How to assess basic Python skills and hire a developer

Hiring developers who have the relevant basic Python skills to complete projects for your business can take time. Candidates need a combination of soft skills and programming knowledge in Python to write flawless code and collaborate with team members.

The hiring process can be expensive and time-consuming, so finding the right candidate off the bat is vital. With our expert-created Python tests, you can create an assessment to ensure your candidates have the skills to complete web, game, or application development projects.

So, which specific tests should you include in your Python talent assessment to hire a developer?

In this guide, you’ll find recommendations for the most relevant tests to use in your hiring process, and advice to hire the best, most-skilled developers.

What is a basic Python skills assessment?

Our experts design skills tests to help you find the best Python developers for your vacancy. This means you can confidently hire candidates to complete tasks like website building, software development, and machine learning work, even if you have no knowledge of those areas yourself.

A basic Python skills assessment should evaluate candidates’ abilities in:

• Fundamentals of Python

• Debugging

• Knowledge of algorithms

• Data structures and objects

• Arrays

With a Python skills assessment, you can use objective statistical results to cross-compare your candidates. You can then remove unskilled candidates from the hiring process and focus only on the most-qualified talent.

Although there are different levels of Python proficiency, a basic assessment will feature tests that focus on beginner-level Python skills. This is a valuable testing method for hiring junior and mid-level Python developers.

You can also evaluate soft skills with a basic Python assessment, including:

• Problem solving

• Critical thinking

• Organization and time management

• Collaboration with other developers

With TestGorilla, you can also add cognitive ability or situational judgment tests to your assessment to widen the scope of your evaluation process. This will ensure your new hire is well-suited to your company culture and possess the soft skills needed to excel in their role.

Why are basic Python skills important?

With basic Python skills like debugging and code structuring, your new hires will be able to ensure anyone who uses your website, app, or other digital tools enjoys a seamless user experience.

A Statista survey looking at the most used coding languages found that 49.3% of developers use Python. This shows how vital Python skills are for a developer role, but also indicates that the talent pool may be huge. With TestGorilla’s talent assessments, you can separate those who simply know Python from those who can really use it.

Debugging skills ensure apps meet users’ needs

To ensure your coding project runs smoothly and error-free, your developers require debugging skills in Python. 

Developers with Python debugging skills will be able to identify errors, understand why an error has occurred, and establish appropriate solutions to rectify the problem. This ensures whatever project they are working on delivers an exceptional and unproblematic user experience.

Python has a specialized debugger tool that provides developers with the right interface to successfully remove errors from code. This platform allows software developers to identify and fix issues in the coding script which could cause serious problems further into the project. 

Our Python debugging test ensures your new hires can: 

• Execute scripts 

• Fix any operational problems that arise

• Remove errors from code

• Ensure a seamless end user experience

With these skills, your company can satisfy the end user and minimize problems for your customers. This, in turn, leads to positive reviews for your application, and improves your credibility and brand reputation in your industry. 

Fast product development

Hiring candidates with basic Python skills can accelerate the project development process. Testing your candidates during recruitment will ensure your new hires require less training and can start contributing instantly. Moreover, their skills enable the project to develop more quickly.

Technical knowledge means that even junior Python developers will be able to hit the ground running. Your new hire can immediately contribute to projects without a lengthy onboarding or training process.

For example, if your business needs to speed up specific projects like web development, game development, or data analysis, they can use the vast Python libraries such as Flask. Its built-in functionality means that developers can focus on the web development process instead of focusing on HTTP protocols. 

This outcome, in turn, makes projects including web and game development faster and saves time.

Ideal for a variety of projects

Hiring a candidate with basic skills in Python, such as debugging and coding, is ideal if your company completes various projects. Depending on the tech your company uses, a Python developer can give your development teams the ability and flexibility to work across different projects and project types. 

For example, a developer with basic Python skills can support your organization in achieving the following:

• Data visualization projects. Basic Python library knowledge can help developers visualize data from the graphs they create.

• Chatbot development projects. Natural language processing (NLP) knowledge can help developers create software that simulates human speech.

• Web-crawling projects. Knowledge of Scrapy, a Python integration, can help developers extract data from websites and gain valuable performance insights.

A suitably skilled Python developer can provide assistance across a range of different projects and tasks. This helps your company achieve its goals in multiple areas, including visualizing and utilizing data, developing chatbots and AI, and garnering data from the web. As a result, your new hires can offer flexible support and implement successful strategies in a variety of different areas.

Which skills and traits are important for junior developers using Python?

Understanding the skills needed to be a successful Python developer will help you to write a powerful job description and choose the right tests to screen and shortlist candidates. 

