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Hiring a mainframe developer in 2024 is a strategic move for businesses that rely on robust, secure, and high-performance computing systems. According to recent reports, nearly 75% of business and IT executives believe that mainframes have long-term viability within their organizations, with over 90% planning to expand their mainframe footprint . This increased reliance on mainframe technology is reflected in the job market, where there are currently over 20,000 mainframe operators employed in the United States alone.
Furthermore, the median salary for mainframe programmers has risen to $112,558, significantly higher than the median salary for general computer programmers, indicating strong demand for these skills. As organizations continue to modernize their IT infrastructures, integrating mainframe capabilities with modern technologies like cloud computing and AI, the role of the mainframe developer is becoming even more critical.
Therefore, HR professionals and CXOs must ask the right questions during the hiring process to ensure they bring on board developers who can navigate this evolving marketplace effectively.
Why use skills assessments to assess Mainframe developer candidates?
Using skills assessments for evaluating mainframe developer candidates is essential to ensure a thorough and objective evaluation of their abilities. Mainframe development requires a unique blend of technical skills, problem-solving skills, and familiarity with legacy systems that are critical to many enterprises’ operations. By incorporating skills assessments, employers can verify that candidates possess the necessary competencies and can effectively handle the responsibilities of the role.
Testlify offers a comprehensive suite of assessments tailored to the specific needs of mainframe development roles. Our platform provides evaluations for coding skills, technical knowledge, and proficiency in various programming languages relevant to mainframes, such as COBOL and JCL. Additionally, we offer assessments for soft skills, communication skills, and other essential competencies that ensure candidates are well-rounded and capable of collaborating effectively within a team.
General Mainframe developer interview questions to ask applicants
This subtopic delves into a comprehensive set of technical and behavioral questions designed to evaluate the skills and knowledge of mainframe developer candidates. It covers key areas such as mainframe programming languages (e.g., COBOL, JCL), operating systems (e.g., z/OS), databases (e.g., DB2, IMS), tools and technologies (e.g., CICS, DevOps), and essential soft skills like problem-solving and communication. The questions are crafted to help interviewers assess the candidates’ technical proficiency, practical experience, and ability to integrate and optimize mainframe systems within modern IT infrastructures.
1. How do you use COBOL in your projects?
Look for: Proficiency in COBOL and an understanding of its syntax and usage.
What to Expect: The candidate should describe specific projects where they wrote, tested, and maintained COBOL code. They should provide detailed examples of problem-solving, optimization, and debugging in COBOL.
2. How do you handle error handling in a COBOL program?
Look for: Knowledge of error handling methods in COBOL.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain the use of DISPLAY for debugging IF statements to handle exceptions and any structured error-handling techniques they have used in their COBOL programs.
3. Describe your experience with JCL and its role in your workflow.
Look for: Proficiency in Job Control Language (JCL).
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss how they use JCL to manage and automate batch jobs, including scripting and parameterization, and how they handle job scheduling.
4. What techniques do you use to optimize PL/I code?
Look for: Understanding of PL/I optimizations.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss code refactoring, efficient use of data structures, and performance profiling in PL/I.
5. How do you handle dynamic file allocation in Assembler?
Look for: Strong grasp of Assembler programming.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain methods for dynamic file handling, including coding techniques and system utilities they have used in Assembler.
6. Describe your experience with z/OS and its key components.
Look for: Comprehensive understanding of z/OS.
What to Expect: The candidate should cover experience with z/OS architecture, including memory management, job scheduling, and security features.
7. How do you perform system monitoring and tuning in a mainframe environment?
Look for: Experience in system monitoring and performance tuning.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain how to use system monitors, performance tools, and tuning parameters to optimize system performance.
8. What are the steps you follow for disaster recovery in a mainframe environment?
Look for: Understanding of disaster recovery protocols.
What to Expect: The candidate should describe the processes for backup, recovery plans, and testing for disaster recovery in a mainframe environment.
9. Can you explain the concept of virtualization in mainframes?
Look for: Knowledge of virtualization concepts.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain logical partitioning (LPARs) and how they use it to optimize resource utilization in mainframe environments.
