How to source and shortlist {role_name}

Where can you find qualified {role_name}?

  • Professional network : Leverage your professional network and reach out to former colleagues, industry peers, and tech community members to ask for referrals.
  • Educational Institutions:
    • Top universities offering advanced programs in computer science, IT management, and cloud computing.
    • Specialized training programs and bootcamps that offer certifications in DevOps, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS Certified DevOps Engineer), and infrastructure management.
  • Company Career Pages:
    • Posting the job on your company’s career page ensures it reaches candidates who are specifically interested in your organization.
  • Role-Specific Job Boards:
  • Geography-Specific Job Boards:

What are the best practices for headhunting {role_name}?

  • Personalized Outreach:
    • Customize your outreach messages to highlight why the candidate would be a great fit for your company, especially if they have experience with specific DevOps tools or cloud platforms you use.
    • Mention specific projects or tools from their profile that align with your job requirements.
  • Leverage Referrals:
    • Encourage current employees, particularly those in technical roles, to refer qualified DevOps Architects.
    • Offer referral bonuses to incentivize participation.
  • Engage in Industry Events:
    • Attend DevOps-focused conferences, webinars, and meetups.
    • Network with professionals and distribute information about the job opening.
  • Showcase Unique Selling Points:
    • Highlight any opportunities for leadership, involvement in innovative projects, or unique company benefits.

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}

  • How many years of experience do you have with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 3 years of experience.
  • How many years of experience do you have with designing and implementing CI/CD pipelines?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 2 years of experience.
  • Are you located within [specified location] or willing to work remotely?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Not located within the specified region 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}

DevOps Tools

  • Question 1: Which of the following tools is commonly used for continuous integration?
    • Options:
      • Jenkins
      • Docker
      • Terraform
      • Ansible
    • Correct Answer: Jenkins
  • Question 2: What is the primary purpose of Docker in a DevOps environment?
    • Options:
      • To automate software builds
      • To provide a consistent environment for application development and deployment
      • To monitor application performance
      • To manage cloud infrastructure
    • Correct Answer: To provide a consistent environment for application development and deployment
  • Question 3: Which tool is primarily used for infrastructure as code (IaC)?
    • Options:
      • Jenkins
      • Kubernetes
      • Terraform
      • Prometheus
    • Correct Answer: Terraform

Cloud Platforms

  • Question 1: Which AWS service is used to manage and provision EC2 instances?
    • Options:
      • AWS CloudFormation
      • AWS IAM
      • AWS Lambda
      • AWS RDS
    • Correct Answer: AWS CloudFormation
  • Question 2: What is the primary function of Azure DevOps?
    • Options:
      • To host websites
      • To manage cloud databases
      • To support CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
      • To provide data analytics services
    • Correct Answer: To support CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
  • Question 3: Which Google Cloud service is used for orchestrating containerized applications?
    • Options:
      • Google Cloud Functions
      • Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
      • Google BigQuery
      • Google Cloud Run
    • Correct Answer: Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)

CI/CD Pipelines

  • Question 1: What is the primary benefit of implementing a CI/CD pipeline?
    • Options:
      • To reduce manual testing
      • To automate the build, test, and deployment process
      • To monitor application performance
      • To manage infrastructure security
    • Correct Answer: To automate the build, test, and deployment process
  • Question 2: In a CI/CD pipeline, what is the purpose of the “continuous integration” phase?
    • Options:
      • To deploy code to production
      • To integrate code changes into a shared repository and automatically run tests
      • To monitor system health
      • To configure cloud infrastructure
    • Correct Answer: To integrate code changes into a shared repository and automatically run tests
  • Question 3: Which tool is commonly used for version control in CI/CD pipelines?
    • Options:
      • Jenkins
      • Git
      • Docker
      • Ansible
    • Correct Answer: Git

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

One way video interview

Recruitment Bullet

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

Recruitment Bullet

Use sample question given in scorecard.

Collect other information 

Recruitment Bullet

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

Manual candidate profile shortlisting:

Recruitment Bullet

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

Recruitment Bullet

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

Recruitment Bullet

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

Schedule recruiter calls with the candidate

Recruitment Bullet

Use a tool like calendly or whitecarrot to allow candidates to self-schedule calls based on your availability

Recruitment Bullet

Confirm the call details (date, time, dial-in info) with the candidate via email

What questions to ask in the recruiter phone screen?

Recruitment Bullet

 Use scorecard for rating candidates for recruiter

Recruitment Bullet

Sample scorecard : 

Criteria Rating (1-5) Comments
Experience with DevOps Tools
Knowledge of Cloud Platforms
CI/CD Pipeline Management
Problem-Solving Skills
Communication Skills
Cultural Fit
Work Sample Test
Recruitment Bullet

Check for consistency in responses from the candidates.

Recruitment Bullet

Record such scorecards in an ATS like whitecarrot or use google doc