After much deliberation, your company has decided to transition to a remote workforce. While this opens up the potential for hiring global talent, there are some unique difficulties in comparison to hiring candidates based in the United States. For example, it may be difficult to assess the credibility of an applicant’s educational background and past employers, as they may not be familiar to you. Additionally, the same issues that you may be facing can be expected of recruiters as well, making it difficult to depend on them for sourcing and vetting candidates.
In order to ensure that a potential remote working arrangement will be beneficial and not impede your progress, it is essential to assess the individual’s qualifications, experience and capability to handle the job requirements. Additionally, it is important to consider any potential limitations that may arise from the remote working arrangement.
To overcome sourcing difficulties, thorough screening is used
When traditional methods of locating talent are proving to be ineffective, a new approach is needed. At Works, my current company, we are trying to find a solution to this challenge. Through my experience of conducting hundreds of technical evaluations, I have identified some key pieces of information that could be of use to you. In this essay, I will outline the best practices for assessing prospective employees and making sure that they have the skills and abilities to meet your desired results. By following these suggestions, you can rest assured that your placements are the right fit for the job.
At Works, we understand the importance of making the right connection between developers and businesses. As such, we take our reputation very seriously and take every measure to ensure that we are not making any poor matches. We bring together developers from all over the world with the chance to work at some of the most renowned and interesting companies in the world, and we will not risk our credibility by making ill-advised matches.
We have developed a system that provides an unbiased assessment of a candidate’s capabilities in all of the areas that are critical for successful remote working, as we cannot rely on conventional indicators to determine whether an individual is suitable for our customers.
Our organisation employs a strict and well-defined evaluation process to ensure that each candidate is thoroughly assessed for their technical capabilities. This process involves both highly refined automated testing and a comprehensive in-person technical interview for applicants who have been successful in the coding tests.
Our testing processes are designed to provide us with the essential information necessary to evaluate a candidate’s experience, skills, and capabilities. Through our tests and interviews, we are aiming to ascertain whether the person has the capacity to deliver on the skills they have stated they possess, as well as their ability to carry out basic duties, manage projects and personnel, or even direct whole projects from inception to completion.
As an initial consideration, we would like to evaluate if an individual has the capacity to make a significant impact on a codebase. It is possible that their abilities are limited to taking care of certain, separate tasks. For instance, can this person add a button to this web page that is able to do x, y, and z while taking into account the complete technological architecture of the application?
Can this individual demonstrate the capability to integrate unit testing into a previously developed back-end logic structure while still adhering to the existing framework and not causing disruption? In other words, can they meet the functional needs while conforming to the established architecture?
It is important to assess whether the individual in question possesses the necessary skills to tackle a complex task such as constructing a larger-scale feature. In addition to having the technical capabilities to complete the task, they must also be able to make informed decisions and trade-offs in design and implementation. Furthermore, they should be able to identify the underlying functional needs within a general specification. Ultimately, it is important to understand if the individual can effectively carry out a directive at this degree of complexity.
We are currently evaluating whether the candidate will be able to contribute to the existing infrastructure, both technically and procedurally, in terms of both individual tasks and features. It is of utmost importance that we assess this capability.
We are currently undertaking the process of candidate screening and hiring to identify qualified programmers, project directors, and architects for remote work positions. We are seeking professionals with the necessary skill sets and experience to contribute to our organisation in a meaningful way. We will use a comprehensive and rigorous assessment process to ensure that we are selecting the best candidates for the job. We are committed to evaluating candidates on the basis of their qualifications, skills, and experience, rather than any other factors. We look forward to welcoming the successful applicants to our team and to a successful working relationship.
As the job role progresses, the degree of architectural complexity increases. Can this individual construct a project from the ground-up with nothing more than a broad overview? Are they able to develop and deploy a cutting-edge Android application that performs a unique task? Furthermore, if a company desires to expand its product range into a completely new sector, can the developer take tentative business concepts and a basic outline of how the organisation plans to achieve its goals and then construct a full-stack product, encompassing the user interface, back-end architecture and the design of the data models?
Are they able to manage the entire procedure, from the layout of the system architecture to the creation of a visually appealing implementation? Do they possess the technical ability, as well as the required expertise, to build the minimum viable product from the front-end to the back-end to the database, as well as any infrastructure necessary to deploy the code?
Screening potential employees for their technical aptitude can be a challenging endeavour, as it requires more than simply determining their level of seniority. The screening process must evaluate if the individual is capable of constructing complex systems, and if they have an understanding of how the parts of the system interact and communicate with each other. Additionally, it is important to determine if the individual is able to comprehend how the feature they are responsible for fits into the overall scope of the product.
Are candidates capable of leveraging the tools present in a particular company? Can they adjust to the rhythms and operations of the group they are a part of, and collaborate with other members to form a larger, unified unit? Furthermore, at the individual task level, we must also assess if someone has the fundamental computer science skills. Are they able to create efficient code? Do they understand the principles of runtime and space complexity, and how they are associated with the code they create and the issues they must solve?
Can they anticipate how their code will be used in real-world applications, and how the code they create will be processed and operated?
