[m33k44]

> I was going for some Leetcode based exercise

Oh no! Please! It helps neither the candidate nor the company. Will any of the leetcode exercises map to the job the candidate will be interviewing for?

My preferred way is this:

1. Introducing the candidate to all the team members with whom the candidate is going to work, if selected.

2. Pair programming with few of them on actual task or some similar task.

3. Solo programming on a problem that somewhat maps to one of the tasks the team is working on.

4. Asking the candidate to present the solution to the team on the whiteboard and candidate taking questions from them on the presented solution.

5. Vote from the team members on hire/no-hire decision.

[protonimitate]

The one and only leetcode-esque interview question I even enjoyed was a pretty mild "easy" problem, where it was explicitly state that a solution was not the goal. The purpose was to simulate pair programming with the interviewer (who claimed they didn't know the solution off hand).

It was casual, conversational, and actually enjoyable.

[mrfusion]

This is a great process! Just be sure you’re not missing out on shy folks who take a while to warm up. They might be a great communicator but struggle at the whiteboard in front of strangers.

[m33k44]

That is why the first step is introduction to the team members, and then next is pair programming with few of them on the team. This will "warm up" the shy candidate. I myself fall into this category, hence I came up with that sequence of steps :)

[mariedavid]

this is excellent advice ! it sounds much better indeed to have the candidate working on concrete problems we are trying to solve. Thanks