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How do you perform technical interviews for developers?
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<blockquote data-quote="Weasel" data-source="post: 470229" data-attributes="member: 9520"><p>Back when I did the job interviews, the process was quite similar to what you are describing. The major difference is that in the job interview itself, we didn't really focus on tech stack-specific questions (like, which function would you use to solve X).</p><p></p><p>So at first, we start off like this:</p><p>1. The applicant is screened by the manager and 1/2 (senior) developers. We check if their CV matches up with our expectations and for which function (junior/career/senior) they are applying. As the cultural fit is also important, we do a little bit of research on the person too, and of course, check the motivational letter. The PO and SM are not included in the process.</p><p>2. If this seems alright, they are invited for a first interview. In here, we basically question non-technical things, see if it's a proper cultural fit, his expectations of the job, and things he'd like to do. We also expand a little bit more about what we do, so he's also properly informed.</p><p>3. If they passed this initial check, and also had a good feeling after the first interview, they are sent a coding challenge, which is based on the product we work on (basically, make a barebones version of a part of the application). Based on their job level, the requirements are either expanded on or not (for example, a Junior isn't asked to also create Unit Tests). They're basically given a lot of freedom on how they want to achieve this, from choosing whether to use frameworks or not, and even the language is basically up to them (as long as it's used in the stack, or if they show the willingness to learn another language). Usage of Git is for example always required.</p><p>4. If the result is satisfactory, they are invited over for the second and final interview, the technical interview.</p><p></p><p>Thanks to step 3, we already know a lot about the person's technical abilities. We can check how he handles himself with version control, to which standards the person upholds him/herself, etc. As languages can be learned, we mainly focus on how the person handles problem-solving. What is his way of thinking? Does he take security into account? All that kind of stuff.</p><p></p><p>So, onto the technical interview. As there's already a lot of information based on the previous steps, the technical inteview mainly focusses into why he made certain choices, instead of actual "technical" questions. </p><p>1) We ask about why the person made certain choices. For example, did the person use a framework? If so, why did he use it? What is the extra value of using it? There's often different answers to this. If someone for example answers "for security", we do a deeper dive into his knowledge about safe coding practicices, to make sure the person actually knows what he/she's doing.</p><p>2) Why did the person chose the language he/she used? Does the person have a deeper understanding of the languages he uses?</p><p>3) And of course, we discuss the assignment itself. How did he/she come to certain solutions?</p><p></p><p>So the "technical" interview is more a check if the person has a proper understanding of what they are doing, instead of checking how well they know a certain language. As said before, languages can be taught, the way a person thinks, is much harder. Of course when it's for a senior position, the questions are much harder.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Weasel, post: 470229, member: 9520"] Back when I did the job interviews, the process was quite similar to what you are describing. The major difference is that in the job interview itself, we didn't really focus on tech stack-specific questions (like, which function would you use to solve X). So at first, we start off like this: 1. The applicant is screened by the manager and 1/2 (senior) developers. We check if their CV matches up with our expectations and for which function (junior/career/senior) they are applying. As the cultural fit is also important, we do a little bit of research on the person too, and of course, check the motivational letter. The PO and SM are not included in the process. 2. If this seems alright, they are invited for a first interview. In here, we basically question non-technical things, see if it's a proper cultural fit, his expectations of the job, and things he'd like to do. We also expand a little bit more about what we do, so he's also properly informed. 3. If they passed this initial check, and also had a good feeling after the first interview, they are sent a coding challenge, which is based on the product we work on (basically, make a barebones version of a part of the application). Based on their job level, the requirements are either expanded on or not (for example, a Junior isn't asked to also create Unit Tests). They're basically given a lot of freedom on how they want to achieve this, from choosing whether to use frameworks or not, and even the language is basically up to them (as long as it's used in the stack, or if they show the willingness to learn another language). Usage of Git is for example always required. 4. If the result is satisfactory, they are invited over for the second and final interview, the technical interview. Thanks to step 3, we already know a lot about the person's technical abilities. We can check how he handles himself with version control, to which standards the person upholds him/herself, etc. As languages can be learned, we mainly focus on how the person handles problem-solving. What is his way of thinking? Does he take security into account? All that kind of stuff. So, onto the technical interview. As there's already a lot of information based on the previous steps, the technical inteview mainly focusses into why he made certain choices, instead of actual "technical" questions. 1) We ask about why the person made certain choices. For example, did the person use a framework? If so, why did he use it? What is the extra value of using it? There's often different answers to this. If someone for example answers "for security", we do a deeper dive into his knowledge about safe coding practicices, to make sure the person actually knows what he/she's doing. 2) Why did the person chose the language he/she used? Does the person have a deeper understanding of the languages he uses? 3) And of course, we discuss the assignment itself. How did he/she come to certain solutions? So the "technical" interview is more a check if the person has a proper understanding of what they are doing, instead of checking how well they know a certain language. As said before, languages can be taught, the way a person thinks, is much harder. Of course when it's for a senior position, the questions are much harder. [/QUOTE]
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