Backend developer: interview preparation resources

Backend development is the core of websites and applications. As businesses are adopting digital transformation, the demand for backend developers is at an all-time high. Companies are looking for candidates who have updated skills. If you are a backend developer preparing for the interview, we have some excellent resources to help you ace the interview.

What do companies want from backend developers? 

It is essential to understand the responsibilities of the role. Your backend developer interview prep must focus on skills and responsibilities sought by the employers.

Most companies want backend developers to be able to deploy solutions that manage the interchange of data between the server and the users. They have to develop server-side logic, improve the performance and efficiency of backend infrastructure, define and maintain central databases, and design interactivity and responsiveness to frontend requests.

As part of a team, you will work with frontend developers to integrate their design elements into the application. Skilled backend developers must understand frontend technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

To land at high paying jobs as a backend developer, you must focus on building skills that help you with the following responsibilities:

• Building reusable code and libraries for future use
• Integrating front-side user elements with server-side logic
• Implementing security and data protection
• Optimizing applications and websites for maximum speed and scalability
• Designing and implementing central or distributed data storage solutions

Backend Developer Skills

Backend developers are in high demand. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics study suggests that the need for backend developers will increase by 13% by 2028. However, being a competitive backend developer is challenging as you have to keep up with the new trends and in-demand skills.

Technology is changing fast, and innovations are taking place on several fronts. The modern internet infrastructure requires solutions that enable faster code deployment. Luckily, it is easy to learn new skills with many resources available. We will focus on the learning resources for backend developer interview prep, but first, let’s look at the necessary skills.

Technical skills needed to ace backend developer interviews:

• In-depth knowledge of at least one backend programming language such as Python, Java, and PHP
• Mastery of at least one framework like Django, Node.js, or Drupal
• Knowledge of front end technologies-HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Familiarity with hosting environments along with database administration
• Ability to balance the load for scalable applications
• Understanding of accessibility and security compliance
• Expertise and experience in modern version control, such as GIT

In backend development, the focus is on building secured, fast and scalable systems. Employers don’t expect command in every programming language. However, we recommend you familiarize yourself with some of the most in-demand technologies.

We already have a resource on in-demand skills backend developers should focus on.

Next, we will share some excellent backend developer interview resources our experts curated.

Top technical handbooks for backend developers 

Backend engineers create the backbone of applications to perform smoothly on the internet. Most of the backend developers’ work might not be visible, but it can make or break the entire website or application. Therefore, backend developers must keep learning.

Here are some excellent technical books for backend developers.

Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup: 

It is one of the books that are part of college curriculums to teach students the fundamentals of C++. The principles and practices are easily transferable to any programming language.

Node.js Web Development: Server-side web development made easy with Node 14 using practical examples: This is an excellent resource for backend developers to learn JavaScript. The book walks you through scalable app development using Node.js 14. It also explores the latest ECMAScript techniques.

Algorithms by Robert Sedgewick: There is no better resource to learn algorithms. It is a clear, simple, and straightforward explanation of the essential concepts of algorithms.

The Joy of PHP Programming by Alan Forbes is a resource for learning PHP for backend development. It covers all the concepts of PHP and PHP syntax. It also covers MySQL, control structures, and the basics of HTML.

Top Online Courses for Backend Development 

Online courses are beneficial because they enable practice-based learning. We have helped hundreds of backend developers to upskill. Here are the top online courses for backend developer interview prep that we handpicked.

Become a backend web developer: A LinkedIn Learning path with 11 courses; this one teaches the foundational skills necessary for backend development. It includes information about essential programming languages and databases. It also explores RESTful APIs.

Using Python to interact with the Operating System: Available on Coursera, this course is vital for backend developers to understand how to manipulate files and processes on an OS. Backend developers need to understand the working of operating systems to design applications that work efficiently and scale quickly.

JavaScript, Bootstrap, & PHP – Certification for Beginners: Udemy has designed this course to help backend developers learn the client-side web page interactivity through JavaScript. This course will help backend developers learn the overlapping aspects of frontend and backend development.

Complete Backend Development 2022 Bundle: Another Udemy course, this one is aimed at brushing up on Python skills in a developer. This course covers all the latest developments in Python, Django, Heroku, SQLite 3, and GIT.

Fundamentals of Programming: Whether a beginner or an experienced backend developer, we always recommend keeping the fundamentals sharp. It is what this course will help you achieve. It covers all aspects of software and app development with C, Java, Rust, Go, C++, PHP, and JavaScript.

Full Stack Java Developer: Available on SimpliLearn, this course is an intense boot camp that provides in-depth knowledge of full-stack development to design and launch applications and websites.

Top podcasts for backend developers 

While books and courses are great to hone the skills, they seldom provide industry insights.

That is why we love podcasts. They are great to learn about the tech on the go. You know about tools and concepts, but most importantly, keep in touch with what developments are taking place in the industry.

Developer Tea: Regarded as the most thoughtful developer podcast, Developer Tea is popular among backend developers. The episodes cover interviews with some of the best developers, discussing the craftsmanship of software development.

The Ladybug Podcast: Four prominent developers host this podcast and discuss a variety of tech stacks for backend development.

The Hanselminutes Podcast: If you are looking for an education-focused developer podcast, this one hosted by Scott Hanselman is simply the best. Hanselman is a prolific developer who worked as a developer evangelist for Microsoft.

Are you ready for your next big break? 

Being a backend developer brings you numerous opportunities. Strong candidates are those who are driven and collaborative. Practice how to let hiring managers know about your problem-solving and technical skills. We hope the resources listed here will help you ace the backend developer interview.

If you are looking for opportunities at global startups and Fortune500 companies, we can help. Talent500 is a platform trusted by companies to build international teams. Signup today and join our elite pool of talent.