Coding Assessments: A Definitive Guide to Hiring the Right Coder

The demand for a good pool of tech candidates has risen significantly in the current market -they are getting more opportunities than ever. However, an inefficient screening process, limited technical evaluation and unreasonably designed coding test questions deprive them of the most deserving candidates. Some SMEs attempted to upgrade and digitize their recruitment processes, but using outdated or inefficient technology has not brought about tangible gains. It is no surprise that hiring developers and tech professionals are increasingly becoming challenging and competitive for most organizations.

If you reflect on what goes awry during your hiring process, you’ll realize that recruiting technical talent is not complicated. It’s about refining the process. The key to understanding candidates’ potential lies in assessing their on-the-job performance. Therefore, not being able to evaluate their skills holistically and in real-time is an obstacle.

You must provide candidates with a comprehensive programming test to assess the programming skills before hiring a coder. Only then can you fairly measure their ability – for example, ask the candidates to debug and test a specific code. Even though debugging and testing are essential aspects of the programming process, very few candidates get their code right in their first attempt. Sometimes, even the simplest of tasks can filter candidates to enable you to acquire a proficient pool. However, this programming assessment is typically given in the hiring process and not in the initial stages, leading to wastage of resources.

Coding assessment is a comprehensive evaluation approach of a candidate’s technical talent. A hiring manager filters out quality technical talent from a vast pool by using a combination of knowledge and application-based techniques such as MCQs and simulators to measure job-relevant skills.

An online coding test also yields some interesting insights. Hiring managers can track students’ performance on each question. Therefore, you can immediately spot topic areas that prove problematic and appear to be discriminating against good candidates. During the test, the progress of individual coders, called a grade trajectory, can also be plotted, allowing you to understand which candidates were close to their final mark a few minutes before the coding test. 

Coding assessments elucidate whether the applicant can fulfill the essential criteria and job requirements. A meaningful talent evaluation from the onset ensures that the ensuing steps enable successful hiring. Hence, coding assessments are best suited before the interview round and should be administered as a part of technical screening. 

What is Screening for Coders?

Coding assessments is the process of simultaneously testing and evaluating thousands of technical candidates’ skills and experience against pre-decided parameters. It is a filtration process between receiving an application and hiring a candidate.

Let’s take an example: Hiring managers are seeking back-end Java developers at scale. They also want them to possess basic SQL knowledge of writing REST APIs. This is a specific requirement, but the candidate pool is vast. Hence, hiring managers need to create a filter to assess every candidate’s skills across their requirements and scout the potentials. They enable technical screening and micro-analyze the candidates by focussing on their:

•  Coding and general aptitude 
• Understanding of core technical concepts such as Java Concepts, REST APIs, Frameworks, problem-solving, etc. on a diverse set of technologies
• Coding proficiency in real-world Java programming languages

The programming assessments helps HR understand a programmer’s capability to learn and comprehend. This provides insights into the extent of knowledge candidates can apply and analyze, and a baseline understanding of their technical abilities, giving the company a much needed competitive advantage at the onset. 

Also, valuable, evidence-based analytics on candidate potential and performance deter hiring managers from shortlisting based on bias. Hence, the organization is only left with the best candidate pool for the interview process, accelerating the hiring process holistically and fairly. 

Here’s What The Tech Screening Deduces. It Includes, And Is Not Restricted To:

Who Uses Technical Screening As Part Of Coding Assessments?

Whether a small, mid-sized or a Fortune 500 organization, any organization can employ technical screening to test job-relevant skills and sharpen their hiring strategies – be it to assess the millennial with basic programming skills or check a mid or senior developer’s sophisticated expertise. Technical screening helps bag the best talent for any level or role in no time. 

Here is an example of two scenarios where technical screening is handy:

The campus hiring season has begun. Companies are looking to hire in bulk. But with a significant number of candidates having similar qualifications, how does one shortlist all-rounders? The answer lies in technical screening. Before selecting for the interview, technical screening assesses, and filters engineers based on technical or domain skills, cognitive skills, behavioral and personality traits, effective communication, core skills and suitability. They are then graded on predefined parameters without manual intervention. Instead of believing the candidates’ projected impression and over-stated abilities, screening assessments like coding assessments test their actual knowledge and proficiency. This helps in making informed hiring decisions and building the best team.

In the best employment markets, most proficient candidates are hired in a very short span. Hence, hiring managers uplevel their lateral hiring strategy by assessing technical, behavioral and cognitive skills via technical screening. The swiftness, mindfulness and accuracy of technical screening ensure companies can hire highly qualified mid-level and senior coders. Subsequently, it also prevents any organization from making shortsighted hiring decisions and ensures that its lateral hiring aligns with its strategic hiring goals.

