What do you do if you want to showcase your software development best practices in an interview?

1 Prepare your portfolio

Before you go to an interview, you should prepare a portfolio of your previous or current projects that highlight your software development best practices. You can use online platforms, such as GitHub, Bitbucket, or CodePen, to host your code and share it with your interviewer. Your portfolio should include projects that are relevant to the position you are applying for, and that showcase your skills in different aspects of software development, such as design, testing, documentation, debugging, deployment, and maintenance. You should also be able to explain the purpose, features, challenges, and solutions of each project in a clear and concise way.

2 Use coding standards

During an interview, you might be asked to write some code or review some existing code. In either case, you should follow the coding standards that are widely accepted and used in the industry or the specific domain you are working on. Coding standards are the rules and conventions that define how to write, format, and structure your code, such as naming, indentation, comments, syntax, and style. Coding standards help to make your code more readable, consistent, and maintainable, as well as to avoid errors and bugs. You should also be able to explain why you use certain coding standards and how they benefit your software development process.

3 Apply design patterns

Another way to showcase your software development best practices in an interview is to apply design patterns to your code. Design patterns are the reusable solutions to common problems that occur in software design, such as creating objects, organizing classes, communicating between components, or handling errors. Design patterns help to improve the quality, performance, and scalability of your code, as well as to reduce complexity and code duplication. You should be familiar with the most common design patterns, such as singleton, factory, observer, or strategy, and know how and when to use them in your code. You should also be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each design pattern and how they fit into the overall architecture of your software.

4 Test your code

Testing your code is an essential part of software development best practices, as it helps to ensure the functionality, reliability, and security of your software. Testing your code means checking whether it meets the requirements, specifications, and expectations of your software, as well as whether it handles different inputs, outputs, and scenarios correctly. Testing your code can be done at different levels, such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, or acceptance testing, and with different tools, such as frameworks, libraries, or platforms. You should be able to demonstrate your testing skills and knowledge in an interview, by writing test cases, using test tools, performing test execution, and reporting test results.

5 Document your code

Documenting your code is another important aspect of software development best practices, as it helps to communicate the purpose, functionality, and logic of your code to other developers, users, and stakeholders. Documenting your code means adding comments, annotations, or descriptions to your code, as well as creating external documents, such as user manuals, technical specifications, or API references. Documenting your code can help to make your code more understandable, reusable, and modifiable, as well as to facilitate collaboration and maintenance. You should be able to show your documentation skills and knowledge in an interview, by writing clear, concise, and consistent documentation, using documentation tools, and following documentation standards.

6 Update your skills

The last tip to showcase your software development best practices in an interview is to update your skills regularly. Software development is a dynamic and evolving field, where new technologies, tools, and trends emerge constantly. Updating your skills means learning new languages, frameworks, libraries, or platforms, as well as keeping up with the latest best practices, standards, and methodologies. Updating your skills can help you to improve your software development quality, efficiency, and security, as well as to adapt to changing requirements and expectations. You should be able to show your learning attitude and curiosity in an interview, by mentioning the sources, resources, and courses you use to update your skills, as well as the projects or challenges you have completed or faced with new technologies or tools.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?