If you’re looking to build a strong tech team, then the first step is to hire skilled programmers. Testing programming skills is no easy task, though. You may have numerous developers applying to your job posting and picking one among them can be quite a headache. So how do you test programmers, then, and determine who’s the best fit for you? In this article, we’ve highlighted just that - how you should test programming skills.
We’ve detailed various programming skills testing strategies that you can implement to optimize your hiring process and find the right candidate. Explore various ways to test programmer skills, types of coding tests, and the factors to consider when assessing Software developers.
What are skill tests?
Skill tests are the various assessments that have been designed to evaluate a candidate’s abilities and expertise in a particular field. Particularly talking about programming, these skill tests can help clients determine the proficiency level of potential hires. Skill tests can be conducted across programming languages. You’d also find specialized skill tests to evaluate problem-solving, algorithmic thinking and understanding of the basic software development concepts.
Why are programming tests important?
Before addressing the importance of coding tests, let’s understand what they reveal about candidates. Simply put, coding tests provide valuable insights into a candidate's programming skills, soft skills, and general cognitive abilities:
Technical skills: Coding tests offer a clear evaluation of a candidate's programming abilities. Clients get a clear understanding of their proficiency in programming languages, problem-solving skills, and code optimization techniques.
Soft skills: Observing a candidate's performance in coding tests allows clients to assess their communication skills, teamwork capabilities, adaptability, and time management.
Analytical thinking abilities: Coding tests provide a platform to evaluate a candidate's analytical thinking, logical reasoning, and problem-solving approach, which are essential qualities for successful programmers.
Thus, with identifying these parameters, coding tests become highly important due to the following reasons:
Identifying the right candidate for the job
A thorough assessment of the candidate’s programming and problem solving skills can help clients identify the best one. This way, they can pick candidates who match their exact technical requirement.
Steering clear of candidates with misleading information in their resume
Coding tests allow clients to evaluate a candidate's skills objectively, avoiding potential discrepancies between self-reported skills and actual abilities.
Getting the best benefits out of their hiring pipelines
With effective coding tests, clients can increase the likelihood of hiring competent programmers who can contribute positively to the team and deliver high-quality software.
Finding the perfect team member
By assessing a candidate's soft skills and overall fit within the organization, coding tests help ensure that the hired programmer is not only technically proficient but also a good cultural fit.
How to test programming skills?
To ensure a holistic evaluation of candidate skills, you can test their skills in multiple ways. We recommend the below ones.
1. Go through their portfolios, projects as well as online activity
Developers are usually active on platforms like Github and Stack Overflow and these can be a great source to test their skills. You can review their portfolios and projects and general presence on these channels. This should provide valuable insights into their coding abilities, problem-solving skills, and engagement with the developer community.
2. Conduct detailed candidate interviews
After the initial review of their portfolios and projects, the next step can be to have an interview call with them to gauge the communication skills, cultural fit, and overall professionalism. You can have multiple interviews with HRs, Senior engineers, CTOs, etc. that the developer will be working with. In this way, the team will be in a better position to make an informed decision about whether they want the developer to be a part of their team.
3. Use coding tests to evaluate programming skills
Coding tests can be used to assess the candidate’s general knowledge of programming as well as their problem-solving approach. These tests provide candidates with real-world coding challenges, assessing their ability to write clean and functional code. You can also have a live coding tests where you see how fast and effectively the candidate is able to solve the problem.
4. Organize hackathons when there is a big group
By organizing hackathons, you can observe candidates in a collaborative environment and also their competitive skills against others. Hackathons usually have time-sensitive projects and this allows clients to assess not only the candidate’s technical skills but also teamwork, creativity and adaptability.
Types of coding tests
You can find coding tests in various formats. Each of these formats have a specific purpose when it comes to evaluating a candidate’s programming skills. The following are the types of programming tests you can consider:
Take-home coding challenges
These are tests that the candidates work on independently without direct supervision. The candidates are supposed to take these tests within a specific timeframe and submit the solution. These challenges simulate real-world scenarios and assess a candidate's problem-solving abilities.
Pair programming challenges
Pair programming tests require candidates to collaborate with an evaluator in real-time. This approach to test programmers helps assess a candidate's ability to work in a team, communicate effectively, and write code collaboratively.
Screening tests
Screening tests typically consist of multiple-choice questions or short coding exercises, aiming to evaluate a candidate's fundamental programming knowledge and understanding. These are often given in the initial stages of recruiting and usually only to junior developers. They help eliminate the candidates whose basics of programming are not strong.
Whiteboarding tests
As the name suggests, these tests are conducted on a whiteboard or paper, so that the evaluator is able to see how the candidate solves the question. Their understanding of algorithms and problem-solving approach is tested in this step.
Factors to consider to test programmer skills
To ensure a thorough evaluation of programming tests, it is crucial to consider various factors that provide comprehensive insights into a candidate's skills and abilities in software development. By analyzing the following aspects, clients can make informed decisions and select the most qualified candidates for their programming positions:
Clean and maintainable code
Evaluating the cleanliness and maintainability of a candidate's code is of utmost importance. Look for well-organized code that is easy to read and follows coding best practices. Clean code demonstrates the candidate's proficiency in writing efficient, modular, and easily understandable code. It reduces the likelihood of bugs and facilitates future maintenance.
Knowledge and use of databases
For roles involving database work, assess the candidate's understanding of database concepts and their proficiency in writing SQL queries. Evaluate their ability to design efficient database schemas, optimize query performance, and handle data manipulation tasks effectively. A strong grasp of database principles and practices is essential for developing robust and scalable applications.
