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:
    • Partner with top universities that offer advanced degrees in computer science, software engineering, and management to recruit graduates with leadership potential.
  • Company Career Pages:
    • Keep your career page updated and optimized for search engines. Post job openings for the Director of Software Engineering role and promote the company’s leadership opportunities, values, and growth prospects.
  • Role-Specific Job Boards:

What are the best practices for headhunting {role_name}?

  • Target Leadership Networks: Engage with professional leadership groups on LinkedIn, forums, and Slack communities specific to engineering leadership.
  • Personalized Outreach: When headhunting senior candidates, craft personalized messages that focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within the role. Highlight the impact they will have on shaping the company’s technology strategy.
  • Referrals: Use your existing network to get referrals for senior-level positions. Candidates often come recommended from current team members or industry peers.

"Find Talent Quickly" – Leverage Headhunting and Referrals

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 in software engineering leadership roles?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 5 years of experience in leadership roles.
  • How many years of experience do you have managing large-scale software projects?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Less than 3 years managing large projects.
  • Are you located in [location] or open to relocation/remote work?
    • Auto-reject criteria: Candidates not in the specified location and unwilling to relocate or 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}

Software Development

Understanding of modern software development practices and frameworks.

  • Question 1: What is the primary benefit of using microservices architecture in large-scale applications?
    • Options:
      1. Simplicity
      2. Scalability
      3. Lower cost
      4. Easier testing
    • Correct Answer: 2. Scalability
  • Question 2: Which of the following is a key component of continuous integration (CI)?
    • Options:
      1. Manual testing
      2. Frequent code commits
      3. Full-stack architecture
      4. Documentation updates
    • Correct Answer: 2. Frequent code commits
  • Question 3: Which Agile methodology framework emphasizes daily standups and sprints?
    • Options:
      1. Kanban
      2. Lean
      3. Scrum
      4. Waterfall
    • Correct Answer: 3. Scrum

Team Leadership

Ability to lead and manage engineering teams effectively.

  • Question 1: What is the most effective way to motivate a team facing a tight deadline?
    • Options:
      1. Enforce overtime
      2. Provide regular feedback and support
      3. Increase the workload
      4. Minimize communication
    • Correct Answer: 2. Provide regular feedback and support
  • Question 2: What is a key responsibility of a Director of Software Engineering when managing a cross-functional team?
    • Options:
      1. Micro-manage tasks
      2. Align team goals with business objectives
      3. Limit team interactions
      4. Avoid discussing roadblocks
    • Correct Answer: 2. Align team goals with business objectives
  • Question 3: How should a leader handle conflict within their team?
    • Options:
      1. Ignore the conflict
      2. Facilitate a constructive discussion
      3. Reassign the team members
      4. Take immediate disciplinary action
    • Correct Answer: 2. Facilitate a constructive discussion

Technology Strategy

Ability to align technical strategy with business objectives.

  • Question 1: What should be the first step when planning a technology strategy for a new product launch?
    • Options:
      1. Hiring more developers
      2. Aligning the technology roadmap with business goals
      3. Purchasing new software tools
      4. Defining the budget
    • Correct Answer: 2. Aligning the technology roadmap with business goals
  • Question 2: How often should a technology strategy be reviewed in a fast-paced environment?
    • Options:
      1. Annually
      2. Every 3 months
      3. Every 6 months
      4. Never
    • Correct Answer: 2. Every 3 months
  • Question 3: What is a critical element of budgeting for technology projects?
    • Options:
      1. Cost estimation only
      2. Ongoing evaluation and adjustments
      3. Fixed budget without reviews
      4. Hiring consultants
    • Correct Answer: 2. Ongoing evaluation and adjustments

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.

"Shortlist in Seconds" – Use our CV scoring feature to get top candidate recommendation

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 Sample Question Rating (1-5) Comments
Leadership "Describe how you managed a large-scale engineering project."
Technology Strategy "How do you align technology decisions with business goals?"
Team Management "How do you handle team conflict in high-pressure situations?"
Communication Skills "Explain how you communicate complex technical ideas to non-technical stakeholders."
Problem-Solving "Tell us about a time when you had to troubleshoot a critical issue."
Recruitment Bullet

Check for consistency in responses from the candidates.

Recruitment Bullet

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