C programming language was developed in 1972. It is an imperative and general-purpose computer programming language. C is one of the most widely used computer languages. To develop software like operating systems, databases, compilers, etc. C programming is used. It is considered an outstanding language to learn for beginners.

The C programming language was with an aim to create system applications that can directly communicate with some hardware devices such as drivers, kernels, etc.

C language can also be defined as:

1. System programming language
2. Mid-level programming language
3. Procedure-oriented programming language
4. Structured programming language

Now when we talk about hiring someone to handle your company’s projects based on C language, it is not at all essential for you to get a deep understanding of the subject. You just need a short list of C interview questions that you will have to ask your applicant during the interview.

An attractive resume is not all that you need to observe while hiring a C developer. You require an evaluation and a proper procedure for the process. A skillful and smart applicant must be your preference over any ordinary developer. Consider the following things while hiring your candidate:

Make it clear to the candidate that the responsibilities they must be ready for, are:

• Design, build and maintain efficient, reusable, and reliable C code
• Implement optimized and high-quality modules
• Suggest and implement solutions to problems
• Creation of High-Level designs
• Support our team in maintaining the code quality
• Analysis, design, and implementation

Some of the other requirements that you need to look for while hiring a C developer are:

• X amount of experience in C/C++ development
• In-depth knowledge of BOOST and STL
• Experience with IPC including socket programming
• Multithreading experience including race conditions, deadlocks, and debugging
• Bachelor’s in computer science, mathematics, or related field
• Master degree preferred
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Used to work independently

Check Their Programming Experience

It is important to check their coding experience prior to hiring them in your company. Tell them your expectations and ensure that they are able to fulfill your them. Get an eye on what type of projects they have worked on and how well did they develop them.

Their experience can reveal a lot about their understanding and the grip they have on the subject. Extra skills like Java, C++, C# would be a bonus. These skills will make it easy for the candidate to cooperate with your team.

Test Their Coding Ability

You need to ensure that your applicant is not just a geek in theory. Of course, theoretical knowledge is good but it is not everything. Test whether the developer is practically sound or not.

For the same, you can take a coding test of your applicant on any good online coding editors for C programming language. This will help you in deciding if your candidate is worth the position or not.

Check Their Soft Skills

Value soft skills of the candidate because a person with efficient hard skills but weaker soft skills lose their worth with time and you would not wish to work with the person further. Soft skills are as valuable as any other skills required. So make sure that your applicant has stronger soft skill criteria.

Check Their Ownership Level

A dedicated candidate is a blessing for the company. During the interview itself, ask the candidate about how he has handled any problems, how he has faced difficult times, and how he has managed to get a project done in hard times when he has no external support. Provide some real-life problems and see what they answer. This way, you will be able to understand how dedicated they are.

As mentioned earlier, you must check the technical skills of your applicant by making him code on any of the best coding interview tools and also place your interview questions before him.

Here are some of the senior C developer interview questions you need to have a look on:

1. What is a void pointer? Can you dereference a void pointer without knowing its type?
2. What will be the output of printf(“%d”)?
3. How can you print a string with the symbol % in it?
4. What are dangling pointers? How are dangling pointers different from memory leaks?
5. How to free a block of memory previously allocated without using free?
6. What is the use of %n in printf()?
7. Explain the # pragma directive.
8. What will be the output when the following code is executed? Explain.
   
   #include <stdio.h>
   #define SQUARE(a) (a)*(a)
   int main() {
   printf("%d\n", SQUARE(4));
   int x = 3;
   printf("%d\n", SQUARE(++x));
   }
9. Consider the two structures Struct A and Struct B given below. What will be the size of these structures?
   
   struct A
   {
   unsigned char c1 : 3;
   unsigned char c2 : 4;
   unsigned char c3 : 1;
   }a;
   
   struct B
   {
   unsigned char c1 : 3;
   unsigned char : 0;
   unsigned char c2: 4;
   unsigned char c3: 1;
   }a;
10. What is Bubble Sort Algorithm? Explain with a program.
11. What is the difference between structs and unions?
12. What is rvalue an lvalue?
13. Which structure is used to link the program and the operating system?
14. What is the output of the following program if run on a 32-bit operating system?
    
    #include <stdio.h>
    int main()
    {
    int a=-2;
    printf("%x",a>>3);
    }
    
15. How to convert a string to an integer value?

These are some of the advanced C questions you can rely on when you are interviewing a senior C developer. But you have to make sure that you search for the correct answers before asking these to the candidate. Live interview tools will also lend a platform to you for checking your applicant’s skills. Make the most of these facilities and choose the best out of all the developers.

To make it simpler use a two-step process to choose, sort, and select your ‘best’ out of all the ‘averages’. These two steps include:

1. Test them using online C language coding platforms
2. Ask them the advanced C questions

This is the proper way to select a developer who will fit in your team well. We hope your problem of deciding what to do and what to ask a senior C language developer is solved after reading this article.

Technical assessment test for C Developers are one of the most reliable way for recruiters to judge a candidate.