Assessing Technical Skills During the Interview Process: Tips for Employers
Assessing technical skills in the interview process is essential for any organization looking to hire the best candidate for a technical role, but it can also be a challenging task for many hiring managers. With the fast-paced development of technology and the high demand for skilled tech professionals, it's more important than ever to have a thorough and effective process for evaluating a candidate's technical abilities. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to assess technical skills in the interview process, from identifying the specific technical skills required for the job to using behavioral interview questions and technical assessments to evaluate a candidate's abilities.
Why Is It Important to Assess Technical Skills?
Assessing candidates' technical competence during the interview process is important for several reasons. First, it ensures that the candidates being considered have the abilities required to perform the job effectively. This is especially critical for roles that require specific technical skills, such as software development, network engineering, and data analysis. Without properly assessing technical skills, an organization may hire a candidate who is not qualified for the role, leading to poor job performance and potential turnover.
Second, assessing technical skills in the interview process helps to identify top candidates who possess not only the required expertise but also the ability to excel in the role and make a valuable contribution to the organization. By using effective interview techniques and assessments, employers can identify candidates who possess the right combination of technical skills and soft skills.
Additionally, effectively assessing technical skills helps businesses make better hiring decisions. By thoroughly evaluating candidates' technical abilities, employers can increase their chances of hiring the best candidate using objective criteria and a process that is open and unbiased. Ultimately, this leads to an improved and more effective hiring process.
What Are the Challenges of Assessing Hard Skills?
The IT industry is constantly changing, and the need to continually update with new technologies and systems can make it difficult for organizations to recognize the latest skills and knowledge that are required to keep up. For interviewers who are less familiar with the technologies, technical jargon, or skill set used in the role they are filling, evaluating candidates can be a particularly daunting task, and unfair or uninformed hiring decisions may be the result. The traditional job interview structure can also make it difficult to simulate real-world situations and may limit candidates’ ability to demonstrate their technical skills in practice. Furthermore, inexperienced interviewers may be misled in their assessment by a candidate who speaks well and has theoretical knowledge of a technology or skill but who lacks the practical experience to apply it in a real-world setting. These factors can make it challenging to assess a candidate's technical abilities and determine if they are a good fit for the role.
Align Skills with Job Responsibilities in Tech Hiring Process
By taking the time to identify the technical skills a job requires, employers can ensure that the new hire’s skill set aligns with the responsibilities of the job. The benefits of this are obvious, reducing the risk of poor job performance and turnover that result from hiring a candidate who is unprepared for the position or who lacks the expertise or experience to be successful. Ensuring a candidate has the necessary qualifications to succeed will increase the chances that they will perform well in their position, which in turn will improve the overall productivity and performance of the team and help companies meet their business goals. This also creates a work environment where professionals can grow and develop, taking on new tasks that are challenging and engaging, and ultimately experiencing a higher level of job satisfaction.
How Do You Identify the Technical Skills a Job Requires?
Determining the specific technical skills needed for a particular IT job starts with reviewing the job description and responsibilities of the position to understand the tasks and duties that the candidate will be expected to perform. Keep in mind that the technical skills of the ideal candidate will need to align with the short- and long-term objectives of the business, and hiring managers will need to clearly understand their strategic goals for the new hire in order to identify the skill set that will best meet those goals.
For hiring managers who are not experts in IT, researching similar roles and industry standards will also help them identify the technical skills that are commonly required for professionals with similar responsibilities. Consultations with experts like IT recruiters are particularly valuable, as they can provide a better understanding of the technical skills the job requires as well as access to a unique talent pool.
Your current workforce can also provide key insight into the skills that are essential to excelling on their team. Assess the skill sets of your top IT employees and look for candidates with experience that will complement your team or fill in any skill gaps. Ask for your employees’ input and use it both when making your job description and interviewing candidates—your IT team often has the best understanding of what their department is missing and the skills that are needed to help them maximize their efficiency and potential.
How Do You Assess a Candidate's Technical Skills?
Assessing technical skills in interviews can be challenging, often requiring a combination of various methods and techniques. By utilizing a combination of methods to test candidates' skills, employers can ensure that they are hiring candidates with the right qualifications for their roles. This will not only help them bring on board high-performing employees but also increase their chances of finding candidates who can offer long-term value to their organization. In the following sections, we’ll discuss some of the strategies that can be used during the recruitment process to understand candidates' skill sets and hire the right candidate for the job.
Ask the Right Questions During Technical Interviews
Start by including technical questions during the job interview to test a candidate's knowledge and understanding of a relevant technology, tool, or programming language. These can include questions about the skills and responsibilities the candidate used in previous positions as well as behavioral or scenario-based questions that test a candidate's ability to apply their technical knowledge to real-world situations or complex problems. Have them describe specific projects they have worked on, the challenges they faced, and how they overcame them. Have candidates walk you through the process they would take to solve a particular problem, from troubleshooting to the final resolution. Or ask them to explain a technical concept or process as they would to a non-technical person. Their answers should give you a better understanding of their level of expertise in addition to whether they possess key soft skills such as communication skills and interpersonal skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, or leadership skills.
