Junior Python interview: dictionaries, hashes and mutable values

A mock interview for the role of Junior Python Developer. In this review, the candidate answers basic questions about Python: collections, dictionaries, iteration, hash tables, dictionary keys, creating dictionaries, and how code behaves with default values. At the end, there is detailed feedback analysing the candidate’s strengths, mistakes and areas for improvement.

Timecodes:
00:00 Start
00:11 Greeting and introduction
01:31 Interview format and rules
03:24 Question about collections in Python
05:04 Dictionaries as collections: ordering and features
08:18 What is iteration?
11:34 How to iterate over collections
13:36 How a dictionary works
20:51 Hash, hash tables and dictionaries in Python
26:18 What are the restrictions on dictionary keys
29:02 Ways to create a dictionary and a set
35:00 Code review with a dictionary
53:36 Moving on to feedback
56:21 Detailed feedback from the interviewer