Coding Assessments with Woven
I was going to write a part 3 on JS Interview Help (check out part 1 and part 2 if you’d like) this week. However, after advancing to the next interview round with a company in Chicago, I decided to write about my experience with their coding assessment platform, Woven. This guide will (of course) not give any details about the assessment questions itself, but rather what to expect.
Woven
Woven is a technical assessment platform that goes beyond code. They help companies hire incredible talent through technical assessments. What I really like about them, is that they find “hidden gems.” These are people whose on-paper resumes are on the cusp of being rejected, but off-paper they are a great fit for many roles. Woven uses many languages to test candidates for six engineering roles.
The Process
The process for Woven is fairly straight-forward. After applying to a position, if that position wants to move forward with you and they work with Woven, you will receive an email, stating “Company-name has reviewed your application and would like to assess you on some scenarios we have created.” The “scenarios” are very real-world questions, and involve scenarios ranging from customer help to internal developer requests. The scenarios they assess are unique to each company, and can involve a wide range of languages/frameworks.
Preparation
Before starting your assessment, take some time to review Woven’s Prep Guide. This guide gives you everything you need to know from the time limit of your assessment, a code of conduct, and how to prepare for your assessment. They even attach some recommended resources to study before you attempt the assessment!
Scenarios and Environment
Like I said, I will not be discussing any of the questions or scenarios at all. However, what I can tell you about is the environment they use. They have an awesome built-in IDE to help you. You even have an option of switching from “light” to “dark” mode, which I did right away. There’s a built-in timer as well, which you can toggle between displaying the amount of time you have left, or not showing anything at all. I appreciated this, because seeing seconds tick away brings my stress levels up! There are several types of Challenges that you’ll work on, from Q&A to Code Challenges. After each challenge, simply submit your solution and you’re done! If you don’t complete one of your challenges in the given time period, Woven will automatically submit your solution for you.
Post Assessment
After you “Submit All,” your assessment is over, and it is sent to your respective future employer. You will also receive feedback from Software Engineers about your code! This is why I wanted to write this article. Rather than just doing a coding challenge, and not giving any feedback, Woven takes time to go through your code and give actual feedback! As a developer, I can self-reflect on this experience and also get great feedback, from other Software Engineers. I really appreciate this the most, because I can keep growing.
What I Learned
I learned so much from this experience. After only taking assessments with Flatiron school, this assessment gave me a real-world feel for Software Engineering, and Woven’s fantastic platform did not make me feel pressured at all. I’ll update you all on my feedback when it comes in. If you’re given a take home timed challenge, I hope you get to use Woven!
Thanks for reading! To view Michael’s portfolio, click here. Michael is a recent Flatiron School graduate, open for work, and always happy to talk code. Let’s connect on LinkedIn! Questions or comments are always welcome!