Why Should Companies Opt For Technical Screening

There is a considerable difference between a candidate’s knowledge and abilities. It is vital to create parity between the two. Technical screening enables it and increases the quality of candidates you invite to the interview, making an otherwise time-consuming and tedious hiring process, engaging, dynamic and swift. 

Here’s How Technical Screening Positive Impacts Hiring:

How To Screen Technical Candidates?

Programming assessments helps identify candidates worth further consideration. After all, the more clarity you have in the initial selection, the better are your chances of interviewing and hiring worthy fits.

Here are five simple steps to enable technical screening:

• The first filter to shortlist the candidates is through Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). Create a list of technical questions in an MCQ format. These questions are not merely simple go-to questions. The key to framing these technical questions is to cover a topic or skill extensively. The focus is on deducing essential knowledge, concepts, applications and learning, analysis for a diverse set of technologies, directly related to the role. It also questions a candidate’s higher and future levels of thinking. MCQs are among the most useful question types to gauge the candidate’s technical core from every dimension. They offer a quick and precise evaluation over a tremendous scope of the content.
• Based on the MCQ results, eliminate unsuitable candidates who don’t have the required core skills, coding skills or aptitude. Candidates that meet your essential coding criteria proceed to the second round. 
• The second filter that assesses shortlisted candidates are coding simulators. Online coding assessments backed by coding simulators offer a real sense of candidates’ ability as it asks them to mirror real-world challenges. Candidates are either asked to create code from scratch, work on test cases, fix a bug or create an algorithm. While writing the code, hiring managers observe their problem-solving skills, performance on the desired tasks, coding proficiency in general programming languages, etc. Once the candidates complete coding, they are auto-graded almost in real-time, based on several parameters: code quality, efficiency, correctness and scalability. This provides direct and detailed insight into their coding aptitude and on-the-job potential.  
• Further, filter the candidates for a technical screening interview based on detailed automated reports that thoroughly evaluate their technical ability. 
• Make an evidence-based decision and improve your hiring quality. 

Using the combination of MCQ+ simulators makes for an accurate recipe for successful hiring. It is a transparent, fair, and time-saving package that validates the candidate’s ability. Subsequently, technical screening negates the alienation of top talent.

Think about a test with 500 students appearing in it (commonly in campus hiring), with questions ranging from essays, short answer types to any subjective type tests. Despite the efficiency, there would be an unavoidable delay in the assessment process.

Conversely, setting up an MCQ assessment would ease the process for a recruiter. Auto-graded multiple-choice questions can help the assessors grade the applicants quickly, without labor.

What Forms The Basis Of MCQs 

• Evaluate at Multiple Bloom’s Level- A very common means to boost and cross-check learning, be it for certification or hiring or anything else in the corporate world, is to include questions. At Mercer | Mettl, we design MCQs based on almost all the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. This includes essential knowledge, concept, application and analysis. Our in-house team produces well-worded and thoughtful multiple-choice questions that majorly focus on application and analysis and relatively less on understanding and remembering the facts.
• Measure the depth and expanse of candidate knowledge- MCQ is considered a default for most standardized testing for a valid reason. Candidates tend to answer a multiple-choice question quicker than an essay question. While designing MCQs, the main focus is to look into the topic’s or skill’s expanse and depth. For instance, CSS>>CSS effect>>Box Shadow Effect, questions based on this kind of tree structure lets the assessor understand the candidate for even the minutest of skills. Thus, increasing the validity of the coding assessment.
• Single Choice vs. Multiple Choice- “It’s harder to recall an answer but easier to recognize one,” is accurate up to an extent. Unlike other question types, candidates do have an edge to guess among the options provided. Well-crafted coding assessment questions have the best correct answer and well-designed, highly persuasive false answers, aka ‘distractors.’ For assessors, this is a plus point, as it dives deeply into the applicant’s knowledge base and extracts the true potential out of it. On the other hand, it’s selection vs. elimination for the applicants, wherein they could either approach by selecting the correct answer or eliminating the wrong ones, whichever suits them. 
• Moreover, multiple-choice questions are versatile. They are adaptable to different dimensions of learning outcomes, from recalling the knowledge base to more serious and challenging levels. Analyzing a phenomenon, applying principles or rules to specific situations, understanding several concepts, interpreting graphs, charts, tables, or concluding summary from the provided data – all these and more could be efficiently delivered to the assessors through MCQs.

