What Makes a Technical Online Interview Great?

The truth is, engineers no more look forward to job positions that offer only a great salary. They are growing increasingly biased towards roles that challenge their expertise and companies that enable positive candidate experience.

The best way to gauge what a role can offer is during the technical interview process. When we asked Piyush Tripathi, the Lead Engineer at Square about the elements he looks for in tech interviews, he shared:

When interviewing with tech companies such as Amazon, Twilio and SendGrid, I focus on several key factors. While compensation is certainly a consideration, it’s not my only focus. A significant factor I evaluate is the alignment of my expertise with the company’s needs. For instance, when interviewing with SendGrid, I was aware that they were working on an email API platform, and as an API expert, I knew it was an excellent fit for my skill set.

The take on candidate's positive experience on technical online interview from engineer at Square

Tech interviews have completely changed from what they used to look like earlier. Today’s engineer wants specific roles that match their expertise and values organizations who prioritize candidate experience.

So, for engineers to choose your organization to work at, you need to assess their skills smartly and change your old ways of executing technical online interview. How?

Keep reading to find out.

What to look for when interviewing engineers?

To be able to finalize the right engineering candidates for your organization, you need to be mindful of both the hard and soft skills you should assess. Below, we have shared four skills you should look for. These skills will help you:

Assess the candidate for the specific technical abilities relevant to their role.
Assess the personality strengths and weaknesses of the candidate to understand whether they can execute responsibilities in the long run or not.

Skills interviewers need to assess during tech online interview to find the right engineer aligning with the role

1. Technical skills

By analyzing technical skills, you’ll be able to understand if the engineering candidate fits the role or not.

For example, a front-end developer should have good knowledge of Python and front-end languages such as HTML/ CSS, Javascript, XML, etc.

Note: The nature of technical skills you’ll look at depends on the kind of engineer the tech organization is hiring.

Also, Read: How To Assess Programming Skills Before Hiring

2. Problem-solving skills

Problem-solving is the ability to solve a problem logically and find a solution based on facts and expertise. By identifying problems-solving skills, you’ll understand the engineer’s capacity to analyze problems by interpreting the data.

To assess problem-solving skills, ask problem-solving interview questions and then look for candidates who approach complex problems with a structured and logical mindset. They should be able to:

Break down complex problems
Identify potential solutions
Evaluate trade-offs

3. Effective communication

An engineer’s job is both technical and complex, but for non-technical people—be it folks from other departments or clients, it’s difficult to understand those technicalities with ease. That’s where we see how important it is for engineers to be able to break down complex conversations into easier ones.

A quote from the Report ‘Communication Skills For the 21st Century Engineer’ sums it up:

There is ample evidence that graduate engineers lack the required standard of communication skills, particularly when compared to the needs of the industry internationally. Communication skills are a regular feature of an engineer’s job in industry; some graduates employed in industry have identified that education in communication skills needs to be improved, given the demands encountered in the industry.

Note: This applies to engineers of all levels.

4. Teamwork and collaboration

Whether the engineer is willing to work with other team members or enjoys working independently gives a fair understanding of the few other skills of the engineer. These skills include his learning capabilities, willingness to bond with teams, and leadership traits.

So, ask the candidate questions that reflect their team playing capabilities.

Historical challenges with technical online interview

Problem with most tech organizations: they’re still using the traditional methods to conduct technical online interview—conducting multiple online interview rounds even for junior-level engineering roles, not giving proper feedback, not engaging with the candidates at each phase, both before and after the interview is conducted, and so on.

It’s time to break the old patterns of tech interviews. Below we have listed the exact challenges developers have been unhappy about and how you can fix them.

Challenges engineers face during tech online interview

Challenge #1: Poor communication

The biggest challenge for engineers is poor communication. Engineers feel stuck and clueless when recruiters and interviewers do not communicate the right way.

Tripathi further pinpoints the same issue:

I believe timely communication could be improved. Sometimes, there is a significant waiting period between the various stages of the process, which can leave candidates feeling uncertain and anxious. Providing clear timeframes and keeping candidates informed can alleviate some of these concerns.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s the pre-interview, during the interview or the post-interview stage, engineers frequently experience disengagement with recruiters.

Pre-interview: When engineers do not have end-to-end information about the role, the online interview process and the timelines for the interview.
During the interview: When interviewers do not show interest in the conversation when the candidate is sharing their approach and solutions with the them
Post-interview: When engineers are left wondering whether or not they’ve been selected as recruiters do not get back to them and update them on the application progress.

💡Solution: For effective communication, you need to be transparent with the candidate about your expectations with the role, the interview rounds, the interview process and the tools that will be made available to the candidate during the interview.

