_ WHAT’S THE POINT OF USING TECHNICAL TESTS IN THE HIRING PROCESS? I use tests in order to both make a qualitative and a binary decision. Tests should eliminate candidates from your pipeline and they should allow candidates to differentiate themselves. In the end though, technical tests are a method for founders and managers to know what they are getting for their money, which is two things: 1) problem solving and NONO intellectual fire power, 2) knowledge of tools and principles. I want it to be possible to fail TION TTION T and pass, but also pass with a clever and innovative solution. I use tests partly to reaffirm CV skills and experience, but mostly to uncover problem solving capability, intellectual fire power and knowledge of tools. For graduates I am looking ALENT AALENT A for the former. For experienced hires I am looking for both. SS WHEN SHOULD YOU USE TESTS? SESSES Founders often use tests as a separate stage in their candidate funnel. It’s important to consider some of the negative reactions tests can have with candidates. They can be SMENTSMENT time-consuming, not relevant to the role or too complex. This means that I have to consider whether it’s a buyer or sellers market for talent. If there is a sellers market I cannot risk putting candidates off with up front code tests. The decision of when I use tests therefore depends on our ability to fill the top of the funnel, which relies on macro conditions, our brand, our channels and the role I am hiring for. NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL Companies at different stages will be able to put aside different amounts of time to build and manage a test process. For startups that are raising money there is a natural cadence. A funding round might last two years and the first six months post-raise will be packed with intensive hiring, followed by 18 months of relative stability. My rule of thumb is that if I am hiring more than four or five developers in a short period of time then I have to take time to create a set and structured test that is used for the entirety of that hiring cycle. Founders and technical leads might not have time to create tests and come up with problems from scratch, but there are technical assessment tools like HackerRank, Codility and CyberDojo that help with this process. However, using automated assessment tools does limit the ability to assess non-machine attributes. Any automated tool I decide to use works by assessing the characteristics of code, not of people. 7070