Sending The Simulation Challenge
Once the candidate has been fully vetted and is in agreement with the rate and time commitment you will want to proceed with issuing them the second challenge. Remind them to track their time. Challenges are confusing to many applicants and being clear about this avoids wasted time later. Remind then not to fork the repo (We don't want all responses to be available by clicking on "forks").
Great! The next step is a paid challenge. Please be sure to track all your time or you will not be compensated. All time tracked must be relevant to challenge at hand. All time logged for misc tasks will result in disqualification.
Here is the challenge, do not fork:
<link to challenge>
Providing Notes On The Simulation Challenge
Regardless if any issues arise with the candidate's second challenge, push it back to them asking for an change. We ask for an edit to see just how well they take feedback and instruction. Receiving and following through with instructions is important, and issuing alterations or bugfixes is a great way to see how they respond to such requests. Please note that this applies to all candidates, no matter how incredible their challenge is.
The simulation challenge is a large increase in difficulty from the threshold challenge. So it is common to find areas of improvement for the candidate to focus on. Install the candidate's application on your local machine to find topics for them to address or improve.
Hi, $name. Thanks for attempting the challenge. Unfortunately, there are a number of/some issues with your app/solution:
issue1: description
Please look into these issues and message me when you have updated your coding challenge.
Simulation Challenge - Failed
Don't feel bad about failing a candidate. They've been compensated and this is an opportunity for them to improve. Be clear that you have decided not to hire them and explain why. You want them to give you 5-stars as feedback when you close the total projects.
Hi, $name. Thanks for attempting the challenge. Unfortunately, we can’t continue because there are a number of/some issues with your app/solution:
issue1: How it wasn't solved.
We’re looking for candidates who can deliver apps without these issues as it applies directly to the work we are hiring you to do. Please note that even though we are no longer considering you for this position, we only see this is an opportunity for you to grow your skills. We will be ending our contract with you with a 5-star rating. Thank you for your time and best of luck.
Simulation Challenge - Passed
If their work on the challenge meets or exceeds your needs, then they have done more than enough to prove their viability as a candidate. Send a message like one provided below. Afterwhich you may begin the first steps of the onboarding guide.
Nice work on the second challenge! I appreciate what you've done to solve $notes. Now we can move to the real projects. I need to set some things up on my end, but I'll get back to you with the next steps soon.
Hey $name! Nice work on this challenge, especially in addressing $notes. Before we move forward we need to set up some things on our end (e.g. your accounts). I'll get back to you soon.