Tripathi continues by sharing his experience with Square and shares how engaged the interviewers were during the process.

Engineer from Square shares his tech interview experience at Square

It was clear that they had done their research and thoroughly reviewed my resume. Their coding tools were also flexible, which made it easy for me to provide my answers. Additionally, they were very respectful of my time. When we had to reschedule, they apologized and gave me multiple options, which made me feel valued.”

Challenge #2: Unwillingness to give proper feedback

Feedback has always been a challenge, even for non-technical roles. Whenever it’s time to announce results, companies fail to give actionable feedback. The only golden words an engineer would hear:

“Thank you for your time but unfortunately you couldn’t make it through :-(”

This is a sad moment for engineers. They don’t know what went wrong. Did they lack technical knowledge of the coding language they preferred in the interview? Was the code they ran erroneous?

If engineers receive the right feedback, they can understand their performance in the interview, and better themselves for future technical online interview.

💡Solution: Give personalized feedback to each engineer candidate either after the interview or during the interview.

During the interview feedback: Use tools like HackerEarth’s FaceCode that allow you to give feedback in real-time to candidates for the live code they have run.
After the interview: Send pre-recorded videos via Loom to these candidates and share with them where they lacked.

Challenge #3: Asking engineers to code on paper

Coding on paper is one of the traditional methods many companies hiring engineers have used in the past.

Irony: Some companies still follow this process.

Imagine the developer writing the code on paper and not being able to run the code and see whether their syntax is error free and actually working!

They won’t be able to do it unless you allow the candidates to write the code first and then run it on the computer. But this approach has drawbacks too, especially for remote interviews.

As a remote interviewer, for sure—you can see the written code by the developer on paper but cannot see the execution part. This makes evaluating the engineer a painful process.

Also, read: 4 Reasons Why Coding Interviews are Broken

💡Solution: For on-site interviews, going with the pen and paper + running the code on desktop is an acceptable approach; but for technical online0 interview, you’ll need live coding tools.

Konstantin Ovchinnikov, the Frontend Developer at Storylane shares his experience of how he felt confused and directionless when he participated in a tech challenge.

I invested several days in a significant coding challenge, only to receive an unclear response that they liked it but did not proceed further due to a business owner’s decision. This left me feeling confused and frustrated, as it seemed like a waste of my time and effort. I hope to encounter a more streamlined and transparent process in the future, perhaps with more emphasis on live coding during the interview itself.

You can use coding softwares like HackerEarth’s FaceCode to conduct live coding interviews. With such coding tools, you’ll be able to see the developer type the code in real-time and evaluate their approach to solving the problem and assess the candidate’s skill of understanding the complex systems. .

How HackerEarth can help engineering managers and recruiters streamline their technical online interview process

Moment of truth: your organization needs to break the odds tech companies have followed for ages. From assessing the developers’ technical skills or conducting live coding interviews to provide them real-time feedback on their written code, HackerEarth can be your knight in shining armor 😎

You ask how? Well, let us give you three answers:

Identify the engineers’ strengths and weaknesses: HackerEarth’s Assessments let you screen the engineer’s technical knowledge based on the coding questions you ask them. This helps you quickly evaluate the results and tells you the weaknesses and strengths of the candidate and gives them a score on their strengths and weaknesses allowing you to filter out the top-performing engineers.

Assessing practical skills: Once you have filtered out the top developers, use HackerEarth’s FaceCode to schedule coding interviews—invite the selected engineers and ask them to code in real time. Best part? You get automated interview summaries with AI-based behavioral insights that help the interviewers make smarter hiring decisions.

Demonstrating real-world problem-solving abilities: If you want to step up your hiring process and don’t want to hire engineers the traditional way, leverage HackerEarth’s Hackathons to organize tech hackathons where you can give a real-world problem statement to engineers to work on and evaluate their skills based on the results.

If you want to break through those old ways of conducting tech interviews and improve the interview experience for your engineering candidates, book a demo with HackerEarth.

Revolutionizing Mobile Talent Hiring: The HackerEarth Advantage

The demand for mobile applications is exploding, but finding and verifying developers with proven, real-world skills is more difficult than ever. Traditional assessment methods often fall short, failing to replicate the complexities of modern mobile development.

Introducing a New Era in Mobile Assessment

At HackerEarth, we're closing this critical gap with two groundbreaking features, seamlessly integrated into our Full Stack IDE:

Now, assess mobile developers in their true native environment. Our enhanced Full Stack questions now offer full support for both Java and Kotlin, the core languages powering the Android ecosystem. This allows you to evaluate candidates on authentic, real-world app development skills, moving beyond theoretical knowledge to practical application.

