Top Dell Interview Questions

Dell is one of the most sought-after companies to work with if you’re in the field of technology. This makes its interview process pretty tough. So if you’re a software engineer looking to land a job at Dell, practicing common Dell interview questions is crucial.

With seven companies under its wing and revenue of a whopping 94 billion USD in 2021, it comes as no surprise that landing a job at Dell is one of the most competitive tasks in the industry. This is exactly why interview candidates require some guidance in cracking the Dell Technologies interview questions.

We’ve put together some of the most common Dell interview questions to help you with your prep. Also,  check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation e-book to get interview-ready!

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Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

1. Dell behavioral interview questions and how to answer them
2. Dell technical interview questions for software engineers
3. Dell interview questions for experienced developers
4. FAQs on Dell interview questions

Dell Behavioral Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Before getting down to specific interview questions asked for software engineer job roles, let’s look at some commonly asked behavioral interview questions that you can expect at a Dell Interview:

1. Tell Me About Yourself.

One of the most common screening questions that you can use to make the first impression on the interviewer.

Most candidates take the time to explain their whole life story when, in reality, the hiring manager is just looking for a crisp bio that focuses on why you’d be the best fit for the role and Dell. Stick to just talking about the relevant details, depending on your Job Description.

2. What can you do for Dell?

Hint: This has nothing to do with your Job Description.

Dell can find many candidates that have the technical skills to fill their requirements. You need to stand out and talk about what makes you the perfect recruit for the company.

Instead of just talking about your strengths, if you list out specific aspects of the role that your strengths can help improve, you’ll make a good impression on the interviewers. Try to learn about the job role you’re applying for and talk about your soft skills that can bring value to the table. Also, make sure you talk about how you can contribute to the company’s work culture by focusing on Dell’s core values.

Knowing about the company and the job role is always a plus. It shows your interest, curiosity, and preparedness.

3. What is your greatest weakness?

This is perhaps one of the most commonly asked Dell Interview Questions, so it is important that you find the right strategy to tackle it. You don’t want to sound too arrogant. You don’t want to sound like you aren’t self-aware either. Here are some essential tips for answering this question:

• The weakness you mention shouldn’t affect your ability to perform your role adequately. For instance, if you’re applying for a role that involves debugging, and your weakness is “lack of attention to detail,” it might not sit all that well with your hiring manager.
• Do not talk about personal qualities; your interviewer, at least initially, will probably not be interested in this.
• Always, and we cannot stress this enough, end the question with methods you’re employing to rectify the weakness.

4. Why did you quit your last job? Why do you want to join Dell?

Whatever you do, don’t speak ill of your previous employer, even they deserve it. That’s seen as a major red flag by every major employer out there, and Dell is no different.

Explain what your interest at Dell is — is it the opportunity to work with some of the best brightest in the world? Opportunities to learn? Or are you looking for a new challenge?

If you’re a fresher, take this opportunity to express what you’re looking for during your employment with Dell. It should not just be about what you’ll gain from Dell but what you’ll contribute as well.

5. What are your salary expectations?

Every employer in the world will ask this question, and Dell is no different. Make sure to do your research and understand the industry standard. Companies like Dell would usually offer higher packages as compared to other players in the industry.

Be realistic, do your research and come up with an accurate number that reflects how much value you’ll provide to the company.

Never say “I don’t know” or ask them for the budget for your role. One, it shows a lack of research. Two, it’s considered unprofessional. And three, if you didn’t conduct due research before, there’s no way to know if the number quoted is appropriate.

Read the Ultimate Guide to Salary Negotiation for some invaluable tips.

Now that we’ve gone through some of the most commonly asked behavioral questions posed in a Dell interview, let’s move on to the technical side.

Dell Technical Interview Questions for Software Engineers

Interviewers at Dell are known to not ask many technical questions during the interviews. They tend to look for the quality and stability of the prospective employees and see how they would contribute in the long run.

However, there are some instances (especially if you’re a fresher) where you’ll be asked some technical questions based on your field of interest.

Tech interview questions at Dell are based on basic data structure and algorithms. We’ve included some sample questions of the types of questions under each category to help you prepare.

