{"id":41512,"date":"2024-12-05T07:12:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:12:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/?p=41512"},"modified":"2024-12-05T07:21:12","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:21:12","slug":"handling-suspicions-of-cheating-tech-hiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/hiring-developers\/handling-suspicions-of-cheating-tech-hiring\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Steps to Handling Suspicions of Cheating in Tech Hiring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When cheating is suspected, act carefully. Investigate thoroughly without jumping to conclusions. Respectfully engage with the candidate and stick to the facts. Use data to guide decisions and refine your approach for the future. Learn from every case to strengthen your system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does that look like step-by-step? Read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 1: Stay objective and open-minded<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid jumping to conclusions based on initial suspicions or single indicators. Any one indicator of unusual behavior is not necessarily enough to label a candidate as a cheater.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>\u201cSome engineers, being introverted, might not feel comfortable being on camera for the first interview. I wouldn\u2019t take this as a red flag indicating cheating. Instead, focus on being engaged and ensuring the candidate can walk you through their solution in real time.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nathan Sutter<\/strong>, CoderPad VP of Engineering\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 2: Gather and validate evidence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After identifying suspicious behavior, make sure you dig deeper and get all of the facts. You could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your system has flagged excessive copy and paste, cross-check the candidate\u2019s work against public solutions or AI-generated outputs to identify similarities.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Code search engines: <strong>GitHub<\/strong>, <strong>Stack Overflow<\/strong>, or <strong>Codewars<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>AI detection tools: <strong>Turnitin<\/strong>, <strong>Copyleaks<\/strong>, or <strong>GPTZero<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Commonly used generative AI tools: <strong>ChatGPT<\/strong> or <strong>GitHub Copilot<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cross-check your candidate submissions internally, looking for similar code, patterns or mistakes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review digital monitoring data (e.g., screen recordings, activity logs, localization information, time stamps) to pinpoint anomalies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If necessary, manually review the candidate\u2019s code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If possible, involve multiple reviewers (e.g., technical leads) to validate findings and minimize bias.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Note: <\/em><\/strong><em>tools like CoderPad allow you to anonymize candidates during the screening process. This ensures that your initial investigation is based on evidence, rather than bias. You can then reveal a candidate\u2019s identity if and when you decide to take action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 3: Initiate a constructive conversation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Engage the candidate in a non-confrontational discussion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Highlight specific areas of concern and ask them to explain their reasoning. Avoid accusatory language; seek clarification instead. For example: \u201cCan you walk me through how you approached this problem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Curiosity will get you further than assumptions. Ask for explanations. Seek understanding without instant judgment. And see what you find out.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Amanda Richardson<\/strong>, CEO of CoderPad<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 4: Test real-time problem-solving<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the candidate insists that your suspicions have no grounds, offer the candidate a second chance to demonstrate their abilities. Depending on their context within the hiring process, you could suggest:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A proctored follow-up assessment or coding exercise\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A live coding interview. You could use this time to work on collaborative coding exercises that are specific to the role and your business. You could also review the candidate\u2019s initial code, asking follow-up questions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 5: Pause, before making a decision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a moment to step back, review the evidence and ask yourself the following questions:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What actually happened?\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><em>Does this class as cheating?<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is there a way to move past this, or is the outcome a firm reject?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When in doubt, speak with other hiring professionals or colleagues within your organization to gather insights and compare actions taken in similar situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udd16<\/strong> <strong>Related read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/blog\/hiring-developers\/how-effective-is-your-cheating-prevention-strategy-a-self-assessment-guide\/\">Four questions to guide your cheating prevention strategy (incl. What does \u201ccheating\u201d mean for your organization?)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 6: Document and flag the incident<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you decide that you have sufficient evidence and perspective to label behavior as cheating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Record all findings, including suspicious activity and follow-up interactions, for transparency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flag the candidate internally (so as to adjust scoring, alert other team members, etc.)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Within CoderPad Screen, for example, if you determine that a candidate has cheated on a particular question, you can mark the offending question by ticking the \u201cCandidate cheated on this exercise\u201d checkbox. Checking this box will remove points for the exercise and add a filter to the candidate. Additionally, in your dashboard, you\u2019ll see a \u201cCheated\u201d notification next to the candidate\u2019s name.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure you are adhering to any formal policies or systems for reporting and dealing with cheating.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 7: Provide clear feedback to candidates<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Communicate your findings to the candidate respectfully and professionally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Explain why their behavior conflicts with company values.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emphasize the importance of integrity in future applications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be able to justify any actions or decisions by matching them to the level or type of cheating suspected. You should be able to explain precisely what behavior you consider cheating (for example, using someone else\u2019s solution \u201cverbatim\u201d, and not being able to answer follow-up questions on said solution) and why.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 8: Review content and manage leaks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Take the time to review your assessment content, try to identify any recurring themes or formats prone to cheating attempts. Take a critical look at your content and update any questions that aren\u2019t relevant, relatable and realistic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the suspicious behavior involves leaked content:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Update or refresh compromised questions to maintain fairness for future candidates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Report leaked material through proper legal channels, such as a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown requests.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Step 9: Review your anti-cheating strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>See every \u201ccheating case\u201d as an opportunity to improve and adjust your approach to cheating. Analyze how the cheating occurred, identify gaps in your process, and collaborate with your team to refine tools and questions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When cheating is suspected, act carefully. Investigate thoroughly without jumping to conclusions. Respectfully engage with the candidate and stick to the facts. Use data to guide decisions and refine your approach for the future. Learn from every case to strengthen your system. What does that look like step-by-step? Read on. Step 1: Stay objective and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":41516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"persona":[27,28],"blog-programming-language":[],"keyword-cluster":[],"class_list":["post-41512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hiring-developers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41512"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41513,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41512\/revisions\/41513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41512"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=41512"},{"taxonomy":"blog-programming-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-programming-language?post=41512"},{"taxonomy":"keyword-cluster","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword-cluster?post=41512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}