How to Assess Software Development Skills During the Recruitment Process

Table of Contents

• [toc headings="h2" title="Table of Contents"] Effective software developer recruitment is critical to the success of any tech-driven business, but assessing a candidate’s skills goes beyond just scanning a resume. A developer who looks great on paper may struggle with real-world problem-solving, while a less traditional candidate could have the technical expertise and adaptability your team needs. So, how can hiring managers and recruiters effectively evaluate candidates’ skills during the developer hiring process?  A well-structured developer skills assessment framework should combine multiple evaluation methods, from coding tests to behavioral interviews, to get a complete picture of a candidate’s abilities. This article explores key software developer interview techniques that help identify top talent. By refining your hiring approach, you can ensure you're bringing in developers who not only write clean, efficient code but also contribute positively to your organization’s culture and long-term goals.

• Defining the skills required for the role

• One of the challenging things about assessing software development skills is that not every role will require the same ones. Knowing which key programming languages, technical frameworks, and other software development competencies your role demands is the first step to success in the software developer hiring process.  The first step in hiring software engineers effectively is to align the skills required in your job description with your business goals. Consider what the primary function of the developer will be, whether that’s to focus on developing new products or maintaining and optimizing the performance of your existing systems. Your industry may also play a role here. Depending on what niche your business occupies, you may need your developer to have domain expertise, knowledge of compliance standards, or an awareness of cybersecurity best practices, in addition to the core technical competencies of the role.  The skills you look for should also align with the candidate’s experience level. Junior and entry-level developers should have foundational technical skills like proficiency in a programming language, familiarity with version control systems, an understanding of basic coding best practices, and basic debugging and problem-solving abilities. Mid-level developers need to have more independent problem-solving skills, strong coding proficiency, an understanding of software architecture, and experience working within CI/CD pipelines, as well as with databases, APIs, and software development frameworks. At the senior level, strategic thinking and leadership become just as important as technical expertise, and they should have deep expertise in multiple programming languages and frameworks, as well as experience with DevOps and cybersecurity best practices. The tech stack you use is also a factor when evaluating programming skills. You want to ensure the candidate you hire is familiar with your primary tools, frameworks, and methodologies. Along with this, consider the development environment. For instance, expertise in React is often critical for front-end developers, while back-end roles will often require expertise with databases and APIs. During this process, you’ll likely come up with an extensive list of skills and competencies, but not all of those are going to be things you need your new developer to have from the start. Some secondary skills or the use of specific tools you employ can be learned on the job as long as you hire someone who is otherwise technically proficient. Separate your list into essential technical skills and “nice-to-have” skills that aren’t necessarily a deal-breaker. This can help drive success with developer talent acquisition by ensuring you’re not accidentally ruling out qualified candidates.

• Resume and portfolio review

• Often, before you put the time into conducting coding challenges or other technical assessment methods, it’s best to narrow down your list of potential candidates by reviewing their resume and portfolio. Knowing what to look for can help you to pick out the right professionals to move forward to the next stage of the process.  First of all, when you’re reviewing software developer resumes, assess their work experience and the narrative of their career progress. Ideally, those applying for mid-level or senior roles should show steady career growth, with regular promotions and increasing responsibilities over time. If you see frequent job hopping this may be a concern, though short employment stints in a variety of tech startups can be common for some developers. Of course, you don’t want to stop at their job titles or years of experience. This is also the first place to determine whether they have proficiency in the relevant programming languages for your needs, as well as the specific experience with the tools, frameworks, and databases in your tech stack that were mentioned above. For some roles, cloud developer experience and DevOps skills in areas like Docker, Kubernetes, or AWS are also smart things to check for.  Candidates’ resumes can also show you if they have real-world experience in the types of projects involved in your role. Prioritize candidates who list specific projects they’ve completed and can demonstrate their quantifiable impact on them, rather than simply describing their responsibilities in past roles. This can also include open-source contributions or personal projects listed on sites like GitHub, which can demonstrate initiative and passion for the field. In addition to their resume, it’s common for employers to ask for a portfolio of past projects. This is valuable for coding skills evaluation and an excellent first technical screening for developers. When reviewing portfolios, look for code that is clean, well-structured, and follows best practices. It should also include consistent documentation and comments to aid comprehension.  Ideally, this portfolio should also feature a range of projects, which may include web applications, backend services, and open-source contributions. Evaluate how well these projects solve real-world challenges like automation or performance improvement, as well as their demonstration of algorithmic thinking and problem-solving skills. If the candidate has contributed to existing repositories like GitHub pull requests, this also shows their collaboration skills, something that’s very valuable in a developer team environment.

