Coding Skills Of Software Engineers In Vietnam: How Do We Assess Them?

Let’s get back to what we left off in our shortlisting process series. You’ve seen how we evaluate the English skills of software engineers in Vietnam in our last episode, now this is time for the most complicating and rigorous part of our process – the technical assessment.

• What is it about?
• How do we measure both algorithm thinking abilities and programming skills of software engineers in Vietnam upfront for Singapore companies?

We’re going to emphasize how to evaluate the coding skills of Vietnam software engineer candidates, with a deep focus on the algorithm test, followed by the technical interview in this episode. Let’s take a look!

Timed algorithm test

Having been working on the tech recruitment for the past 5 years enables us to materialize the algorithm test for specific JDs, whether it is the backend, frontend, full-stack or mobile. 

The purpose of this algorithm test is to measure the coding skills of candidates in the most objective way. Each software engineer candidate who applies for the same JD works on the same test on Hackerrank, in the same allowed time.

Specifically, there are three challenges in the algorithm test that the candidate has to solve within 45 minutes. The challenges carry the duty to help us determine the test taker’s coding level. Each, in order, is aligned with the basic/medium/difficult categorisation.

We base on the given requirements of our client’s JD (junior, middle or senior level) to shortlist the qualified software engineers accordingly:

• Junior software engineers: Manage to solve 1 question in due time.
• Middle software engineers: Be able to solve 2 questions in due time. 
• Senior software engineers: Be able to solve 2 questions and are on the right path to solving the last one in due time.

The combination of auto-graded results and tech lead review on our timed algorithm test allows us to select the most eligible and qualified candidates for the next round – technical interview with our tech lead.

1-1 Technical interview

While the online coding test helps us filter out the unqualified candidates, our 1-1 technical interview allows us to see:

• The candidate’s ability to write high-quality code that matches our client’s JD.
• Their approach and creativity in solving technical challenges.
• Whether they are team players.

General info

• Time duration: 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on specific JDs
• Interview method: 1-1 interview, candidates can choose to take the interview online or onsite
• Interviewer: Technical lead who is specialized in the essential programming languages that our clients require

Question types

Though the questions are specialized for each position, generally, our technical interview structure consists of three types of questions:

Non-coding topics

These questions get at what the software engineers in Vietnam have encountered, and how they have acted. The interviewee might be asked about his or her employment history, experience in handling a specific challenging situation, past projects, etc.

Data structures and algorithm knowledge check

Open-ended questions on tech fundamental knowledge probing the software engineer’s depth of understanding, their ability to deconstruct complex concepts and seeing if they are in the engineering level our client needs.

Coding practice questions with the JD-required programming languages

In this part, our tech lead digs into relevant projects the candidate has worked on to determine their coding seniority with the programming languages our clients require. The software engineer then is challenged to work on some test cases. We want to see how the software engineer comes up with the solution here. 

Candidate’s technical assessment parameters

By incorporating an online coding test and a technical interview in the technical assessment, we’re able to evaluate the software engineer candidate’s skills and experiences against a set of competencies. 

In the algorithm test, we observe the candidate’s problem-solving skills and coding proficiency in essential programming languages, then determine their coding aptitude and on-the-job potential. The score and tech lead code review, each account for 25% of the candidate’s shortlisting result.

The last 50% depends on the candidate’s performance in the technical interview. This step not only provides us with tech fundamental knowledge, concept, application, and analysis of the candidate but also illustrates a real sense of his ability to solve relevant challenges.

Your turn to assess the pre-vetted software engineers in Vietnam

Details on how each software engineer in Vietnam performed in their algorithm test and technical interview will be gathered and sent to our clients for their further check.

We had heard a lot and also admit that our prevetting process may seem a bit complicated, but hard work pays off. Our effort is rewarded by our high client satisfaction and successful placement rates. In the last 5 years, we have managed to help 200+ Singapore companies hire the right remote software engineer in Vietnam per every two sent-out CVs.

Keen to have a chat with our team? Let’s get in touch.