Take-home coding challenges provide a convenient way to assess tech skills and test software engineers because they are asynchronous and don't put candidates under pressure. A typical take-home coding challenge is a mini project or a small task of generally moderate complexity that can be finished over a weekend.

Coding tests effectively distinguish talented candidates from unqualified applicants early on in the interview process. They also reveal a lot about candidates’ coding style, efficiency, and communication skills.

Benefits of take-home challenges

One of the biggest advantages of take-home assignments is that they replicate how software development actually happens. These types of interviews are aimed at being similar to the day-to-day problems that are solved at the companies. This offers a chance to create a fair and accurate hiring process.

Benefits of take-home challenges

One of the biggest advantages of take-home assignments is that they replicate how software development actually happens. These types of interviews are aimed at being similar to the day-to-day problems that are solved at the companies. This offers a chance to create a fair and accurate hiring process.

Unlike coding assessment tools like HackerRank, InterviewTime doesn’t prescribe the actual tech challenge but leaves it up to the company to define. We believe that a take-home test should represent a real-world mini-project.

After adding a tech challenge you need to define assessment criteria for the interviewers. They will use these when reviewing and assessing the candidate’s solution.

Once the take-home assessment template is set up, running these types of interviews becomes a breeze.

When scheduling a take-home interview, all you need to do is pick the candidate from the list, select the reviewers and choose a take-home challenge template. If the candidate has an email on file the test will be sent once you complete scheduling the interview. You can defer sending the challenge by unchecking the “Send assignment via email now” checkbox.

Once the tech challenge is sent, the candidate will receive an email with a secure link to the take-home challenge. On the tech challenge page, there will be instructions on how to complete the test and how to submit their completed solution. It’s expected that candidates will create a public GitHub repo with their completed solution and submit the link once they are done.

Once the candidate submits their solution, all reviewers will be notified via email.

InterviewTime fully automates the whole process of take-home interviews that scales easily. By utilizing interview templates you not only ensure interview consistency but also reduce bias and create a more objective approach to hiring.

Summary

Take-home challenges remove a lot of the stress associated with other types of live interviews. Candidates get to use their own development environment and work in the style they would if they were on the job. They can review and iterate on their work, take time away to think and then rewrite if needed.

To learn more about how InterviewTime can help with take-home assignments sign up for a free account (no credit card required) or book a demo.