How to Test Candidates’ Coding Skills Using Woven Teams

At YouTeam, we always strive to help our clients reach the top of the funnel by selecting the best candidates to meet their needs. In our previous article, we discussed how YouTeam chooses platforms for technical screening. These are among the main criteria:

• Our developers must be tested on real-world problems.
• Tests should be designed for senior developers who can quickly grasp the existing codebase, showcasing expertise in code review, system design, and debugging..
• We must ensure that candidates enjoy the experience – the tasks should not be hours long and grueling; preferably, developers should receive detailed feedback.
• We pick customer-friendly platforms that help us select tests matching our requirements.

Today, we discuss Woven Teams and how it fulfills all these requirements.

Woven Teams

Woven offers more practical and time-saving alternatives for lengthy assessments, helping companies optimize their interview process and peek at the senior developer performance in a real work environment. They claim that their human-powered element to scoring and candidate experience is especially effective for start-up and scale-up companies. But what else makes Woven Teams stand out? Let’s dive into the details.

What are the advantages of using Woven?

Human reviews

All tests are manually reviewed by at least two Woven certified professionals. They prepare a detailed analysis with a summary covering parameters such as communication, teamwork, system design, and debugging. They also provide comments on specific tasks, addressing code improvements, database design and management, identification of vulnerabilities, and considerations about functionality.

Woven typically delivers results within one day. Companies can then review the candidate’s work alongside Woven’s analysis.

A time-saving, practical approach to coding assessments

Woven scenarios require 90-120 minutes to complete, a test duration suitable for most candidates who prefer not to spend hours on complex tasks.

Woven helps compile tests that best match your inquiry

You can ask Woven to create an assessment based on specific inputs, such as developer experience, seniority level, and tech stack. In response, Woven provides a compilation of tests that match your request.

Custom, calibrated assessments

Woven Teams has a test builder where you can choose the role, seniority level, desired skills, and tech stack, and then compile several scenarios, including:

1. code review,
2. drafting emails to co-workers,
3. writing code,
4. architecture debugging.

Why choose writing emails as one of the tasks? It verifies the candidate’s English skills and evaluates how well they can communicate issues and hand off their work to colleagues. You can also specify whether the candidate is a native speaker, and this will affect the test result.

Woven claims that, by using their test customization, a hiring company will be able to invite a candidate to take the test in less than 60 minutes.

ChatGPT cheating detection 

Woven determines whether the developer completed the task with the assistance of ChatGPT or wrote the code independently. They claim their human experts watch a live playback of the candidate’s submission, identify situations where a large amount of code was pasted, and evaluate the candidate’s overall behavior and final responses.

Every candidate gets detailed technical feedback

Woven sends reviews not only to the hiring company but also to the developers, letting them know what Woven reviewers liked most and suggesting potential areas for improvement. With this feedback, candidates feel like they haven’t wasted their time. Even if they are not hired for the position, they know exactly what they need to improve.

A robust grading system

First, Woven experts review the developer’s performance in several categories, including communication, teamwork, architecture, and debugging, helping companies focus on specific opinions crucial to their team and culture. Second, if multiple candidates pass the same test, the platform determines the strongest candidate, taking into account their seniority level.

What are the drawbacks of using Woven?

Potential drawbacks include a comparatively smaller library of scenarios to choose from and a higher price point compared to automated code quizzes.

Final thoughts

Woven ensures thorough candidate screening through human-powered evaluation and a robust grading system. They help companies create role-specific coding tests lasting 90-120 minutes, catering to candidates who prefer shorter assignments. Their tests simulate real-world work, offering insights into abilities such as debugging, system design, and collaboration.

Finally, candidates remain satisfied with the process, regardless of the company’s hiring decision. Woven provides each developer with a detailed review, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.

Woven Teams is a coding assessment platform that offers short, time-boxed scenarios simulating real-world work. Its features include:

• Senior level scenarios, calibrated for your role.

• Detailed, human-powered analysis.

• ChatGPT cheating detection.

• Seamless integration with every major ATS.

Woven is a member of the YouTeam Ecosystem, a community of trusted partners. Explore exclusive offers and discover other partners in the Technical Skills Screening category.