Coding Interview: The Stuff You Need To Know
There is a myth in the technological world that’s the stuff of legends. A tale about the ever-elusive 10X developer, an individual as rare as rocking horse droppings. In the quest to search and obtain this mythical creature, companies deploy coding interviews during the hiring process.
You present a technical problem, provide a whiteboard, or use Codeshare online IDE and watch the magic happen.
But the truth is, code interviews stink! Apart from taking forever to complete – those office snacks don’t last that long – they aren’t ideal. And here’s why.
Most code interview questions are standardized to accommodate all potential software developers. They focus most on coding aspects such as arrays, algorithms, data structures, and so on. Where does that leave collaboration, troubleshooting, debugging, and architecture? The vital skills required to deal with real-world technical challenges?
Entry-level candidates, primarily fresh out of college, might be versed in coding abilities. On the other hand, experienced senior developers whose skills are leagues ahead have seen their fair share of real-life technical problems. Their coding skills have evolved, making it hard to remember how to answer basic coding questions.
That’s why you need an assessment platform that goes way beyond code if you’re looking for hidden gems.
Who knows, you might even recruit a 10X developer.
Coding interview website
Tech is developing faster than ever. Now, a software developer has to evolve and accumulate more skills.
To help you gauge such candidates, you can access various coding interview websites such as:
LeetCode
LeetCode contains over 1,900 coding questions that help developers prep for coding interviews. These questions vary in difficulty and accommodate various programming languages to offer more advantages.
Pros
- Values real-world technical problems, albeit to a small degree
- Accommodates multiple programming languages
- Displays average candidates’ scores for convenient benchmarking
Cons
- Focuses more on code
- To get to the best stuff, you have to have a premium subscription
CodeShare
Known for its simplistic control, CodeShare lets you create a real-time collaborative environment with candidates during the interview. The online IDE allows you to be present every step of the way.
Pros
- Real-time collaboration for convenient and immediate assessment
- Free to use
- Audio/video features boost communication
Cons
- The site doesn’t save your work for long
CoderPad
Among the pioneers of online IDEs is CoderPad, which allows you to engage in a live programming interview. You can track the candidate and start a pad via the platform’s dashboard.
Pros
- Simple and adaptable
- Supports a wide array of languages
- Various tiers to choose from
Cons
- Expensive when interviewing few candidates
- No support for SQL
- Restricted testing for frontend and backend projects
Sure, these websites have their successes, but they are incomplete. Why take that chance and jeopardize your hiring process?
Coding interview software
There are two scenarios common among potential developers.
Scenario one. A developer has a dazzling CV and the perfect words on their LinkedIn profile. You spot their resume out of the bundle, and like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, you label that developer “the one.” But hand them a coding interview, and their skills aren’t worth the words on their resume.
Scenario two. Another developer, a diamond in the rough. Lacks the razzle-dazzle in their CV or LinkedIn profile. They might not even have a college degree. Give them the chance to write code on any online platform; they’ll prove they have the impeccable programming skills the open position needs.
You can use coding interview software to distinguish these two developers and hire the right candidate. But while these platforms have features like collaborative interviews, they focus too much on coding, making them less than ideal when looking for hidden gems.
That’s where Woven swoops in to save the day. Our online coding platform goes way beyond code, emphasizes real-world technical challenges, and offers unbiased feedback to ensure you get top talent.
Coding interview questions
It’s already established; coding interviews continue to suck. Most coding interview questions focus more on the programming aspect of the technical field.
Unfortunately, whether ideal or not, coding interviews are vital for utilizing your recruiting budget, time, and resources accordingly.
In a technical interview, you only ask the questions and use the language that a specific role warrants. For instance, you can ask the following Java coding interview questions depending on the role:
- Differentiate between inner class and subclass.
- Explain what an infinite loop is and how to declare one.
- What is data encapsulation, and what’s its importance?
- Given a use case, define a singleton class.
- Develop a program to confirm whether a number is odd or even.
Or, these coding interview questions Python:
- List all built-in types in Python.
- Is it possible to execute a Python script in UNIX? If yes, explain how.
- Explain how to access a module written in Python from another language.
- Define the different types of literals in Python.
- Why do you use Python?
Whether you’re using coding questions for beginners or experienced developers during the interview, these types of questions cannot gauge a candidate’s problem-solving skills. None of them assesses collaboration, troubleshooting, architecture, or debugging to effectively prove a candidate’s full capabilities.
It’s time to choose between code quizzes that fail to incorporate the whole picture and using an assessment platform that increases qualified hires.
Coding interview preparation
It takes an average of 41 days to land the right developer. Coding interviews are grueling, tedious, and time- and resource-consuming. So, imagine the trouble you’d be in when the interview goes awry because you’re not asking the right questions.
According to Harris Interactive, the wrong hire can cost your business a whopping $50,000 or more – hence the importance of coding interview preparation. Get yourself a coding interview book if you have to.
If you don’t know where to start, you can follow these simple steps:
- Re-evaluate the job description to gain deeper insight into the open position, roles, requirements, and qualifications.
- Prepare your interview questions. You can refer to these coding interview questions with solutions to guide you. Be sure to include some tricky programming questions to gauge the developer’s candidacy and creative thinking.
- Create your version of candidate persona that will lead you to the ideal developer.
- Develop an interview timeline.
- Have all that you need in one place before you begin the interview to save time.
- Relax and begin your interviews. Be a good listener and remain open minded to accommodate the candidates’ different points of view.
When you prep for the coding interview, it matters where you get your interview questions and the questions themselves. Both should be relevant and in line with today’s technology.
Woven’s platform matches today’s ever-evolving technical field and roles. Our questions go beyond code to ensure the candidate you hire is the whole package. By providing unbiased feedback, we boost your candidates’ overall experience.
If you are an engineering leader looking for hidden gems who’ll make meaningful contributions on your team, start a free trial with Woven today.
