Top Prompts to Prepare for Software Developer Job Interviews with ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini (Coding Questions, System Design, 2026)
Top Prompts to Prepare for Software Developer Job Interviews with ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini (Coding Questions, System Design, 2026)
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Top Prompts to Prepare for Software Developer Job Interviews with ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini (Coding Questions, System Design, 2026)
November 26, 2025
Most developers bomb technical interviews. They freeze during coding challenges, fumble system design questions, or fail to communicate their thought process clearly. They miss opportunities at top companies. Top-performing developers use AI to practice coding problems, master system design patterns, and prepare behavioral answers that land offers at FAANG and high-growth startups. They treat interview prep like a learnable skill.
Preparing for developer interviews without structure wastes time. You practice random LeetCode problems, ignore system design, or skip behavioral prep entirely.
With the right AI prompts, you can systematically prepare for every interview stage—coding challenges, system design, behavioral questions, and technical deep-dives—with personalized practice and feedback.
In this guide, you'll get the top free prompts for software developer interview prep using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, or Perplexity. Just copy and paste these prompts with your situation.
These are the best developer interview prep prompts for 2026, optimized for FAANG, startups, and competitive tech roles.
Quick Start Guide
Open ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, or Perplexity
Identify interview type (phone screen, technical, system design, onsite)
Paste the appropriate prep prompt
Practice problems, get feedback, iterate
Ace your interviews and land offers
Understanding Software Developer Interview Process
Typical Interview Stages:
1. Phone Screen (30-45 min)
Recruiter conversation
Basic technical questions
Coding problem (easy-medium)
2. Technical Phone Interview (45-60 min)
Live coding (medium difficulty)
Algorithm and data structures
Code quality and communication
3. Onsite/Virtual Onsite (4-6 hours)
Multiple coding rounds (2-3)
System design (1-2)
Behavioral (1)
Team fit/culture
4. Final Round
Leadership conversation
Offer negotiation
Top AI Prompts to Prepare for Developer Interviews
Below are the most effective, copy-and-paste developer interview prep prompts for 2026.
1. The Complete Interview Prep Plan Generator
Create comprehensive software developer interview prep plan.
Target company: [FAANG/startup/specific company]
Interview timeline: [weeks until interview]
Current skill level: [junior/mid/senior]
Weak areas: [what you struggle with]
Strong areas: [what you're good at]
Role: [backend/frontend/full-stack/mobile/etc.]
Generate study plan with:
- Daily study schedule
- Coding problem progression (easy → hard)
- System design topics priority
- Behavioral question prep
- Mock interview schedule
- Resources by topic
- Week-by-week milestones
Structured preparation roadmap.
My situation: [paste details]
Why this works: Structured plans prevent random practice. Targeted prep maximizes limited time.
2. The Coding Problem Practice Prompt
Generate coding interview problem for practice.
Difficulty: [easy/medium/hard]
Topic: [arrays/strings/trees/graphs/DP/etc.]
Company style: [FAANG/startup type]
Time limit: [30/45/60 minutes]
Provide:
- Problem statement (clear requirements)
- Example inputs and outputs
- Constraints
- Expected time/space complexity
- Hints (if I get stuck)
- Optimal solution (after my attempt)
- Common mistakes to avoid
LeetCode-style practice problem.
Topic: [paste preference]
Review my coding interview solution.
Problem: [problem description]
My solution: [paste code]
Language: [Python/JavaScript/Java/C++/etc.]
Time complexity: [my analysis]
Space complexity: [my analysis]
Provide feedback on:
- Correctness (does it work for all cases?)
- Edge cases I missed
- Code quality and readability
- Time/space complexity analysis
- Optimization opportunities
- Interview communication (how to explain it)
- Alternative approaches
Expert code review.
Code: [paste solution]
Why this works: Feedback reveals blind spots. Learning why solutions work matters more than memorizing.
