Tell me about the most interesting project you have worked on this year and the biggest thing you learned from it.

"In my previous role we were working on a variety of projects with fingerprint recognition software. One of the most interesting projects was a fingerprint-based ATM system. It was a test project for a large banking institution. In addition to learning a great deal about fingerprint recognition, I was also able to learn a lot about the critical relationship between software and security."

Discuss with the interviewer one of your recent projects that particularly piqued your interest. Did it stretch you professionally? What was the biggest takeaway for you from that particular project?

"I find the majority of the projects that I have been working on this past year to be very interesting. If I had to choose one, I would choose to work on the Uber app. Since I am still in my internship, I didn't have any major contributions; however, I learned a lot about on-demand apps and building a friendly user interface."

If hired for this position here at The Studer Group, would you be comfortable handling overall project manager responsibilities for new software development?

"Looking to join the team here at The Studer Group directly out of college, I feel very confident in my abilities to manage the entire scope of a new development project. I have leadership experience as my campus' president of the software engineering club. In that role, I developed skills that would help me utilize staff and resources in the best way possible. During my internship, I was exposed to the planning stages of new projects and I have a very good feel of estimating the budget and length of time needed to have a fully functional system."

As a skilled software engineer, you have all of the necessary tools in your bag to be a successful engineer at The Studer Group. This question is allowing your interviewer to get a better sense of your project management skills and people skills if you were to join the team at The Studer Group. In your answer, talk about your ability to estimate the time and cost of a project, the staffing needed and the overall scope of planning for a particular project. If you have direct experience in being the lead on a large development project, be sure to discuss that experience with your interviewer.

"I would absolutely be comfortable if tasked with project manager duties here at The Studer Group. In my last two roles, I have led successful projects that started with great planning and budgeting process and went through to completion with great people and processes in place under my leadership. While it's not a regular duty for me in my current role, I always welcome leadership duties."

As the onsite consultant for our clients here at The Studer Group, you may be privy to confidential information or data. How can we ensure that you will hold client data security in the highest confidence?

"Having worked as a consultant for a large healthcare medical record software organization, I had access to thousands of medical records with each new client that we brought aboard. While often required to sign confidentiality and HIPAA agreements with each client, my own values would never allow me to compromise the secure data of a patient. If hired for this role, I would hold the confidential data with your clients in the highest regard and wouldn't hesitate to take all measures possible to ensure that data is secure."

The consulting world at The Studer Group will put your in a position to have access to client databases, applications and directories that could potentially contain sensitive data. Consultants have a responsibility to their clients to maintain that privacy. Be sure that your interviewer understands that you adhere to that responsibility by talking about past experiences where you have been exposed to and kept sensitive data confidential. It is important to talk about your own personal morals and values in your answer to this question.

"Successful consulting relationships with customers are built on trust and I value and respect the trust that my customers show my by maintaining all policies on confidentiality with each customer. My current role in the banking industry allows me access to the software of many banking institutions when I am onsite with them. When working with staff at bank branches, I don't discuss any personal financial data that I have access to even with them."

Talk about a time when things didn't go as planned on the job. What was the situation and what allowed your to persevere in that situation?

"A couple of years ago in my first role as a UI designer out of college, my team was tasked with coming up with a very short notice proposal for a potential high end customer. With a week turnaround time, I set right to spending my time gathering information on the company to build a mock design. When the proposal was submitted, I found out that the potential customer scoffed at my idea and the customer went with another organization's proposal for their use. The biggest piece of feedback that I got was that the UI design just wasn't conducive to the type of customers they were expecting. From that point forward, whether it has been with short notice or long-term products, I take the time to communicate with key decision makers from clients to gather information for making my design as user friendly as possible."

As a professional in the tech industry, you have likely had a project that failed, a promotion that passed you over or a meltdown occur at some point in time. Realizing that your interviewer fully understands and expects that failure happens, talk openly and honestly about a situation where you experienced failure or failed plans. Most importantly in your answer, focus on how you overcame the particular situation and discuss lessons that you learned moving forward that you can bring to this role at The Studer Group.

"Last year, I was working on a large scale project that put me face to face with a key customer. After traveling onsite with the customer to spend time with them, I exchanged contact information with two of the key decision makers. In the weeks following, I was sending them follow up emails with our business proposals and was getting frustrated at the lack of response from the clients. After my manager had questioned the viability of the potential customer, I picked up the phone and called them directly. It turns out that their responses back to me were being sent to a junk email folder that I neglected to consider. I apologized for the mistake, took action quickly and we came to a great agreement on future business together. After having a laugh about it with my boss, I now incorporate diligent communication follow ups both by phone and email with customers while also regularly checking all email inboxes."

