Google launches Byteboard: assessing programmer interviewers based on their work ability

Area 120, an internal incubator for Google's experimental projects, today launched Byteboard, a new tool that aims to simplify the technical interview experience and greatly improve efficiency. The project team said that interview performance cannot be the only criterion for judging the work ability of software engineers, especially for those who actually have coding experience but do not perform well in interviews.

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For example, someone who can memorize material from advanced algorithms will have a greater advantage in the Whiteboard section. "Between daily work and family responsibilities, the current technical interview process is anxiety-provoking and burdensome for candidates, thereby benefiting those who have the time and resources to prepare, while also creating barriers for those who don't," said Sargun Kaur, project manager at Byteboard.

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Kaur continued: "So while many companies are testing everyone for 7-9 hours during the interview process, these interviews are more focused on memorization than on actual application, so there is a high chance that very good and talented people will be missed."

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Byteboard replaces the traditional interview process with a project-based assessment process that highlights the candidate's ability to perform in real work. To this end, Byteboard provides these interviewees with a real coding environment, where they can choose the coding environment they are familiar with or choose Byteboard's embedded web editor, supporting languages ​​including Java, Python, Ruby, C++, C#, JavaScript (node.js) and Go.

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Kaur said employees can customize what areas they want candidates to work in. To do this, the team works with each employer to understand what they are looking for. It's worth noting that Google isn't the first to do this, although this project does fit in nicely with the company's recent focus on job search tools. HackerRank and others already offer similar tools for employers to evaluate candidates.

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Byteboard interviews are designed to simulate what engineers actually do on the job, requiring candidates to work from project design to implementation. The results are then evaluated by a panel of experienced engineers who are trained to evaluate each interview — after anonymizing it — and rate it against a set of scores that assess about 20 software engineering skills. Google emphasizes that the evaluation process is anonymous, hoping to avoid bias at least in the early interview process.