Why Simulator Is An Ideal Coding Assessment Criterion For Hiring

Irrespective of your learning, its practical application on a certain platform is the most precise and apt measure to evaluate its extent. The best way to analyze a candidate’s coding skills is by giving a programming test online. Coding simulators help evaluate the candidates’ hands-on experience and ability to solve a problem in their desired programming language. Hiring managers can evaluate the coders on several parameters such as code quality, efficiency, correctness and scalability, etc. An online programming assessment can be enabled on a coding test platform where you can assess the candidates on the test cases of your choice and code’s effectiveness concerning time and space complexities.

Hence, go for an all-around comprehensive evaluation of your candidates before making any corporate decision. Along with evaluating candidates multiple-choice questions, leverage the power of a real coding environment where coders are only assessed based on their quality of code and modus operandi.

Today’s market is replete with many online coding test platforms that enable swift and seamless technical hiring, offering numerous advantages. With many online coding assessment platforms in the market, selecting the right coding assessment platform must be more precise. 

Hence, your shortlisting process should depend on a player’s ability to offer ‘three pillars‘ that simplify and scale your assessment and hiring process to make informed decisions. 

It includes:

Technical skills are extensive and ever-changing. Hence, when shortlisting a coding assessment platform, ascertain the range of programming languages and frameworks for all significant coding job roles. It should be diverse to cover every existing and new-age language, framework, technology, topics, and skills requirements. Also, assess their ability to provide accurate coding test questions for micro-skills and concepts within coding and development. In many ways, this provides an accurate picture of a candidate’s all-around fit for a required position.

An eclectic mix of expertise and application-based questions is the future of candidate assessments and recruitment. They cumulatively offer a holistic overview of a programmer’s aptitude to undertake various existing and future coding tasks. Knowledge-based questions are your first filtration process that shortlists based on essential knowledge, concept, application, and analysis. Afterward, the selected few are assessed practically via application-based questions that provide a real sense of candidates’ ability by asking them to mirror real-world challenges. As candidates create codes from scratch, a stimulating attribute of the best coding assessment platform is swift auto-grading to eliminate bias and ensure evidence-based hiring decisions.

An efficient online coding assessment platform is the third pillar that enables quality hiring at scale. Choose a vendor based on a dynamic platform that is comprehensive, user-friendly, and offers an easy-to-use interface for the candidate and the assessor. As a recruiter, you must be able to schedule coding tests online, screen candidates, and roll out online interviews, seamlessly, with an apparent oversight on progress and performance. Pick the appropriate online coding test platform based on provisions, such as customization, hands-on skill support, swift auto-evaluation, scalability, a suite of anti-cheating solutions, result validation, and proficient tracking of the tech hiring funnel. The best coding assessment platform should smoothly integrate and be location-agnostic for all. Consistency and support promptness throughout the platform’s usage is another critical way of assessing the best coding platform. 

A substantial coding assessment platform fine-tunes your assessment and recruitment requirements by cumulating all the essential features mentioned above. Hence, the absence of these features leads to an incomplete evaluation and hiring, consequently, an irrelevant service provider. 

Hiring has now become much smarter with the use of automated programming tests for screening and interviewing candidates. With almost all the requirements fulfilled, Mettl is by-far the top-most choice for all the tech hiring managers present.

Mercer | Mettl has an expansive roster of online screening tools that enable a comprehensive hiring process. Our technical screening services harness the crowd’s wisdom and select eligible and qualified candidates for the interview round. A combination of application-based questions, and simulation-based tests, screen and evaluate candidates quickly and fairly. Also, data and valuable insights enable you to hire the best.

Here’s how Mercer | Mettl’s coding based screening services help organizations and hiring managers improve accuracy and hiring quality: 

The Depth and Expanse of Topic Coverage

We offer an unprecedented range of programming languages and frameworks, available for all significant coding job roles. The diversity of our coverage of every existing and new-age language, framework, technology, topics, and skills requirements, is equally unmatched. A rich repository of 100,000+ coding assessment questions for 300+ skills and the landscape of our offerings give an accurate picture of a candidate’s competency and all-round fit at every level. You can choose from a set of readily-available standardized programming tests or customize them as per your need in no time. 

Mercer | Mettl I/O 

Mercer | Mettl I/O is the first-of-its-kind, all-in-one coding assessment platform. This highly sophisticated and customizable tool assesses programming ability by providing a comprehensive coding environment for all major programming roles (Front-end, back-end, database, full-stack, data science, DevOps, QA engineers, etc.) supporting all major languages and technologies. You name it; we have it.  Mercer | Mettl I/O is well-suited for simplifying and improving lateral hiring processes at a large and small scale. In-built with real-time, insightful reports, this efficient screening tool is an ideal programming assessment for hiring with its auto-evaluation of codes and best-in-class integrated development environment (IDE) that measure an experienced candidate’s real ability. 

