You're a fresher — how will you handle situations where you don't know something?

Direct Answer

I'll first try solving it myself—read the official docs, search Stack Overflow, and debug methodically. If I'm still stuck after a reasonable focused attempt, I'll ask a teammate with a specific question: what I've tried, what I expected, and the actual error. I respect that others' time is valuable, so I won't ask questions I could've googled in 5 minutes.

Code Example

// Symptom: accessing order.customer outside the persistence context
// throws LazyInitializationException. It is not a NullPointerException.

interface OrderRepository extends JpaRepository<Order, Long> {
    @Query("select o from Order o join fetch o.customer where o.id = :id")
    Optional<Order> findWithCustomerById(Long id);
}

@Service
class OrderQueryService {
    @Transactional(readOnly = true)
    OrderSummary findSummary(Long id) {
        Order order = orders.findWithCustomerById(id)
            .orElseThrow(() -> new OrderNotFoundException(id));
        return OrderSummary.from(order); // map while required data is available
    }
}

// The focused query fixes this use case without making every relation EAGER.

Common Mistakes & Pitfalls

• Asking Too Early: Posting 'it doesn't work, help!' in Slack after 5 minutes without reading the error message or checking documentation—this burns team goodwill fast and signals you want answers handed to you.
• Asking Vague Questions: Saying 'my code isn't working' without sharing the code, error message, or what you've tried—teammates can't help without context, so they'll ask clarifying questions that waste 20 minutes.
• Never Asking: Spending 3 days stuck on a problem because you're too proud or afraid to ask—this misses deadlines and shows poor judgment about when independence becomes stubbornness.
• Asking the Wrong Person: Interrupting a senior architect for a basic syntax question when a quick Google or asking a peer would work—respect the expertise hierarchy and escalate appropriately.