Where can you find qualified {role_name}?

What are the best practices for headhunting {role_name}?

How to shortlist candidates?

Once you have started to get applications from applicants, a thorough screening process and shortlisting of prospects will help you make the most of your time spent with the most qualified ones. 

Automated shortlisting tools :

Automated screening quickly filters out unqualified candidates, saving time for manual review. This allows the manual process to focus on the most promising candidates, ensuring the best ones are considered for further evaluation.

Screening questions to auto-shortlist based on predefined criteria

like qualifications, location, experience, and skills. Either use job board or use an ATS such as whitecarrot. Here are some questions for {role_name}

• Experience with API Development:
  • Question: "How many years of experience do you have in designing and developing APIs?"
  • Auto-Reject Criteria: Less than 2 years of experience.
• Experience with RESTful Services:
  • Question: "How many years of experience do you have working with RESTful services?"
  • Auto-Reject Criteria: Less than 3 years of experience.
• Location Flexibility:
  • Question: "Are you located within [specified location] or willing to work remotely?"
  • Auto-Reject Criteria: Not located within the required area and unwilling to work remotely.

Skill based question to auto shortlist candidate

Analyze the skill test data to automatically shortlist top-performing applicants. (recommended screening test time - 15 minutes). Here are some skill test questions for {role_name}

API Design and Development

Assessing the candidate’s understanding of API design principles.

• Question: "Which of the following HTTP methods is used to update a resource in RESTful services?"
  • A) GET
  • B) POST
  • C) PUT
  • D) DELETE
  • Correct Answer: C) PUT
• Question: "What does the term 'idempotent' mean in the context of RESTful APIs?"
  • A) An operation that produces different results each time it is performed
  • B) An operation that produces the same result no matter how many times it is performed
  • C) An operation that must be performed only once
  • D) An operation that modifies the state of the server
  • Correct Answer: B) An operation that produces the same result no matter how many times it is performed
• Question: "Which status code indicates that a resource has been successfully created in a RESTful API?"
  • A) 200 OK
  • B) 201 Created
  • C) 204 No Content
  • D) 400 Bad Request
  • Correct Answer: B) 201 Created

API Security Best Practices

Testing the candidate’s knowledge of API security.

• Question: "Which of the following is a common method for securing APIs?"
  • A) API Key
  • B) OAuth
  • C) JWT (JSON Web Token)
  • D) All of the above
  • Correct Answer: D) All of the above
• Question: "What is the purpose of rate limiting in API security?"
  • A) To ensure API keys are not exposed
  • B) To control the amount of data sent in a request
  • C) To limit the number of requests a client can make in a given time frame
  • D) To encrypt API responses
  • Correct Answer: C) To limit the number of requests a client can make in a given time frame
• Question: "Which of the following is a primary concern when implementing API authentication?"
  • A) Caching of API responses
  • B) Protecting sensitive data in transit
  • C) Minimizing API response time
  • D) Ensuring backward compatibility
  • Correct Answer: B) Protecting sensitive data in transit

API Documentation

Evaluating the candidate’s ability to document APIs effectively.

• Question: "Which tool is commonly used to automatically generate API documentation?"
  • A) Postman
  • B) Swagger
  • C) GitHub
  • D) Jenkins
  • Correct Answer: B) Swagger
• Question: "What should be included in comprehensive API documentation?"
  • A) Endpoint details and example requests/responses
  • B) User manuals for the frontend interface
  • C) Server configuration files
  • D) API response time metrics
  • Correct Answer: A) Endpoint details and example requests/responses
• Question: "Which of the following helps in maintaining up-to-date API documentation?"
  • A) Continuous integration tools
  • B) Code comments
  • C) Automated documentation generation tools
  • D) Manual updates by developers
  • Correct Answer: C) Automated documentation generation tools

Note - Auto reject candidates if scores less than 70% in this section

One way video interview

Use tools like hirevue, whitecarrot.io to ask candidates pre-recorded questions about their experience and skills.

Use sample question given in scorecard.

Collect other information 

Collect data from shortlisted candidates, such as salary expectations and visa status.

Manual candidate profile shortlisting:

Thoroughly review the CVs of the top scoring candidates from the automated process

Look for evidence of the required skills, experience, and achievements

Review the candidate’s portfolio or GitHub repositories to see examples of their work.