4. The System Design Question Generator
Create system design interview question.
Difficulty: [entry/mid/senior level]
System type: [social media/e-commerce/messaging/streaming/etc.]
Focus area: [scalability/reliability/performance]
Provide system design question:
- Problem statement
- Requirements (functional and non-functional)
- Scale expectations (users, requests, data)
- What interviewer wants to see
- Key discussion points
- Common pitfalls
- Evaluation criteria
Practice system design thinking.
Level: [paste your level]
Why this works: System design separates mid from senior. Practice revealing thought process.
5. The System Design Solution Framework
Help me design system for interview.
Problem: [system to design]
Requirements: [functional needs]
Scale: [expected traffic/users/data]
My current approach: [initial thoughts]
Walk me through:
- Requirements clarification (questions to ask)
- High-level architecture
- Component breakdown
- Database design (schema, DB choice)
- API design (key endpoints)
- Scalability strategies
- Trade-offs and alternatives
- What to emphasize in interview
Complete design walkthrough.
System: [paste problem]
Explain data structure/algorithm for interview.
Topic: [specific DS or algo]
Use case: [when to use it]
Level: [basic/intermediate/advanced]
Explain thoroughly:
- How it works (clear explanation)
- Time complexity (all operations)
- Space complexity
- When to use vs. alternatives
- Implementation details
- Common interview questions using it
- Gotchas and edge cases
- How to explain to interviewer
Master the fundamentals.
Topic: [paste DS/algo]
Why this works: Deep understanding beats memorization. Explain concepts clearly = pass interviews.
7. The Behavioral Question Prep Prompt
Prepare behavioral interview answers for developer role.
Role level: [junior/mid/senior/staff]
Company type: [FAANG/startup/enterprise]
My background: [brief experience summary]
Generate answers for:
- "Tell me about yourself"
- "Why this company?"
- "Describe a challenging technical problem"
- "Conflict with teammate"
- "Failure and what you learned"
- "Leadership example"
- "Why leaving current role?"
STAR method formatted answers.
Background: [paste details]
Why this works: Behavioral questions reveal culture fit. STAR method provides clear structure.
Why this works: Mock interviews build confidence. Realistic practice reduces anxiety.
9. The Technical Communication Practice
Help me explain technical concept simply.
Concept: [technical topic]
Audience: [non-technical interviewer/technical peer]
Context: [interview scenario]
Teach me to explain:
- Without jargon (simple terms)
- Using analogies
- With examples
- Clear progression (simple → complex)
- Checking for understanding
- Handling follow-up questions
Communication practice.
Concept: [paste topic]
Why this works: Clear communication matters as much as coding. Senior devs must explain complexity simply.
10. The Time/Space Complexity Analysis Practice
Practice analyzing time and space complexity.
Code: [paste code or algorithm description]
Language: [programming language]
Provide:
- Step-by-step complexity analysis
- How to explain in interview
- Best/average/worst case scenarios
- Space complexity breakdown
- How to optimize (if possible)
- Common complexity mistakes
- How interviewers evaluate this
Master Big O analysis.
Code: [paste solution]
Why this works: Complexity analysis is mandatory. Understanding why matters more than memorizing.
11. The Debugging & Troubleshooting Prompt
Practice debugging interview scenario.
Code: [buggy code]
Problem description: [what's wrong]
Expected behavior: [correct output]
Walk me through:
- How to identify bug systematically
- Questions to ask interviewer
- Debugging approach (print/test cases/etc.)
- How to communicate process
- Fix explanation
- Test case validation
- Prevention strategies
Systematic debugging practice.
Buggy code: [paste code]
Why this works: Debugging questions test problem-solving. Methodical approach impresses interviewers.
12. The Object-Oriented Design Question Prep
Practice object-oriented design interview question.
Problem: [design X system/game/library]
Language: [Java/Python/C++/etc.]