Arrays and strings (most common):

1. There are 2 sorted arrays, arr and brr, of size n and m, respectively. Write an algorithm to find the median of the array obtained after merging arrays arr and brr. (Solution)
2. Given 2 arrays, write a function to merge the first one into the second one, resulting in an increasingly sorted array. (Solution)
3. Find all palindromic decompositions of a given string s. (Solution)

Linked lists and reverse linked lists:

1. Given a linked list, zip it from its two ends in place, using constant extra space. The nodes in the resulting “zipped” linked list should go in this order: first, last, second, second to last, and so on. (Solution)
2. Given an integer singly linked list L of size n, and an integer k, you have to swap kth (1-indexed) node from the beginning with kth node from the end. (Solution)

Trees:

1. Implement an iterator over a binary tree with integer values. Your iterator will be initialized with the root node. (Solution)
2. Given a binary tree, return all paths from root to leaf. (Solution)

Stacks and Queues

1. Build a min stack. Min stack should support push, pop methods (as usual stack), as well as one method that returns the minimum element in the entire stack. (Solution)
2. Given a sequence of enqueue and dequeue operations, return a result of their execution without using a queue data structure. (Solution)

You can also expect questions on debugging, dynamic programming, text and binary file handling, sorting (including bubble, recursive bubble, insertion, recursive insertion, selection, merge, iterative merge, and quicksort).

In addition, you can also expect some design questions, such as:

• Design an e-Commerce website
• Design a hashmap using low-level designs.
• Design a game like tic-tac-toe.
• Design a game like Tower of Hanoi

Don’t expect the tech rounds to be super complicated; Dell seems to trust your university’s ability to evaluate your technical skills.

Dell Interview Questions for Experienced Developers

Though Dell primarily hires freshers and promotes from the ground up, they are also known to hire experienced candidates to fill vacancies from time to time. Again, the technical competency is not what they will be questioning you on; the interviews will be more focused on your personal attributes to see if you’re a right fit for Dell’s culture.
Some commonly asked questions and answers in Dell Interviews for senior staff are:

1. Why is there a gap in your resume?

Although resume gaps are becoming much less of a taboo, it’s still good to have an explanation. Honest explanations tend to make you seem more valuable in the eyes of your prospective employer (Dell, in this case).

If the reason is personal (say, related to mental health issues), you are not obligated to respond with details that you’re not comfortable sharing.

2. What was your CTC to your previous employer?

Since you’re experienced, you’ll have a rough idea about how much you’re supposed to earn, and how much you can expect for your role. Be honest about how much your CTC was to your previous employer.

While the CTC to your previous employer can be used as a starting point, you shouldn’t come up with a number based purely on that (and neither will Dell). Think purely from the perspective of how much value you’d bring to the company and how much you deem it appropriate for your role.

3. Have you ever disagreed with a supervisor? What steps did you take to resolve the issue?

This is one of the questions that stump most of the interviewees. As mentioned earlier, it is never a good idea to speak ill of your previous employers.

That said, when two people work together to achieve a goal, disagreements tend to happen, and Dell knows that. Dell knows that supervisors often turn down great ideas for many internal reasons.

However, they like their workplace to be conducive to collaboration and not be hostile. They ideally look for candidates who have proven to take “nos” in a stride and come up with reasonable ways to deal with conflicts. Think of an example that exhibits these qualities and describe it in detail.

That concludes the commonly asked Dell interview questions.

Remember: Dell’s interviews tend to lean more on the “personal” and “character” side of things, as compared to being technical. They’re constantly on the lookout for individuals who love taking the initiative and responsibility and seek opportunities to grow.

FAQs on Dell Interview Questions

1. Does Dell conduct interviews for Team Leads?

Dell conducts interviews for all positions across different verticals. Whether you’re a fresher looking at your first job, or an experienced team lead, Dell is always looking for talented candidates.

2. What are some tips for Dell Interviews as a Fresher?

The questions they ask in Dell interviews will have less to do with technical knowledge and lots to do with who you are as a person. Just be the best version of yourself, and answer the questions naturally, and you should be good to go.

3. How do Dell interview questions differ for freshers as opposed to experienced candidates?

For experienced candidates, the emphasis placed on technical aspects is even lesser. The questions will be catered more towards judging your reaction to varying circumstances and your ability to act under pressure. For freshers, they will look for employees who they feel would be an amazing cultural fit and provide long-term value to the company.

4. Are Dell interviews tough?

Dell interviews are generally easy if you have enough confidence and have the necessary skills required to fill the role. Dell generally conducts a pre-placement talk; pay attention to this because HR managers may ask questions based on the info given during the talk.

5. What are the top three types of Dell interview questions I should prepare for?

The following are the three aspects of Dell interview questions you need to prepare for:

• Do you have the right skills, expertise, experience, and overall technical skills?
• Are you interested in the job and the company in particular?
• What can you bring to the table, and how well will you fit into the company, team, and culture?

Prepare for Your Next Tech Interview

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