The next cloud engineer that we hire here at The Studer Group needs to be able build a system that can handle a high amount of traffic. How would you test our system's ability to handle large amounts of traffic?

"Cloud computing has certainly revolutionized the storage of high amounts of data and a key piece that cloud based systems bring to the table are their elasticity for handling large amounts of traffic. I see my job as building a cloud based system to scale horizontally to be able to handle the most data and traffic possible. To test systems, I've used a few different tools that were all very accurate prior to go-live."

This question allows your interviewer to gain insight into your thought process and ability surrounding building a cloud network that has an architecture that can handle large amounts of traffic without failure. Some key points to focus on your answer are your ability to match capacity to system demand and use horizontal scaling in the design of the system.

"In my current position as a cloud engineer, I have utilized internet scale services like Amazon S3 and Elastic Load Balancing to ensure that our cloud systems could handle large volume that fluctuate seasonally. Because of the great functionality of the internet scale services, internal testing wasn't necessary as we knew we were in good hands through those services."

At The Studer Group we take privacy and confidentiality very seriously. Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, if hired?

"I have signed non-disclosure agreements in the past; although I am not currently under one. I see the importance of agreements such as this and am most willing to comply."

Signing a non-disclosure agreement is quite common in the software and technology industry. If hired, you will likely become privy to trade secrets, pending patents, and other innovative projects that must remain confidential. Talk to the interviewer about your willingness to sign an agreement. If you are currently under non-disclosure or non-compete agreement with your present employer, now is the time to discuss that.

"I am happy to review any privacy and confidentiality agreements that you have."

Would you say that you are a goal oriented on the job? What would I be able to do as your manager to help you achieve your goals if hired here at The Studer Group?

"I would definitely say that I am goal oriented on the job in wanting to contribute any way that I can to the overall benefit of the organization. In my current organization, our leadership focuses on overall sales numbers at the end of the year. To help achieve these goals, our department creates our own goals to help achieve the sales numbers needed to succeed. Last year, one of those goals was to be as creative as possible in our user experience design processes. With the launch of an exciting new app midyear, sales numbers skyrocketed and our department was instrumental in that. For me, it was important that we determined our goals as a team with the final stamp of approval from our manager. While this style of management really helped motivate me, I can thrive under any management style as long as expectations and goals for my work are clearly set."

At the heart of this question lies your interviewers desire to see what motivates you as a potential employee at The Studer Group. Make it clear to your interviewer that you certainly are motivated by on the job goals and do this by using an example of a time where you were motivated by and achieved a goal. Then, think deeply about the type of manager that you like to work for in terms of goal setting and helping our achieve your goals. Let your interviewer know what type of management styles you appreciate the most while being open to any style.

"For me, my day to day work is much more meaningful when I have goals to work for. In my current role, we have set timelines for our projects and this helps lay the framework for our goals. If hired for this position, my expectations of you as my manager would be to have goals clearly defined and a supportive atmosphere to be provided to work within."

In a technical support role here at The Studer Group, we expect that you would be able to bring great customer service skills to the role. Describe your customer service philosophy in the support that you would provide.

"To me, my job duties aren't fully satisfied if an end user leaves our conversation without a smile on their face. While any technical support specialist can handle the customer aspect of the job, few have the people skills to do so pleasantly for their customers. In any interaction that I have with a customer, I talk in a calm and boosting manner. If they are upset or mad about a situation, I reflectively listen and never place any blame back on them. By taking this approach, my customer surveys in my current position have been excellent for the three years I've held that role."

While your interviewer will be able to get great insight into your technical expertise during your interviewer, this one question will allow you the opportunity to describe how you will bring solid interpersonal skills to the role. Your interview knows that customers will rely on you to provide quick and sensible support for their needs, but the expectation to do that in a pleasing manner is of utmost importance. Talk from a high level about your feelings on why providing great service is important and give an example or two of ways that you have done that in the past.

"If hired for this role here at The Studer Group, you'll quickly find that my mantra in working with customers is speed with a smile. To do this, I need to be resourceful in providing them with an answer or triaging them to the correct person. I need to be knowledgeable in our product base to give them answers with confidence. And last, but not least, I need to be positive in all interactions with them."

At The Studer Group, we rely on a full team effort to deliver top quality products to our customers. Tell me about a time that you worked well as part of a team. Are you comfortable in a similar role here?

