Upaded on
Oct 7, 2025
Quick answer: Why these 30 SharePoint interview questions matter
Direct answer: These 30 questions cover the common knowledge, technical skills, behavioral scenarios, and role-specific problems hiring managers test for SharePoint roles. Read them to identify weak spots, practice concise answers, and prioritize hands‑on experience. Below you’ll find grouped questions, sample answer approaches, and preparation tactics that map to real job descriptions and interview formats. Takeaway: Focused prep on these areas improves clarity and interview confidence.
Top 30 Most Common sharepoint interview questions You Should Prepare For
What are the top 30 most common SharePoint interview questions?
Direct answer: The most common SharePoint interview questions fall into categories: fundamentals, administration, development, integrations (REST, APIs, Power Automate), SPFx, and behavioral/case studies.
Grouped list (with quick answer approach for each):
What is SharePoint and what problems does it solve?
Answer approach: Define SharePoint as a web-based collaboration and content management platform; name common use cases (document management, intranet, workflows). Mention versions (Online vs On‑Premises).
What are site collections, sites, lists, and libraries?
Answer approach: Explain hierarchy: site collection contains sites; lists store structured items; libraries store documents with versions and metadata.
What is the difference between SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server?
Answer approach: Cloud vs on‑premises; discuss management, update cadence, customization options, and licensing.
How does SharePoint handle permissions and inheritance?
Answer approach: Describe permission levels, role assignments, inheritance breaking, and the best practice of least privilege.
What are content types and site columns?
Answer approach: Explain reusability of metadata through content types and site columns for consistent information architecture.
How do you manage versioning and check-in/check-out?
Answer approach: Describe major/minor versions, require check-out options, auditing, and restoring previous versions.
Basics (1–6)
How do you plan SharePoint architecture for scalability?
Answer approach: Talk about site architecture, search boundaries, service application design, database sizing, and content database limits.
What are best practices for backup and disaster recovery?
Answer approach: Document SLAs, use backups, site collection backups, and test restores regularly; for Online, use retention and third‑party solutions.
How do you monitor performance and troubleshoot slow SharePoint pages?
Answer approach: Use ULS logs, Developer Dashboard, SQL metrics, and network analysis; identify large lists, heavy web parts, and expensive queries.
What is Managed Metadata and Term Store?
Answer approach: Explain centralized taxonomy, global terms, term sets, and how metadata improves search and navigation.
How do you migrate content to SharePoint Online?
Answer approach: Discuss assessment, mapping, using migration tools (e.g., SharePoint Migration Tool), handling custom solutions, and testing.
How do you secure SharePoint sites and data?
Answer approach: Combine permissions, conditional access, DLP policies, external sharing management, and regular security reviews.
Administration (7–12)
What is SharePoint Framework (SPFx) and when do you use it?
Answer approach: Client-side development model for modern pages; supports React/JS frameworks; best for custom web parts and extensions in SharePoint Online.
How do you use REST API in SharePoint?
Answer approach: Show an example GET/POST, explain authentication considerations (OAuth, app-only), and how REST differs from CSOM/JSOM.
What are web parts and app parts?
Answer approach: Web parts are reusable UI components added to pages; app parts host add-ins; distinguish between classic and modern pages.
How would you implement custom authentication or claims-based auth?
Answer approach: Outline claims-based authentication, Azure AD integration, SAML/OAuth flows and secure token handling.
How do you debug SharePoint client-side code?
Answer approach: Use browser dev tools, SharePoint workbench (for SPFx), network tracing, and source maps.
How do you manage custom solutions and versioning?
Answer approach: Package SPFx solutions, use CI/CD pipelines, maintain change logs, and follow feature/component versioning best practices.
Developer (13–18)
How can you integrate Power Automate with SharePoint?
Answer approach: Describe triggers (item created/modified), actions (create, update, approval flows), and performance/limits considerations.
How do you use Microsoft Graph with SharePoint?
Answer approach: Outline Graph endpoints for files and sites, permissions scopes, and benefits over direct REST in some scenarios.
How do you secure and call SharePoint APIs from external apps?
Answer approach: Use Azure AD app registrations, OAuth 2.0, delegated or application permissions, and least privilege.
What are webhooks in SharePoint and when to use them?
Answer approach: Explain how webhooks send notifications for list or library changes and when to prefer them to polling.
How do you handle large lists and list throttling?
Answer approach: Use indexing, filtered views, list partitioning, and pagination; avoid querying entire lists.
What is CSOM and JSOM and when should you use them?
Answer approach: Client-Side Object Model (C#) and JavaScript Object Model for client operations; mention modern replacements like REST and Graph.
Integration, APIs, and Automation (19–24)
Describe a SharePoint migration or deployment you led.
Answer approach: Use STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Focus on assessment, downtime minimization, data mapping, and migration testing.
How did you resolve a complex permission issue in production?
Answer approach: Walk through diagnosis, impact analysis, rollback plan, and communication with stakeholders.
