Introduction: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

Interviewing software engineers can be very tricky, especially for recruiters or interviewers without a technical background. Without a computer science degree or prior software engineering experience, it’s hard to identify superior candidates.

Have no fear. Use the technical evaluation form below to assess software engineers, accurately, without a technical degree or experience. Your interview assessments will become more thorough and comprehensive, giving you a competitive edge.

Excel and Word Versions: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

In addition to the text version featured below, you can also download and customize Word and Excel versions of our technical interview evaluation form:

• Technical Interview Evaluation Form: Word
• Technical Interview Evaluation Form: Excel

How the Form Works: Technical Interview Evaluation Form

• Experience level. Software engineering requires specialized knowledge and skills. In order to be successful designing, developing and implementing software solutions, an academic background in Computer Science and significant hands on experience are almost always necessary.
• Technical interview questions. Aside from a technical assignment, technical interview questions are the best way to measure technical ability and expertise. These questions should address a candidate’s experience with software, as well as his or her approach to relevant problems and tasks.
• Technical assignment review. Technical assignments are important for more than just assigning each candidate a score. They are also useful tools for evaluating a candidate’s way of thinking and allowing creativity and innovation to shine through. The best way to do this is by reviewing a candidate’s process and approach to the assignment during the interview.
• Resume review. While technical knowledge is important, what matters most is how candidates apply that knowledge on the job. Scrutinizing past projects and examples from a candidate’s resume is the best way to understand how relevant and applicable a candidate’s knowledge and experience is to the position at hand.
• Behavioral questions. The best candidate will bring something new to your company by inspiring internal growth and learning. Behavioral questions allow hiring managers to get a better idea of a candidate’s innovation and passion. The way that a candidate answers these questions is indicative of what they will bring to your company on a more human level.

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INTERVIEW EVALUATION FORM FOR TECHNICAL CANDIDATES

Candidate’s Name: ________   Date: __________________________

Interviewed By: ______________________________

 

Scoring

Candidate evaluation forms are to be completed by the interviewer to rank the candidate’s overall qualifications for the position. Under each heading, the interviewer should give the candidate a numerical rating and write specific job related comments in the space provided. The numerical rating system is based on the following:

 

5 – Exceptional   4 – Above Average   3 – Average   2 – Satisfactory   1 – Unsatisfactory

 ________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Experience                                                                                                    

Educational Background – Does the candidate meet the education requirements to hold a software engineering role at this company? Does the candidate hold a degree in Computer Science or a related field?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Certifications – Does the candidate hold the desired software engineering certifications and training?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Relevant Experience – Does the candidate have sufficient and relevant software engineering experience?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Technical Questions                                                                                      

Programming Languages – Is the candidate familiar with the necessary programming languages for this role? What are the candidate’s favorite programming languages?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Troubleshooting Process – How does the candidate describe troubleshooting bugs?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Improvement Experience – Has the candidate had experience implementing significant improvements? How did the candidate go about implementing them?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Technical Communication – How well can the candidate present and explain technical details to a non-technical audience?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Approach to Quality – How does the candidate ensure that his or her programs run smoothly and quickly?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Code Quality – Which tools is the candidate familiar with for testing code quality?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Design Patterns – How familiar is the candidate with design patterns?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Technical Assignment Review                                                                       

Approach – What was the candidate’s approach to the technical assignment and how would he or she have changed that approach if given more time?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Time Management – Which features of the assignment did the candidate prioritize? What does the candidate prioritize when under a strict project deadline?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Resource Utilization – What resources did the candidate use to complete the assignment? Did the candidate write an efficient algorithm?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Resume Review                                                                                             

Software Experience – Has the candidate built relevant software in the past?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Teamwork – How has the candidate worked with others during past projects and what were his or her specific contributions to the team each time?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Growth – What did the candidate take away from each relevant experience and how did he or she use this to grow as a software engineer?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Behavioral Questions                                                                                    

Owner vs. Participant – Did the candidate play a primary or marginal role?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Good vs. Great Achievement – Was the achievement impressive? Were the results largely due to the candidate’s impact? Or would the results have occurred, even without the candidate’s achievement?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Communication Skills – Is the candidate’s story easy-to-follow and memorable? Was it a struggle to extract information from the candidate? Did the candidate provide a response that is well-organized?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Problem Solving – Did the candidate take an unfamiliar, unambiguous question, problem or situation and provide a plan as well as compelling leadership?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

Industry Knowledge – What has the candidate recently learned about programming from a book, magazine or website? How does the candidate keep up with an ever-changing and evolving industry?

Rating:   1   2   3   4   5

Comments:

 

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