"Throughout my career, I've always enjoyed working as part of a larger team on the job and this personal enjoyment started with my love of and participation in team sports like baseball and basketball. Growing up playing sports, I learned that each team member brought a unique skill set that could help us achieve our goals. Through a great coaching staff that knew how to make these individual skills shine, this same philosophy holds true for a team that is looking to design a new software system. I know that my skills as an engineer are just part of the final product and I work very well with designers, architects, analysts and sales to help build the greatest system possible."

While this potential role with The Studer Group will require your to be an independent worker that can think on your feet, you will also need to work as part of a larger team that is working toward one common goal. Because of this fact, your interviewer will want to hear that you thrive in an environment where you work with team members from other disciplines than you are trained in. In your example, stress to your interviewer that you have excellent communication skills and that you fully understand that every person on a team plays a vital role in the organization's success.

"I am a people person by nature and my current role has me working very closely with our engineering and design staff on writing technical manuals for our products. While I certainly can handle long days at my computer in solitude, my desire to work hand in hand with others really sets me apart from my peers in this field. I have excellent verbal, listening and written communication skills that, if hired here at The Studer Group, your entire team would appreciate from my first day on the job."

What programming languages would you consider yourself fluent in?

"From the start of college, where software engineering grew into a passion for me, I've become very fluent in Java, JavaScript and C++. My current role has me working primarily with C++, but I pride myself on my ability and passion to learn new programming languages and would be able to do so if hired for this role with The Studer Group."

While this question gives your interviewer insight into the diversity of your programming language experience, they most importantly want to know that you are adaptable and able to learn on the fly if needed. Talk about the different languages that you consider yourself fluent in and, if possible, do as much research into The Studer Group as you can prior to your interview and try to speak to the specific languages that they work with.

"During my training to be an engineer and then in my current role since graduating, a majority of my experience falls within Python. My current role delves deeply into artificial intelligence and Python is awesome with this advanced technology. As I understand it from talking to another engineer here at The Studer Group, a requirement would be for me to learn Scala. Though I haven't worked directly with Scala, I believe my experience and willingness to learn would have me up and running in no time if hired for this role."

As a consultant with The Studer Group, your role will be vital in gather information from our customers in building new technology for them. What would be your goals in an initial consultation with a new or existing client?

"As an experienced consultant looking to break into the technology field, I will break a lot of awesome client focused skills to your team. In an initial consultation, my number one goal is to learn the business of the client and listen to what they are looking for in my products. Once their need is known, I can knowledgeably speak to the products that I work with to help them create a custom solution to fit their needs. If hired for this position, my first order of business would be to work very closely with the design and engineering staff to know the possibilities of customization. From there, my natural ability to consult with clients would take over in a win-win situation for all involved."

Software consultants are the bridge between the end users and the development teams of new software to help come up with new and creative solutions for the business. In this role with The Studer Group, you will be expected to live in two different worlds and this question focuses on how you will work with end users of the companies products. In an initial consultation, focus your efforts on how you will learn the business needs of the client, talk about what can potentially be offered and then how you will start the creative problem solving process with them.

"In consulting with a new client or an existing client looking for system modifications, my number one goal in a first meeting with them would be to lay the framework for how we will move forward and to set expectations moving forward. I would look to understand their business needs and talk with them about all of the solutions possible for them with us as their software provider. From there, I have the ability to set expectations on a time frame for a solution proposal and we can move forward from there. At the end of a first meeting, I want to ensure that the key decision makers are comfortable with me and the business that I represent so they don't hesitate to reach out to me with questions or for clarification on items discussed."

If you were faced with a situation that you didn't know the answer to or understand, what would your next steps be?

"In times where this has happened in my current role, I have explained to the customer that an advanced issue like theirs needs to go to one of our subject matter experts to ensure that they get the best support possible. I explain that I am going to put their call on hold and reach out to the department that I need to. If possible, I connect them immediately. If not possible, then I walk through our protocol of submitting a help desk ticket to the appropriate group while explaining to the customer that our expectation is a 24 hour turnaround. I am very appreciative of these protocols because they set very easy to follow standards for our customers and help to avoid unnecessary follow up calls."

Work as an IT support specialist in the software industry could potentially put you in a situation to handle a question or issue that leaves you scratching your head. While explaining to your interviewer that you have the ability to take a methodical approach to getting a problem solved with the help of others, make sure not to lost sight on what is important to the customer. Talk about how you will put the customer at east by considering their needs as part of your process.

"My first step would be to ask for help from my lead in the department or my supervisor. I would let the customer know that I would be putting them in contact with another person that has more expertise on their problem and doing so was best to help problem solve in this case. If hired for this role here at The Studer Group, would that method meet the expectations of the department?"

How would you say that you would help bring sound data governance philosophies to this role at The Studer Group?