Say goodbye to setup drama and tool-switching. Candidates can now build, test, and debug Android and React Native applications directly within the browser-based IDE. This seamless, in-browser experience provides a true-to-life evaluation, saving valuable time for both candidates and your hiring team.

Assess the Skills That Truly Matter

With native Android support, your assessments can now delve into a candidate's ability to write clean, efficient, and functional code in the languages professional developers use daily. Kotlin's rapid adoption makes proficiency in it a key indicator of a forward-thinking candidate ready for modern mobile development.

Breakup of Mobile development skills ~95% of mobile app dev happens through Java and Kotlin — This chart illustrates the importance of assessing proficiency in both modern (Kotlin) and established (Java) codebases.

Streamlining Your Assessment Workflow

The integrated mobile emulator fundamentally transforms the assessment process. By eliminating the friction of fragmented toolchains and complex local setups, we enable a faster, more effective evaluation and a superior candidate experience.

Old Fragmented Way vs. The New, Integrated Way — Visualize the stark difference: Our streamlined workflow removes technical hurdles, allowing candidates to focus purely on demonstrating their coding and problem-solving abilities.

Quantifiable Impact on Hiring Success

A seamless and authentic assessment environment isn't just a convenience, it's a powerful catalyst for efficiency and better hiring outcomes. By removing technical barriers, candidates can focus entirely on demonstrating their skills, leading to faster submissions and higher-quality signals for your recruiters and hiring managers.

A Better Experience for Everyone

Our new features are meticulously designed to benefit the entire hiring ecosystem:

For Recruiters & Hiring Managers:

Accurately assess real-world development skills.
Gain deeper insights into candidate proficiency.
Hire with greater confidence and speed.
Reduce candidate drop-off from technical friction.

For Candidates:

Enjoy a seamless, efficient assessment experience.
No need to switch between different tools or manage complex setups.
Focus purely on showcasing skills, not environment configurations.
Work in a powerful, professional-grade IDE.

Unlock a New Era of Mobile Talent Assessment

Stop guessing and start hiring the best mobile developers with confidence. Explore how HackerEarth can transform your tech recruiting.

A New Era of Code

Vibe coding is a new method of using natural language prompts and AI tools to generate code. I have seen firsthand that this change makes software more accessible to everyone. In the past, being able to produce functional code was a strong advantage for developers. Today, when code is produced quickly through AI, the true value lies in designing, refining, and optimizing systems. Our role now goes beyond writing code; we must also ensure that our systems remain efficient and reliable.

From Machine Language to Natural Language

I recall the early days when every line of code was written manually. We progressed from machine language to high-level programming, and now we are beginning to interact with our tools using natural language. This development does not only increase speed but also changes how we approach problem solving. Product managers can now create working demos in hours instead of weeks, and founders have a clearer way of pitching their ideas with functional prototypes. It is important for us to rethink our role as developers and focus on architecture and system design rather than simply on typing c

The Promise and the Pitfalls

I have experienced both sides of vibe coding. In cases where the goal was to build a quick prototype or a simple internal tool, AI-generated code provided impressive results. Teams have been able to test new ideas and validate concepts much faster. However, when it comes to more complex systems that require careful planning and attention to detail, the output from AI can be problematic. I have seen situations where AI produces large volumes of code that become difficult to manage without significant human intervention.

AI-powered coding tools like GitHub Copilot and AWS’s Q Developer have demonstrated significant productivity gains. For instance, at the National Australia Bank, it’s reported that half of the production code is generated by Q Developer, allowing developers to focus on higher-level problem-solving . Similarly, platforms like Lovable or Hostinger Horizons enable non-coders to build viable tech businesses using natural language prompts, contributing to a shift where AI-generated code reduces the need for large engineering teams. However, there are challenges. AI-generated code can sometimes be verbose or lack the architectural discipline required for complex systems. While AI can rapidly produce prototypes or simple utilities, building large-scale systems still necessitates experienced engineers to refine and optimize the code.

The Economic Impact

The democratization of code generation is altering the economic landscape of software development. As AI tools become more prevalent, the value of average coding skills may diminish, potentially affecting salaries for entry-level positions. Conversely, developers who excel in system design, architecture, and optimization are likely to see increased demand and compensation.
Seizing the Opportunity

Vibe coding is most beneficial in areas such as rapid prototyping and building simple applications or internal tools. It frees up valuable time that we can then invest in higher-level tasks such as system architecture, security, and user experience. When used in the right context, AI becomes a helpful partner that accelerates the development process without replacing the need for skilled engineers.

