How to Assess Technical Skills During the Interview Process

Hiring the right talent is critical to building a team that can succeed in your industry. How can you dig deeper to better understand a prospective employee’s technical abilities? This is a challenge every hiring manager in the tech industry faces, so here’s our guide to help you effectively evaluate technical competencies during the interview process.

Define the Key Technical Skills Required

Before you begin interviewing tech candidates, it’s important to identify the exact technical skills and skill levels necessary for the role. Depending on the position, this could be things like expertise in specific programming languages, experience managing cloud platforms, or knowledge of system architecture. Outline both the essential and “nice-to-have” skills to ensure that your interview process is aligned with the job requirements.

Use Technical Assessments and Coding Challenges

Technical assessments include coding challenges, system design exercises, or other problem-solving tasks related to the role. Using platforms such as HackerRank or LeetCode allows candidates to demonstrate their abilities and makes it easier for hiring managers to assess the results. These methods can provide insight into a tech candidate’s coding proficiency, problem-solving approach, efficiency, and more.

Conduct Live Coding Interviews

For coding roles, live coding sessions give hiring managers the opportunity to observe a candidate’s approach in real-time. These interviews not only test technical skills but also provide insight into how a candidate handles tasks similar to the challengers your team regularly faces. It is also useful to encourage candidates to verbalize their reasoning so you can assess their technical depth and communication skills and gain a better understanding of their thought process.

Use Pair Programming as a Team Compatibility Test

For technical roles involving collaboration, pair programming is an excellent way to assess both a candidate’s technical skills and how well they work within a team. By pairing them with one of your current employees during the interview, you can observe how they handle collaboration, feedback, and team dynamics. It also shows how they would fit into your company’s overall work environment and culture.

Ask About Continuous Learning and Adaptability

The IT industry changes rapidly, so it’s critical that tech professionals continually update their skills. Asking candidates about recent technologies they’ve learned or certifications they’ve earned can help you learn about how they approach this challenge. Gauge their enthusiasm for self-improvement and note how they stay up to date with the industry. This can indicate whether a candidate will be able to grow with your team and adapt to future shifts in the field.

Review Past Projects and Contributions

During the interview, ask the candidate to walk through their past work experiences, focusing on technical challenges they faced and the contributions they made to overcome them. Reviewing their GitHub repositories, open-source contributions, or portfolio projects can give you a clearer picture of their technical competencies and passion for the field. Pay attention to the complexity of the projects, the technologies the candidate focused on, and how their work aligns with your company’s needs.

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Assessing technical skills during the interview process requires a multi-faceted approach. This can be simplified if you work with a trusted talent and technology solutions partner. Take advantage of our experience and strategic partnerships and let us create the right solution for your business needs. Get started today!