"In my current role, I work under a very strict set of data governance principles that were developed by our team. The principles outline set processes that I follow in all data conversion processes for our new software. In the end of all projects, our data governance principles help ensure sound data storage processes and data security for our end users."

This big picture question will allow your interviewer to get a sense of how you understand that your work will benefit the greater good of The Studer Group through following repeatable processes to maintain consistency in your work. When you talk about your experience and methods that you would help bring to table in this role, maintain a focus on minimizing risk and reducing costs for the organization.

"If hired for this role, I would love to help develop and abide by documented processes in data conversion to ensure solid data governance in the projects here at The Studer Group. In the work I've performed in the past, I've developed conversion and end reporting processes that helped ensure 100% accuracy in the software being developed. With these processes in place, we could rest assured that corporate risks were as minimal as possible in our products."

Looking at our products and services, what do you think we do better at The Studer Group than any of our competitors?

"When I was preparing for this interview I noticed that The Studer Group was recently recognized for innovation in XYZ. You are a trailblazer in this particular arena which is amazing."

Before your interview, be sure to research The Studer Group and any awards or recognition they have recently received. In their industry, and competitive space, where do they stand out? Be sure to speak positively about the organization's recent achievements to show that you are interested and engaged in their work.

"After reading reviews on your company, I believe that your reputation is the most solid and sincere of all your competitors. Amazing service is always the best way to stand out."

What experience do you have in the different types of software maintenance?

"Being familiar with all four types of software maintenance, my most used method of maintenance in my current role is corrective. Based on bug reports from end users, I work through coding and logic issues to resolve issues in a timely and effective manner. In the maintenance I perform, I never hesitate to pick up the phone and contact customers to hear first hand about what they are experiencing. By doing this, they feel like they are an important part of the process and it reflects well on me and my organization."

As a reputable company, The Studer Group takes their software maintenance processes seriously and your interviewer is looking to hear that you are familiar with the four different types of software maintenance. Talk to your interviewer about any work you have done in the past with corrective, adaptive, perfective and/or preventative software maintenance. Use specific examples and make sure that your interviewer walks away from your conversation knowing that you understand the importance of proper system maintenance.

"In my current role, I'd definitely say that a majority of the maintenance work that I do is adaptive maintenance. Working in banking software that is used around the globe, I help perform system maintenance for changes in currency on a pretty regular basis. This work requires research and talking with end users to help adapt the programs for their use. If hired here at The Studer Group, I also have experience performing perfective, preventative and corrective maintenance on software as well."

What do you see as the top benefits of moving to a cloud based computing platform?

"Over the past couple of years in my current position, we have greatly benefited from the vast amount of testing and staging servers that available on the cloud. In developing new programs, our testing and delivery has greatly increased our team's productivity to new levels. Add on the simple cost savings of the cloud and a move to the cloud was a no brainer for us in the end. If hired for this role here at The Studer Group, I'd be able to bring new cloud computing ideas to your team from day one on the job."

While cloud based computing has certainly had its positive impacts across many different industries, the field of software and technology development has its own unique benefits. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you understand just how a cloud based platform benefits the field. In your answer, focus on resources that impact both the work that the team at The Studer Group performs and the end users of the software.

"As with any of the work that I have done in this field, I focus on the consumer and the benefits that they can reap from my work. In the cloud, updates to existing software are made available almost instantaneously and end users have access to those updates with the simple click of a button. Rewind to years prior, these software updates took time and manpower that are almost unthinkable by today's standards."

What do you consider to be a good litmus test for when you would automate a test process for a new system versus testing manually?

"Having been in automation in both manufacturing for many years and now software for the last three years, a common misconception among people is that automation can help improve any situation and that couldn't be further from the truth. The amount of time, effort and resources that goes into an automation process makes it ideal for repetitive tasks and tests that have multiple data sets. If a testing process calls for unique and one time process, it would make the most sense to run that process manually."

As your role with The Studer Group will look to help further their automate testing processes for new systems, you will need to have a good sense for when automation makes sense and when it does not. Reiterate your sense for this to your interviewer by sticking to the high level response that repetitive tasks, as are common with large software companies, are prime candidates for automation whereas one time test cases are not.

"I"n my current position, most of the automation testing that I design is in program sanity testing. These automated tests work great because they run on similar systems following changes in code to ensure that no bugs remain in the system. If our group of engineers are working on unique, one off type projects, my automation processes are not utilized."

What software analysis and design tools do you have familiarity working with?

