There is no shortage of Python developers: it is the third most popular technology with a huge community of 8,7 million experts. The number of Python developers has already surpassed that of Java.
With such a big talent pool, how do you choose the perfect candidate for your project? Well, the perfect employee depends on a lot of factors: coding skills, logic, soft skills, and company culture fit. It narrows down the pool quite a bit.
The best way to check all of these boxes is to have an interview with the candidates for Python developers. We have prepared a list of Python interview questions you can ask them to check their knowledge and compiled a skill set for junior, middle, and senior Python developers.
Article is based on our experience hiring Python developers for years.
Benefits of Finding a Python Programmer On Your Own
It is a standard practice to let recruiters, oftentimes with no technical or company knowledge, complete the hiring process. Sometimes it is successful, sometimes it is a disaster, it is a random party.
However, finding a Python developer on your own can boost your success chances. Why? Let’s take a look at the benefits.
You Know the Requirements the Best
The person who works within the company for years or is actively creating it has the most knowledge. They have probably worked with development projects before and know what kind of people can hinder it, they know the main idea of the project and what skills it requires.
If you had to explain Python interview questions and answers for experienced external recruiters, it would take a lot of time and you may still forget to mention something. However, if you take part in the recruitment yourself, you are more likely to understand what person belongs within the project.
You Can Feel the Company Culture Fit
It is essential that the person is a great fit for the future job, team, and the company itself. After all, human relationships can make or break the process. Once you are having an interview with someone, it is quite easy to understand whether they will fit into the overall picture.
You Can Have More Control
For some people, it is important to control the details to make sure that the hire is perfect. If you are this kind of person, asking interview questions for a senior Python developer yourself can satisfy your desire for controlling everything.
You Can Save the Budget
Obviously, you can save some budget when you do not have to hire a recruiter and pick out the candidates yourself. For some businesses, it may be a deciding benefit and that is completely fine.
Why Are Python Interview Questions Important?
You may have the requirements for the project but it does not really mean that you can have a successful interview. Sometimes if you want to find out whether the person possesses this or that skill, you might not come up with the right Python developer interview questions on the spot. They are not always that straightforward.
Therefore, the hiring person should get ready for the interview, just like the candidate does. The preparation process can ensure that you have a plan on how to evaluate the person. It just makes things productive.
What Python Coding Interview Questions Should You Ask a Python Programmer?
So here comes the interesting part. We have prepared 17 Python interview questions and answers to use in your next interview.
What Are the Advantages of Python Over Other Scripting Languages Such as Javascript?
The answer is personal for every candidate, it shows how well they know Python peculiarities and what they value in their work.
The example of the answer may look like this:
Python is easy to learn, write, and understand since it has syntax, close to this of the English language. It has numerous libraries and frameworks to fit different projects and make the development faster.
What Are the Different Applications That Python Can Create?
With Python, you can create web applications of any type like healthcare, fintech, entertainment, eCommerce apps, etc. You can also work with data-related projects, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing. The language is used for IoT technology as well.
How Do You Track Versions of Your Code?
The developer is likely to mention Git, GitHub, or Gitlab where you can see code at different stages and collaborate with teams to track different versions. However, they may also use other code repositories like Apache Subversion, CVS, or Bitbucket.
It is one of the Python core interview questions with an easy answer but it is more important to understand how they actually work with versions: whether they actually care about different versions and organize them properly.
How Do You Identify Bugs in Your Code?
Developers usually use Pychecker and Pylint. It is a good Python coding interview question to check the basic knowledge of tools and bug checks.
What Would You Say Are the Most Common Mistakes Made Using Python?
There are such mistakes as:
- Misusing expressions as defaults for function arguments
- Incorrect usage of class variables
- Incorrect parameter specification for an exception block
- Forgotten colon at the end of structural sentences
- Inconsistency with parentheses or brackets
- Not using the class name while modifying class variable values
However, it may be individual to every developer. The main goal of such interview questions on Python is to identify how much experience one had in learning and fixing their own mistakes.
What Is PIP Software in the Python World?
Pip is a package manager. It allows you to add frameworks, libraries, and other additions that are not included in the standard Python package.
What Tools Can You Use to Unit Test Your Python Code?
There is a standard tool called Unittest within the standard Python package.
What Are Python Modules? Name the Most Popular
Python modules are files with the Python code, it helps to put a huge code to different files and folders to organize it better. Among the most commonly used Python packages are NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib and Seaborn
Explain Memory Management in Python
The process of memory management in Python is powered by the involvement of a private heap containing all Python objects and data structures. The internal Python memory manager ensures the management of this private heap.
Can Python Be Used for Web Client and Web Server Programming? What Is Best for Python?
Python can not be used for web client programming. It is only used for back-end development.
What Is the Difference Between Pickling and Unpickling?
Pickling is transforming any Python object into a string representation and dumping it into a file by using the dump function. Unpickling is a reverse process of retrieving Python objects from the string representation.
Which Python Web Framework Do You Prefer and Why?
There are numerous frameworks so the answers may vary greatly. However, the most popular Python web frameworks are:
- Django: it is a full-stack library, meaning it has everything for web development
- CherryPy: it is a web server framework only, so it is less complex. It is good for prototyping
- Pyramid: it is a lighter alternative to Django, with fewer functions but a more flexible one
- Flask: it is mostly used to create simple web applications
It is not really a typical question of preference but the question of using the right tool for the right project. So it is one of the tricky Python advanced interview questions.
What Is the Difference Between Lists and Tuples?
Tuples can not be changed, but lists can be. Tuples are more memory efficient.
Is Indentation Necessary in Python?
The indentation may be just for easier reading in other languages but it is essential in Python. It indicates a block of code, and without it, you will face the error message and the code will not be compiled.
What Are Namespaces in Python?
A namespace is a symbolic name for an object with information about the object itself.
How Long Have You Spent Coding Primarily in Python?
An engineer may code for years but it is likely that they worked with different languages. Such advanced Python programming interview questions are essential to understand how much time they coded in Python specifically so you know that they are comfortable with the language.
Describe the Differences Between Shallow and Deep Copy When Using Python.
Deep copy creates more copies recursively and changes in the copies will not affect the original object. A shallow copy will not create the copy itself and any change in the copy will also make a change in the original object.
What Is the Starting Point of Python Code Execution?
If the Python code is a method, you have to explicitly call the method to start execution. If it is not, it will be executed anytime you run or import the file.
What Skills Are Companies Looking For in a Python Developer?
All the developers have three levels – junior, middle, and senior – and they define what kind of responsibilities they will have, what level of knowledge and experience one should expect from them, and their salary expectations.
Let’s see what this expected skill set looks like for Python developers
Looking to Hire a Top-Level Python Developer?
At Uvik, we have got only top Python developers, you just have to choose among the best.
After more than 7 years on the market, we have managed to streamline the process of choosing the top performers for our database. At the same time, we learned how to understand our clients’ requirements and find the perfect fit for their technical and cultural fit requirements.
As a result, we accurately match our clients with the best candidates to ensure fruitful and seamless collaborations.
Do not hesitate to reach out to Uvik if you want to enhance your project with experienced Python professionals in no time.
Final Thoughts
During the interviews, it is important to understand the technical knowledge, as well as look for hints about their organizational and communication skills and dedication to the development itself. You can also run additional tests on their logic and creativity by offering scenarios of different stressful situations.
If you are looking for a way to save time by interviewing only the best of the best, drop us a message and we will find just the right Python experts for you.
