Seven Things to Look For When Picking a Code Assessment Tool

Female recruiter taking notes on a candidate interviewing virtually on the laptop in front of her

Code assessment tools are changing how recruiters make hiring decisions. While the traditional hiring method gives a good stepping stone for future advancements in the recruitment industry, it can’t capture the complex skill sets that current employers are looking to assess. How candidates and recruiters currently navigate hiring methods is far different from how it used to be. Therefore, code assessment tools assist in the level of complex hiring algorithms and techniques needed for modern-day hiring. But first, we must look at what makes a good code assessment tool because so many are available.

Getting Sophisticated Talent with Code Assessment Tools

The recruitment process and team comprise the backbone of every company’s success. Hiring qualified team members that fit the interests and requirements of the position not only benefits the team in the short run by filling in the position and spreading out work, but it also benefits the company in the long run by decreasing turnover rates and increasing productivity. After all, the perfect team will prosper together without interruptions. The best resources should be provided to recruitment teams to find individuals with outstanding performance and qualifying skill sets. 

Source code with an overlay of red

There are seven specificities to look for when selecting a code assessment tool for your recruitment team. As mentioned, the research into selecting the tool is as important as finding the right hire. A code assessment tool is your ticket to success. However, ensure the tool has the following features: 

  1. Easy Integration With Your Existing ATS

When integrating a new code assessment tool into your hiring process, it needs to support and integrate with your existing applicant tracking system (ATS). Code assessment tools provide automation techniques and thorough insight to make it easier for the recruiter. Therefore, they can focus on the candidate instead of on tedious tasks. It could become counterproductive if recruiters constantly switch back and forth between software or systems. So, find a code assessment tool that partners with applicant tracking systems for easier integration and helps reduce the amount of time spent in multiple programs. 

  1. Rich Library of Questions 

Most likely, as a recruiter, you will assess more than one type of technical position. There will be different positions with different responsibilities and skill sets, all of which need to be assessed. With a rich library of questions, more than likely, there will be questions available to assess the candidate.

Take-home tests are an aspect of code assessments. When providing a take-home test, most industries consider this the first line of cut-offs where the unqualified candidates get cut first. Multiple-choice questions only partially assess someone's skills. The code assessment tool you select must support a plethora of questions, including:

  • Multiple choice
  • Multiple answers
  • Fill in the blank
  • Code snippets
  • Drag and drop
  • Recorded answers for:
    - Long response
    - Short response

Live-coding assessments are also an aspect of a code assessment. The code assessment tool you utilize should also provide questions and scenarios for live assessments. The live-coding assessment should stay truthful to the job requirements, so having questions related to problems the employee would have to navigate if offered the position is best. 

  1. Automated Invigilation With Proctor Settings

The take-home tests, as mentioned above, are vital in a code assessment. These create a baseline for each candidate’s knowledge when done correctly. Despite this, if take-home tests are being graded individually with recruiters, this could take up a lot of time that isn’t available to spare. The most sophisticated code assessment tools will have an automatic grading feature that grades as the candidates submit it, providing a summary to the recruiter. This feature helps with time management and eliminates bias in the grading process. 

The only part of take-home tests that recruiters worry about is cheating. Proctoring has always been an issue with virtual tests. Fortunately, code assessment tools can fix that. With identity verification and recorded videos, recruiters can accurately assess candidates without fear of fraud.

  1. Grading Based On Standard Evaluation Parameters

The standard evaluation parameters determine the accuracy of the interview. If the interview is biased or asks irrelevant questions, it’s possible the best candidate will not be discovered. 

Interviews are used for candidates to leave a good first impression, but companies must also leave a good impression. The best candidates will likely have multiple offers at the end of the day. It’s essential to showcase professionalism during the interview to secure the candidates.

  1. Keep questions relevant
  2. Keep the interview coherent and in line with the job description
  3. Keep the interview effective
  4. Keep the interview efficient to make it easier for recruiters
  5. Keep the interview sustainable so that it can be repeated

  1. Automated Performance Reports
Recruiter looking at performance metrics

Performance reports are important for the interview process. Throughout the hiring process, recruiters will need different reports to be created to assess. One of the best ways to determine what skills are necessary for the team is to have performance metrics assessing skill gaps within the department. Then when the required skills are known, utilizing artificial intelligence resume screening can provide information on which candidates have those skills represented on their resumes. 

Resume screening can seem like a waste of time, but it provides very valuable information. Resumes don’t just tell recruiters a person's technical experience. They can also tell recruiters a lot about the candidate's soft skills. Artificial intelligence resume screening can then save the results of the screening process to a candidate profile for recruiters to assess. 

  1. Assessments Created For Individual Roles

It’s important to simulate real-world situations and scenarios for the position. Code assessment tools can mimic virtual environments for different roles to be assessed properly. No technical position is the same. Each position requires unique talent and specific skills. The code assessment tool you select should be able to adapt to any technical position’s evaluation.

  1. Uses A Combination Of Knowledge And Application-Based Techniques

When selecting a code assessment tool, the tool must provide virtual testing environments. Testing candidates on different platforms leaves room for error in the results. Some integrated development environments (IDEs) have more features than others. These extra features can benefit a candidate and pose them as a better fit than another candidate when it can be the opposite. 

Virtual whiteboards are also important to code assessment tools. Virtual whiteboards help candidates plan out their code and create:

  • Frameworks 
  • Diagrams
  • Widgets
  • And more

Filtered: Finding The Code Assessment Tool For You

The most difficult part in finding a code assessment tool is to find one that is all-encompassing. If recruiters are switching between different tools, it can be counterproductive and take more time than manually. The easier user interface with the most features and integrations is the better way. Filtered.ai provides a cutting-edge code assessment tool for recruiters to enhance assessments and improve hiring decisions overall. 

Filtered is a leader in skills-based hiring. Our end-to-end technical hiring platform enables you to spend time reviewing only the most qualified candidates, putting skills and aptitude at the forefront of your decisions. We’ll help you automate hiring while applying objective, data-driven techniques to consistently and confidently select the right candidates. To get started, contact our team today or register for a FREE demo.