What a live session shows
A finished solution hides the path to it. A live session shows how the candidate reads the problem, where they start, what they test, and how they react when something fails. That is closer to the job than any final answer.
Live versus recorded
| Live with an interviewer | Recorded round, replayed | |
|---|---|---|
| Engineer time | Full length of every session | Reading the replay and signals |
| Scheduling | Both people at once | Candidate chooses a time |
| Follow-up questions | In the moment | In a later round |
| Evidence kept | Interviewer notes | Every edit, prompt and test run, timestamped |
How to run one well
- Use a realistic project with tests rather than a blank editor.
- Tell the candidate whether AI is allowed, and how much.
- Score against written criteria, not on how confident they sounded.
- Write up the session promptly, while it is fresh.
How SynergicHire handles live coding
The SynergicHire coding round captures the session as timestamped events: edits, prompts, accepted completions, tool calls and test runs. Code is tinted by authorship, and the round can be replayed. The clock runs from the start with no pause. A round is finished when someone writes it up, and the outcome names the person who decided it.
Questions
Is a live coding interview better than a take-home?
Each has trade-offs. Live sessions show process but cost engineer time; take-homes are realistic but hide authorship. A recorded round with an assistant aims to get the process without the scheduling.
Can an interviewer join a SynergicHire coding round?
The coding round is designed to be taken on the candidate's schedule and replayed. Live conversation fits in a hiring manager or panel round on the same record.
What if the candidate disconnects?
They can rejoin. The clock keeps running, so time lost to a disconnect is not added back.