Junior developers using Python need a broad range of traits and skills because they are often utilized across many projects and areas. Collaboration, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills are all vital for a junior Python developer.

To ensure your new hires are well equipped for the job, they should have the following skills and traits:

App building

Developers should understand basic Python data structures, including arrays, Booleans, integers, strings, dictionaries, and floats. Knowledge of these data types ensures your candidates can build complex programs and applications.

For instance, developers use lists and sets in creating cloud storage applications, while dictionaries are used to store metadata.

Knowledge of basic Python skills ensures that apps are developed and programmed correctly. This mitigates problems further down the line and minimizes the need for debugging. It also improves product turnaround time and the overall app quality.

Element manipulation

Hiring candidates with element manipulation skills in Python can help your company develop applications or web pages similar to Spotify, Google, or YouTube. 

Candidates who are able to demonstrate a knowledge of arrays can store large amounts of data to build applications. Spotify is one example of a popular app built using Python, and demonstrates the capabilities of Python developers with element manipulation skills.

Developers with this skill set also minimize errors during the element manipulation process, leading to a smoother app development process. Therefore, finding candidates with basic array knowledge is fundamental, so evaluate their skills appropriately before hiring.

Error resolution and problem solving

With problem-solving skills, such as spotting errors and critical thinking, Python developers can find and fix problems during the coding process. These skills help developers analyze the error messages they receive and trace the code to determine the issue’s root cause. 

For instance, if your candidate needs to develop an application similar to YouTube, they may use a systematic approach to debug any errors. Two examples of approaches they may use include:

• Step-by-step: Developers inspect the code line by line to find the issue.

• Divide and conquer: Developers break the code into small parts to isolate the issue.

Problem-solving skills are linked to debugging skills, which ensures a developer shows quality performance. These skills also make it easier for developers to work collaboratively with other team members or departments to resolve issues. 

Studies show that recruiters include “problem-solving skills” in at least 15% of job posts when recruiting developers. This statistic emphasizes the key role these skills play in many entry and mid-level developer jobs.

Coding

To ensure candidates can write usable code, you should test their coding abilities. Knowledge of coding concepts like inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation are crucial in producing functional end products.

Without comprehensive coding skills, developers will produce ineffective apps, software, or projects. Here’s how a skilled developer’s different coding abilities benefit your company:

• Inheritance is a skill that involves creating a parent class with common attributes that child classes inherit. Developers can use this method to reduce the code for projects, decreasing the amount of time spent on a task.

• Polymorphism is a concept that involves using objects in code without the need for specific details. It helps candidates work with different objects flexibly and reduces the number of code lines to complete a task. This improves efficiency and reduces the time to the end product.

• Encapsulation is a process that involves hiding class details to alter the class implementation. This process means developers can reuse old code easier and further streamlines the code writing process.

These three skills help developers produce reusable code, which saves time and effort during projects. They ensure your developers write high-quality code and follow the best coding practices. Top candidates, therefore, should demonstrate coding skills.

User experience skills

Your new developer will need to be able to use Python to deliver an exceptional user experience. Basic Python skills can be properly utilized to create high-quality code, optimize loading times of web pages, and ensure the end product is glitch-free. 

Developers can also use these skills to complete add-ons during game development or create prototypes for machine-learning projects. A focus on user experience will ensure everything ー from testing to publication ー will run smoothly and effectively.

In social media apps, for instance, developers use a large selection of algorithms to ensure the app’s users can discover new content and connect with other app users. This increases user engagement quality and improves the overall user experience.

Ideally, then, your new hire should possess user experience skills in relation to their Python abilities.

Skills and traits tests to evaluate developers

Use a talent assessment to evaluate Python developer skills and hire the best talent. With a TestGorilla plan, you can choose a selection of up to five relevant tests and invite candidates to complete them. In this section, you’ll find our recommended skills and traits tests you can use to evaluate entry-level developers.

Python entry-level algorithms test

With our entry-level Python algorithms test, you can evaluate how familiar your candidates are with Python algorithms. It features a coding task suited to entry-level skills and asks applicants to solve it within 10 minutes. The assessment features test cases, which your candidates can use to check if their solution is progressing correctly.

Our Python entry-level algorithms test is suited to junior programmers because it tests foundational skills and Python programming knowledge. It’s the best test for developers working on projects like web development, machine learning, and data science.

Problem solving test

You can assess how well candidates interpret data and apply logic with our Problem solving test. This test features several challenging scenarios, in which candidates must identify the correct actions to resolve the issues presented.

