Technical Hiring Process
The sharing on Technical Hiring Process was particularly useful in preparing for software engineering interviews. The Hiring Process consists of 3 following assessments.
Round 1 API Assignment (1 week)
Candidate is given an API assignment to work on for a duration of one week. The assignment specs will be given, indicating certain requirements such as API endpoint, etc. Read through it thoroughly and follow the requirements. Give meaningful error messages whenever it is required, even if it is not specified inside the specs.
Solution to this assignment is to be hosted on Github as a form of submission. Although putting it onto Github makes it public, but don’t worry about others seeing your solution. There are many solutions to completing this API Assignment. However, please have integrity and do not attempt to copy other people’s solution. You will be asked to explain your solution during the On Site Assessment should you be shortlisted.
Round 2 (On Site Technical)
This round involves 2 people going for the interview, and it consists of the following components:
- API Assignment Walkthrough (30 min)
- On Site Technical (1h)
- Code Review Assignment (1–1h 30 min)
API Assignment Walkthrough
Candidate will be required to walkthrough their API Assignment and will be asked to make modifications to their code on the spot.
On Site Technical
Moving on to the technical interview. You will be given 1 to 2 technical questions, usually algorithm based, to solve within a limited time frame. What the interviewer is looking for is your ability to break down a problem into tangible bits, how you approach a problem logically, and why that approach.
Code Review Assignment
Moving on to this assignment, candidate will be given a code to review and be asked to critique the code. Sometimes, he/ she will be given the solution (with some issues) to an algorithm question in the previous On Site Technical and be asked to critique it. Is there a logic error? What do you think about part of the code that seems inefficient? What do you think is a better approach to solving the question?
Here, the interviewer is trying to facilitate a meaningful discussion on your ability to critique the code and the possible methods to solve the problem. Which one do you use and the rationale for using that. After the code review assessment, candidate will proceed to a Personality & Cultural Fit Assessment.
Round 3 (On Site Interview)
The last round will be a meeting with the management.
Interviews are like swimming in a sea of job possibilities. Sometimes, you know how to swim in order to stay afloat. That may get you to a round of interview. However, knowing how to swim isn’t good enough. You need to have absolute clarity in order to swim to your desired destination.
Values come first
Values are personal. Values guide your decision making. While you may hold different values from others, it is more important to question whether your values align with the values of the organisation which your applying for.
Abilities comes second
Abilities range from physical, interpersonal, to intellectual. Your ability to think, break down a problem into smaller parts, and find a solution to tackling the problem is what will set you apart from the other fishes in the sea.
Skills come last
Given time and deliberate practice, you can learn almost anything and everything that you set your mind to. Skills are something that you are not born with it, but something that can be learnt and transferable. Being able to identify what to learn and learn how to learn is a skill too.