Tell me about a time you improved search relevance or metadata design.
Answer approach: Explain analysis, term store design, managed properties, and measurable outcome (reduced search time).
How do you prioritize feature requests and technical debt?
Answer approach: Balance business value, risk, and cost; propose phased rollouts and prototyping.
Have you handled compliance, governance, or data retention in SharePoint?
Answer approach: Describe policies, DLP, retention labels, and collaboration with legal/compliance teams.
How do you onboard new users to a SharePoint environment?
Answer approach: Training plans, site templates, quick-start guides, and governance checklists.
Behavioral, Case Studies, and Project Questions (25–30)
Takeaway: Use this list to map your strengths, practice concise STAR/CAR answers for behavioral items, and prepare code or architecture samples for technical questions.
How should I prepare for SharePoint interviews as a beginner?
Direct answer: Start with fundamentals, hands‑on labs, and a focused set of practice questions; then layer in role-specific skills (admin vs developer) and behavioral practice.
Map the job description to skills and prioritize matching areas (e.g., SPFx for developer, governance for admin).
Build a simple SharePoint site (Online trial or local) to practice creating lists, libraries, content types, and flows.
Learn how to explain concepts clearly — recruiters look for applied knowledge, not memorization.
Practice three to five STAR stories that show problem-solving, teamwork, and impact.
Steps to prepare:
Takeaway: Beginners should combine conceptual study with short practical projects and rehearsed examples to demonstrate both knowledge and application.
Cited resource: For curated question sets and role-based suggestions, see Himalayas’ SharePoint analyst question list for examples and structure.
(Reference: Himalayas SharePoint Analyst Interview Questions)
What SharePoint skills do employers expect for administrator and developer roles?
Direct answer: Administrators need governance, security, migration, and monitoring skills; developers need SPFx, REST/Graph APIs, JavaScript frameworks, and CI/CD knowledge.
Tenant and site collection management, permissions, backup/restore.
Monitoring (ULS logs, health analyzer), capacity planning, and migration tools.
Security: DLP, external sharing policies, and retention.
Key admin skills:
SPFx development, React/TypeScript experience, packaging/deployment.
REST, CSOM/JSOM, Microsoft Graph, and authentication patterns (OAuth/Azure AD).
Automation: Power Automate integration and understanding of connectors and throttling.
Key developer skills:
Takeaway: Tailor your resume and prep to the role — administrators emphasize governance/backups; developers emphasize code, frameworks, and APIs.
Cited resource: For admin-specific interview prompts, see Testlify’s SharePoint administrator question compilation.
(Reference: Testlify SharePoint Administrator Questions)
How do I answer behavioral and case-study SharePoint interview questions?
Direct answer: Use STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) or CAR (Context, Action, Result) and tie technical choices to business impact and measurable outcomes.
Situation/Context: Briefly set the scene with scope and stakeholders.
Task: Define your responsibility and constraints.
Action: Focus on the concrete steps and technical decisions you made.
Result: Provide quantifiable results or lessons learned and next steps.
How to structure answers:
Migration case: emphasize planning (inventory, mapping), pilot runs, rollback strategy, and measured success (e.g., % of data migrated with zero downtime).
Permission issue: describe root cause analysis, immediate mitigation, stakeholder communication, and permanent fix.
Examples:
Takeaway: Behavioral answers are judged on clarity, ownership, and impact — practice 4–6 STAR stories tied to SharePoint scenarios.
Cited resource: For behavioral interviewing guidelines and example frameworks used by large tech firms, see Microsoft’s guidance on behavioral interviews.
(Reference: Microsoft Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers)
How does the SharePoint interview process at Microsoft or other big companies typically work?
Direct answer: Expect a multi-stage process: recruiter screen, technical screen(s), a deep technical interview or coding exercise for developer roles, and behavioral or hiring manager loops; larger firms focus heavily on problem-solving and system design for scale.
Recruiter screen: verify background, role fit, and logistics.
Technical phone/video screen: focused on fundamentals and troubleshooting.
On-site or loop interviews: hands‑on whiteboard/design (architecture), coding or live debugging (developers), and multiple behavioral rounds.
Practical assessments: code samples, take-home tasks, or live demos of SharePoint solutions.
What to expect:
Prepare to explain trade-offs for architecture decisions (Online vs on‑premises, search configuration).
Bring concrete examples: show the impact of your work (reduced page load, improved search relevance).
Tips:
Takeaway: Study system design principles for SharePoint at scale and rehearse behavioral stories; practice whiteboarding architecture and code snippets.
Cited resource: For Microsoft-style behavioral expectations and formatting, Careerflow provides examples of behavioral questions used by Microsoft and similar firms.
(Reference: Careerflow Microsoft Behavioral Questions)
How do I showcase SharePoint experience on my resume and in interviews?
Direct answer: Use role‑specific metrics, mention technologies and versions, and highlight concrete outcomes (time saved, satisfaction improvements, migrations completed).
