2023 Hottest Interview Questions and Answers Regarding Blockchain

The global trade industry is being transformed by blockchain. Acting as a decentralised digital ledger, all involved parties have simultaneous access to identical data, which has resulted in quicker processes, an increase in trust and limited redundancies. Originally, Bitcoin was the pioneer of blockchain technology, however it now exists ubiquitously. Consequently, businesses worldwide are seeking to fill their blockchain engineer vacancies.

Recruiting seasoned blockchain developers can be challenging due to its recent emergence. It wasn’t until 2009 that the technology began to gain wider recognition, but since then, blockchain’s popularity has soared, in part because of the increasing usage of cryptocurrencies and a better comprehension of how the technology can increase corporate transparency.

Recent studies suggest that there’s a scarcity of experienced professionals in the blockchain industry, as the demand for blockchain engineers far surpasses the current supply. At Works, we specialize in linking talented experts in the field to IT firms in North America.

Finding a skilled blockchain developer who is also knowledgeable in Bitcoin can pose as a challenge. This piece aims to answer some commonly asked questions during the selection process of blockchain developers while offering a step-by-step guide to help you recruit your new specialist.

Interview Questions for Blockchain Developers in 2023

In order to evaluate a candidate’s grasp of blockchain technology, we’ve compiled a series of crucial interview questions. Scrutinize the responses carefully, particularly those that don’t seem to be pre-prepared.

In simple terms, what is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a decentralised database that’s operated and shared by a pool of people, with a primary concept behind it. Its distinguishable feature from traditional databases is the availability of several data storage options.

Records stored on a blockchain are structured into blocks, which are groups of data. When a block reaches its maximum capacity, it’s connected to the previous block, forming a chain known as a blockchain. Unlike conventional databases where data is structured in tables, information is arranged in blocks that are linked together like links in a chain.

The unmodifiable character of blockchain technology means historical data can’t be changed. When a block is integrated into the chain, it turns into an immutable part of the record, and no modification can be made. This aspect provides reassurance to members of a collective network, like an organization, that data cannot be tampered with, and everyone is operating under the same information.

Explain the different blockchain implementations.

It’s crucial to differentiate between the four different types of blockchain:

• Public blockchains provide open access to their code, enabling anyone to use and contribute to it either as a user or by coding. (Bitcoin is a perfect example.)
• In contrast to public blockchains, private blockchains impose certain privacy limitations, necessitating users to seek permission to become part of the network. All operations within the system are confidential, with only participating members having access.
• Blockchains developed through collaboration are classified as a subtype of private blockchains. Unlike a private blockchain, it’s governed by a consortium instead of a single organization.
• Hybrid blockchains merge the benefits of both private and public blockchains, giving users full control over what data is revealed and what is kept private. This renders it a favoured option for multiple organizations.

Are there limitations to the variety of ledgers that can be used in a blockchain?

In blockchain, three different types of ledgers can be used:

• Networks with a central hub.
• In a decentralized network, no single entity is accountable for everything.
• Distributed systems.

Kindly elaborate on what a consensus algorithm means and offer some examples.

In a blockchain network, all participants must agree on the distributed ledger’s status, which is maintained through a consensus mechanism. This algorithm fosters trust and transparency among anonymous participants in a digital setting.

For example:

• Proof-of-Work (PoW)
• Proof-of-Capacity (PoC)
• Proof-of-Activity (PoA)
• Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS)
• Proof-of-Stake (PoS)
• Proof-of-Authority
• Proof-of-Burn
• Proof-of-Weight
• Elapsed Time Indicator

What distinguishes blockchain from traditional databases?

Here are the main differences between blockchain and traditional databases:

What is the difference between hard and soft forks?

A hard fork involves a blockchain protocol update that is not compatible with previous versions. This update usually results in a new blockchain being created or an existing one being improved.

In contrast, a soft fork is a blockchain protocol upgrade that doesn’t render older implementations obsolete. As long as they adhere to the updated protocols, nodes that have not been updated can still process transactions and contribute new blocks to the blockchain.