Codelysis for Campus Hiring

Mercer | Mettl’s coding assessment platform is embedded with a list of simulators that evaluate a fresher’s essential coding skills in various languages. Simulators give recruiters the liberty to test real coding skills in over 20 programming languages with a supremely user-friendly interface. Codelysis enables assessing and hiring the best freshers at scale. 

This simulator based coding assessment is incorporated with a few much needed state-of-the-art features such as:

• Plagiarism checker- It detects partially similar coders as well as copied codes from the Internet. It ensures better decision-making. 
• Intellisense– It is an auto-complete feature that automatically recommends language-specific context-driven suggestions at specific syntax points. It can be activated if required.   
• If you’re looking to know the candidates’ thought process and how they executed the entire program, a full video of code recorded at each keystroke is available using Code Playback. This feature shows the video of the code’s evolution at each compilation. Hence, another way to evaluate on-the-spot proficiency and coders’ ability to code in the desired language.

Identify the right candidate for any kind of programming role with Mercer | Mettl’s programming assessment offering real-world project capabilities. Assess candidates for front-end, back-end, full stack, QA, devOps, data science and many other roles. Our quick and objective evaluations use auto-grading through pre-defined test cases.

Front-end

• JavaScript Coding Test: This coding test is aimed at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in front end development using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. This test will help you in measuring, knowledge of HTML5 programming concepts, proficiency in CSS3, expertise in JavaScript, and hands-on coding skills.
• Angular JS Coding Test: Mettl’s AngularJS online coding test is specially designed to evaluate the skills of a beginner to intermediate level AngularJS developer. Mettl’s AngularJS test framework consists of AngularJS MCQs as well as hands-on coding tests for a comprehensive overview of the candidate’s skill set.
• Ajax Coding Test: This programming test assesses a candidate’s knowledge and skills required needed to develop web applications using AJAX. This test covers key AJAX concepts such as Event Management, Communication setup, DOM Manipulation, Graceful Degradation, Performance, Security, Visual Elements. This test is useful for assessing profiles such as web developers, programmers and other IT professionals.

Back-end

• Java Coding Test: This coding test is aimed at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in Java Spring. Mettl’s Java Spring Developer test is specially designed to cater to the level of skills that a good beginner to intermediate level Java Spring developer would be expected to possess.
• Python Coding Test: This coding test is designed to evaluate a candidates’ understanding of basic concepts of Python, expertise in writing reusable Python/ Django code along with the ability to use Python language and applicable libraries. The test also assesses proficiency in Django Views and URL, coding prowess, ability to write unit and functional tests and skills in unifying various data sources and databases.
• Node JS Coding Test: This node.js test helps the interviewer in measuring basic concepts and application of NPM, buffers and streams, callbacks, events, and file system. Knowledge of advanced topics such as node and rest APIs, node frameworks, node modules, and packaging and encryption. In addition, hands-on expertise in node.js programming, writing and implementing reusable and testable code.

Full Stack

• Java Full Stack Test: A full stack developer programming test is used to assess a candidate’s professional competency, whether it’s about handling database tasks, systems engineering, servers, or clients. The test ascertains whether the person being assessed possesses knowledge about the multi-tier web application architecture with abstraction layered architecture. The test is useful in evaluating a candidate’s aptitude for understanding business requirements based on his/her identification of the most suitable technical architecture and design patterns.

DevOps

• Core Java Developer Assessment: Core Java programming assessment helps tech recruiters in evaluating the technical skills of candidates for Core Java. Seasoned Java experts have designed and validated these Java programming skills tests in conformity with industry standards. This java test will help you in measuring basics of Java Programming, object-Oriented Programming concepts, knowledge of general-purpose Core Java packages, proficiency in handling exceptions, multithreading programming concepts and hands-on debugging and development skills.
• Teradata Test: This Teradata test is used to evaluate the teradata ad Relational Database Management System(RDBMS) skills of an aspirant. The teradata online test is holistically designed to assess the candidates based on their fundamental teradata skills.
• Power Bi Assessment Test: Power Bi assessment test helps recruiters to evaluate a candidate basis their applied skills knowledge. This power bi assessment

Data Science

• SAS Coding Test: Mettl’s SAS assessment lets you evaluate a candidate’s understanding of the SAS and it’s fundamentals, their ability of working on this tool and logical capabilities. The test also provides a complete feedback on their knowledge on essential subjects like Statistics, data mining and trial analysis, that a desired candidate must possess.
• Python Coding Test: The Python programming assessment evaluates candidates’ knowledge in the Python language and exposure to native data structures. It’s an ideal pre-employment screening test that assesses not only the candidates’ problem-solving skills in Python but also ensures that they are well-versed in native data structures and language constructs.
• R Coding Test: This coding test is aimed at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in performing data analysis using R. This test will help you in measuring proficiency in R programming, proficiency in widely used data science-based R libraries and hands-on R Programming skills for Data Analysis.