Tailor summary and bullets to the job description: include SPFx, REST, Power Automate, or governance as applicable.
Use action verbs and metrics: “Reduced document retrieval time by 40% by implementing metadata and improved search configuration.”
Show artifacts: links to code repos, screenshots of site designs, or migration playbooks (redact sensitive info).
Include certifications or courses if recent and relevant.
Resume tips:
Prepare 2–3 short demos or screenshots to share (ensure privacy).
Bring a concise one-minute technical story about a system component you designed or improved.
Interview tips:
Takeaway: Employers want measurable impact and evidence; a concise, metric-driven resume with samples builds credibility.
Cited resource: For developer interview question examples and answer formats, see CV Owl’s SharePoint developer interview guide.
(Reference: CV Owl SharePoint Developer Q&A)
How do I handle technical SharePoint topics like SPFx, REST API, and Power Automate in interviews?
Direct answer: Explain how each technology fits into a solution, show a small example or pseudo-code, and discuss performance, security, and maintainability concerns.
Explain client-side development, hosting models, and component lifecycle.
Show a basic folder structure and explain bundling with gulp/webpack.
SPFx
Give an example request/response and explain authentication flows (token acquisition).
Discuss rate limits, batching, and when to prefer Graph vs SharePoint REST.
REST API and Microsoft Graph
Explain typical triggers and actions, approval flows, connectors, and error-handling patterns.
Talk about limits (runs per month, concurrency) and strategies to optimize long-running flows.
Power Automate
When asked to write code, talk through your thought process.
Discuss trade-offs (complexity vs maintainability) and testing strategies (unit, integration).
Tips for technical answers:
Takeaway: Combine practical examples, security awareness, and scalability considerations when answering technical questions.
Cited resource: For practical technical questions and examples spanning SPFx and APIs, see FinalRoundAI’s SharePoint interview topic clusters.
(Reference: FinalRoundAI SharePoint Interview Questions)
How can tools and structured practice improve live interview performance?
Direct answer: Structured practice tools provide targeted question sets, mock interviews, and feedback loops that accelerate learning and reduce nervousness.
Timed mock interviews to build concise answers.
Recording practice to spot filler words and unclear explanations.
Role-specific question banks to target weak areas quickly.
What works:
Takeaway: Combine tools with deliberate practice to convert knowledge into crisp, interview-ready answers.
How Verve AI Interview Copilot Can Help You With This
Verve AI analyzes the live interview context, suggests structured responses (STAR, CAR), and provides phrasing and follow‑ups so you sound clear and confident. It helps you stay calm by quickly surfacing relevant facts, code snippets, or step‑by‑step answers while you focus on delivery. Use Verve AI Interview Copilot discreetly in real time for phrasing, example structures, and to maintain composure during technical or behavioral questions. Verve AI gives live situational prompts that keep your answers concise and impactful.
Takeaway: Real‑time, contextual support turns knowledge into clear, job‑winning answers.
What Are the Most Common Questions About This Topic
Q: Can Verve AI help with behavioral interviews?
A: Yes — it guides live answers using STAR/CAR, suggests phrasing, and helps you stay calm under pressure.
Q: What should beginners focus on first?
A: Start with SharePoint basics, create a practice site, and prepare 3 STAR stories that show impact.
Q: Do I need SPFx for every SharePoint developer role?
A: Not always; SPFx is common for modern sites, but some roles still use classic frameworks or server‑side code.
Q: How do I prepare for migration questions?
A: Know discovery, mapping, pilot testing, rollback plans, and tools used in the migration lifecycle.
Q: Are certifications important for SharePoint jobs?
A: They help, but hands‑on projects and measurable outcomes usually weigh more in hiring decisions.
(Note: These answers are concise but designed to be conversational during an interview.)
Additional resources and study plan
Days 1–3: Review fundamentals, terminology, and architecture.
Days 4–7: Build a small SharePoint site and practice admin tasks (permissions, lists, content types).
Days 8–10: Practice SPFx snippets, REST calls, and Power Automate flows.
Days 11–13: Rehearse STAR stories and behaviorals; record mock interviews.
Day 14: Do a timed full interview simulation and revise weak areas.
Two-week focused plan:
Curated question banks and role-based lists from Himalayas and Testlify for admin and analyst roles.
Behavioral interview frameworks and examples from Microsoft and Careerflow.
Comprehensive topic clusters and advanced technical prompts from FinalRoundAI.
Recommended resources:
Also consider watching walkthroughs and demo scenarios (search for targeted videos) and reviewing community Q&A for troubleshooting patterns.
Conclusion
Recap: Focused preparation across fundamentals, role‑specific technical skills, and behavioral storytelling will make your SharePoint interviews far more effective. Use the top 30 questions above to identify gaps, practice concise technical explanations, and rehearse STAR/CAR stories for behavioral rounds. Preparation and structure build confidence — and the right live‑support tools can help you deliver calm, clear answers under pressure. Try Verve AI Interview Copilot to feel confident and prepared for every interview.