Coding tests greatly increase the quality of applicants who advance into the final stages of technical hiring. They effectively distinguish talented candidates from unqualified applicants early on in the interview process. Coding tests also reveal a lot about candidates’ working style, efficiency, and communication skills. Take a look below at several take-home coding challenge examples that you can use in your next technical interview. 

Take-Home Interview Advantages

Technical interviews usually begin with screening candidates and selecting those who possess the required qualifications on their resumes. Then, candidates go through screening questions that plumb the depth of their skills and experience. Some of these questions might include:

• What relevant technical qualifications and training certifications do you have?
• Do you have experience using...?
• How do you handle criticism or feedback from teammates?
• How would you explain [a technical concept] to a non-tech co-worker?
  Do you prefer to work independently on a technical problem or figure it out with the help of others?

‍Such questions probe candidates' deeper understanding of their subject area and interpersonal skills. After this stage, the candidate proceeds to the technical assessment portion, where they solve a challenge live or on record in their own time. Take-home interviews are particularly useful for candidates who are not comfortable with a live test. Likewise, take-home interviews allow engineers and team leaders to review a candidate’s work in detail.

Take-Home Coding Challenge Examples

Take-home challenges depend on the position level in which candidates are applying. Here are a few examples:

Data Structures

• Array: Find a pair with the given sum in an integer array using sorting or hashing.
  
  
• Trees: Write a function that deletes a given key within a binary search tree.

• Matrix: Find the shortest move sequence of a knight on a chessboard from its starting position to a destination square. 

• Linked List: Using two lists containing increasing numbers, write a function that merges them into one with numbers in the proper increasing order

• Dynamic Programming: Write a function that divides a given set of integers into two partitions with equal sum

Algorithm Questions

• Implement the Quicksort partitioning algorithm in your preferred language

• Design an algorithm that inserts a node in a sorted list/linked list

• Write an algorithm that deletes a node in a singly linked list

• Write an algorithm that interchanges two numbers in Java without a temporary variable  

• Design an algorithm that counts the number of leaf nodes in a given binary tree 

Web Development

• Build a sample website for your favorite TV show

• Recreate the layout of our flagship product page

• Build a web page with social widgets

• Design a sample mobile app for one of our services using jQuery Mobile 

• Design a portfolio website using your preferred language

Software Engineering 

• Design an app that tracks system bugs

• Develop a sentiment analysis system for a product's rating and reviews

• Design a website chatbot for answering basic queries

• Develop a mobile checkout app with QR code

• Design a web app for scheduling employee shifts

Data Science

• Create a time series forecasting model that predict store sales using historical sales data
  
  
• Build a credit score prediction model using a credit scoring algorithm
  
  
• Estimate the future price of a product using market trend analysis

• Predict the sale price of a house using given datasets

After the Test

Team leaders and engineers can build on the take-home challenge by inviting the candidate to a live interview after the challenge. This is where the applicant and interviewer go over the code together and discuss important aspects of the test, such as the candidate’s approach to problem solving. Team leaders can give feedback on the output and even code with the candidate in real-time to see how they collaborate with teammates.

Take-home coding challenge examples focus the hiring process on skill and technical expertise. It gives candidates ample time to think and accomplish what they want to do, especially if they are not comfortable being put on the spot with a live test. It also gives team leaders and interviewers a chance to examine the output in detail and make better-informed decisions regarding candidate selection. Lastly, senior engineers and team leaders can build on the take-home coding challenge by providing feedback, asking about candidates’ methodology, and doing a coding exercise together. 

Hire High-Quality Tech Talent with Filtered

Filtered clarifies the technical hiring conversation with skill-based assessment. Our platform offers a range of take-home coding challenge examples covering full-stack, SQL, data science, DevOps, and more. Our technical tests support 30+ languages and are designed to cover multiple skill levels within major engineering disciplines. What’s more, our platform is equipped with robust fraud detection so that you can hire technical talent anywhere in the world with confidence.

Filtered is a leader in skills-based, data-driven recruiting technology. 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 also 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.