In North America, getting a backend development job is about more than just solving LeetCode problems. I’ve seen many candidates who are great at algorithmic challenges but struggle to talk about their project experience during interviews. What truly stands out to interviewers are backend projects that showcase a complete development process and problem-solving skills.
I remember one student from last year who really impressed me. He developed the backend for a second-hand book trading platform, taking care of everything from requirements analysis to deployment. What really made his project stand out was how he didn’t just implement basic features, but also optimized the system for high-concurrency situations. In his interview, he explained how he used Redis to cache popular product data and how he separated database read and write operations to improve throughput. This kind of real-world experience helped him stand out and eventually land an offer from Amazon.
When doing projects, it’s important not to bite off more than you can chew. I always suggest beginners start with classic systems, like an e-commerce platform, and focus on polishing a few key modules. For example, for user authentication, try implementing stateless authentication with JWT and add a Rate Limiter to prevent brute-force attacks. For the order system, pay special attention to transaction management, ensuring that stock deduction and order creation either both succeed or both roll back. These attention to detail can make a big difference in interviews.
Database design can also be a key differentiator between beginners and experienced developers. One candidate I worked with, while building a social platform, compared different options for handling friend relationships—like adjacency tables and closure tables—and chose the best one based on the platform’s query needs. This type of thoughtful design process impressed the interviewer. Instead of just writing "Proficient in MySQL" on your resume, it’s better to say something like, "Improved query time from 200ms to 20ms using indexing," which shows practical results.
Many people overlook the deployment phase, but this is an excellent opportunity to show your engineering abilities. One of my students used Docker Compose to organize services, set up Nginx for load balancing, and wrote scripts for automated deployment. These small details highlight that you understand production environments. More and more companies, particularly smaller teams, are looking for candidates with this kind of experience.
Documentation is also an important part of a backend project. One of the best examples I’ve seen was a project manual written in Markdown, which not only included API documentation but also architecture decision records (ADR). It detailed why the candidate chose MongoDB over MySQL and how they approached consistency and availability. This type of well-rounded thinking is exactly what big companies look for.
Lastly, I recommend reviewing your project after completion. One student wrote a technical blog post about the challenges he faced during his project and how he solved them. This blog became a great discussion starter during his interview, even sparking a technical debate with the interviewer. A good project isn’t just about completing it—it's about being able to explain it clearly. When you break down your technical decisions, solutions, and performance optimizations, it gives you plenty to talk about in interviews.
Release time:2025-04-25
