Are you embarking on a journey of technical hiring? If so, you may have already realized that recruiting for IT positions can be challenging compared to non-technical roles. IT positions demand specialized skills, experience, and expertise.
An effective technical interview is a crucial step in the recruitment process, letting you identify a candidate’s technical abilities, problem-solving skills, and overall suitability to the role and team. Of course, you want to hire employees with the expertise your company needs to thrive in today’s ever-evolving digital business landscape.
You can increase your chances of successfully hiring talented tech professionals by having a well-structured and fitting interview process. Read this blog, and we’ll guide you through the process of conducting an effective technical interview.
What is a Technical Interview?
A technical interview is a specialized assessment measuring a candidate’s hard skills and practical knowledge in a tech-related field. Unlike a standardized interview, which typically focuses on behavioral traits, this type evaluates a candidate’s proficiency and ability to apply their technical skills to real-world scenarios and realistic challenges.
In a technical interview, you go beyond a candidate’s resume and delve deeper into their skills in practice. It often involves hands-on exercises, like coding challenges, system design discussions, or hypothetical questions related to the role. By having a technical interview, you can better understand the depth and level of a candidate’s technical skills.
How to Conduct a Technical Interview
You could incorporate these valuable tips on conducting an effective interview for IT hiring.
1. Do prior screening
Before inviting applicants to a technical interview, perform an initial screening process to ensure you sift out candidates who don’t meet your requirements. Some common screening steps include reviewing resumes, conducting phone screens, and using online assessments.
By filtering out candidates who don’t meet the basic qualifications, you can focus your time and energy on those with the potential to succeed in the role.
2. Give the applicant an idea of what to expect
Besides manual screening, you can also let applicants self-filter by informing them how your recruitment process goes. Let them know what the next step would be, how long your hiring process usually takes, and what tests and assessments they can expect.
This level of transparency is critical for applicants to evaluate if they can do the required tasks and prepare adequately while making technical interviews more productive for your team.
3. Discuss the job description thoroughly
Take the time to thoroughly review the job description with the candidate during the interview. Tell them what the role involves, what their day-to-day would look like if they were hired, and what the company culture is like.
The goal is to secure a mutual understanding of the role’s responsibilities, expectations, and required technical skills. This step also provides an opportunity to assess how well the candidate’s experience aligns with the position, allowing for more targeted discussions.
4. Prepare intentional questions
Craft your questions with targeted goals of what you’re looking to gauge. For example, a question with few correct answers can show a candidate’s technical aptitude. Alternatively, open-ended questions that require candidates to explain their approach and thought process can give insight into their problem-solving abilities.
You also want to conduct your interview with specific skills, tools, or technologies in mind. Let’s say your company primarily uses Python for programming; you can focus your questions on the applicant’s familiarity with this language. Ask them about their experience and past Python projects, if they encountered any difficulties with the language, and how they solved said problems.
Ultimately, your questions should reflect real-world challenges they may encounter on the job to get the most information.
5. Have them code live
For technical roles involving coding, consider incorporating a live coding interview. You can provide a project, problem, or specific task to observe how the candidate approaches it, their coding style, ability to think logically, and how clean their code is in a realistic scenario under moderate pressure. Equip them with a toolset similar to what you use in the company.
6. Leave time for interviewee questions
Remember that an interview is a conversation. Allocate time for the candidate to ask questions about the company, team, or specific aspects of the role. Letting them ask questions allows them to demonstrate their engagement level and curiosity and better understand your expectations.
You can also use those questions to assess their interest in the position and evaluate whether they’ll be a good cultural fit within the organization. Additionally, their questions may reveal points for improvement for future technical interviews.
Sample Technical Interview Questions
These sample questions are an excellent starting point for your technical interviews. It would be best to tailor them to the position you’re hiring for to suit your needs better.
1. How do you stay updated with technology trends and keep your skills current?
2. How do you think will recent technological advances affect your job?
3. What resources do you use to help you improve your skills?
4. Can you describe a work project you are particularly proud of and explain your contributions to its success?
5. Tell us about a personal project you’ve worked on during your spare time. What motivated you to undertake it, and what did you learn from the experience?
6. Work us through your approach to troubleshooting and resolving technical issues.
7. Share an experience when something didn’t go as planned in a project. What did you learn from the experience, and how did you handle it?
8. How would you explain this position you’re applying for to someone with limited tech skills?
Building the Dream IT Team
Your business can stay competitive and updated with technology with the help of a talented IT staff. As such, an effective technical interview is crucial for finding the right talent for your IT team. Following the tips outlined in this guide can enhance your interviewing process and increase your chances of hiring top-notch professionals.
You can also work with an IT recruitment agency to give you further advantages against the competition. Ledelsea specializes in connecting businesses with highly skilled IT professionals for consultation and hiring. Inquire today to build your IT dream team!
