ASP.NET MVC interviews cover the MVC pattern, the request pipeline and how controllers, models and views work together. Many teams now use ASP.NET Core MVC, so be ready to discuss both.
Core Concepts
What is the MVC pattern?
Model-View-Controller separates an application into models (data and business logic), views (the UI) and controllers (which handle requests, work with models and choose a view). The separation makes code easier to test and maintain.
How does routing work?
Routing maps incoming URLs to controller actions. Conventional routing uses a pattern such as {controller}/{action}/{id?}. Attribute routing places route templates directly on controllers and actions, which gives more control.
What are action results?
Actions return results such as a view, JSON, a redirect, a file or a status code. Returning IActionResult (or ActionResult<T> in APIs) lets an action return different result types.
What is model binding?
Model binding maps data from route values, query strings, form fields and request bodies to action parameters and model objects, so actions work with typed data rather than raw request values.
How do you validate models?
Use data annotation attributes such as [Required] and [StringLength] on model properties, then check ModelState.IsValid in the action. Client-side validation can use the same rules.
Views and Data
ViewData vs ViewBag vs TempData?
ViewData is a dictionary and ViewBag is a dynamic wrapper around it; both pass data from a controller to its view for the current request. TempData keeps data for the next request, which is useful after a redirect. Strongly typed view models are usually preferred.
What are partial views and layouts?
Layouts define shared page structure, such as headers and footers. Partial views are reusable pieces of UI rendered inside other views.
Pipeline and Security
What are filters?
Filters run code before or after parts of the request pipeline: authorization filters, action filters, result filters and exception filters. They’re used for cross-cutting concerns like logging and error handling.
How do you prevent cross-site request forgery?
Use anti-forgery tokens: add a token to forms and validate it with the ValidateAntiForgeryToken attribute (ASP.NET Core applies antiforgery validation to many form posts automatically).
What is middleware in ASP.NET Core?
Middleware components form the request pipeline. Each can handle the request, pass it on, or short-circuit it. Examples include authentication, routing, static files and exception handling.
How to Prepare
- Build a small CRUD app with validation, a layout and dependency injection.
- Be ready to compare ASP.NET MVC 5 with ASP.NET Core.
- Review general software engineer interview questions.
Get Help in the Interview Itself
Preparation gets you most of the way. For the interview itself, ApplyQuick Interview Copilot listens to each question and suggests a structured answer based on your resume and the job description, on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or a phone call. You can also rehearse first with an AI mock interview. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.