"As my career and experience in software engineering has grown over the years, I've come to really appreciate and utilize these tools that are available. A great example of this would be my recent education and use of Structured English for designing insurance claim software for a large auto insurer. The simplicity of the structured decisions in the program were a perfect example of a program that could utilize the tool and the end product ended up very functional for our customer."

As a software engineer for The Studer Group, your interviewer wants to hear that you have experience in utilizing tools that you make you more proficient in your work. Dig back on your past experiences and talk openly about your experiences with the different analysis and design tools that are available to help you be better in the work that you do. In the end, make sure that your interviewer understands that you are proficient in the use of these tools and open to learning and using new tools as well.

"I have great working knowledge in creating and reading data flow diagrams. To help with both our own sales staff and with customers, DFD's have been super helpful and I consider myself very proficient in creating them. I've also recently been introduced to decision tables to aid in product testing. I was working on a new system that involved some very complicated business rules and the decision table helped outline everything perfectly for our testing."

How do you measure the success of a data integration project?

"With any large data integration project that I have managed in the past, success starts with setting realistic yet high standard goals for the project. To do this, I need to make sure that I get input from all key stakeholders in the project. With a recent project, we measure our success in a few different ways. Because of the need set forth by our sales force to be more competitive with our competition in the market, we measured timeliness of the system pre and post integration. Then, to measure the financial impacts of the project, we measured our end of project costs versus what was budgeted. Because our goals were measurable, it was easy to see that the project was a huge success."

Similar to evaluating any project, measuring the success and impact of any data integration project should rely on goals that were defined at the start of the project. In your answer, be sure that you speak about the consideration for the people involved in the project (i.e. customers, sales, IT, engineering) and how success was measured in their eyes. Another great point to touch on in your answer is using the SMART method for setting goals to assure that they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time oriented.

"I think that I can best demonstrate this by talking about a recent data integration project we worked on in creating new banking software. At the beginning of the project, we clearly defined the end goals of the project in the data we wanted converted with a set deadline for completion. Our design team added their expectations on their desired workflow following the data conversion. One integration was complete, our goals were easily measured for the project to be considered a success."

Here at The Studer Group, we ask our test engineers to follow specific QA protocols. What role do you feel QA plays in software development and testing?

"As a test engineer, I take great pride in my role of ensuring that systems go out to consumers as error free as possible. In my current role, I take the time to learn all of the system specifications that are laid out by our design engineers and customize my testing to follow those specifications."

As an experience software testing engineer, quality assurance should be ingrained in your brain and your interviewer is looking to get a sense of your personal feelings towards it in your work with this question. In your answer, be sure to highlight QA's importance in reducing errors, maintaining specifications, testing failure parameters and preventing defects from occurring. In the end, make sure that quality is your mantra in the eyes of your interviewer by giving an example or two of how you put QA in the forefront of your work.

"In my work throughout my career, quality assurance in my testing was an every minute of every day job on my part. While creating effective testing processes on new software is extremely important in following QA protocols, the recording of defects, issuing of reports and assisting the designers on fixing issues are equally important parts of the process that I'd love to let shine here at The Studer Group."

Our implementation consultants here at The Studer Group often face conflicts with our customers while onsite during implementations. What interpersonal skills do you use to handle conflicts with clients?

"Any time that I face a conflict in the workplace, I maintain my own personal composure by not taking things personally and keeping a smile on my face. After setting myself, I look to gain insight into the potential conflict by using my reflective listening skills and then problem solve from there. In this role, I would listen to the needs of the client and be empathetic in my approach with them. My ability to creatively problem solve would take over from there to help find a solution for the client."

In the software implementation process for large customers of The Studer Group, you will be working with top level managers and key decision makers onsite and more often than not, issues can arise. In your role as the implementation consultant, these issues come directly to you and your interviewer will be looking to hear how you will handle these issues to maintain both a great relationship with the customer and honor to the The Studer Group. In your answer, focus on finding solutions to issues that benefit both parties and talk about the important communication skills that you possess that will make this possible in any situation that you may face.

"The biggest skill that I would bring to the team here at The Studer Group as a consultant to clients would be my ability to express mutual respect to all that I work with. As an organization, The Studer Group has their own goals that I will be vital in helping to achieve. Your clients also have their own goals that can offer different greatly from yours. A sense of mutual respect allows me to put myself in the shoes of all involved and that really helps me find solutions that work for everyone."

As you reflect back on your career to this point in your search for a new position, what would you say is your ideal work environment or culture?

"As I begin this job search now 15 years out of college, I'm looking for an employer that promotes and encourages innovation, new ideas and collaboration among all members of the team. From what I know about The Studer Group from speaking with others, you sound like a perfect match for what I am looking for in a career."