Focus: [OOP principles]
Design solution with:
- Class structure
- Key interfaces
- Design patterns used
- Relationships (inheritance, composition)
- SOLID principles applied
- Extensibility considerations
- How to discuss in interview
OOP design practice.
Problem: [paste design question]
Why this works: OOP design questions test software engineering maturity. Design patterns show experience.
13. The Database Design Question Practice
Practice database design for interview.
Application: [what system needs DB]
Requirements: [what data to store]
Scale: [expected size/throughput]
Design database with:
- Schema design (tables, columns, types)
- Relationships (1-to-1, 1-to-many, etc.)
- Indexes (what to index, why)
- SQL vs. NoSQL decision
- Normalization considerations
- Query optimization
- How to present to interviewer
Database design fundamentals.
Requirements: [paste needs]
Why this works: Database design reveals backend expertise. Schema choices show experience with scale.
14. The API Design Question Practice
Practice designing RESTful API for interview.
Service: [what API is for]
Users: [who uses it]
Key features: [main functionality]
Design API with:
- Endpoint structure (resources, verbs)
- Request/response formats
- Status codes
- Authentication approach
- Rate limiting strategy
- Versioning strategy
- Error handling
- How to explain design choices
API design practice.
Service: [paste requirements]
Why this works: API design shows full-stack thinking. RESTful principles demonstrate web expertise.
15. The Scalability Discussion Prep
Prepare to discuss scalability in interview.
System: [what needs to scale]
Current scale: [starting point]
Target scale: [where it needs to go]
Discuss scalability strategies:
- Horizontal vs. vertical scaling
- Caching strategies (where, what, how)
- Database scaling (sharding, replication)
- Load balancing
- CDN usage
- Async processing
- Microservices considerations
- Trade-offs for each approach
Scale thinking demonstration.
System: [paste scenario]
Why this works: Scalability separates junior from senior engineers. Trade-off discussions show depth.
Why this works: Front-end has unique considerations. Framework depth and web fundamentals both matter.
17. The Problem-Solving Approach Framework
Teach me problem-solving framework for coding interviews.
Problem type: [algorithm/data structure/system design]
My struggle: [where I get stuck]
Framework covering:
- Clarify requirements (questions to ask)
- Examples and edge cases
- Brute force first (acknowledge it)
- Optimize iteratively
- Explain trade-offs
- Code with good practices
- Test systematically
- How to communicate throughout
Systematic problem-solving.
My struggle: [paste issue]
Why this works: Framework prevents panic. Interviewers value process over immediate brilliance.
18. The Common Mistakes Identification
Identify common mistakes I might make in interviews.
My background: [experience level]
Weak areas: [topics I struggle with]
Past interview feedback: [if any]
Highlight common mistakes:
- Technical mistakes (algo choices, bugs)
- Communication issues (not explaining)
- Incomplete solutions (missing edge cases)
- Time management (spending too long)
- Behavioral mistakes (attitude, arrogance)
- Follow-up question handling
- How to avoid each mistake
Mistake prevention.
Background: [paste details]
Why this works: Knowing pitfalls helps avoid them. Prevention easier than recovery in interviews.
19. The Company-Specific Interview Prep
Prepare specifically for [Company Name] interview.
Company: [target company]
Role: [position]
My research: [what I know about their process]
Provide company-specific prep:
- Interview format (their specific process)
- Common question types they ask
- Technologies they use (study these)
- Company values and culture
- Questions to ask them
- What they value most
- Red flags to avoid
- Insider tips
Tailored company prep.
Company: [paste name]
Why this works: Company-specific prep shows genuine interest. Each company has unique interview style.
20. The Whiteboard Coding Practice
Practice whiteboard/collaborative editor coding.
Problem: [coding question]
Environment: [whiteboard/CoderPad/etc.]
