Python Traps and How to Handle Them During an Interview

At first glance, Python looks simple and straightforward, which is exactly why it’s such a great language to start a developer career with. However, behind that simplicity lie several nuances that interviewers often use. This is where junior developers can easily get caught off guard: your code seems to work fine, but suddenly the behavior isn’t what you expected.

As the author of the Python Developer course at Yandex Practicum, I often break down these situations on my YouTube channel, where I run open mock interviews with junior developers. The examples I cover aren’t abstract; they come directly from real interview sessions and observations.

In this article, I’ve collected the most interesting Python quirks that repeatedly come up in interviews and that you’ll almost certainly encounter in your own technical screening.

I’ll show you the kinds of questions interviewers typically ask and explain why they matter. Whether you’re preparing for your very first job as a junior developer or want to brush up on your fundamentals, this breakdown will be a valuable resource.