While using this question as a key indicator on how you'll fit with the team and the organization at The Studer Group, it will be very important for you to research as much as you can on the work environment at The Studer Group so you can match your priorities to that environment. If you have the opportunity to speak with an employee at The Studer Group prior to your interview, that can shed valuable information. In the end, the culture and value of an organization are often a key indicator of long-term success in a job, so make sure that you reflect your values into what the company values.

"With all of the companies that I have both worked for and consulted with in the past, I realize that a company culture is basically the personality of the company and I am looking for a new organization that really meshes well with my personality. I am a casual person that believes in hard work, teamwork and having fun on the job. As I embarked on a job search, I was so happy to see that The Studer Group was hiring because I believe our styles will fit perfectly together."

If you were confronted with a time where you wouldn't be able to meet a deadline here at The Studer Group, what steps would you take when you made that realization?

"In my current position, I am very used to handling multiple tasks and projects on a day to day basis. Last year, my team was tasked with what started as a low priority project. After assembling a team to initially discuss the details and set a deadline for completion with our management, the project unfortunately fell off the radar of everyone on the team with many more high priority projects coming up each week. As the initial project's deadline was within a week of being due, our CEO reached out to me for a progress report. I immediately took full responsibility for letting this fall off the radar and I ensured our CEO that we would have an updated timeline set by the end of the week. In doing this and completing the project to his satisfaction, this was really the tipping point in our department moving forward utilizing a detailed project management tracking system. To this day, I can't say enough about how appreciative I am about utilizing this awesome system. Moving forward, you can rest assured knowing that I take full accountability for my actions and do what is necessary to communicate new expectations and meet them fully."

At some point in any person's career, the inevitable happens and an important deadline needs to be missed. With your interviewer fully understanding this fact, they are solely interested in how you react to this situation and what you do to make the situation right. In your answer, focus on the refocused planning and communication needed while also avoiding blaming others for the situation. Your interviewer holds accountability as a desirable virtue, so be sure to take accountability for actions in your response.

"Having been in this situation before, I would first sit down to gather all the facts possible in the situation. What was the deadline, why wasn't it met and what can be done are all important questions moving forward. From there, communicating to all key parties is extremely important and doing so in a timely manner is critical. In this communication, taking accountability and setting new expectations for delivery in a concise and tactful manner will most often put stakeholders at ease and allow for successful completion."

Our cloud computing at The Studer Group requires our experts to take proper security measures in their work. What security measures are you familiar with utilizing in a cloud platform?

"For me, the planning stage of the cloud deployment process really sets the groundwork for security in a project. In my current role, each project adopts a cloud framework that suits the project the best. This framework is the base for our security measures in the cloud. From there, I always look to utilize a cloud service that encrypts our data and take all measures to steer away from storing sensitive information within the cloud. Last, as with any project, I help implement strict testing measures to check on the security of our cloud operations."

As with any server or database storage, unique security risks are posed to organizations that have moved their data and applications to the cloud. At The Studer Group, part of your role will be to ensure that all security measures are in place with the organizations data in the cloud and your interviewer is looking to hear that you are familiar with diagnosing security risks and taking action to prevent them with this question. Talk about your knowledge of the different cloud service providers and other security measures that you are familiar with taking in your work.

"In my current role, the biggest security risks that we face are loss of sensitive data and malware infections. To take all security measures possible, our first plan of attack for security is to ensure that all of our data is backed up locally with electronic copies of data. To prevent malware in all ways possible, we have implemented a strict password strength policy and we install anti-virus software in our own equipment and recommend that customers do the same as well."

What SDLC models are you familiar in working with?

"During my training in software engineering and in my early career, the waterfall model was the standard. In this model, each phase of the development process happens in a set order and projects using this model are easily managed. But over time, as the development projects that I have led have become more complicated and intricate, I have implemented the spiral model. This model has allowed the ability of end users to give feedback early on and often during development and helps to build a more customized product to our customers."

As a software engineer, you are very familiar with the software development life cycle. For this question, your interviewer is looking to hear what models you have worked on in the past. While there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer to this question, try to show your flexibility to working with different SDLC models by bringing up your past experiences. Then, show you have knowledge of different models like the waterfall model or agile model. It is also a good idea to use this question as an opportunity for you to learn more about The Studer Group by asking your interviewer which model they work off of.

"In my current position with XYZ Company, my department utilizes the agile model in development life cycle. Since our products are so tailored to the needs of our customers, we get a working product very early on in the process and then I work hand in hand with customers to fine tune the software moving forward. It is a very effective model that has built a great reputation for our software among customers. I also have familiarity working with the iterative model and it has similar advantages to the agile model. If I were hired here at The Studer Group, can you expand on what models you use here in your software development life cycle?"