• Red flags in developer resumes and portfolios

• Along with finding the right candidates, one valuable use for resumes in IT talent assessment is to spot potential problems that suggest the professional isn’t the best hire. Some common ones include:

  • Excessive use of jargon or buzzwords. In some cases, developers may try to cover up a lack of relevant experience by overloading their resume with niche terminology. While simply using industry jargon isn’t a red flag, it should be backed up with substance and supporting evidence.
  • Lack of project details or specifics of past work. A resume that lists just job titles without information on the technology used or results of their work could suggest a lack of hands-on experience or poor performance in past roles.
  • Frequent unexplained job hopping. Some job movement is common in technology roles, particularly when it comes to software engineering recruitment for startups. However, if the candidate held multiple roles for less than a year without clear reasons, this could indicate a lack of reliability.
  • Listing irrelevant or outdated technology. This can include listing obsolete languages without modern alternatives, unless you have specifically requested experience in those languages for the purpose of maintaining legacy systems.
  • Messy, unreadable, or unmaintainable code in projects. Bad coding habits like poor indentation, a lack of structure, or inconsistent naming conventions can be hard to break, and aren’t things you want to introduce to your team.
  • Plagiarized or copy-pasted code. Anyone can pull code snippets from Stack Overflow or online tutorials. If the portfolio features a significant amount of this without modification, that could suggest a lack of deep understanding and originality.
  • No deployed projects or live demos. It’s difficult to evaluate code that isn’t used in the real world. A strong portfolio should include working examples or links to deployed apps that demonstrate their functionality.

• Technical assessments and coding tests

• After candidates have cleared the initial resume and portfolio review, it’s time to dig deeper into their technical competency with active tests of their skills. Let’s review some of the top software developer technical screening methods and technical interview best practices.

• Popular coding assessment tools for recruitment

• There are several technical screening platforms you can employ to evaluate the coding skills of your applicants. Some of the most popular include:

  • HackerRank – Ideal for algorithmic challenges and general coding tests, HackerRank supports multiple programming languages and offers both pre-built tests and customizable challenges, along with automated scoring and benchmarking against other candidates.
  • Codility – Codility offers some of the best coding tests for hiring focused on real-world tasks and algorithmic problem-solving. It includes role-specific tests for areas like front-end, back-end, and DevOps roles, and has timed coding challenges with automated scoring and anti-cheating measures.
  • LeetCode – For interviews focused on data structures and algorithms, LeetCode offers a large database of problems. It’s frequently used by top tech companies, and allows you to create custom challenges in addition to using their available problems.
  • CodeSignal – This AI-powered skills assessment platform is used by companies like Meta, Zoom, and Uber for general coding tests and system design interviews. It features interactive challenges as well as real-world coding environments.
  • CoderPad – Ideal for live coding and pair programming interviews, CoderPad can be used for both algorithmic and practical coding tasks. It supports multiple frameworks and languages and offers a real-time collaborative coding environment.
  • TestGorilla – TestGorilla isn’t only useful for the software engineer technical screening process, but offers personality and cognitive ability tests for assessing soft skills in addition to coding tests.
  • DevSkiller – With its focus on role-specific and framework-based tests, DevSkiller is valuable for full project-based assessments and real-world coding tasks. It also includes live pair programming features, and is a handy tool to assess practical coding skills.

• Structured vs. unstructured technical interviews

• When it comes to technical recruitment strategies, both structured and unstructured interviews have their advantages. One advantage of using structured interviews is that they’re consistent and fair. Every candidate is evaluated using the same criteria, which reduces the risk of bias and reduces subjectivity on the part of the interviewer. Using a standardized scoring system also makes it easier to compare candidates objectively and can speed up the decision making process. In terms of the candidate experience, structured interviews are predictable, which means candidates know what to expect. On the other hand, the lack of flexibility doesn’t allow for exploration of applicants’ unique strengths or problem-solving approaches, and can feel more impersonal. This is the main area where unstructured interviews have the upper hand when it comes to hiring top software developers. Interviewers can tailor their questions to each candidate, which lets them dig deeper into their strengths and weaknesses and leads to more natural conversations. It can also allow for more showcasing of their real-world problem-solving skills, and make it easier to assess their cultural fit. Because both approaches have their strengths, it’s common for companies to blend both approaches during their engineering team recruitment. For instance, you might start with structured coding challenges or technical assessments to get an objective benchmark, then follow this up with a less rigid interview.

• Live coding interviews

• Another popular form of software engineering skills test is to use live coding interviews. These let interviewers observe how candidates approach problems rather than only seeing their final answer. Because of this, you can better evaluate their efficiency, debugging skills, and logical thinking.  Unlike take-home coding assessments or multiple choice tests, live interviews give a glimpse into how well candidates write and edit code in realistic conditions. It’s also an opportunity to hear them verbalize their thought process, which can be especially beneficial for those hiring into collaborative development environments. Since the interview is more interactive, the candidate can ask clarifying questions and the interviewer can get deeper insights into their capabilities. Coding under time constraints shows how the candidate handles stress and manages their time.  There are some technical hiring best practices you want to follow when conducting live interviews. First, determine what specific skill sets you want to assess before designing your challenge. This will impact the coding format you use. For junior and mid-level roles, algorithmic challenges are common, while senior roles may be asked to work on real-world projects like building a feature or fixing a bug. For some roles, code review exercises can be beneficial, showing you how the candidate identifies and fixes issues, or spots areas for improvement.

