Python Developer Screening Guide

If you are here already, you are looking for content that will help you screen Python Developers. Probably, you are already over with the sourcing part or you are almost on the verge of completion, and you are considering the screening process now. To be honest, screening Python developers will be much harder than sourcing them! Nothing much to worry about! Cause today, I will guide in this process so that you can have an idea about things to do in order to screen a Python developer correctly. But first, let’s understand Python a bit!

Well, Python is one of the most simple yet powerful coding languages known for its multipurposeness and lucidity. It is reader-friendly due to its similarity of syntax with English Language syntax. Hence, Python Developers are facing an increasing demand in the IT sector because of their ability to utilize Python for data analytics, data processing, and Machine-Learning. You also need to have a basic knowledge about the job roles a Python developer. It helps the candidates understand if their skills align with the job roles provided by the recruiter. Screening becomes more easy as the candidates understand if they are applicable for the job. Technically, a Python developer has job roles like:

writing server-side logic and code,

assigning asset management code,

developing software solutions,

writing reusable and testable codes,

supporting new projects,

integrating data storage solutions,

writing efficient code for security, and 

protection of data.

Based on these job roles, you can screen resumes by checking their previous job roles in their previous jobs. So, now let’s understand why screening in the case of Python developers is absolutely unavoidable. 

Why is it Important to Strictly Screen Applicants?

 Screening candidates is important as well as a challenging task. It usually takes time but it is always better to go through this filtration because you probably won’t want to interview candidates who aren’t eligible for the opening. Hiring Python is more difficult because you will find hundreds of resumes at your desk after you have announced a Python developer job opening, and out of these only a handful will come out as serious candidates and very few will make it to the final hiring interview. So, it is advisable that you try to attract talent as much as possible in case you fall short on tech talent after screening. 

Often, to save time and energy, you take hasty decisions and select candidates based on first-come-first-serve policy. But you have to understand that taking your time in screening candidates before the final interview is a better policy because it will help you retain your highly skilled tech talent. Screening also lets you know if the candidates contain the desired qualities and fall under your job requirements.

Methods of Screening

There are various methods of screening, but today I will focus on the most popular methods of screening Python Developers. 

So, there are three types rather three stages of screening and I shall guide you on each and every stage: 

Resume Screening:

Certifications, experience, and skills do matter while screening resumes but you should also focus more on analyzing the candidate’s passion for Python which will reflect through his/her resume. 

Python frameworks should be thoroughly evaluated as well. Make sure the candidate is knowledgeable about the framework your tech team uses. This can be another point on which you can successfully screen candidates. Python frameworks provide the developers with a basic structure to implement the application of codes. Some frameworks are used for larger applications and if your company normally deals with smaller applications, this will be a point to look forward to. Some full-stack frameworks like Django, Pyramid, TurboGears, and Web2Py are meant for larger applications. While some microframeworks like Flask, Bottle, and CherryPy are for smaller applications. Also, make sure they know how to use one asynchronous framework like Sanic or Tornado. The asynchronous frameworks help in distributing codes and acts as performance enhancers. There are other frameworks like Dash which is open-sourced and typically used for web applications.

You can check the number of codes they have written, and also go through their achievements, research papers, publishings, and open source projects to understand if the candidate is suitable for the opening.

Telephonic and Online Interviews: 

Telephonic or online interviews are important because you can understand if the candidate is eligible or not. Also, the recruiter does not need to make any special arrangements for the interview if the candidate is screened through a telephonic or online interview and proves him/herself ineligible. Both the candidate and the recruiter can interact with each other before even appearing for the final hiring interview. 

Starting with some basic behavioral questions, you can tell the candidate about your company’s vision and mission. You can ask them about their location, qualifications, job experience and their overall experience with Python. You also need to know their coding accomplishments and check if they can meet deadlines. Remember that not only will their knowledge on Python help them, their knowledge on XML, SQL, UNIX, data structures, object-oriented programming, general programming, algorithms, coding, networking, and other necessary technologies will also help them get their job done

Be short and precise and try to cover up within a 10-minute session because you will later get a chance to thoroughly test their coding skills. Record the session for further screening or to consult with your team.

Technical screening Through Coding Tests: 

Coding tests are very popular these days for screening in top tech companies and even the start-ups are opting for coding tests to screen their candidates. Most IT recruiters encourage their candidates to sit for coding tests so that the recruiters can evaluate the skills of developers. 

Some recruiters take coding assessments after screening resumes and after getting done with telephonic or online interviews, but some recruiters make their candidates sit for coding assessments before starting any other screening process. So technically, there is no proper time for conducting coding skill tests. 

But there are some parameters that can help you decide on which coding test will be good for your potential tech talent. Before choosing any good coding assessments, keep these points in your mind:

check if the test evaluates their knowledge on libraries and frameworks

check if there are enough coding tasks along with MCQs because only algorithm-based questions won’t allow you to evaluate the candidate’s capability of solving real-life coding issues. 

Check if the assessment’s codebase suites your company’s codebase, because evaluating candidates on some other codebase that your company does not use, will be futile.

Check if the exam is more like working on the field than sitting in an examination hall. Because after all, the developer is looking for a job and not another certificate or degree.

Check for some important Python skills like code review tasks as it gives a view of the candidate’s work experience and overall experience with Python, his/her code quality, and how s/he can fix bugs and solve other problems. 

 

Hunting for highly skilled Python talent isn’t an easy business. But I sincerely hope the article has been highly informative and gives you a brief guide about the process. If you liked the article or have some suggestions, share and comment!

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