What is one unique personality trait you possess that would help you be successful in this role with The Studer Group?

"From what my parents have told me about me as a young child, passion has been a personality trait that has driven me my whole life. When I tackle something in life, I need to be passionate about it for it to be a success. From my time as a young child up to today, I have been passionate about physical fitness and this has driven me to participate in running and biking races across the country. This same passion in the pursuit of excellence has translated into my career as a software engineer. From tinkering with computer hardware at a young age and learning the internal components of a system to learning how to create and design software, you'll quickly find that my passion to engineer the most unique software here at The Studer Group will be extremely beneficial to your team."

This question is allowing you to have the floor during your interview to wow your interviewer with something they might not know about you yet from your resume or time so far during the interview. Think about a strong, unique trait that you have that has led to prior success in your field and explain in detail how this will help further you in your career with The Studer Group. If possible, be very unique in your answer to draw a direct line between your personality and success in this role.

"I would have to say that my humility has been instrumental in getting me to where I am at today in my career. Having worked with one of the largest software companies in the world, egos were certainly high with a lot of my teammates and I have always used my humility to let my work do my talking for me while remaining a friendly and curious colleague to all."

Here at The Studer Group, we utilize feasibility studies with our customers to consider all impacts of a new system for them. Do you have familiarity working with feasibility studies in your work as a software engineer?

"I do have familiarity with feasibility studies throughout my career as a software engineer. On a current project that I am working on, we utilized a study to analyze if the project we were tasked with could use current technologies available to us while meeting a timeline for completion. On my end, I had to spend time researching the resources that were available, gauge their functionality and come up with a plan for action based on that. Where the project stands today, we are on pace for delivering a revolutionary system for a large security industry customer."

To properly answer this question, make sure you understand the reasons why feasibility studies are important. In essence, a feasibility study helps to determine if conditions are right to implement a project. The study looks at economic, operation, legal and technical aspects of the project to determine if moving forward with the project is best for all involved. If you have experience in the studies, talk about a specific time that you utilized a study, the steps you took and explain why it was important to do in the end. Make sure that your interviewer walks away from the interview comfortable with your ability to utilize feasibility studies in your work.

Do you have experience working with different CASE tools? If so, what do you have experience with?

"In my current role, I regularly utilize both diagramming and web development tools. The diagram tools assist our software projects by outlining the system data and components in a graphical form for us and this saves us a great amount of time while also being very reliable. The web development tools greatly help me visualize site changes that I am making because I don't have a deep background in web development. If hired for this position, I'd look forward to learning other CASE tools for prototyping, quality assurance and maintenance."

The world of software engineering has greatly benefited from advancements in computer aided software engineering tools. Because The Studer Group is at the forefront of the industry, your interviewer will be looking to hear which tools you have experience with. Make sure not to concern yourself with providing a correct answer here, but rather focus on your flexibility to learn new aides when needed while explaining what you have experience with.

"During my career and in my experience with CASE tools, most of my experience is in the lower CASE elements that focus on coding and testing the software after initial development. CASE tools have certainly made life as a software engineer more efficient and effective and I'd look forward to learn any new CASE tools if hired for this position here at The Studer Group."