What types of data can be stored on a blockchain?

• Clinical Transaction Logs

• Management of Identities
• Transaction Processing
• Business Operations,
• Management of Operations
• Documentation

What is a Merkle Tree and how is it beneficial?

Using a Merkle tree structure, blockchain enables verification of content in large datasets, ensuring its integrity. This structure gathers a summary of block transactions by creating a digital fingerprint of the entire transaction set, allowing a user to verify whether a transaction is part of the block.

Some of its advantages include:

• Provide a means to verify the precision of information.
• Require minimal memory
• Require only small amounts of data to be transmitted over networks

Distinguishing Between a Blockchain Developer and a Blockchain Engineer

Although the terms ‘blockchain developer’ and ‘blockchain engineer’ are often interchanged, they represent two distinct roles with varying responsibilities. A blockchain engineer possesses a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying technology of blockchain systems and can analyze their structure and functionality. On the other hand, blockchain developers concentrate on the practical application of blockchain and should have expertise in programming languages and software engineering principles.

One crucial distinction between blockchain and traditional databases is that blockchain is decentralized. The data is duplicated and dispersed throughout the network.

Exploring the Four Major Classes of Blockchain Applications

Blockchain systems are classified into four primary categories:

1. Public
   
   The advantages of decentralized systems over centralized ones are apparent in the case of public blockchains. As they are both decentralized and open to all users with an internet connection, any individual can join a blockchain network and serve as a valid node. Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency, is an example of a blockchain that employs this technology.
2. Private
   
   This blockchain is intended for restricted transactions, even though it is decentralized and subject to certain limitations, such as being within a closed system or under the control of a single entity.
3. Hybrid
   
   A hybrid blockchain integrates private and public blockchain systems to enable companies to construct permission-based systems alongside public systems, which enables them to regulate who has access to specific information.
4. Consortium
   
   A Federated Blockchain is a type of hybrid blockchain that enables multiple organizations to collaborate on a decentralized network. This provides an additional layer of functionality compared to a regular hybrid blockchain.

5 Steps for Locating a Skilled Blockchain Developer

• Discover the reason why your company requires blockchain technology.
• Define the ideal candidate for the role.
• Explore the existing hiring resources within your organization.
• Specify the evaluation methods to be used.
• Commence the process of making recruitment.

Evaluate If Your Business Needs Blockchain Technology.

Before embarking on a search for a blockchain developer, it is crucial to examine the potential pros and cons of blockchain technology and assess if its implementation is appropriate for your company.

As per Gartner’s research on over 3,000 CIOs, only 11% of them had employed or planned on utilizing blockchain technology. This is probably because a lot of blockchain initiatives are still in the prototyping phase. The primary reason for this seems to be an inadequate comprehension of this technology.

The rising prevalence of blockchain technology is unsurprising considering its many advantages, including enhanced inventory levels, data security, intellectual property protection, and supply chain traceability. Nevertheless, before we get too engrossed in the alluring benefits of blockchain, it is crucial to pause and obtain a thorough understanding of the concept.

Initially, the ledger system features an inherent tamper-proof and consensus mechanism. Because the data stored on the blockchain is unchangeable, it is not the best choice if administrators need to modify the data after it has been entered into the chain.

The following are a few businesses that could reap rewards from blockchain technology (in addition to some well-known corporations that have already implemented it).

• Enterprises such as Walmart, Unilever, and Ford that are involved in supply chain operations.
• The Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer, and the future of the healthcare industry
• Regional administration: Seoul, Lantmateriet, and Dubai
• Financial services: BBVA, VISA, and HSBC
• Household real estate: Brookfield, Westfield, and Coldwell Banker
• Shell, Siemens, and Tennet – all major players in the energy sector.

Businesses contemplating the adoption of blockchain technology can refer to the World Economic Forum’s list of 11 questions to assess its feasibility and determine whether a private or public blockchain should be utilized.

