It’s not unusual that candidates are exposed to several challenging hiring processes before the most qualified person can be chosen. They might be tedious, but these processes are integral to identifying the most qualified candidates.
Aside from sifting through resumes and conducting interviews, certain positions require specific screening procedures to verify technical competencies – particularly in the IT sector, where technical skill is closely tied to job performance.
The best way to evaluate a developer’s strongest programming skill is to implement a coding assessment in the hiring process that tests programming knowledge and overall comprehension.
Traditionally, onsite coding tests are used to evaluate a candidate’s technical competency, but these are limited by the physical space and resources (i.e. computers) of the interviewer.
Unlike onsite tests, online coding assessments can benefit a business by reducing the dependence on physical resources. They have a variety of advantages that can work to streamline your recruitment process, evaluate large groups of candidates, and assist in narrowing candidates down to only the most qualified.
What is a coding assessment?
A coding assessment provides the interviewer with an opportunity to evaluate the programmer’s technical skills.
A good coding assessment will challenge a developer’s problem-solving and programming abilities either during or prior to the technical interview.
Coding assessments can be tailored specifically to a position’s ideal candidate, or can make use of many standardized coding assessments available to recruiters. Typically, large tech companies use a standardized coding assessment, while more niche businesses might handcraft their tests to evaluate highly-specific criteria.
What are the advantages?
Well-crafted coding assessments can benefit your business by helping you avoid the time and money lost in hiring unqualified candidates. It can also speed up the hiring process by providing an automatic and streamlined ‘filter’ for candidates to overcome.
The four examples listed below are the primary advantages of online coding assessments.
Considers skills as well as history
Sometimes, the best candidates don’t possess a strong academic or professional history. A coding assessment can help identify highly qualified candidates where they would otherwise go unnoticed.
Recruits candidates globally
An increasingly globalized labor force necessitates adapted methods of recruitment. Using online coding assessments lets businesses evaluate a candidate’s abilities anywhere in the world at any time, which saves both the candidate and the company time and money.
Streamlines application process
The nature of onsite coding assessments excludes a large portion of candidates from participating in the hiring process. Workers who are employed but are looking for better opportunities might not have the time needed to take an onsite test. Conversely, an online test enhances accessibility to the hiring process without forcing a candidate to miss work.
Permits a larger test cohort
Online coding assessments are capable of facilitating much larger cohorts of candidates than conventional onsite testing. These large groups of candidates could not otherwise be accommodated by the company, given limited resources. This increases the number of qualified candidates that can be identified quickly, speeding up the hiring process.
Online coding assessments can provide all of the benefits of conventional testing. By increasing the accessibility of coding assessments, your business can reach more candidates, screen them faster and minimize the costs of mishiring.