The Studer Group Interview Questions

Go Back

1. Tell me about the most interesting project you have worked on this year and the biggest thing you learned from it.
2. If hired for this position here at The Studer Group, would you be comfortable handling overall project manager responsibilities for new software development?
3. As the onsite consultant for our clients here at The Studer Group, you may be privy to confidential information or data. How can we ensure that you will hold client data security in the highest confidence?
4. Talk about a time when things didn't go as planned on the job. What was the situation and what allowed your to persevere in that situation?
5. The next cloud engineer that we hire here at The Studer Group needs to be able build a system that can handle a high amount of traffic. How would you test our system's ability to handle large amounts of traffic?
6. At The Studer Group we take privacy and confidentiality very seriously. Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, if hired?
7. Would you say that you are a goal oriented on the job? What would I be able to do as your manager to help you achieve your goals if hired here at The Studer Group?
8. In a technical support role here at The Studer Group, we expect that you would be able to bring great customer service skills to the role. Describe your customer service philosophy in the support that you would provide.
9. At The Studer Group, we rely on a full team effort to deliver top quality products to our customers. Tell me about a time that you worked well as part of a team. Are you comfortable in a similar role here?
10. What programming languages would you consider yourself fluent in?
11. As a consultant with The Studer Group, your role will be vital in gather information from our customers in building new technology for them. What would be your goals in an initial consultation with a new or existing client?
12. If you were faced with a situation that you didn't know the answer to or understand, what would your next steps be?
13. How would you say that you would help bring sound data governance philosophies to this role at The Studer Group?
14. Looking at our products and services, what do you think we do better at The Studer Group than any of our competitors?
15. What experience do you have in the different types of software maintenance?
16. What do you see as the top benefits of moving to a cloud based computing platform?
17. What do you consider to be a good litmus test for when you would automate a test process for a new system versus testing manually?
18. What software analysis and design tools do you have familiarity working with?
19. How do you measure the success of a data integration project?
20. Here at The Studer Group, we ask our test engineers to follow specific QA protocols. What role do you feel QA plays in software development and testing?
21. Our implementation consultants here at The Studer Group often face conflicts with our customers while onsite during implementations. What interpersonal skills do you use to handle conflicts with clients?
22. As you reflect back on your career to this point in your search for a new position, what would you say is your ideal work environment or culture?
23. If you were confronted with a time where you wouldn't be able to meet a deadline here at The Studer Group, what steps would you take when you made that realization?
24. Our cloud computing at The Studer Group requires our experts to take proper security measures in their work. What security measures are you familiar with utilizing in a cloud platform?
25. What SDLC models are you familiar in working with?
26. What is one unique personality trait you possess that would help you be successful in this role with The Studer Group?
27. Here at The Studer Group, we utilize feasibility studies with our customers to consider all impacts of a new system for them. Do you have familiarity working with feasibility studies in your work as a software engineer?
28. Do you have experience working with different CASE tools? If so, what do you have experience with?

The Studer Group Interview Questions

1. Tell me about the most interesting project you have worked on this year and the biggest thing you learned from it.

2. If hired for this position here at The Studer Group, would you be comfortable handling overall project manager responsibilities for new software development?

3. As the onsite consultant for our clients here at The Studer Group, you may be privy to confidential information or data. How can we ensure that you will hold client data security in the highest confidence?

4. Talk about a time when things didn't go as planned on the job. What was the situation and what allowed your to persevere in that situation?

5. The next cloud engineer that we hire here at The Studer Group needs to be able build a system that can handle a high amount of traffic. How would you test our system's ability to handle large amounts of traffic?

6. At The Studer Group we take privacy and confidentiality very seriously. Are you willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, if hired?

7. Would you say that you are a goal oriented on the job? What would I be able to do as your manager to help you achieve your goals if hired here at The Studer Group?

8. In a technical support role here at The Studer Group, we expect that you would be able to bring great customer service skills to the role. Describe your customer service philosophy in the support that you would provide.

9. At The Studer Group, we rely on a full team effort to deliver top quality products to our customers. Tell me about a time that you worked well as part of a team. Are you comfortable in a similar role here?

10. What programming languages would you consider yourself fluent in?

11. As a consultant with The Studer Group, your role will be vital in gather information from our customers in building new technology for them. What would be your goals in an initial consultation with a new or existing client?

12. If you were faced with a situation that you didn't know the answer to or understand, what would your next steps be?

13. How would you say that you would help bring sound data governance philosophies to this role at The Studer Group?

14. Looking at our products and services, what do you think we do better at The Studer Group than any of our competitors?

15. What experience do you have in the different types of software maintenance?

16. What do you see as the top benefits of moving to a cloud based computing platform?

17. What do you consider to be a good litmus test for when you would automate a test process for a new system versus testing manually?

18. What software analysis and design tools do you have familiarity working with?

19. How do you measure the success of a data integration project?

20. Here at The Studer Group, we ask our test engineers to follow specific QA protocols. What role do you feel QA plays in software development and testing?

21. Our implementation consultants here at The Studer Group often face conflicts with our customers while onsite during implementations. What interpersonal skills do you use to handle conflicts with clients?

22. As you reflect back on your career to this point in your search for a new position, what would you say is your ideal work environment or culture?

23. If you were confronted with a time where you wouldn't be able to meet a deadline here at The Studer Group, what steps would you take when you made that realization?

24. Our cloud computing at The Studer Group requires our experts to take proper security measures in their work. What security measures are you familiar with utilizing in a cloud platform?

25. What SDLC models are you familiar in working with?

26. What is one unique personality trait you possess that would help you be successful in this role with The Studer Group?

27. Here at The Studer Group, we utilize feasibility studies with our customers to consider all impacts of a new system for them. Do you have familiarity working with feasibility studies in your work as a software engineer?

28. Do you have experience working with different CASE tools? If so, what do you have experience with?