10. What security measures do you implement in a mainframe environment?
Look for: Understanding of mainframe security practices.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss user authentication, authorization, encryption, and auditing practices they implement in mainframe environments.
11. Describe your experience with DB2 and its key features.
Look for: Proficiency in DB2.
What to Expect: The candidate should cover DB2 architecture, SQL, stored procedures, and performance tuning.
12. How do you perform performance tuning in a DB2 environment?
Look for: Knowledge of performance tuning techniques in DB2.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss indexing, query optimization, and monitoring tools they use to enhance DB2 performance.
13. What strategies do you use for database backup and recovery in IMS?
Look for: Practical knowledge of IMS backup and recovery.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain their backup schedules, recovery procedures, and the tools they use for IMS database management.
14. How do you handle data migration in a mainframe database?
Look for: Experience in data migration processes.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain methods for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) they have used in mainframe databases.
15. Can you explain the use of SQL in mainframe databases?
Look for: Proficiency in SQL.
What to Expect: The candidate should describe their knowledge of SQL queries, joins, subqueries, and optimization techniques relevant to mainframe databases.
16. Describe your experience with CICS and its key functionalities.
Look for: Proficiency in CICS.
What to Expect: The candidate should cover transaction management, application development, and integration capabilities in CICS.
17. What tools do you use for mainframe debugging and testing?
Look for: Experience with debugging and testing tools.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss using tools like IBM Debug Tool, Xpediter, and unit testing frameworks for mainframe applications.
18. How do you manage source control in a mainframe environment?
Look for: Knowledge of source control tools and practices.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain using tools like IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC) or CA Endevor for source control and version management.
19. What is your approach to mainframe DevOps?
Look for: Understanding of DevOps practices.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss CI/CD pipelines, automation tools, and integration techniques they have used in mainframe environments.
20. Can you explain how you integrate mainframe applications with modern systems?
Look for: Knowledge of integration techniques.
What to Expect: The candidate should describe using APIs, web services, and middleware to integrate mainframe applications with modern systems.
21. Describe a challenging problem you solved in a mainframe project.
Look for: Problem-solving skills.
What to Expect: The candidate should provide a detailed explanation of the problem, their approach to solving it, and the solution they implemented.
22. How do you optimize performance in a mainframe environment?
Look for: Knowledge of performance optimization techniques.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss techniques for system tuning, code optimization, and resource management they have applied in mainframe environments.
23. What steps do you take when troubleshooting a mainframe application issue?
Look for: Strong troubleshooting skills.
What to Expect: The candidate should explain their systematic approach, the tools they use, and their problem-resolution strategies.
24. How do you ensure effective communication within your team?
Look for: Communication skills.
What to Expect: The candidate should discuss methods for clear communication, regular updates, and collaborative tools they use to ensure effective teamwork.
25. Describe a situation where you had to work closely with a non-technical team.
Look for: Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
What to Expect: The candidate should provide examples of how they explained technical concepts, understood business requirements, and collaborated effectively with non-technical teams.
Also Recommended: Ready to ace your next hire? Discover our COBOL Test.
Code-based Mainstream developer interview questions to ask applicants
This subtopic explores five key code-based interview questions tailored for mainframe developer candidates, focusing on their ability to write and understand essential mainframe code snippets quickly. These questions cover practical tasks such as writing COBOL code for file operations, executing programs using JCL, crafting basic SQL queries for DB2 databases, scripting in REXX, and using CICS commands for file access. Each question is designed to be answered within a few minutes, allowing interviewers to efficiently assess the candidate’s technical proficiency and problem-solving skills in a mainframe environment.
26. Write a COBOL code snippet that reads a record from a file and displays it.
Look for: Correct syntax, file handling, and use of COBOL constructs.
IDENTIFICATION DIVISION.
PROGRAM-ID. DisplayRecord.
ENVIRONMENT DIVISION.
INPUT-OUTPUT SECTION.
FILE-CONTROL.
SELECT InputFile ASSIGN TO 'input.txt'
ORGANIZATION IS LINE SEQUENTIAL.
DATA DIVISION.
FILE SECTION.
