AssessDev Blog

In this blog, you will find simple and actionable tips and tricks for conducting tech interviews, designing and preparing the tech interview process and developing a great candidate experience. Follow us on LinkedIn for daily interviewing best practices.

product

Kat has prepared 350+ interviews, and has conducted more than 600 technical interviews herself. She leads technical interviewer trainings for hiring manager and in-house tech team members who will be the ones interviewing their future colleagues. She was the CTO of 2 startups after having a decade-long career in Machine Learning and software engineering.

Kat Stam LinkedIn

Blog Author and Principal Tech Interviewer

Blog >

How to save 25 man-hours at tech interview stage

Posted by Kat Stam | July 10, 2024

save 25 man hours at the tech interview stage



What would you do with those 21 hours per open position that you just reclaimed back?

This is how many hours a company spends in the preparation of the first technical interview (or tech assessment) after a handful of applicants have been selected to reach to this stage of the interview process:

  • 3 man hours - deciding on the internal team interviewer
  • 6 man hours - tech interview preparation, crafting the structure and questions
  • 2 man hours - the interviewer mentally preparing for the interviews
  • 5 man hours - lost productivity from switching to normal SDE work to recruitment and back
  • (1.5 man hours - the actual interview) - we do not count it in the preparation but still it is worth the mention
  • (4 man hours - technical interviewer training)
  • 2 man hours - HR chasing the interviewer for notes and feedback
  • 3 man hours - writing the interview notes and feedback
  • 2 man hours - evaluating and comparing candidates

Total time - 25 man hours of preparation for 1 open position.

Can we do better?

Yes!

Here is how we can do better

Work with an experienced technical interviewer.

What is a technical interviewer?

This is a technical person who is a master of the required technical skills which a successful candidate should possess.

The technical interviewer has also gone through rigorous training to make sure that:

How many hours working with an eternal technical interviewer saves you and your company?

The same interview preparation time from above shrinks down to:

  • 3 man hours - kick off with the interviewer and getting on the same page
  • 1 man hour - comparing and evaluating candidates based on the interview analysis you have received from the interviewer

You can expect an email like that which will help you be efficient during the 3 hour kick-off


What will you do with those 21 hours you just saved?