{"id":4751,"date":"2022-03-17T07:45:09","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T14:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/?post_type=doc&p=4751"},"modified":"2024-08-26T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T20:26:29","slug":"interview-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"doc","link":"https:\/\/coderpad.io\/resources\/docs\/interview\/quick-start-guides\/interviewers\/interview-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Best practices: Do’s and don\u2019ts of a good Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Before you get started interviewing candidates with the Interview platform, there are a few things we recommend that you do — and don’t do — to make the process as smooth as possible for both you and your candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4d Do…<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Do prepare candidates for the interview. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Utilizing a new IDE while under pressure during an interview can be stressful, so we recommend highlighting the IDE and language options available to them before the interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An excellent way to do this is to send them a link to the sandbox environment<\/a> and the Getting Started section for candidates<\/a> when you invite them to the interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2714\ufe0fIf you plan on using Drawing Mode in the interview, let them know that this is something else the candidate can explore in the sandbox environment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Do use Interview’s audio and visual capabilities.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our in-pad audio and video features are the smoothest way to communicate during a live interview. No additional Zoom links or settings to navigate here. You and the candidate just need the pad link to conduct the entire interview.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"An<\/a>
The “Start Call” feature can be found on the bottom left-hand corner of the pad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2705 Do take advantage of interviewer settings.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can change your own pad settings to set up the pad and the IDE in a way that works best for you. Note that your Editor Settings<\/strong> won\u2019t affect the Editor Settings that the candidate has chosen for themselves. The Pad Settings<\/strong> are only available to you as the interviewer.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"An<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u2714\ufe0fIf you\u2019re more interested in a candidate\u2019s general coding or problem-solving skills rather than their proficiency in a particular language, we recommend setting the pad language to Plain Text when you first create it. This way, they won\u2019t feel pressured to try and code in the default language you selected initially, AND they can start writing pseudo-code if needed to collect their thoughts. They can then quickly switch to a language they\u2019re proficient in.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u2705 Do use interviewer notes to capture real-time feedback. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jot down your thoughts on how the interview is progressing and the candidate\u2019s performance during the live interview in this section. The candidate cannot see them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interviewer notes stay with the pad, which can be helpful if others are reviewing the pad after the interview concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"A<\/a>
Use the private interview notes by clicking the tab on the top right side of your pad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u2705 Do enable Focus Time for candidates in live interviews.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Activating the Focus Time<\/a> feature blurs the interviewer\u2019s screen for a few minutes and allows the candidate to have a moment to collect their thoughts in the pad. Studies show<\/a> that performing while having an interviewer watch you is stressful and can decrease performance. You may be unintentionally eliminating great candidates that need a few minutes to collect their thoughts before they start coding.  Focus Time gives candidates those few minutes they need to mentally prepare themselves to \u201cwow\u201d you in the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2714\ufe0fThe Focus Time feature is currently only available if your organization requests to enable it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u2705 Do use the “Candidate Instructions” box to persist instruction text across different languages<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you use the Candidate Instructions<\/em> box in the Question Bank<\/strong>, the candidate will be able to see the instructions no matter what language they chose to answer the question in. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a>
The candidate instructions will persist in the Instructions<\/strong> tab no matter what language is selected.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u2705 Note that Interview does not currently support creating custom multi-language questions, but we do support language agnostic questions. Using the Candidate Instructions<\/em> and setting the default question language to “Plain Text” as mentioned above is the best way to create language agnostic questions.
<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u2705 Do advise candidates to utilize pad resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Candidates can access language information, switch question languages, and load database adapters (when applicable) by hovering over the language or question and selecting their desired resources or question language.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\ud83d\udc4e Don\u2019t…<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u274c Don\u2019t forget to end the interview.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can only end the interview by clicking the End Interview <\/strong>button at the bottom right-hand corner of the pad \u2013 it won\u2019t end if you exit out of your browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You won\u2019t have access to the playback for live interviews until you hit the End Interview<\/strong> button. Leaving the pad open also means the candidate can go in and continue to edit their code even after the interview has concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u274c Don\u2019t create questions at the last minute<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Define good questions ahead of time and add them to your question bank<\/a> \u2013 and use them during the interview<\/em>! Not only will it save you time during the interview, but it\u2019s an excellent way to be consistent and reduce bias. Note that candidates won\u2019t be able to see the question until after you\u2019ve selected it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u2714\ufe0fIf you want to learn more about the attributes of a great technical interview question, you can read up on it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u274c Don\u2019t use stale questions.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you refresh your questions<\/a> regularly, as more often than not they\u2019ll find their way to the internet where potential candidates will be able to see \u2013 and prepare for \u2013 them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u274c Don\u2019t use the default pad name.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you first create a pad, the pad name will be something like \u201cUntitled Pad – 7CCKBB9M\u201d. If you\u2019re creating pads as part of a team, this can quickly become disorganized or confusing. We recommend having a standard naming format to help make it easier to find the pad for playback and evaluation \u2013 something like [CandidateName]-[Date]-[TestName]. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2714\ufe0f If you leverage one of our ATS or schedule integrations, the ATS or schedule platform will automatically name the pad for you.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"The<\/a>
You can edit the name of the pad on the bottom right hand side of the screen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading on Interview Best Practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For more information on improving the overall hiring experience for you candidates, check out these articles: <\/p>\n\n\n\n