Tips needed: [specific advice]
Whiteboard-specific guidance:
- How to organize code visually
- Starting with high-level approach
- Writing clean, readable code
- Talking while coding
- Handling syntax uncertainty
- Drawing diagrams when helpful
- Time management on whiteboard
- Recovery from mistakes
Whiteboard confidence.
Problem: [paste question]
Why this works: Whiteboard coding feels different. Practice format reduces interview anxiety.
21. The Follow-Up Questions Preparation
Prepare for interviewer follow-up questions.
Main problem: [initial coding question]
My solution: [approach I used]
Generate likely follow-ups:
- "What if requirements change to X?"
- "How would you optimize this?"
- "How would this scale?"
- "What are trade-offs?"
- "Alternative approaches?"
- How to answer each
- Demonstrating deeper thinking
Anticipate follow-ups.
Problem: [paste initial question]
Why this works: Follow-ups separate good from great candidates. Preparation shows depth.
22. The Salary Negotiation Prep (Post-Offer)
Prepare for developer salary negotiation.
Role: [position level]
Location: [city/remote]
Offer: [if received]
Market rate research: [what you found]
Negotiation preparation:
- Market research (comp for role)
- Your value proposition
- Negotiation scripts
- Equity discussion
- Benefits to negotiate
- When to push back
- Handling counteroffers
- Accepting professionally
Developer comp negotiation.
Situation: [paste details]
Why this works: Negotiation can increase comp 10-30%. Preparation prevents leaving money on table.
23. The Technical Deep-Dive Prep
Prepare for deep-dive on my past project.
Project: [project I worked on]
My role: [what I did]
Technical challenges: [what was hard]
Prepare to discuss:
- Technical architecture (high-level)
- Your specific contributions
- Challenges and how solved
- Trade-offs made
- What you'd do differently
- Metrics and impact
- Team collaboration
- Technologies chosen (why)
Project deep-dive readiness.
Project: [paste description]
Why this works: Interviewers dig into past work. Articulating technical decisions shows seniority.
24. The Questions to Ask Interviewer
Generate smart questions to ask interviewer.
Company: [target company]
Role: [position]
Interview stage: [which round]
Interviewer role: [engineer/manager/recruiter]
Questions showing:
- Genuine interest in work
- Technical curiosity
- Culture fit exploration
- Growth mindset
- Not just about perks
- Role-appropriate depth
- Company understanding
Impress with questions.
Context: [paste details]
Why this works: Questions you ask reveal priorities. Smart questions show you're evaluating them too.
Giving up too quickly - Work through stuck points with interviewer
Not asking questions - Clarification shows diligence
Overconfidence/underconfidence - Balance showing knowledge with humility
FAQ
How long to prepare for technical interviews? 4-6 weeks of focused study for most developers. Longer if fundamentals are rusty.
Should I memorize solutions? No. Understand patterns and problem-solving approaches. Memorization fails with variations.
Is LeetCode enough? No. Also prepare system design, behavioral, and company-specific research.
What if I get stuck on a problem? Think out loud, ask clarifying questions, try brute force first, ask for hints if needed.
How important are mock interviews? Very. Simulating pressure reveals weaknesses. Practice with peers or services.
Do I need to know every data structure? Know common ones deeply: arrays, strings, hash tables, trees, graphs, heaps, stacks, queues.
How to handle system design with no experience? Study common patterns, practice explaining trade-offs, acknowledge learning opportunities.
Should I specialize or be general? Specialize in interview prep based on role (frontend/backend/etc.) but show breadth.
Conclusion
Most developers bomb technical interviews. They freeze during coding challenges, fumble system design, and fail to communicate clearly. They miss opportunities at top companies. Top-performing developers use AI to systematically practice coding problems, master system design, and prepare behavioral answers that land FAANG and startup offers.
With these 25 prompts, you can prepare comprehensively for software developer interviews using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, or Perplexity.
Stop winging technical interviews. Copy these prompts, practice systematically, and land your dream developer role.
