8 Ways to Make the Most of Developer Interviews

The new year is here and your company is doing everything it can to move forward. Given that the global economy has been constantly changing, your hiring may have slowed or stopped. Either way, you should be prepared to keep adding developers to your talent pool. Otherwise, your company runs the risk of falling behind the competition.

And even if you're not hiring right now, you should think of ways to make the most of the hiring process as the year progresses. This means interviewing developers. For some, this is as natural as breathing or sleeping. For others, however, it's as unnatural as jumping out of a plane. You don't want to do this, but it's always best to be prepared should the eventuality arise.

So what do you need to know or do to make the most of developer interviews in 2021?

Let's dig deeper and discover some tips you can use to help empower those who would be involved in the process.

#1: Know What You Want and Need

Before you even start the interviews, you need to know your company's wants and needs. Desires will be in line with HR policies, such as candidates who have a solid work history, those who can work well with others, those who are able to work under authority and those who can pass a drug test. What your business needs, on the other hand, will focus on the projects you are doing now and what you might need in the future.

In other words, you will want to know which programming languages ​​are required in these projects. Java , JavaScript , .NET , Python , Ruby —they're all different languages ​​with different requirements. Don’t go into these interviews looking for generalities. Be specific so you can screen candidates more efficiently (and successfully).

#2: Use Your Best Programmer in the Interview

Programming is a very specific talent. Because of this, you don't want to rely on a mid-level manager or a member of HR to do the interviews. Of course, they could conduct the first contact interview, with the aim of evaluating the personality traits best suited for the company. But when it comes to evaluating skills, you need your best available programmer. Why? Because only a programmer can judge another programmer's skills.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you want to select a programmer (from your team) who won't let his ego get in the way. The last thing you need is someone allowing jealousy to stop them from hiring what could be the greatest programmer your company has ever known.

#3: Hire Passionate Developers

The role of a software engineer requires not only countless hours of training, but an equal level of dedication to the job. To do this, you should look for programmers who are very passionate about what they do. Avoid hiring programmers who came in “for the money”. You want developers who love what they do. Why? Because the old saying applies: “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” This is the type of programmer you want, as they are less likely to burn out, be unhappy, or fail at work.

#4 Don’t forget the Nearshore and Offshore options

As you begin researching the various talent pools for 2021, don't be afraid to venture beyond your state or country and into near-shore or offshore options. There is a huge talent pool across the world that you and your company would benefit greatly from. This becomes even more evident because many companies have become quite adept at hiring and working with remote employees. Because of this, there is no reason to assume that the only good developers are those who can work within the confines of your building.

#5: Be Creative in Your Interviews

You've probably given hundreds of interviews and they've probably all been treated the same way. But now we're in 2021 and things are very different than they were just a few years ago. There are many more young people in the talent pool and hundreds of thousands of employees work from home. This means you can get a little creative in your interviews. Ask questions that go beyond the job and into the heart and soul of the candidate. Ask what a typical day would be like for them. Are they regimented or are they scattered or chaotic? What books do they like to read? What movies or TV do they prefer? These types of questions will help you determine if they are a good fit for your company.

#6 Know what you want to know

Never go into interviews without knowing what you want to know from the candidates. By going into the interview unprepared, you will fail to ask the necessary questions, only take a cursory look at the candidate, and leave unprepared to make a decision. In fact, you should have a specially designed question pack for each assignment. And be sure to ask each candidate the same questions. Otherwise, you will have a hard time deciding who gets the job in the end.

#7: Check Your Ability to Work Remotely

As mentioned earlier, many people work remotely now. When conducting interviews this year, you should evaluate a candidate's ability to work remotely successfully. For some, working from home is second nature. For others, however, it is a challenge. Given the state of the world right now, employees must be able to work remotely. To do this, you should take time during interviews to find out how well candidates would handle the switch between working on-site and from home.

#8: Zoom Meetings Are Your Friend

You will use Zoom (or some other type of video conferencing tool/service) to conduct interviews this year. If security is your concern, there's no way around it. Because of this, you will need to adapt to carrying out these interviews via video calls. But don't hold these meetings alone. Instead, have a team participate. In fact, create a team for this purpose and make sure everyone is present for every interview. Allow all participants to ask candidates questions so they can better assist you in decision-making.

At the same time, you will see how well your candidates handle the use of technology. It's a win-win situation.

Conclusion

The world is constantly evolving, which means you need to evolve your developer hiring process. If you remain stuck in the past with your interview techniques, you could miss out on some of the best hires of your career. By making a few simple adjustments, you can take your interviews to the next level and ensure you're getting the most out of the process.