Technical interview questions offer a way to put a candidate’s skills to the test through a series of practical challenges. In this guide, we’ll explore the best practices for structuring technical interviews, including some examples of typical interview questions along with tips for evaluating candidates.
With our tips for evaluating candidates, you’ll be able to make more informed, objective hiring decisions.
The role of technical interviews in hiring
When hiring for technical roles like software engineers and data scientists, you’ll need a way to evaluate candidates in a fair, objective way. Skills-based assessments require potential hires to demonstrate their breadth of technical knowledge in real-world scenarios, giving a greater indication of performance than theoretical questions alone.
Technical interviewing blends hands-on problem solving with role-specific challenges. This gives a fair overview not only of a candidate’s technical expertise and experience, but also of their critical thinking abilities – vital in fast-paced, project-based tech roles.
Key techniques for structuring technical assessments
When structuring a technical assessment, you’ll want to design questions that will test knowledge of role-specific topics like algorithms, programming languages, and data structure.
Here are a few techniques to incorporate into your interview planning process, considering that a well-rounded assessment will include several methods.
1. Coding reviews
Ask candidates to improve existing algorithms or create new code to solve specific problems. For example, Microsoft’s interview process requires potential engineers to test both their own code and that of team members, considering boundaries and error conditions.
2. Real-world scenarios
Present candidates with real-world tasks that they would typically encounter on the job. You’ll not only be able to assess their technical abilities, but also their project and time management skills.
3. Behavioural questions
While interview questions for data analysts, coders and engineers tend to focus on technical knowhow, you should also integrate some behavioural questions to assess soft skills like communication and teamwork. For example, Meta’s ‘Full Loop Interview’ concludes with a 45-minute interview session about working processes and experience.
Creating a sound structure begins with understanding your hiring needs, as these will depend on industry, growth stage and challenges. Data engineer interview questions at a startup might focus on growth analysis, while a corporation might focus on compliance issues.
What types of questions are asked in a technical interview?
Technical interviews are designed to assess a candidate’s competence, problem-solving skills, and understanding of their subject matter.
Common types of technical interview questions include:
• Solving coding riddles in a specific language
• Constructing data structures
• Demonstrating knowledge of SQL queries and databases
• Overcoming security challenges
• Identifying and fixing coding issues
• Web development tasks
• Explaining testing concepts
What are examples of technical interview questions?
With the help of your technical team and AI assistance, devise realistic interview questions for data analysts and software developers. You can also craft SQL and python interview questions like the following examples:
SQL interview questions
• What types of SQL subsets do you know?
• What is the common statement order in a SELECT query?
Data analyst interview questions
• List the steps involved in a data analytics project
• Which methods would you use for data cleaning, and when?
Data engineer interview questions
• List and explain the data modelling design schemas
• Which tools would you use for data orchestration?
Python interview questions
• List the different algorithms used in Python for searching and graph traversal
• When would you use Shallow Copy vs Deep Copy in Python?
C# interview questions
• What are the benefits of using C# language?
• What are the different types of comments used in C#?
Best practices for evaluating technical candidates
A comprehensive assessment should include a blend of technical questions and problem-solving exercises. Once complete, you can evaluate each candidate keeping these best practices at the forefront of your decision-making process.
1. Look at the big – and small – picture
A thorough evaluation is all about balance, which means not only drilling down into the details with highly specific java and C# interview questions but also looking at a candidate’s wider range and expertise. This will vary by seniority as well – junior web developers must demonstrate their grasp of front-end and back-end fundamentals, while senior candidates would be expected to understand more advanced architecture and API topics.
2. Keep your scenarios relevant
Real-world problem solving offers the chance to forecast performance while evaluating critical thinking and creativity. When crafting your assessment, avoid using overly baroque or convoluted scenarios. It’s more useful to provide challenges your team has experienced and overcome, giving potential hires the chance to show how they would handle the same scenario.
For coders, this might mean debugging exercises, while data analyst interview questions might focus on identifying and correcting misleading visualisations.
3. Consider the reasoning behind the answer
Presenting technical challenges and brain teasers as part of the interview process gives insight into a candidate’s creative approach to problem solving. In these cases, the correct answer is less important than the methodology. Ask candidates to explain their reasoning as well as the tools they would use to solve each problem.
4. Incorporate feedback into the assessment process
Technology is constantly evolving, which means last year’s SQL interview questions may no longer be relevant. Update your assessments to track current industry trends, all while incorporating feedback from your technical team. You should also request feedback from candidates themselves regarding the fairness and clarity of the technical interview process.
How LinkedIn supports technical hiring
Best-practice technical hiring involves skills-based assessments. With LinkedIn Recruiter, you can use over 40 advanced search filters and keywords to sift through candidates to find your right match, both in terms of skill set and technical expertise. Then, with a qualified pool of applicants, craft the perfect realistic assessments to match their technical abilities.
Master the art of the technical interview
Tech recruitment presents unique challenges for hiring managers, requiring clear interview objectives and custom assessments for each role. The interview process begins by evaluating soft skills with standard behavioural questions, before moving on to more precise lines of technical inquiry.
By fine-tuning your approach with problem-solving exercises, live coding challenges and realistic workplace scenarios, you’ll be able to build a reliable, skilled team.
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