3 Assessing Problem-Solving Skills During Technical Interviews
Technical interviews are evolving beyond mere code challenges. This article explores innovative approaches to assessing problem-solving skills during the hiring process. Drawing from expert insights, it delves into holistic evaluation methods, real-world scenario analysis, and practical problem-solving techniques that can revolutionize technical interviews.
- Observe Holistic Problem-Solving Approach
- Evaluate Thinking Process in Real-World Scenarios
- Assess Practical Problem-Solving Through Scenario-Based Questions
Observe Holistic Problem-Solving Approach
During my evaluation of problem-solving skills, I first observe how candidates receive and understand the problem. The candidate must first ask essential questions to understand requirements and boundaries of the project before starting solution development. I need to see evidence of their ability to move past coding requirements because they demonstrate understanding of functional and non-functional elements, including scalability and performance aspects.
I focus my attention on their planning process after defining the scope of work. A candidate demonstrating strength will discuss their thought process before beginning to code because they evaluate multiple options and justify their chosen direction and explain the trade-offs involved. I need to see evidence of their ability to adapt because I want to know if they can change direction, debug their work, or request clarification from others. The team's real-life working style becomes more realistic when the process remains interactive between all participants.
Real-world coding exercises that duplicate our daily work tasks provide better insight into candidate problem-solving abilities than algorithmic questions do. The most productive interviews we have hosted involved having candidates complete small coding assignments that included algorithmic elements. The testing process enables us to explore technical details while completing actual work tasks. The format enables us to observe their real-time thinking and communication patterns and troubleshooting abilities in a discussion that resembles pair programming. Our evaluation process, which includes this format, has proven successful for both thorough candidate assessment and maintaining fairness.
Evaluate Thinking Process in Real-World Scenarios
When assessing a technical candidate's problem-solving abilities, I focus less on having them "get it right" and more on how they think through the unknown. I want to see how they approach ambiguity, break down complexity, and communicate their process under pressure.
One method I've found really effective is using real-world scenarios—not trick questions. I'll pose a challenge that mirrors something they might actually face in the role, and then I listen closely:
How do they frame the problem?
Do they ask clarifying questions?
Are they comfortable admitting when they don't know something—and can they pivot thoughtfully?
For example, I might say, "We're getting inconsistent results from our algorithm in production, and we're not sure if it's the data or the model. How would you approach this?" I'm not expecting perfection—I'm looking for logic, creativity, and collaboration.
Ultimately, the goal is to understand how they solve problems with people, not just in code. Because in real roles, that's where the real impact happens.
Assess Practical Problem-Solving Through Scenario-Based Questions
We use a combination of scenario-based questions and live working sessions. For example, rather than asking for code on the spot, we might ask how they'd debug a search relevancy drop or scale an API under high concurrency. We're not just evaluating correctness -- we look at how candidates think, document trade-offs, and communicate under uncertainty. We've found this reveals real-world problem-solving ability far better than algorithm puzzles.
