What 18 dated candidate reports reveal about software interviews in 2026
This snapshot includes only public reports that state an interview date between January 1 and August 3, 2026. The qualifying sample currently covers interviews from February through June. Every source is linked below; undated posts, older interviews updated in 2026, and contradictory timelines were excluded.
Dataset at a glance
Small enough to audit, current enough to use
18
dated candidate reports
13
employers represented
117
source-pattern observations
84
normalized patterns
Observed interview dates: February–June 2026. “Verified” means the public source was accessible and stated a qualifying date; it does not mean the employer independently confirmed the candidate's account.
Finding 01
Coding leads, but recent loops test far more than coding
Coding accounts for 35.9% of normalized observations in this sample. System design, project deep dives, backend fundamentals, and behavioral evidence together make up most of the remainder.
Finding 02
The patterns repeated across independent reports
A pattern is counted at most once per source report. Similar prompts are neutrally normalized without copying a candidate's prose. Repetition means observed in multiple reports—not a prediction that a future candidate will receive it.
| Normalized pattern | Topic | Reports | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defend project and technology-stack decisions | Project deep dives | 12 | 10 |
| Solve House Robber and a circular variant | Coding & algorithms | 4 | 3 |
| Discuss feedback, team fit, and professional maturity | Behavioral & leadership | 3 | 3 |
| Explain or implement a hash map | Backend & language fundamentals | 3 | 3 |
| Write SQL joins and salary-ranking queries | Databases & SQL | 3 | 3 |
| Find the minimum number of meeting rooms | Coding & algorithms | 3 | 2 |
| Give detailed leadership examples with follow-up evidence | Behavioral & leadership | 3 | 1 |
| Design a notification service | System design | 2 | 2 |
| Find a maximum subarray under circular or related constraints | Coding & algorithms | 2 | 2 |
| Handle the same booking action from concurrent clients | System design | 2 | 2 |
| Reason through business scenarios and team fit | Behavioral & leadership | 2 | 2 |
| Reserve inventory safely under concurrency | System design | 2 | 2 |
| Search a rotated sorted array | Coding & algorithms | 2 | 2 |
| Count connected islands in a grid | Coding & algorithms | 2 | 1 |
| Design and implement a multi-floor parking lot | Object-oriented / low-level design | 2 | 1 |
| Explain how you use GenAI and verify generated code | GenAI judgment | 2 | 1 |
Coverage by employer
Thirteen employers, without pretending the sample is balanced
Amazon
4reports
29observations
Microsoft
3reports
14observations
BharatPe
1reports
6observations
Blinkit
1reports
6observations
Inito
1reports
7observations
Nykaa
1reports
8observations
Okta
1reports
5observations
Oracle
1reports
7observations
PayPay
1reports
7observations
Safe Security
1reports
9observations
Sun King
1reports
9observations
Uber
1reports
3observations
Walmart
1reports
7observations
Source registry
Audit every report included in the analysis
Links point to the original public candidate posts. Dates below are interview dates stated in those posts, not crawl dates or “last updated” dates.
Blinkit · SDE-1
Blinkit SDE-1 Interview Experience — Offer
Interview date: June 2026 · 6 normalized patterns
Safe Security · Software Engineer 3
Safe Security Software Engineer 3 Interview Experience
Interview date: June 19, 2026 · 9 normalized patterns
Okta · Staff Software Engineer
Okta Staff Software Engineer Interview Experience
Interview date: May 2026 · 5 normalized patterns
Walmart · Senior Software Engineer
Walmart Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience
Interview date: April 29, 2026 · 7 normalized patterns
Amazon · SDE-1 Intern
Amazon SDE-1 Intern Interview Experience
Interview date: April 16, 2026 · 6 normalized patterns
Amazon · SDE-1
Amazon SDE-1 Interview Experience
Interview date: April 6–14, 2026 · 8 normalized patterns
Amazon · SDE-1
Amazon SDE-1 Interview — Selected
Interview date: February 28–April 6, 2026 · 8 normalized patterns
Inito · Senior Software Engineer
Inito Bangalore Interview — Selected
Interview date: March 16–31, 2026 · 7 normalized patterns
Nykaa · SDE-2 Backend
Nykaa SDE-2 Interview Experience
Interview date: March 2026 · 8 normalized patterns
Microsoft · SDE II
Microsoft SDE II Interview Experience
Interview date: February 27–March 2, 2026 · 4 normalized patterns
Amazon · SDE-2
Amazon SDE-2 Interview — Selected
Interview date: February 2026 · 7 normalized patterns
BharatPe · SDE-2
BharatPe SDE-2 Interview Experience
Interview date: February 2026 · 6 normalized patterns
Microsoft · SWE II
Microsoft SWE II Interview Experience
Interview date: February 2026 · 6 normalized patterns
Microsoft · Software Engineer
Microsoft Interview in a Multi-company Experience Report
Interview date: February 2026 · 4 normalized patterns
Oracle · Senior Application Engineer
Oracle Senior Application Engineer Interview Experience
Interview date: February 2026 · 7 normalized patterns
PayPay · SDE-2
PayPay India SDE-2 Interview Experience
Interview date: February 2026 · 7 normalized patterns
Sun King · SDE-2 Backend
Sun King SDE-2 Interview Experience
Interview date: February 2026 · 9 normalized patterns
Uber · SDE-2
Uber SDE-2 Interview Experience
Interview date: February 27, 2026 · 3 normalized patterns
Inclusion and normalization method
- 01Require an explicit interview date from January 1 through August 3, 2026, and a substantive software interview account.
- 02Exclude unclear dates, contradictory timelines, duplicate accounts, recruiter-only updates, and older interviews merely edited in 2026.
- 03Paraphrase questions and discussion areas into neutral patterns; never reproduce the full source post or candidate identity.
- 04Deduplicate a pattern within each report, then aggregate by topic, employer, and independent source count.
Limitations and reuse
Public self-reports are self-selected, may contain mistakes, and overrepresent people who choose to post. Topic normalization requires editorial judgment. Employer processes can change after the observed interview date.
The downloadable source-pattern observations are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite: Acedly Research, “2026 Software Interview Questions Report,” August 3, 2026.
Browse the separate historical company guides