FD InputFile.
01 InputRecord PIC X(80).
WORKING-STORAGE SECTION.
01 WS-EndOfFile PIC X VALUE 'N'.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
OPEN INPUT InputFile.
PERFORM UNTIL WS-EndOfFile = 'Y'
READ InputFile INTO InputRecord
AT END
MOVE 'Y' TO WS-EndOfFile
NOT AT END
DISPLAY InputRecord
END-READ
END-PERFORM.
CLOSE InputFile.
STOP RUN.27. Write a JCL statement to execute a COBOL program.
Look for: Proper job cards, execution statements, and DD statements.
//JobName JOB (ACCT),'Test Job',CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=X,NOTIFY=&SYSUID
//Step1 EXEC PGM=COBOLProgram
//STEPLIB DD DSN=COBOL.LOADLIB,DISP=SHR
//INPUT DD DSN=Input.File,DISP=SHR
//OUTPUT DD SYSOUT=*28. Write an SQL query to retrieve all employee names from a DB2 table named EMPLOYEES.
Look for: Correct SQL syntax and understanding of basic SQL operations.
SELECT EMP_NAME FROM EMPLOYEES;29. Write a REXX script that displays “Hello, World!”
Look for: Proper use of REXX syntax.
/* REXX */
SAY 'Hello, World!'30. Write a CICS command to retrieve a record from a file and place it in a working storage area.
Look for: Correct use of CICS commands and understanding of basic CICS operations.
EXEC CICS
READ FILE('MYFILE')
INTO(WS-RECORD)
LENGTH(WS-LENGTH)
END-EXEC.Interview questions to gauge a candidate’s experience level
31. Can you describe a significant project you worked on that involved mainframe technologies, including the technologies used, your specific contributions, and the outcome of the project?
32. How do you prioritize and manage your tasks when working on multiple mainframe projects simultaneously, and can you give an example of how you handled a particularly demanding workload?
33. Can you provide an example of a challenging problem you encountered in a mainframe environment, the steps you took to resolve it, and the final impact of your solution?
34. How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration within your team, especially when working on complex mainframe systems, and can you share an experience where your communication skills made a significant difference?
35. What strategies do you use to stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in mainframe technology, and how have you applied new knowledge or techniques to improve a project or process in your previous roles?
When should you ask these questions in the hiring process?
The ideal way to use Mainframe Developer Test and interview questions is to first invite applicants to complete a skills assessment relevant to mainframe development. This initial step helps filter candidates based on their technical proficiency and knowledge. Following the assessment, you can then proceed to the interview stage where you dive deeper into their experience, problem-solving abilities, and soft skills.
During the interview, you should use the mainframe developer interview questions to measure specific skills such as their proficiency with mainframe programming languages, understanding of mainframe operating systems and databases, and familiarity with mainframe tools and technologies.
Additionally, these questions help assess the problem-solving skills, communication, and collaboration abilities, ensuring they are well-rounded and capable of contributing effectively to your team.
By structuring the hiring process this way, you ensure that only the most qualified candidates move forward to the interview stage, allowing you to focus on assessing their fit within your organization’s culture and their ability to handle real-world challenges. This approach streamlines the hiring process, saves time, and helps in selecting candidates who are technically adept and possess the soft skills necessary for a successful mainframe developer role.
Key takeaways
To ensure a successful hiring process for mainframe developers, it is crucial to start with a skills assessment relevant to mainframe development. This initial step helps filter candidates based on their technical abilities and knowledge, allowing only the most qualified individuals to proceed to the interview stage. During the interview, focus on assessing key areas such as mainframe programming languages, operating systems, databases, tools, and technologies, along with their problem-solving skills, communication, and collaboration abilities.
Effective interview questions should cover a range of topics, from specific technical skills to past project experiences and problem-solving capabilities. By structuring the process to include both a skills assessment and targeted interview questions, organizations can streamline hiring, save time, and select candidates who not only possess the necessary technical expertise but also fit well within the team and can handle real-world challenges effectively. This comprehensive approach ensures a well-rounded evaluation of potential hires, leading to more successful and productive mainframe developer roles.
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