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Coding Interviews in a Nutshell[/caption]
One way or the other we are all involved in the hiring process, or at least it impacts our work indirectly if we have to pick up the slack of our colleagues. Culture fit is great but at the same time, new hires need to do the work they are hired for.
We recently discussed pair programming and the advantages of implementing it in a company. What about using pair programming to conduct an interview?
Why use pair programming for interviews?
Let's start by refreshing our memory on what pair programming actually is. It’s a collaborative system in which two or more people work on a feature, usually, one person is responsible for the mechanical actions of writing a code, while the other person navigates through the code, looking at the bigger picture.
With that being said, it is easy to understand what a pair programming interview looks like: using this system to interview candidates, where the interviewer and the candidate work together on a certain code. Although there are different ways to test developer skills, for example, whiteboard assignments, take-home projects or screening tests, pair programming interviews have many advantages when it comes to testing technical skills.
Objective
Except for take-home projects, pair programming interviews are more objective than other types of tasks because they include auto-graded simulators. Reports of this kind offer an extensive summary of the candidate's performance, enabling that the best-qualified candidate is chosen, rather than the one who met someone’s biases.
Fast
Pair programming is a more thorough approach because the candidate experiences a real-life situation that includes not only coding but also discussing the process, giving opinions or asking questions, thus eliminating the need for several rounds of screenings.
Easy to conduct
The rise in remote working must be followed by remote interviews. After all, it's not easy for someone to come to another city or to another country for a job interview. Additionally, being tired during the job interview because of travelling will affect the candidate’s skills, concentration and memory.
What's in it for developers?
To begin with, better interviewing experience. During pair programming, candidates get to know how the team works and how they approach and solve a problem. Furthermore, they get to know the team members and company culture, which makes the decision easier and saves time, both for the candidate and the interviewer.
In addition to that, pair programming measures what needs to be measured, whereas whiteboarding measures candidates' anxiety levels, rather than skills. Similarly, screening quizzes mostly show how good someone is at brainteasers.
There is no point in interviews looking like this anymore.
Reposted to Blog