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Creating a pad

Last updated on • Available in French

There are three types of pads that you can create:

  1. Create a pad for a live interview
  2. Create a take-home pad
  3. Create a public take-home pad

✅ You can rename a pad at any time. We highly recommend you come up with a standardized syntax for naming a pad. Example: {CandidateName}-{Position}-{Interviewer}-{Q1}, which would translate to Beth Q. Candydit-Jr. Dev-Vincent W.-Pig Latin 1.

1.Create a pad for a live interview

A live pad allows interviewer(s) and the candidate to write and execute code in a shared IDE environment in real-time.

To create a live pad, the fastest way:

  • Login to your account and go to the dashboard page
  • Click on the Create Pad button located on the upper right hand side of the page
The pads list displayed in the dashboard with an arrow pointing to the "create pad" button on the top right of the screen.

That’s it! Simply copy the pad URL, or pad link, for both interviewer(s) and the candidate to use to access for their live interview.

To create a live pad, with a question preloaded: 

Pro tip: This is useful when you want to ensure all candidates start from the same question and code prompt for their live interview.

  1. Login to your account and go to the dashboard page
  1. Click on Question Bank from the side navigation
The question bank is shown in the center. In the left nav menu an arrow points to the "question bank" link.
  1. Select the question you want preloaded for your live interview
A list of questions is shown under the "My content" tab of the question bank.
  1. Click on Create Live Pad or Create Take-Home:
Under the my content tab a question has been selected. In the center of the screen is the question, and at the bottom the "Create live pad" and "create take-home" buttons are highlighted.

To create a pad from the sandbox:

If you regularly use the sandbox to test out interview questions, you can create pads straight from there. Simply click on the Create Pad button in the bottom left hand corner of the sandbox, and a new pad window will open up giving you the ability to send the pad to candidates or coworkers and making it accessible in your Pads List.

A pad opened in the sandbox. An arrow points to the "Create pad" button in the bottom left corner of the pad.

Once you click to create a pad:

This will open the pad environment in a new tab.

Browser tabs are shown, one is labeled "Question Bank | CoderPad" and the other is "Java | CoderPad".

The pad contents will default to your preferred language, and with a “Hello World” example. You can change your preferred language under your personal User Settings.

A pad is shown with the "hello world" example in the code editor in the left window.

The pad URL is the link that both interviewer(s) and the candidate will use to access the pad. There are a few different ways to access this:

  • You can take the link directly from your browser URL bar.
  • Or you can click the Invite button located in the bottom left of the pad to review three additional options.
    • Copy permanent link (same as URL in URL bar)
    • Send an email invite to the pad
    • Generate a temporary short link

Both the interviewer(s) and candidate have access to all features within the pad environment including changing languages, drawing mode, video calling, IDE settings and more. 

The main difference in the environment between interviews and candidates are what the interviewer can do and see. Interviewers CAN:

  • Add a question or select another question
  • Access another tab next to “Program Output” called Private Interviewer Notes which allow interviewers to keep notes during the interview

Candidates CANNOT see your question bank or the private interview notes.

2. Create a pad for a take-home test

  1. From the Dashboard, click on the Question Bank button located in the sidebar
  2. Select a take-home project that you would like to send to the candidates. If you have not created any of your own take-home project, check out this guide to help you get started. Take-home project questions can be filtered with the “View all Questions” filter.
  3. Once you have selected a project, click on the Create Take-Homes button
  4. Set a time limit. This makes the interview process more fair by allowing each candidate the same amount of time to complete the project. If you would like to set no time limit, that is also an option.
  5. Input the name of the candidates (or the naming conventions your company uses) to create up to 100 take-home projects.
  6. Once set up, click on the Create Pads button to generate the individual links that you will send to each candidate.
  7. Send the specified link to each candidate.
  8. When a candidate has completed the project, you will be notified via email and can also check your dashboard to review the code and move forward in your interview process.

Public take-home projects

Interview’s public take-home projects let you create a single URL that will load a specific take-home project question for any number of candidates. We only send submissions that pass 80% of the visible test cases to your team.

Why should I use a public take-home project?

The Public Take-Home gives you a wider range and more flexibility in using take-home projects, helping you attract and assess even more candidates. A public take-home lets a wide pool of candidates attempt a take-home project as the first application step. Here are some ways to use public take-home projects:

  • Send the public take-Home project URL directly to candidates as the first step
  • Embed the link directly on your Careers Page to let candidates start the application process for a specific job
  • Create a public take-home project for a university-specific test and send it to your university candidates
  • Make the link available as the first step in an online job application

How do I set up a public take-home project?

A public take-home project can only be created for projects with test cases. Click the Create Public URL button on any projects with test cases.

In the question bank a question is selected and the question menu has been opened by clicking the vertical ellipses at the far right of the question. "Create public url" is highlighted in the dropdown menu.

Provide a notification email, set the appropriate time limit, and click save. If the candidate successfully passes at least 80% of the visible test cases, we will send the candidate’s name, email, and a link to their completed take-home project to your notification email. If your team likes their submission, you can contact the candidate to set up the next interview stage. If the candidate does not pass enough test cases, they will not be able to submit the project, but will be prompted to keep trying. This saves time for both them and you, and your team won’t have to review unfinished attempts at the take-home project.

How is this counted against my Interview pad quota?

We will only count successful candidate submissions against your plan quota.

Editing a public take-home project

You can use the “update” button to change the notification email or the time available to the candidates. “Delete” will remove this URL from the Interview system. This means any candidates with this link will no longer be able to attempt the project. Please be certain before deleting that this URL is no longer available to candidates, or they will reach an error page.

Tips for Success

Since this URL will be public, a large number of candidates may view and attempt this project. We recommend the following best practices:

  • Create a unique public project for each open role on your jobs page, or for each batch of University candidates
  • Create and use different questions public projects from the take-home projects you use for individually scheduled Take-Home interviews.
  • It is also a good idea to set up a new public project (and delete the URL for the first one) after you receive 100+ submissions.

Need any additional help with setup? Contact Support.