot one. It’s important to ask questions that will reveal both the candidate’s hard and soft skills, including their technical skills. Take a look at these Senior Frontend Developer interview questions to give you a starting point ⬇️

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What skills are needed to be a good Senior Frontend Developer?

Firstly, a job description should be transparent and clearly highlight the skills your company is looking for - what essential skills does the candidate need? Do you require any desirable skills that would attract the ideal candidate?

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‍Why does this matter?

‍A clear job description, outlining key skills, will allow you as the interviewer to gain an indication as to whether the candidate has read the job ad and to see how they would apply those skills within the role. As the basics, a candidate should be able to understand the skills of a Frontend Developer (especially if they’re applying for a more senior-level role) but should also be able to demonstrate why they are important.

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‍What to listen out for?

‍How will they utilise those skills within the role? Which languages are they proficient in to meet the requirements of a Frontend Developer? Do they possess any skills that aren’t outlined in the job description which would make them stand out from others?

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Have you managed a team of employees in the past?

In a more senior position, a Frontend Developer may be required to oversee and manage a team of other developers. Allow the candidate to be honest and don’t scrutinise their capabilities if they were to answer no to this question. The key factor here is the soft skills that they possess.

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‍Why does this matter?

‍As part of the job requirements, a Senior Developer will work with other developers to push a project through each stage to reach completion. The right candidate for this role would be someone who can take charge when needed, but someone that also motivates others and can keep a level head.

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‍What to listen out for?

‍The candidate should be able to illustrate how they deal with and handle certain situations, as well as how they cope with working under pressure. Are they key team players? Are they able to empathise with other employees as well as communicate effectively with others?

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How do you structure your CSS and JavaScript to make it easier for other developers?

Candidates should be able to demonstrate their technical abilities, however, this question also correlates to the previous one in relation to the soft skills that they possess.

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‍Why does this matter?

‍Most of the time developers will be working with code developed by others when working in a frontend role. Are they able to analyse the code that they have written and does it make sense to others? Would their colleagues be able to easily understand it?

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‍What to listen out for?

‍Prompt the candidate (if they haven’t already mentioned it) to give examples of code organisation and how they simplify it. Does the candidate add comments to their code so that other developers can change it? Being able to judge how others perceive a piece of code is beneficial in any developer role.

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What piece of software have you put into production that you’re proud of?

Provide the candidate with a chance to reflect on their career journey so far and give them an opportunity to really impress. This question may be the chance for them to really open up and show their true self, as they speak about something they are passionate about!

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‍Why does this matter?

‍Frontend Developers should always have the user in mind, as well as the key requirements, so the best candidate would pay attention to the user experience when creating a new project.

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‍What to listen out for?

‍What projects have they worked on, how did they do it and what did they take away from that project? The software they worked with might not be relevant to the role that they are applying for but, as the interviewer, you might take this as an opportunity to understand what level of skills the candidate possesses and what they can bring to the company.

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If you could master one technology this year, which would you choose, and how would you go about it?

Everyone will have different preferences, as not everyone works in the same way or has the same level of knowledge. As an employer, you should be open-minded and want to help your employees develop as a way of standing out from the crowd when hiring.

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‍Why does this matter?

‍A candidate should also be willing to self-develop as technology is ever-evolving, so by enhancing their skills and knowledge they will be able to keep ahead of the game.

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‍What to listen out for?

‍Most developers are generally self-taught, although occasionally they have been down the educational route, so it would come as no surprise if they are already in the process of mastering their next technology. However, they may mention attending a coding Bootcamp in their own time or reading the latest blogs and forums to stay up to date.

Use these frontend developer interview questions as a starting point but the main focus of any interview should be that the candidate has portrayed their true self. The interviewing process may seem like a challenge but a company’s aim should be to analyse how candidates respond to certain situations and tasks that they are presented with, as well as to explore the skills and knowledge that they possess.

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