• Assessing system design knowledge

• System design interviews help to gauge a candidate’s ability to architect scalable, reliable, and efficient systems, and are especially valuable for mid-to-senior level roles. Some of the key areas you want to evaluate during this process include:

  • Understanding of requirements – This is how you ensure the candidate can ask the right questions to clarify the scope of the system needs
  • Scalability and performance – Assessing how well the candidate designs for high traffic, load balancing, and growth
  • Database design – Determining whether the candidate can choose the right database and optimize queries
  • API design – Testing whether the candidate structures APIs efficiently using REST, GraphQL, or gRPC
  • Fault tolerance & availability – Assessing how the candidate handles failures, redundancy, and failovers
  • Security considerations – You can see if the candidate addresses data protection, authorization, and authentication
  To conduct a system design interview, start by choosing a realistic problem, and give them only high-level requirements, asking the candidate to define key features and constraints. Whiteboard interviews can be valuable during this process. This doesn’t need to involve a physical whiteboard, but could be a virtual interface like Miro or Google Docs. As the candidate is going through the test, focus on their thought process as well as the final product. Ask them about the trade-offs they made and any alternative solutions, as well as what strategies they would use to scale the feature or application.

• Behavioral, soft skills, and culture fit assessments

• Technical skills aren’t the only indicator of a software developer’s success. Skills like algorithmic problem-solving, collaboration, leadership, and the ability to coach or mentor others are also important in many roles.  This is why IT recruitment best practices are to ask candidates questions that give you insight into these more intangible aspects of the role, in addition to technical interview questions for developers. Some software developer interview questions to ask for this kind of soft skill assessment include:

  • Explain a complex technical concept to me as if I were a non-technical stakeholder.
  • Tell me about a time you collaborated with a difficult team member, and how you handled it.
  • How do you handle receiving feedback on your code from peers or senior developers?
  • Describe a time you faced a challenging technical issue. How did you debug and solve it?
  • What steps do you take when you’re stuck on a coding problem?
  • Tell me about a time you had to learn a new technology or programming language quickly, and how you accomplished it.
  • How do you refine your approach when you receive unexpected changes in project requirements?
  • How do you manage multiple tasks and deadlines effectively?
  • Tell me about a time you had to work under a tight deadline and how you handled the pressure.
  • If you had two critical bugs to fix, but only had time to resolve one before a deadline, how would you decide which to prioritize?
  • Describe a time you helped a teammate who was struggling with a technical issue.
  • How do you ensure smooth collaboration when working in a cross-functional team?

• Best practices and tips for effective software developer skill assessment

• Now that you’ve learned the ins and outs of how to evaluate coding skills in an interview, as well as their suitability for the team and role, here are a few last tips for how to effectively assess software development skills.

• Set clear expectations from the start.

• Candidates feel less anxious when they know what format, topics, and evaluation criteria they’ll face in the interview, which allows you to more accurately assess their skills. Clear expectations also create a more consistent evaluation process, encouraging transparency that fosters trust and minimizes misunderstandings.

• Provide feedback through the interview stages.

• Receiving feedback enhances the candidate experience. Even if they don’t land the job, they’ll leave the process with a positive impression of your company. They’ll appreciate the input that can help them refine their skills, and will be reassured that hiring decisions were based on clear criteria. This strengthens your employer brand and helps you to attract more high-quality candidates in the future.

• Get feedback from candidates to improve your process.

• Feedback is often best when it’s a two-way street. Candidate insights can expose issues you weren’t aware of with your process and highlight areas for improvement in your interview structure or the candidate experience. This is another move that can enhance your employer brand, showing that you’re committed to continuous improvement.

• Maintain documentation of your assessment process.

• Another way to ensure fairness is to document how candidates were assessed and how the final decision was ultimately made. Documentation helps you to improve your hiring process in the future, as well as to enhance collaboration between interviewers and make more informed collective decisions.

• Balance assessment depth with candidate time investment.

• Long, overly detailed assessments can lead to frustration and burnout, which can cause you to lose top talent. Balancing depth and efficiency ensures candidates remain engaged through the process, allowing you to see their full capabilities. This also improves the efficiency on the interviewer’s side, ensuring you gather enough information to make informed decisions without getting overwhelmed with data or losing focus.

• Use trial work or probationary periods for your final assessment.

• Probationary periods reduce hiring risk by giving you time to make sure the candidate is a good fit for the role and team before you fully commit to them. You can also better assess the candidate’s real-world performance and how well they adapt to your culture, workflow, and collaboration style.

• Effective software development skill assessment

• Developing an effective software development skills assessment framework requires a thoughtful balance of technical evaluation, problem-solving skills, and soft skill analysis. A well-structured process that incorporates live coding, system design, and behavioral questions will ensure you identify candidates who don’t just excel technically but are also prepared to thrive in your culture and grow within your organization.