Quality Assurance

• JMeter Test: JMeter is an Apache’s open-source software that can be used as a load testing tool for analyzing and measuring the performance of a variety of services, with a focus on websites and web-based applications. JMeter has extensive documentation and support to build test plans. It has a robust reporting system and is a free and a flexible software.
• Automation Testing: With Automation testing increasingly becoming a significant profile in QA domain, an effective evaluation of a candidate’s knowledge and proficiency on the required skills and tools is important. Mettl’s pre-built test on Automation Testing is a comprehensive assessment with questions on Automation and QTP fundamentals. The candidate report also includes a performance analysis based on the standard Bloom’s taxonomy which lists out candidate’s proficiency on facets like Knowledge and Comprehension.
• Security Testing: This test is aimed at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in Security Testing. This test helps in assessing the ability to detect highly complex vulnerabilities, the ability to tell you the precise location of any flaw in the source code, and the ability to provide a valuable framework during application development to detect weaknesses before they become security risks.
• Cyber Security: Cyber security assessment is beneficial for recruiters and hiring managers to evaluate the cyber security skills of applicants. Designed by experienced subject matter experts keeping in mind the design and validation metrics, this cyber security online test enables a more effective hiring process.

Database

• Java MySQL Test: This programming test is aimed at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in Core Java. The test helps in measuring knowledge of Java Programming, SQL, MySQL, SQL Query Writing Skills, and hands-on development skills.
• Redis Coding Test: Mettl’s Redis Skill Test is specially designed to cater to the level of technical aptitude of an IT Analyst – in accordance with Industry Standards – would be expected to possess. The test measures technical skills along with a section that checks coding aptitude as well. Mettl can benchmark these tests for specific job roles with the vast array of its clients hiring for this job role.
• Oracle Coding Test: This coding test aims at thoroughly evaluating the knowledge, concepts, application and analysis skills of the target audience in Oracle SQL Programming. This Oracle SQL test will help you in measuring proficiency in Oracle SQL Basics, knowledge in Advanced topics of Oracle SQL and Oracle SQL Database Query Writing skills.

Tech recruitment is evolving, and coding assessment has gradually become integral to it. And why not, coding assessment is being designed for modern, diverse and dynamic technical hiring managers who want to optimize their hiring experience. Gone are the days when HRs were just given an ambiguous job description, and asked to ascertain the employees by looking at their resume or interacting with them. Today, HRs want to hire real coders after assessing their potential. Coding assessment platform helps them understand how candidates think and code in an actual coding environment. Giving HRs multiple means of assessments, such as a coding test, programming test, challenges, pair-programming, etc., can enable organizations to hire more influential tech professionals. The level of empowerment that comes with coding assessments has scaled the recruitment pipeline, also preparing the hiring managers for the future.

• What is a Coding Test or Programming Test?

A coding test or programming test is the ability to check a coder on the job potential and performance in the real world. Such tests offer recruiters significant insights into a candidate’s abilities. Coding tests for hiring include a combination of MCQ and simulators to ascertain the candidate’s knowledge of tools, frameworks, libraries, and the hands-on experience on the required skill or technology. It provides all-around evidence-based evaluation, eliminates bias, and is a resource for all kinds of developers- novice or expert. 

• What is the Interview Coding Test?

Interview coding test is a game-changing interview approach, wherein the hiring manager assesses a coder’s proficiency during an interview using embedded code simulators. This agile and interactive interview coding test practice consists of the coders and the assessors. The coders write the code, and the assessors (interviewer) guides them through the process to gauge their skills in real-time. 

• How Do You Conduct an Online Coding Test?

An online coding test can be conducted on an online coding platform that is comprehensive, user-friendly, and offers an easy-to-use interface for the candidate and the assessor. The live development environment is enhanced by audio, video, and chat, enabling easy communication. Online coding tests hosted on an online coding platform allow the hiring manager to schedule tests, screen candidates, and roll out online interviews seamlessly, with a clear oversight on progress and performance. The coding platform makes your test location-agnostic.