In case you’re unsure whether blockchain technology is appropriate for your company, the World Economic Forum offers a list of eleven queries that can assist you in making an informed decision (available at weforum.org).

Create an Exemplary Candidate

Developing a candidate persona can lead to a better comprehension of the optimal candidate for a given role, and aid in defining the essential characteristics, skills, and attributes for a successful blockchain developer. This approach can be a valuable tool in ensuring the selection of the appropriate individual for the position.

To identify your ideal candidate profile, take the following five factors into consideration:

1. Expectations: What do you foresee in terms of this candidate’s effectiveness? What issues do you project they will be able to solve after being hired? Kindly provide specifics about their primary duties and how they will influence the company’s growth.
2. What essential skills should a blockchain developer possess? What other skills would be advantageous, but not necessary? Give this question some thoughtful consideration.
3. Regarding the organization’s values, which qualities are highly valued in a potential employee? It’s crucial to take into account the intangible attributes that will set them apart as an outstanding candidate. Keep in mind that this individual will interact with other team members on a regular basis, so thoughtful consideration is necessary.
4. We are in search of a blockchain engineering contractor. Would this position require the contractor to work remotely, internationally, or on-site? Provide the employer’s specifications, please.
5. Compensation: Blockchain developers are highly paid. Assess your financial status and determine what you are able to offer as payment to a developer.

When hiring a blockchain engineer, it’s crucial to guarantee they have a comprehension of the technology and its fundamental concepts. To identify the perfect candidate, take into account the following key skills:

• Cryptography:

  Having a comprehensive grasp of cryptography is crucial for potential candidates, as it is one of the fundamental skills. The success of a blockchain greatly depends on the understanding and utilization of cryptography.

• Digital Contract Management:

  Due to its ability to facilitate direct commerce between parties without intermediaries, blockchain technology is rapidly gaining popularity. That’s why blockchain solutions are now almost ubiquitous.

• Data Structures:

  Since they’re utilized in building networks, every blockchain developer must possess a competent grasp of data structures.

• Website Development:

  This will vary depending on your specific needs, but, generally, a blockchain developer will create web applications that utilize blockchain technology.

• Blockchain Design:

  Understanding the idea of consensus, the features of smart contracts, and the function of a blockchain’s ledger are crucial for blockchain engineers. The three primary types of architectures are private, consortium, and public blockchain.

• Interoperability:

  Possessing the skill to access and consolidate data from multiple blockchains is highly advantageous.

Reconsider Your Approach to Hiring New Staff

Employers and HR departments frequently encounter the obstacle of seeking and recruiting suitable IT experts, with countless complaints about the complexity of this procedure.

While both explanations may hold true, it’s worthwhile to examine whether the recruitment process could be enhanced. Primarily in the competitive market for blockchain engineers, it’s imperative to evaluate current hiring practices to successfully find, attract, and hire these specialists.

Many companies may overlook the importance of recruiting the best possible candidates for any position, not only IT-related ones. Additionally, businesses must be vigilant in evaluating the expenses and time invested in the hiring process, whether it’s handled by HR teams or various advertising outlets.

By implementing this practice for every new hire, companies can confidently evaluate the efficiency of their recruitment strategies. Consequently, if an organization hasn’t conducted such evaluations yet, now is an opportune time to do so.

In assessing your company’s recruitment strategies, it’s crucial to consider the resources at your disposal and the cost of bringing on a blockchain engineer. The type of agreement established with the engineer will determine your classification among the three categories.

If you intend to hire a remote blockchain engineer, it’s crucial to conduct thorough research on the best interviewing and screening software available. Recruiting from a remote location requires careful consideration of your available resources (time, budget, etc.), various recruitment channels (such as social media, job boards, and referrals), and the most suitable candidates. If relocating isn’t feasible, you may want to consider applicants from countries with lower costs of living, which could be a cost-effective way to secure the services of a skilled engineer.

Decide on your Performance Evaluation Methodology

In hiring for a Blockchain Developer role, it’s crucial to delineate success criteria. To achieve the best results, it’s important to assess which option (contract worker, full-time remote worker or in-house specialist) is most suitable for the development of your Blockchain project.