This is revolutionizing our craft, much like the shift from machine language to assembly to high-level languages did in the past. AI can churn out code at lightning speed, but remember, “Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.” Use AI for rapid prototyping, but it’s your expertise that transforms raw output into robust, scalable software. By honing our skills in design and architecture, we ensure our work remains impactful and enduring. Let’s continue to learn, adapt, and build software that stands the test of time.

Ready to streamline your recruitment process? Get a free demo to explore cutting-edge solutions and resources for your hiring needs.

What is Systems Design?

Systems Design is an all encompassing term which encapsulates both frontend and backend components harmonized to define the overall architecture of a product.

Designing robust and scalable systems requires a deep understanding of application, architecture and their underlying components like networks, data, interfaces and modules.

Systems Design, in its essence, is a blueprint of how software and applications should work to meet specific goals. The multi-dimensional nature of this discipline makes it open-ended – as there is no single one-size-fits-all solution to a system design problem.

What is a System Design Interview?

Conducting a System Design interview requires recruiters to take an unconventional approach and look beyond right or wrong answers. Recruiters should aim for evaluating a candidate’s ‘systemic thinking’ skills across three key aspects:

How they navigate technical complexity and navigate uncertainty
How they meet expectations of scale, security and speed
How they focus on the bigger picture without losing sight of details

This assessment of the end-to-end thought process and a holistic approach to problem-solving is what the interview should focus on.

What are some common topics for a System Design Interview

System design interview questions are free-form and exploratory in nature where there is no right or best answer to a specific problem statement. Here are some common questions:

How would you approach the design of a social media app or video app?

What are some ways to design a search engine or a ticketing system?

How would you design an API for a payment gateway?

What are some trade-offs and constraints you will consider while designing systems?

What is your rationale for taking a particular approach to problem solving?

Usually, interviewers base the questions depending on the organization, its goals, key competitors and a candidate’s experience level.

For senior roles, the questions tend to focus on assessing the computational thinking, decision making and reasoning ability of a candidate. For entry level job interviews, the questions are designed to test the hard skills required for building a system architecture.

The Difference between a System Design Interview and a Coding Interview

If a coding interview is like a map that takes you from point A to Z – a systems design interview is like a compass which gives you a sense of the right direction.

Here are three key difference between the two:

Coding challenges follow a linear interviewing experience i.e. candidates are given a problem and interaction with recruiters is limited. System design interviews are more lateral and conversational, requiring active participation from interviewers.

Coding interviews or challenges focus on evaluating the technical acumen of a candidate whereas systems design interviews are oriented to assess problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Coding interviews are based on a right/wrong approach with ideal answers to problem statements while a systems design interview focuses on assessing the thought process and the ability to reason from first principles.

How to Conduct an Effective System Design Interview

One common mistake recruiters make is that they approach a system design interview with the expectations and preparation of a typical coding interview.
Here is a four step framework technical recruiters can follow to ensure a seamless and productive interview experience:

Step 1: Understand the subject at hand

Develop an understanding of basics of system design and architecture
Familiarize yourself with commonly asked systems design interview questions
Read about system design case studies for popular applications
Structure the questions and problems by increasing magnitude of difficulty

Step 2: Prepare for the interview

Plan the extent of the topics and scope of discussion in advance
Clearly define the evaluation criteria and communicate expectations
Quantify constraints, inputs, boundaries and assumptions
Establish the broader context and a detailed scope of the exercise

Step 3: Stay actively involved

Ask follow-up questions to challenge a solution
Probe candidates to gauge real-time logical reasoning skills
Make it a conversation and take notes of important pointers and outcomes
Guide candidates with hints and suggestions to steer them in the right direction

Step 4: Be a collaborator

Encourage candidates to explore and consider alternative solutions
Work with the candidate to drill the problem into smaller tasks
Provide context and supporting details to help candidates stay on track
Ask follow-up questions to learn about the candidate’s experience

Technical recruiters and hiring managers should aim for providing an environment of positive reinforcement, actionable feedback and encouragement to candidates.

Evaluation Rubric for Candidates

Facilitate Successful System Design Interview Experiences with FaceCode

FaceCode, HackerEarth’s intuitive and secure platform, empowers recruiters to conduct system design interviews in a live coding environment with HD video chat.

FaceCode comes with an interactive diagram board which makes it easier for interviewers to assess the design thinking skills and conduct communication assessments using a built-in library of diagram based questions.

With FaceCode, you can combine your feedback points with AI-powered insights to generate accurate, data-driven assessment reports in a breeze. Plus, you can access interview recordings and transcripts anytime to recall and trace back the interview experience.

Learn how FaceCode can help you conduct system design interviews and boost your hiring efficiency.

What Makes a Tech Interview Great? Hear an Engineer’s Perspective