How to evaluate technical candidates in interviews without being a developer

One of the biggest challenges for recruiters, HR leaders, or non-technical managers is interviewing candidates for development or engineering roles without having programming experience. Fortunately, you don’t need to know how to code to conduct a solid initial technical assessment. What you need is structure, clarity about the role’s objectives, and the right tools and support.

In this practical article, I’ll explain how to structure IT interviews, what aspects to evaluate, and how to leverage key tools and people to make better hiring decisions.

1. Clearly define the technical profile

The first step is to fully understand the role you need to fill. You can’t evaluate what you don’t understand. Therefore, before posting a job or conducting interviews, take the time to work with your technical team to precisely define the role.

Ask yourself:

• What languages, frameworks, or tools does the position require?

• What kind of projects will this person be responsible for?

• Will they work independently or as part of a team?

• What level of autonomy is expected for this role?

This exercise should result in a well-defined job description, which includes not only the technical skills (languages, frameworks, methodologies) but also soft skills (communication, teamwork) and the expected level of experience.

The clearer you are about the type of profile you need, the easier it will be to spot positive signs or red flags during the interview — even if you can’t read or write code yourself.

2. Design a competency-based interview

You don’t need to evaluate code directly, but you can investigate how the candidate has solved technical problems in the past. For this, use a competency-based interview format.

Some key areas you can explore include:

• How they approach errors or technical failures.

• How they handle requirement changes or shifting priorities.

• What methodology they use to tackle technical challenges.

Helpful questions you can ask:

• “Tell me about a complex project you worked on. What technical challenges did you face, and how did you solve them?”

• “How do you handle sudden changes in client requirements in the middle of a sprint?”

• “Describe a significant mistake you made on a project. How did you resolve it, and what did you learn?”

These types of questions help you evaluate logical thinking, communication skills, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities — even without directly reviewing code.

3. Use automated technical assessments

Fortunately, there are specialized platforms that allow you to conduct standardized technical tests without requiring you to analyze the code yourself:

• HackerRank

• Codility

• DevSkiller

These platforms evaluate things like code quality, efficiency, structure, and problem-solving skills, generating objective reports you can use to compare candidates.

Advantages:

• Objective, measurable results.

• Filter candidates before moving to personal interviews.

• Useful for evaluating remote candidates.

This approach allows you to advance through the hiring process without depending on a technical evaluator in the first stage.

4. Involve a technical expert in the interview process

Even if you lead the interview on cultural fit or general skills, inviting a senior developer or technical lead to join the process is one of the best practices.

This expert can:

• Ask deeper technical questions.

• Validate specific knowledge.

• Conduct live code reviews or technical challenges.

While you focus on whether the candidate fits with your team and company culture, the technical expert ensures that their skills meet the position’s requirements.

5. Evaluate soft skills and adaptability

Many technology project failures are not due to bad code but to communication breakdowns, misaligned expectations, or resistance to change. Therefore, it’s crucial to pay attention to soft skills.

Some key traits to evaluate:

• Ability to learn quickly: Technology changes constantly. You need people who are willing to stay up-to-date.

• Adaptability: How do they react to unexpected challenges or mistakes?

• Teamwork: Are they open to collaboration or prefer to work alone?

• Communication: Can they explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical colleagues?

These skills often make the difference between a good isolated developer and a valuable team player.

You don’t need to be a programmer to conduct an effective technical interview. What you need is clarity on the role, good competency-based questions, the right technical testing tools, and collaboration with technical experts.

Hiring IT talent is a strategic responsibility. By asking the right questions and building a structured interview process, you can hire strong technical profiles — even if you don’t write a single line of code.

If you’d like, I can help you create sample interview templates or question banks specifically for technical hiring. Just let me know.