It is essential to remember that all of the aspects of the program ultimately come down to code. Code is responsible for two primary functions: it is run by a computer with specific memory and data, and it is also read and understood by people. In order to improve the functionality of a program, people must be able to interpret and modify the code. Therefore, it is crucial to write code that is comprehensible to others. Abstractions should be used to ensure that the code is easy to interpret and change.
AI versus Human Vetting for Remote Work
Works recognises that it can be difficult to assess the full range of skills necessary to be an “excellent” software developer during a single hour-long phone interview. As such, we have determined that it is possible to reduce the reliance on human judgement in the vetting process.
At [Company Name], we undertake a comprehensive hour-long technical interview with a selection of our most experienced engineers to ensure that the automated testing processes we have in place are accurate and comprehensive. This technical interview allows us to confirm and expand on any issues that our automated testing has identified, providing further assurance that our services and products are of a high quality.
The technical interview process provides us with an opportunity to evaluate qualities that are not easily discernible through an automated test. We are keen to observe the candidate’s communication abilities, but we also use the interview as a platform to gain insights into their technical abilities.
Why not both?
We found that automated tests provide an effective way to assess an individual’s knowledge and proficiency with various technological stacks when designing the Works platform. For example, these tests can be used to evaluate a person’s understanding of programming languages such as JavaScript and Python, as well as frameworks like React, Node JS, and Laravel.
It is possible to ascertain if an individual is proficient in a specific framework or programming language. This is advantageous for customers who wish to quickly appoint someone with the appropriate knowledge to their technical stack. We are able to provide verification of skill-level to facilitate this process.
We’ve also found that we can automate testing of a wider range of formats.
We can assess the applicant’s comprehension of server creation by determining whether they understand how a database links to a server, as well as how the server may collaborate with a front-end client. Additionally, we can evaluate their familiarity with the typical design patterns commonly used in software engineering and their ability to apply them effectively.
Are prospective candidates conversant with the various algorithms that are prevalent in software engineering? Can they explain the expected behaviour of a given code snippet in a language they claim to understand, when presented with a specific type of input? We have found that these types of questions are suitable for the automated testing processes we currently employ.
We are confident that we can accurately assess a developer’s proficiency in any specific coding language, such as front-end development, back-end systems development, mobile development, or database design. Through analysis of their work, we can gain a deeper understanding of their capabilities and determine their level of mastery.
By utilising powerful tools that enable programs to be executed within a web browser, we have been able to greatly improve our testing capabilities. This advancement has allowed us to perform automated live code and algorithm tests with an impressive level of accuracy and efficiency.
It is possible to assess whether an individual is capable of creating code that can fulfill a specific purpose within a given timeframe and with a certain amount of memory. We at Works are delighted to continue developing this technology and research the potential for other types of automated testing that involve coding.
Where automated testing fails
In spite of the fact that we have automated testing in a live coding environment, there are still some gaps.
Currently, it is extremely challenging to have a machine measure the aesthetic beauty and quality of someone’s code, such as the level of readability, structure, and abstraction.
Technical interviews can be a valuable tool for evaluating a potential employee’s ability to think critically. By presenting candidates with hypothetical job scenarios and allowing them to develop a solution, I can gain insight into the candidate’s problem-solving process and the type of code they would use in a real-world situation. This helps me to gain a better understanding of the candidate’s critical thinking and ability to address challenges with unknown requirements. Additionally, I can observe how they approach the task, ask questions to gain necessary information, and create a well-designed, efficient solution.
Automated testing can be used as a filtering mechanism that helps to narrow down a pool of potential candidates. However, it is not a substitute for an in-person interview, which allows employers to evaluate an applicant based on crucial factors such as interpersonal skills, communication ability, and problem-solving approach that are difficult to measure through automated testing alone. Therefore, an in-person interview is necessary to fully assess an applicant’s suitability for a job.
At Works, we have determined that an efficient and comprehensive automated testing system is a cost-effective way to process a high volume of job applications. Without this system, conducting individual interviews or conducting background checks on prospective employees would be a time-consuming endeavour that would stretch beyond the capacity of our resources.
As our testing capabilities become increasingly refined, we will be able to identify the most suitable candidates and concentrate our efforts on technical assessments for the most promising applications.
If you are looking to recruit remote workers and do not have automated testing in place, there are a few steps you can take to ensure you are able to screen and select the right candidates. First, you should create a comprehensive job listing that outlines the required qualifications and job duties for the role. This will help ensure that you are attracting candidates who meet your criteria. Additionally, you should create a standardised interview process that will allow you to fairly evaluate all applicants. This should include phone or video interviews, as well as any skills tests that you feel are necessary for the role. Finally, you should take the time to thoroughly review the resumes and portfolios of all those who apply. By taking the appropriate steps, you can ensure that you are able to screen and recruit the right remote workers for your organisation.
In my upcoming article, I will explore options for those who do not have access to automated testing facilities. Additionally, I will discuss strategies for streamlining the onboarding process and identify potential red flags that may indicate a remote recruit is having difficulty or is failing to meet expectations. Please stay tuned for more information!