Algorithmic thinking
Proficiency in algorithms is critical for solving complex problems and optimizing code efficiency. Evaluate the candidate's knowledge of fundamental algorithms and data structures, such as sorting, searching, and graph algorithms. Assess their ability to analyze problem requirements and design efficient algorithmic solutions. Strong algorithmic skills indicate the candidate's systematic approach to challenges and their ability to create optimized code.
Knowledge of version control tools
Proficiency in version control systems, such as Git, plays a vital role in collaborative software development. Assess the candidate's familiarity with Git commands, branching, merging, and resolving conflicts. Look for their understanding of best practices for utilizing source control effectively, including committing changes at an appropriate granularity, using clear and informative commit messages, and employing efficient branching strategies.
The candidate's ability to manage codebase changes and collaborate with team members through source control is crucial for maintaining code quality and facilitating seamless teamwork.
Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) used
Evaluate the candidate's proficiency in effectively using Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). Look for their familiarity with popular IDEs such as Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ IDEA, or Eclipse. Assess their ability to navigate the IDE, utilize code editors efficiently, and leverage debugging tools effectively. A candidate's proficiency in using IDEs indicates their coding productivity and their capability to troubleshoot and optimize code.
System design capacity
Evaluate the candidate's capacity to design scalable and efficient software solutions. Assess their understanding of system architecture principles, including component design, modularization, and separation of concerns. Look for their ability to identify and address performance bottlenecks, select appropriate design patterns, and make informed decisions regarding system scalability, reliability, and maintainability. Strong system design skills indicate the candidate's ability to tackle complex projects and develop robust software solutions.
Knowledge of cloud services
In today's technology landscape, familiarity with cloud platforms and services is highly advantageous. Evaluate the candidate's understanding of cloud concepts, such as virtualization, containerization, and scalable architectures. Look for their ability to leverage cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure for deployment, scalability, and reliability. A candidate's knowledge of cloud technologies indicates their adaptability and readiness to work with modern infrastructure and development practices.
Data privacy and security knowledge
Evaluating a candidate's knowledge of data privacy regulations and best practices for data security is an essential step when you test programmer skills. Assess their understanding of techniques to protect sensitive user information, implement secure coding practices, and ensure data confidentiality and integrity. Strong awareness of data privacy and security demonstrates the candidate's commitment to developing secure applications and safeguarding user data.
By considering these factors during the assessment of programming tests, clients can gain a holistic understanding of a candidate's programming capabilities and suitability for the role. This comprehensive evaluation enables clients to make informed decisions and select the most qualified candidates for their programming positions.
Need for evaluating non-technical skills
In addition to assessing technical skills, it is crucial to evaluate non-technical skills when testing programmers. These skills play a vital role in the success of a candidate within a team and the overall project. For example,
- Strong communication skills ensure effective collaboration and the ability to articulate ideas and requirements clearly.
- Adaptability and problem-solving skills enable candidates to navigate changing project demands and find innovative solutions.
- Teamwork and work ethic skills contribute to a harmonious and productive team environment.
- Time management skills ensure efficient project delivery, and the ability to learn and adapt quickly is essential in a rapidly evolving industry and leadership qualities and openness to criticism foster growth and improvement within the team.
As a whole, evaluating these non-technical skills helps identify well-rounded candidates who can thrive in dynamic software development environments. You can find a more detailed guide to performing a wholesome evaluation of developers here.
Where to find coding tests?
Finding coding tests to test programmer skills is possible through various sources:
- Online coding platforms: Platforms like HackerRank, LeetCode, and CodeSignal offer a wide range of coding tests with different difficulty levels and programming languages.
- Tech recruiting platforms: Triplebyte, CodinGame, and Interviewing.io provide coding tests tailored for technical hiring, alongside additional features like video interviews.
- Open-source repositories: GitHub and other repositories contain open-source coding challenges and assessments that can be customized for specific needs.
- Developer communities and forums: Engage with communities like Stack Overflow, Reddit programming subreddits, and LinkedIn groups to find shared coding challenges and valuable insights.
- In-house test creation: Design coding tests based on required skills, incorporating real-world scenarios or industry-specific problems.
Select tests based on the role's difficulty level and consider using a variety of test types. Ensure clear instructions and objective assessment criteria to evaluate candidates effectively.
How to rise above the noise?
In today's competitive job market, rising above the noise and attracting dream talent requires a well-designed and efficient hiring process. Given so many choices, we need to set the right process.
More often than not, though these choices are straightforward, not many companies make them. So, to rise above the noise, the most important thing is to figure out the process that’s most relevant to your role.
Irrespective of the role you’re hiring for, you have to ensure the following:
- Defining clear job requirements: Identify the necessary technical and non-technical skills for the role.
- Streamlining the process: Maintain efficiency and prompt feedback to respect candidates' time.
However, to make your process more relevant to the role you’re hiring and to stand out to candidates, you need to tailor the process to the particular role you’re looking at and where they fit into the team. Here, you’d have to have separate processes for junior and senior roles. Given that there’s a high volume of developers in junior roles, coding tests would be your first step. Then, review the test and interview the developers. Lastly, have a final conversation to finalize the conversion. Ideally, this shouldn’t take more than 2 weeks.
For a senior developer role, though, it’s better to err on the side of safety. Hence, it’s best to have multiple rounds of interviews. Have multiple coding tests, but avoid take-home tests to ensure that there are no dropoffs. Also, have tests that are very relevant to the role as well as check the candidate’s abilities with system design. Finally, let the developer have an interaction with the team they’ll be working with, to ensure no later hassle in collaboration. With these steps in place, you can ensure a complete testing of the programmer’s skills. We’ve elaborated more on how to conduct a wholesome software development interview here.
