Many staff augmentation or talent firms make claims about hiring the top X% percentage of talent. That sounds promising, but is it true? And how do you know?
Here at Admios, we have a very high bar for quality developers. But instead of proclaiming we have the top 3% of talent, which we can’t really prove anyway, we’ll show you our recruitment and screening process and let you decide for yourself. Here is an overview of our process with further info below:
- First Interview
- English Exam
- Technical Exam
- Technical Interview
- Reference Check
First interview | 30 minute phone call
Admios has a culture of constant growth. Our developers are ready to conquer the world and keep learning everyday. They get excited to tackle new and difficult challenges. During this initial call, we look for qualities that demonstrate a hunger to learn and an eagerness for growth. We look for:
- Initial assessment of english proficiency
- Discuss previous work experience
- Understand technical skills and any specialties
- Get a pulse on candidate’s attitude
English exam | 1 hour written comprehension test
Communication is one of our most important skills, between team members and with our clients. Here are a few of the many questions we ask:
- The first part of this exam is based on reading a passage and answering a variety of questions to prove comprehension. Answers are both short answer and multiple choice.
- As you look back on your career, what is a specific difficult situation you’ve been faced with that stands out in your mind? Describe the challenge and how you dealt with it. What did you do well? What might you do differently?
- If you could paint the ideal position for yourself, what would it be?
You can see from our questions that we are not just assessing english proficiency. We also want to know about their attitudes and personal motivations.
Technical exam | 90 minutes
We keep our technical exam succinct and based on skills that are actually used on the job. Over years of hiring top developers, we’ve learned and honed the skills that directly correlates to success. Questions include:
- Theoretical software engineering questions
- Practical questions regarding a specific language or framework
- Aptitudinal questions and questions of character.
Here is one of the many examples:
Technical interview | 1 hour
A technical lead spends one hour digging into theoretical and technical knowledge. We also conduct live coding and ask them to solve a few problems. We are looking for how candidates think and behave. We want to evaluate how they would approach challenges they would encounter on actual projects.
Professional references | 2 - 3 references
We gather information from previous employers to assess both skill and cultural fit. It is important for us to understand the team culture for where the candidate was previously employed. We also use reference checks to look for red flags and negative personality signs.
We also have some sympathy. We know interviewing can be stressful and people get nervous. Reference checks also allow us to highlight something we might have missed.
Final interview | 30 minutes
Final interview is with our general managers to make a final assessment about personality fit and determine if they can make full use of the opportunity at Admios. We've worked hard over the past decade to build a great place to work and we want keep it that way by making sure the people we hire will contribute back and take advantage of what we have to offer.
We care so much about acquiring the very best technical and culture quality that we wrote a blog called The Race to Say No.
Client interview | 30 minutes
A client interview can be part of the process when we are looking to hire for a very specific position. The client interview happens only after the candidate has successfully passed the previous steps.
So, do we hire the top 3% of talent? That is the wrong question. Do we hire highly-talented, hard working developers with excellent communication skills that have a cultural and personality fit with our core values? Absolutely.
If you want some of our rockstar developers for your team, reach out to us here and we can discuss how we can help.