After determining the employment terms, the next step is to consider the approach to employee evaluation.

Blockchain Contract Programming Services

For businesses seeking temporary access to specialized expertise, hiring a freelancer can be a simple solution. Particularly for a specific project or task that spans a restricted period, a freelance blockchain developer may be the optimal choice.

Essential Considerations to Keep in Mind

1. While freelancers may seem attractive for their relatively low hourly rates, that shouldn’t be the sole motivation for their hiring. Although cost-effectiveness may be an important aspect in certain cases, hiring decisions should prioritize quality work above all else.
2. Engaging with independent contractors doesn’t necessarily foster a sense of allegiance to the company. As an external entity, freelancers may not be intricately involved in comprehending team dynamics or the company’s culture, since their emphasis is on fulfilling the assigned task.

Tips for Assessment:

Before hiring a freelancer, it’s recommended to assess their ratings and feedback from previous clients on freelancing networks. To validate whether their competencies match your needs, a trial period is strongly advised.

• Conducting research on the freelancer’s previous experience with blockchain technology and their accomplishments for other businesses is recommended. This will provide a gauge of their proficiency in this area.
• Ask about the company’s past performance in assisting other customers in similar situations.
• It’s essential to remain vigilant of warning signs. A freelancer who takes an abnormally long time to reply to your emails may not be trustworthy.

Full-Time Requirement for Remote Blockchain Developers

Hiring a full-time remote blockchain developer can offer the same advantages as having an in-house engineer, with added perks of the developer working remotely. To increase the likelihood of procuring a competent blockchain specialist, it’s recommended to consider a full-time remote developer.

Crucial aspects to Consider

1. Collaborating with remote staff demands meticulous consideration of communication. As geographic separation can lead to confusion, it’s crucial to guarantee that all aspects of forthcoming projects and obligations are communicated clearly.
2. Remember that looks can be deceiving. When recruiting remotely, you may have access to a broader pool of candidates, but that doesn’t necessarily make it simpler to find the ideal one. There may be methods to enhance your procedures for locating and picking new employees.

Guidelines for assessment:

Being a worldwide recruitment firm, our goal is to offer our clients the chance to hire capable IT experts from different regions of the world. Consequently, the inquiry arises as to how we can evaluate prospective staff in this field. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy; instead, the most relevant approach will hinge on the unique circumstances (e.g. department, trade). Here are some beneficial suggestions to consider:

• Always review a candidate’s references before hiring them. You may gain insights into the candidate’s history and collaboration abilities with this.
• It’s crucial not to commit the blunder of relying on a single interview to decide whether a candidate is suitable or not. After establishing your candidate persona, you need to prepare an interview strategy that will help you to acquire an improved comprehension of their abilities, requirements, and personality. This should involve evaluations of their teamwork expertise, technical proficiency, and other pertinent criteria.
• Assess a candidate’s capacity to work independently. Sadly, not everyone has cultivated robust social and technological skills.

Domestic Blockchain Developer

Once upon a time, it was conventional for developers to work on-site. With limited resources for dispersed software development teams, having personnel situated at the same place was more effective. At present, remote work is more widespread, although certain businesses still prefer on-site workers. If this is true for your company and you wish to recruit an on-site blockchain developer, here are some considerations to keep in mind.

1. Recruiting locally may narrow down the pool of potential candidates for a blockchain development position, as this is a distinct area within software engineering. It’s vital to consider this when hiring for this kind of role.
2. Hiring a Blockchain Engineer in the US is expected to be expensive. Because of the specialized nature of the role, there may be a limited pool of qualified applicants accessible, so it’s important to keep this in mind when establishing a budget.

