What to Ask in a Java Interview? Essential Reverse Interview Questions

The following list of questions may be useful for people attending technical interviews; the questions are not tied to any specific position or job type and are not ordered. Initially this was my personal list, but I have gradually added questions that might raise red flags for a company. I also noticed that the people I interview asked me too few questions, which seemed like a missed opportunity.

If your question is not listed, please submit a PR.

Intended Use

Check which questions interest you.

Check which questions you can find answers to online yourself.

If you cannot find an answer, ask the interviewer.

Never try to ask every question on this list (respect the interviewer's time and demonstrate initiative by researching existing answers).

Remember that circumstances are always flexible; organizational structures change frequently. Having a bug‑tracking system does not guarantee efficient bug handling. CI/CD (continuous integration) does not necessarily guarantee short delivery times.

Responsibilities

What are the on‑call policies and is overtime compensated?

What does my daily work look like?

Are there specific goals set for me?

What is the ratio of junior to senior engineers on the team? Any plans to change it?

What does onboarding look like?

How much freedom does each developer have to make decisions?

In your view, what defines success for this role?

What do you expect me to accomplish in the first month / three months?

How will you evaluate my performance at the end of the probation period?

What is the approximate split between independent development work and routine tasks?

How is a typical day or week organized?

Do you have any concerns about my application?

Who will I work closely with in this role?

What is the management style of my direct manager's superiors (detail‑oriented or big‑picture)?

How can I develop in this position? What opportunities exist?

What are the expected core working hours per day?

Am I joining a new position or replacing someone who left (any technical debt to inherit)?

Which project team will I join, and is the project newly formed or existing?

Technical

What technology stack does the company commonly use?

How do you use source control systems?

How do you test code?

How do you track bugs?

How do you monitor projects?

Do you use continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) for code changes?

Is your infrastructure defined in version control or as code?

What does the workflow look like from planning to task completion?

How do you prepare for disaster recovery?

Is there a standard development environment, and is it mandatory?

How long does it take to set up a local testing environment for a product (minutes / hours / days)?

How long does it take to respond to security issues in code or dependencies?

Do all developers have local administrator rights on their machines?

Can you describe your technical principles or vision?

Is there developer documentation, and is there separate consumer‑facing documentation?

Do you have higher‑level documentation such as ER diagrams or database normalization?

Do you use static code analysis?

How do you manage internal and external digital assets?

How do you manage dependencies?

Does the team hold regular technical sharing sessions? If so, how often?

How do you version‑control your database?

How are business requirements documented?

Team

How is work organized?

How does communication typically happen within and between teams?

Do you use tools for project organization? What is your experience?

How are differing opinions handled?

Who sets priorities and plans?

What happens if the team misses a target release date?

What types of meetings are held weekly?

Are there regular one‑on‑one talks with managers?

What does product/service planning look like (weekly releases, continuous deployment, multiple release streams, etc.)?

How are production incidents handled? Is there a blameless post‑mortem culture?

Are there any unresolved challenges the team is facing?

How do you track progress?

How are expectations and goals set, and by whom?

How is code review conducted?

Describe a typical sprint.

How do you balance technical and business goals?

How is knowledge shared?

How large is the team?

What is the structure and composition of the technical team?

Which side—development, product, or operations—drives most of the requirements?

Questions for Future Colleagues

Where do developers prefer to learn from?

What do you like most about working here?

What do you like least?

If you could change anything, what would it be?

How long have the most senior team members been here?

Company

Why is the company hiring (product growth, new product, fluctuations, etc.)?

Is there a budget for meetings or travel, and what are the policies?

How does the promotion process work, and how are expectations communicated?

What is the performance evaluation process?

Are technical and managerial career paths separate?

What are your views on diversity hiring?

Are there company‑wide learning resources such as e‑book subscriptions or online courses?

Is there a budget for certifications?

How mature is the company (early direction‑finding, stable work, maintenance, etc.)?

Can I contribute to open‑source projects, and does it require approval?

Where do you see the company in five or ten years?

How do most employees view clean code?

When was the last time you noticed someone’s growth, and in what area?

How is success defined here, and how is it measured?

Are there sports activities or team‑building events?

Are there internal hackathons?

Does the company support open‑source projects?

Are there non‑compete or confidentiality agreements to sign?

What do you think is missing from the company culture?

Can you share a story about a difficult situation the company faced and how it was handled?

How long have you worked here, and how do you rate the experience?

Why do people like working here?

How does the salary adjustment system work?

Social Issues

What are your thoughts on diversity hiring?

How would you describe the company culture, and what gaps exist?

How is work‑life balance here?

What is the company's stance on climate change?

Conflicts

How are differing opinions resolved?

What happens if a task is returned as “cannot be completed in the expected time”?

How do you handle pressure when the team is overloaded?

If someone notices an area for process or technical improvement, what is the response?

How do you handle gaps between management expectations and engineer performance?

Can you share a story about a toxic environment and how it was addressed?

Business

Is the company currently profitable?

If not, how long until it becomes profitable?

What are the sources of funding, and who influences high‑level plans?

How does the company make money?

What prevents the company from earning more?

What are the growth plans for the next year and the next five years?

What do you consider the company's competitive advantage?

What is the company's competitive advantage?

What are the long‑term commercial plans, and are there IPO plans?

Remote Work

What is the ratio of remote to office work?

Does the company provide hardware, and what is the refresh plan?

Can employees use personal hardware for work, and is there a policy?

Is there a budget for additional accessories and furniture?

Is there a budget for coworking spaces or internet?

How often must one go to the office?

Are meeting rooms always video‑conference ready?

Office Layout

What is the office layout (open, cubicles, private offices)?

Are there support, marketing, or other high‑call‑volume teams near my team?

Ultimate Questions

What are the best and worst aspects of this job/team/company?

Why did you originally choose this company?

Why do you stay at this company?

Compensation

How are bonuses allocated if there is a bonus plan?

What percentage of salary has historically been awarded as bonuses?

Are there social insurance, housing fund, or other retirement benefits, and does the company provide commercial insurance?

Is there medical insurance, and when does it start?

Does the company cover relocation costs?

Leave

How many days of paid leave are provided?

Are sick leave and personal leave counted separately?

Can I use leave in advance, resulting in negative accrued leave?

What is the policy for rolling over unused leave to the next period?

What is the policy for childcare support?

What is the unpaid leave policy?

What is the policy for academic leave?