Analytical skills are ideal for debugging in Python. The Problem solving test allows you to review the accuracy behind candidates’ answers and analyze their critical thinking abilities.

Some of the other specific sub-skills you can evaluate with this test include whether candidates can:

• Define or identify a problem or issue

• Break the problem into smaller, solvable issues

• Find strategies to solve the problem

Object oriented programming test

Our Object oriented programming (OOP) test assesses your candidates’ knowledge of object-oriented concepts, such as classes. If you’re hiring a frontend, game, or backend developer (or any developer needing basic object-oriented knowledge), this test will determine their skill set.

You can also review other skills with the OOP test, including abstract classes, control flow, and knowledge of the four principles of object-oriented programming. These skills are essential for writing high-quality code. They ensure your developers can easily upgrade, maintain, and reuse the code.

The test also evaluates your candidates’ methods for resolving challenges related to high-quality app design, showing you who can build applications efficiently.

DISC personality test

A DISC personality test will help you learn about your candidates’ character traits, helping you identify whether they’re a good fit for your company culture. With this test, you can discover more about your prospective Python developer’s behavior types, which comprise:

• Dominance

• Influence

• Steadiness

• Conscientiousness

In this test, candidates are asked to complete an evaluation of themselves by reading and responding to statements using a scoring system of one to five. When your prospective developer completes the test, it will calculate which personality types best describe them.

You can use this assessment to learn how your candidates make decisions based on their personality. You can also learn how they may potentially interact with your team.

The DISC personality test is best used alongside others that evaluate hard skills, such as technical and cognitive knowledge tests. This way, you can build a clearer picture of your candidates’ abilities. Browse our test library to create your assessment, or try our free demo to discover which features our tests include.

Basic Python skills assessment FAQs

Need more information about basic Python skills and how to assess them? Check out the answers to these frequently asked questions:

What are the Python coding questions in a skills assessment?

The Python coding questions in our skills tests include technical questions and coding challenges. Candidates must answer specialized knowledge questions and solve hypothetical scenarios. Applicants can check their code and test it during the assessment to determine if their answer works.

What is the Python test for candidates?

Python tests for candidates are various Python-related tests that evaluate how well candidates can use the scripting and programming language for project completion. With a Python test, you can gauge how well your candidates use and apply Python in simulated scenarios. Each Python scenario focuses on different areas, such as object-related questions, debugging tasks, and data structure questions. 

How would you evaluate your candidates’ performance?

To evaluate a candidate’s performance, you can check the results of each test in your Python assessment. TestGorilla’s skills test results are displayed as percentages and rankings that show an applicant’s score against the average score. With these rankings, you can use objective data to evaluate each candidate’s Python skills and remove unconscious bias from your hiring process.

How TestGorilla can help you find developers with basic Python skills

TestGorilla brings plenty of benefits that ensure you find the best developer for your team. Here are some of the ways our assessments can make candidate evaluation simpler:

Our tests get results

TestGorilla uses research done by the US Department of Labor to ensure every test provides validity in the skills they evaluate. We also take into account customer feedback on candidate performance to ensure our tests are producing the right results. History shows that talent recruited through our tests become valued employees at their company.

Bias-free, fair tests

To ensure your recruitment process complies with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, our platform eliminates unconscious bias from the candidate selection and hiring process. When you receive the results, the most-skilled candidates will rank highest, no matter their age, ethnicity, race, or gender. This benefit will help you organically hire a diverse team that performs well.

Experts create our tests

All of our test creators have expertise in the subject matter they build tests for. With peer reviews and test theory principles backing each assessment, your candidate evaluation process will be thorough, accurate, and effective.

To use our assessments, complete the steps below:

1. Choose a unique name for your assessment

2. Browse the job roles and pick one

3. Discover tests in our test library and select five

4. Write and add up to 20 custom questions 

5. Invite candidates through an applicant tracking system, TestGorilla, or by email

6. Check the reports to determine which candidate has performed the best

Once your tests have filtered out underperforming candidates, you can invite the best applicants to answer Python interview questions in the interview phase, where you can learn more about their experience. This ensures you only interview candidates who are worth your time.

Hire a developer for your team with TestGorilla

Are you preparing to begin your recruitment process?

Hiring a software developer for your team doesn’t need to take weeks. You can find top candidates with the right blend of hard and soft skills quickly and effectively by using TestGorilla’s skills assessment platform.

Our product is easy to use and provides the bias-free strategy you need to find the best Python developers for your team.

Explore the TestGorilla website to view our relevant skills tests, and try it for free to see how our skills assessments can save you time and effort in your recruitment process.