Behavioral interview questions can be particularly valuable when assessing skills. These questions ask candidates to refer back to past experiences, allowing them to highlight the specific technical skills they have used in different scenarios or explain how they would handle a hypothetical situation that they would be likely to face on the job. Their answers can give the interviewer insight into how the candidate applies their skills in real-life situations, their thought process when solving problems, and whether they have the ability to troubleshoot, lead technical projects, or learn new technologies. They can also help both the employer and the candidate identify areas for improvement or potential for development. Examples of behavioral interview questions include the following:
How do you approach problem-solving when faced with a technical challenge? Can you give an example of a particularly difficult technical problem you had to solve?
How do you ensure the quality and accuracy of your work when working on technical projects? Can you provide an example of a project where you had to ensure quality and accuracy?
Can you describe a time when you had to adapt to a new technical tool or technology? How did you learn it and integrate it into your work?
Describe a situation when you had to troubleshoot a technical issue and how you solved it.
Can you describe a time when you had to mentor or train someone on a technical topic? How did you approach it and what was the outcome?
How do you stay current with new technologies and advancements in your field? Can you give an example of a new technology you recently learned and how you applied it in your work?
Can you describe a situation where you had to work with a team to develop a technical solution? How did you contribute to the team's success?
Use Skills Assessments
If the role requires strong expertise in a particular area, consider asking the top candidates to complete a technical skills assessment or test. These skill assessments can include multiple-choice questions, coding challenges, or online simulations that test a candidate's technical knowledge and ability to perform job-specific tasks. Employers may use a technical interview or a whiteboard interview, which requires candidates to use critical thinking and technical skills to solve a coding challenge and clearly communicate their solution using a whiteboard. Or they may use a take-home assignment or online test as a less stressful alternative. A short assignment or test enables employers to assess candidates’ skills in a practical way and evaluate their performance on specific tasks or projects, and the results of these assessments can provide a more objective measurement by which employers can compare candidates and identify the top performers.
Get Expert Advice
Interviewers who are not familiar with the technical skills being tested can benefit from bringing in experts from within their organization or IT recruiters who are more knowledgeable about the role and its requirements. These third-party experts can provide additional insight into a candidate's qualifications and ensure that the assessment of technical skills is accurate and consistent.
Research Candidates and Talk to References
Ask for references from the candidate's previous employers and peers to gain more insight into their expertise and how they have performed in similar roles, as well as other attributes such as soft skills and work ethic. Review their online portfolios to see examples of projects they have completed, and check their social media profiles. These can provide some insight into candidates’ technical aptitude, their interest in technology, and their commitment to staying up-to-date on industry trends. Candidates with strong technical skills will typically have kept up with the latest developments in their field and will be excited to share and discuss them.
Factor in Potential
Not every job requires hiring senior developers or a senior programmer. When appropriate, consider junior candidates as well as more experienced professionals. The best candidates are not always the ones with the longest resumes, and the value employees bring to a team includes soft skills and other attributes such as a positive attitude, creativity, and the ability to solve problems in addition to technical skills. The interviewer should also observe the candidate's attitude, body language, and enthusiasm for the role throughout the interview process. Analyze how they interact with other team members and how confident they seem when discussing their skills. Are they willing to learn new technologies and grow in the role? Are they working on any online courses or certifications to stay up-to-date with current technical trends, or do they enjoy doing technical projects and learning new skills on their own time? When assessing potential, think about how the candidate's knowledge and attitude can contribute to the team in a meaningful way, even if they don't have all of the hard skills or the level of experience you were originally looking for. These insights can help employers determine if a candidate has the potential to excel in the role, whether they are a recent graduate or an experienced professional.
Consider Candidates' Overall Qualifications
Considering a candidate's overall qualifications is important when making a hiring decision. Technical skills are essential for a candidate to perform a specific job, but they are not the only factor to consider. A candidate's experience, education, and soft skills can also play a crucial role in their ability to succeed in the role and contribute to the organization. Experience develops a candidate's ability to adapt quickly and apply their technical skills in real-world situations. Education and formal training provide a strong foundation of technical knowledge and skills and help candidates adapt to new technologies and tools more quickly. Soft skills are also critical for success in any job, but especially in technical roles where professionals are often required to work with cross-functional teams in a rapidly changing environment. Before making a hiring decision, compare candidates’ skills assessment results and interview answers with the job requirements to identify their strengths and any gaps in their abilities. Consider where they are likely to excel and what areas they may need additional training or development in. Additionally, make allowance for the limitations of assessment methods, such as the pressure of the interview situation or the time constraints of the skills assessment, before making a final decision. Taking the whole picture into account when evaluating candidates is essential for organizations to identify the best fit for the role.
Use Technical Interviews to Find the Right Candidate
In conclusion, assessing technical skills during the interview process is an essential step in making informed hiring decisions. By effectively evaluating a candidate's technical skills, organizations can ensure that they have the right talent to meet their strategic objectives and be more competitive in the market. It is important for employers to have clear evaluation criteria and to use the results of skills assessments in conjunction with other assessment methods. By considering a candidate's overall qualifications, including their technical skills, experience, education, and soft skills, organizations can get a complete picture of the candidate's abilities and how they align with the job requirements and the organization's goals. Ultimately, this helps employers identify the best fit for their team and make more informed hiring decisions.
Article Author:
Ashley Meyer
Divisional Business Coordinator
Albany, NY