Java Skills Tests
Quickly assess all round Java programming skills
Use our team of domain experts to help you make informed decisions about your candidates, fast.
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Bulb hired 70 developers in 12 months using Geektastic’s assessments, saving 58 days of engineering resource
- 70Engineers hired in the last 12 months
- 44Hours per week of engingeering time saved
- 50%Reduction in time to hire
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Use our Java programming skills tests to quickly assess all round technical skills.
The demand for good software engineers has never been hotter.
As teams scale they need an efficient way to assess the skills of job applicants and Java Skills Tests are a great way of doing this.
But not all testing platforms are the same. You have platforms like Codility and HackerRank that use machines to score code or your have platforms like Geektastic that use a team of experts to review the code challenge submissions made by the candidates, evaluating its strengths and weaknesses, looking through multiple lenses (code quality, solution design, multi threading, problem solving skills, understanding requirements, test coverage) and providing that analysis back to the candidate (so they can see they have been properly evaluated) and to the hiring team (all in 24hrs).
We’ve listed below some of the benefits for the hiring team:
- Getting the skills right first time - This one is huge. Hiring is expensive. Of course, you may well have recruitment fees to pay. However, it’s also likely that it will take some time for you to fully assess if a candidate has the correct skills. Some companies will stick with an underperforming developer for quite some time after hiring too, for a number of reasons, from guilt to the sunk cost fallacy. Not to mention that the developer will have a notice period too. All of this time spent with the wrong employee can rack up quite the wage bill. Finally, interviewing takes senior team members’ time away from productive tasks. All of this is ultimately costing the business money.It’s far better to not waste the developers’ time and your own. Hire correctly the first time and save both time and money!
- Widen pool of applicants - We spoke about the amount of time hiring can take. You usually aren’t going to be able to interview every applicant that applies for your Java roles. You may find that some fantastic developers are slipping through the net just because their CVs don’t quite look up to scratch. If you employ a skills challenge early in your hiring process, you can give all candidates a fair shot. Meaning you won’t miss out on those hidden gem candidates.
- All candidates on a level playing field . We spoke about this above when we talked of removing unconscious bias, but it’s important to reiterate. As a hiring manager, you don’t want your unconscious biases clouding your judgement. By employing a standardised technical test, you will ensure that all candidates have a level playing field. This will lead to a more diverse team within your organisation, which has been proven to boost efficiency and profits.
- Only serious candidates - It happens surprisingly often. Candidates will sometimes apply to jobs on a whim, never really thinking seriously about leaving their current company. This can be for a number of reasons. Perhaps they like the sound of the role, but when push comes to shove, it’s very unlikely they will leave their company. By utilizing a programming challenge, you can ensure the only applicants you receive are those that are serious about switching jobs.
Who Would Benefit From a Java Skills Test?
Developers of all skill levels can benefit enormously from Java skills tests.
Junior developers, especially those looking for their first role, can often struggle to prove their skills. Of course, a portfolio can be very beneficial, but having your coding challenge results at hand can be a real boost to your prospects of landing that first developer role. Junior developers are also more likely to benefit from the insights gained from their first coding challenge. As mentioned above, this can be a great resource for understanding where your coding skills can be improved.
For more senior developers, a skills test result could set you apart from the rest of the competition and truly demonstrate the value you can bring to an organisation if they were to hire you.
How to Take a Java Skills Test
While, of course, you may receive a Java skills test from an employer, there’s nothing stopping you from taking them ahead of time. This has several advantages, like with everything, practice makes perfect. By practicing these coding challenges ahead of time, you will have a much better grasp of what to expect on the day, and it’s likely you’ll get better scores as a result.
There are many platforms you can use to sharpen your skills. With the Geektastic platform, there is an additional advantage to taking one of our “take home coding challenges”, top performers can become paid reviewers for other’s coding challenges.
If you’d like to give a coding challenge a try register now
Benefits for Those Taking a Java Test
- Finding a role that truly fits your skill level - Nobody wants to work at a job where they don’t feel competent. Sure you can learn on the job, but sometimes a role is out of your current skill level. If you were to land these types of jobs, not only may you not enjoy the role, and you may waste your time, but you may damage your reputation and CV too!
- Standing out from the competition and demonstrating your abilities - This is fairly obvious. However, these challenges enable you to stand out from the crowd of applicants and demonstrate why you truly have the skills for the role. There’s nothing worse than an under qualified applicant beating you to the role. Perhaps they were given easier questions to answer? With a standardised technical test, you know that you’ll be given a fair opportunity.
- Removing unconscious bias - Along the same lines, these technical tests act as a fantastic leveller. We all know how unconscious bias can play a significant role in the decision-making process when hiring. We wish it weren’t the case, but some people aren’t given equal opportunities when interviewing for a number of reasons. With a technical test, we can take one step to remove this unconscious bias. If you’re interviewing for a Java Developer role and you score the highest in a Java skills test, then there would need to be a very good reason not to hire you.
- Speed up the hiring process - Looking for a job is almost a full-time job itself. There are only so many opportunities you can apply for. You don’t want to waste your time going through several rounds of interviews if you aren’t a good fit technically. While a coding challenge may seem like it is adding an extra step to the process, we’ve found that companies often make their hires much quicker. This is because they can be assured of your skills and make a direct comparison with other individuals. This limits the amount of interview stages that are often necessary and makes decisions much quicker.
- Landing a job elsewhere - Didn’t get that job you took the coding challenge for? Some platforms, such as our own, enable employers to search for those with the skills they are looking for. You can also put your scores on your CV or show them to any employer you wish to work for in future. Even if a potential future employer doesn’t utilise standardised technical tests, by demonstrating technical competence, you may just set yourself apart and land that job.
- Sharpen your Java skills - You don’t know what you don’t know. Without tests, it can be difficult to uncover which areas of your Java skills need the most work. By taking online skills tests you can discover and plug any gaps in your technical knowledge, making you a better Java developer.
- Fun! We know, we know, we’ve all been trained from a young age to have a vehement dislike for tests. However, these challenges are often built by coders, for coders. This means they are often a lot more fun than you might imagine. The whole process can be gamified too, with leaderboards and achievements.
Tips to Prepare For Your First Java Skills Test
- Ask what to expect Asking what to expect can be extremely insightful. If you’re working with a recruiter, it’s usually in their interests that you get offered the job. They may be able to get information on what you’ll be tested on and relay this to you. Even if you are working directly with the hiring company, you’d be surprised at how much information you can get if you just ask the question.
- Complete example problems - As they say, practice makes perfect. By completing a few example problems ahead of time, you’ll give yourself a huge advantage on the day.
- Identify skills gaps and revise - These example problems will also allow you to look for areas that need improvement. Take good notes on any problems you struggle with and try to address them beforehand.
- Miscellaneous - This last category is more of a reminder to do whatever is needed to help you function at your fullest. This can be getting a good night’s sleep, eliminating distractions or eating a nutritious meal beforehand (nothing too heavy to avoid brain fog, of course).
Summary
There we have it, everything you need to know about the benefits of Java skills tests. Whether you’re a candidate looking for a job or a company looking to hire a Java developer, we hope this has helped.
If you’d like to discuss anything with us about how a coding challenge may benefit your organisation or career, please get in touch at: hello@geektastic.com
Interested in reading more about Java take-home code challenges