Backend Entry-Level 3-Month Interview Retrospective (Long)
I’m writing up what I went through over about 3 months from the second half of last year to early this year while applying to entry-level backend postings. I’m a non-CS major who came out of a bootcamp, so I applied to both associate-degree and bachelor’s-degree openings.
1. Application Screening
A portfolio of 10–12 pages got the best response. Once it went over 20 pages, people tended not to read it well. More important than listing tech stacks was adding a one-line note on “why I made that choice.”
2. Coding Test
Based on Baekjoon, if you’re around Gold 3–4, you passed most of them. DP and graphs came up almost every time. If you’re short on time, make sure to also solve SQL problems.
3. Technical Interview
The most common questions were about transaction isolation levels, how indexes work, and JVM memory. Rather than memorizing answers, I got good reactions by asking the interviewer back and steering it like a conversation.
4. Final Results
I applied to 30 places total: 12 passed the document screening, 8 passed the coding test, 5 passed to interviews, and 2 made it to the final offer. Until the very end I wasn’t getting in and it really messed with my mental state, but the answer was just to apply a lot.
If you have any questions, I’ll answer as much as I know.