TopCoding’s Post

Serious question to all recruiters and engineering managers out there: If a software engineer reaches out to you daring you to beat them in a video game they made themselves, and if they win, they get an interview, would you play the game and give them a fair chance? 😂 #softwareengineering #tech #programming #recruiting

Struggling to hire that elusive unicorn software engineer? In 12+ years as an Engineering Manager,  I evolved my hiring process for the changing times To hire the best engineers, consistent process is key  And achieved by key elements like: - Vetted & committed panel members - Well-prepared questions/prompts - A rubric for grading candidates Focus your interviews on 4 dimensions: - Tech Skills - Context Awareness - Leadership Skills - Interpersonal Skills The optimal total interview time should be  under 6 hours and ~4 phases/steps: 1. Coding test (take-home or via a tool like Byteboard) 2. Hiring Manager screening 3. Onsite (virtual / in-person) with 2 to 3 rounds: -- a. Pair programming exercise -- b. Project walkthrough -- c. Values/culture oriented interview Objective grading is a MUST to eliminate biases And to make a final decision, I developed a “debrief” that is remarkably effective Thanks to this constantly evolving process I hired over 150 engineers in my career  with a near 100% success rate PS: Send me a DM for my debrief template

90% of the software job descriptions are uninspiring That’s a shame because you lose out on great candidates routinely Every time I open LinkedIn I see companies hiring But those job descriptions are lifeless and surgical I see them missing 2 important sections - 1. Engineering team principles + company values: For example, these are values from a previous team - - Shipping product is the heartbeat of our org - Our system is on a journey to fault-tolerance - Our system supports our business needs today  (and it scales for tomorrow) - We embrace feedback, transparency & metrics - We always clarify our assumptions 2. Specific expectations when you join, such as : - You commit code on day#1 - Your code will be rolled into prod in the next release - You have at least 3 working hours overlap with rest of the team - You own setting up your dev environment - You communicate in the broadest (slack) forum available Will including these sections bring the right talent knocking on your door? Share some changes you made to your job descriptions in comments To inspire job candidates

This is why I always complement the teams that design practical technical challenges that solve problems similar to those that'd be solved on the job...And always design my code challenges to be practical but challenging.

🔍 Product Engineer vs. Software Engineer: What's the Difference? 🚀 While both roles are essential in tech, their responsibilities and focus areas are quite distinct. Let’s break down the differences with real-world examples! 👇 🤔 Summary of Differences: Software Engineers are more focused on technical excellence (code, architecture, and performance). Product Engineers are focused on the end-to-end user experience and ensuring that the technical solutions align with customer needs and product goals. 💬 Which role resonates more with your career goals? Let’s discuss in the comments! Share if you have questions or observations on these roles as well. #ProductEngineering #SoftwareEngineering #TechCareers #ProductDevelopment #EngineeringLeadership #TechRoles #CustomerExperience

Hard disagree on soft skills but many of the other points are good. The more years I've been doing this the less I like being asked ridiculous trivia questions that if I ever actually needed an answer to would just look up. I have used calculus and written my own hashing system on the job though. The only respectful way to hire is to have someone more senior to the hire vet them. Bigcos are cheapskates so they don't want to spend the expensive senior time to do it and would rather utilize test giver monkeys. Returning to the soft skills point I disagree in that soft skills can be learned and many people are simply unable to ever think analytically in the way you need for hard tech skills.

Let's attribute the real reason the test was passed - preparation. Preparation counts. Anyone who has stumbled trying to ad lib their way through a client or conference presentation will tell you that. There is no basis for presuming that a candidate who passed the test will be a bad hire solely on the basis that they prepared. Even if there were it's hardly ever the case that an engineering test is the sole hiring criteria, there are usually additional steps in the process. So your 10x engineer probably failed because they didn't prepare. If they really wanted the job and had 1x common sense they would have. This here 👇 is just someone maligning people who hade enough common sense and humility to prepare. That's not leadership.

Is it unreasonable for a recruiter to assign me a real company task as a take-home assignment for a software engineering position? Source: https://lnkd.in/gdWuBB2s Is it normal for a recruiter to assign a live company task as a take-home assignment for a software engineering position? #recruiting #softwareengineering #takehomeassignment Are you in a hiring process where you have been given a challenging task that involves familiarizing yourself with a production tool, refactoring code, and opening PRs on the production repo? #programming #challenges #hiringprocess Do you find it overwhelming to complete an 8-hour take-home assignment that requires fixing real issues in a production tool? #softwaredevelopment #coding #companytask Have you ever felt that a potential employer is asking too much of you during the hiring process, even though you are interested in the job and the company's benefits? #jobseeker #companyculture #employment How should you handle a demanding take-home assignment that you feel crosses the line in terms of expectations? Should you address your concerns with ...

Is it unreasonable for a recruiter to assign me a real company task as a take-home assignment for a software engineering position? Source: https://lnkd.in/gr_US6j2 Is it normal for a recruiter to assign a live company task as a take-home assignment for a software engineering position? #recruiting #softwareengineering #takehomeassignment Are you in a hiring process where you have been given a challenging task that involves familiarizing yourself with a production tool, refactoring code, and opening PRs on the production repo? #programming #challenges #hiringprocess Do you find it overwhelming to complete an 8-hour take-home assignment that requires fixing real issues in a production tool? #softwaredevelopment #coding #companytask Have you ever felt that a potential employer is asking too much of you during the hiring process, even though you are interested in the job and the company's benefits? #jobseeker #companyculture #employment How should you handle a demanding take-home assignment that you feel crosses the line in terms of expectations? Should you address your concerns with ...

Your next 10x engineer just failed your coding test. Why? Engineering tests break your hiring process. Here are 5 reasons they fail: 1. Cramming beats real skills: Real-world coding is more than algorithms. 2. Soft skills ignored: Great coders can still make terrible teammates. 3. False objectivity: Bias still creeps in. 4. Experienced devs flee: Senior talent won't waste time on algorithm trivia. 5. Disconnect from reality: Ever reversed a binary tree on the job? The brutal truth: You're hiring test-takers, not problem-solvers. It's time to kill the coding quiz and hire for impact. Ready to revolutionize tech hiring? Drop a 💻 below. What's your take on engineering tests?