Guidelines for assessment:

When looking for an on-site blockchain developer, it may require more time and energy to discover the right fit. Nonetheless, the benefit of this method is that you can evaluate the candidate in person, observe their conduct, and make a more knowledgeable decision. Here are some hints to assist with the recruitment procedure:

• Recruiting native talent offers a chance to appraise potential programmers and assess their problem-solving expertise. Make the most of this by devising a variety of exams to ascertain their suitability for the job.
• Every detail matters. Punctuality, demeanor, manners, etc. must all be considered.
• When hiring a blockchain developer for your team, it’s crucial to not only evaluate the candidate’s skills but also to witness their capacity to work in a team and ask relevant questions about the position.

Find Proficient Blockchain Developers

After establishing a successful recruitment process and an approach to evaluate employee performance, we can now commence the hiring process. To guarantee that we find the most capable blockchain developers, what resources would you suggest we utilize?

The job description must be brief yet comprehensive, explaining the position, duties, and any relevant information about the company. It’s important to make sure that the job description is disseminated to the appropriate websites and job boards to reach a wider audience.

If you’re fortunate, prospective employees may submit an application for the job. However, it’s vital not to solely rely on applications; actively seeking suitable candidates is also known as ‘headhunting’.

Exploring social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as seeking advice from loved ones, should be taken into account when searching for employment. If you discover that several of your connections are previously employed, stay positive as there may be the possibility of offering them a more appealing job package, such as better pay, flexible working hours, or potential advancement.

Here are the primary locations to discover and hire blockchain developers:

• Works provides a worldwide freelance marketplace for companies to promptly discover and hire a skilled blockchain developer. Our vast network of proficient freelance developers are prepared to tackle new assignments.
• Blocktribe is a top marketplace for blockchain job opportunities. It’s a perfect platform to discover blockchain and cryptocurrency experts to join your team. To post a job, just create an account on the website.
• PeoplePerHour is among the foremost internet job boards for self-employed contractors. It is not exclusively limited to technology-related professionals, as blockchain developers can also be located on the platform.
• ValueCoders is an IT outsourcing company situated in India that helps companies find skilled programmers.
• At Works, we concentrate on finding remote workers and possess the knowledge to locate suitable software developers for companies. We not only aid in recruitment, but also offer a complete HR service – managing payroll, benefits, and other administrative tasks.

Receive Assistance from a Verified Blockchain Developer

If you’ve decided that hiring a remote, full-time blockchain engineer is the best choice for your company, you’re in the right spot. At Works, we’re proficient in linking businesses with committed, full-time developers who have all the required credentials and expertise.

So, how does it work at our office?

We have chosen five of the most appropriate candidates that match your requirements and preferences, and submitted them to you for an interview. Additionally, we can assist you with the necessary documentation, HR policies, and any other HR-related concerns that may arise.

Elaborate on the idea of blockchain applications.

Blockchain software is similar to any other programming code in that it is open source, which means that anyone can use or modify it. However, some blockchain applications are created for internal use only.

What are the key benefits of blockchain technology?

Adopting blockchain technology has the ability to generate several favourable results for both businesses and communities. The primary advantages of this technology include secure data coordination, protection against security breaches, tokenization, and the ability to share IT infrastructure.

What types of technology does the blockchain depend on?

The Blockchain backend is coded in Java, although smaller backend systems can be built using Clojure or Node. MySQL is used for both backend database management and the front-end framework. Different versions of the Blockchain wallet exist for mobile, desktop, and browser platforms. The company utilises the following frameworks:
Storyboards with JSBridgeWebView for iOS
Gradle, bitcoinj, apache commons, and Junit are all available for Android development.
Web development necessitates knowledge of AngularJS, NPM, NodeJS, Travis, ES6, Jasmine (for testing), BitcoinJS, and Bootstrap.

However, what precisely is a blockchain application?

Blockchain applications are similar to conventional software applications, but with the added advantage of employing a decentralized architecture and crypto-economic systems to improve security, transparency, and trustworthiness.

Firstly, what is meant by the term “block time”?

The time between blocks in a blockchain network is determined by the implemented protocol. In a blockchain, each new block is added after the previous one, and once added, it cannot be reversed. Research indicates that a block is added to the Ethereum blockchain in approximately 14 seconds.