If you’ve ever conducted technical interviews,  you’re familiar with the common frictions. 

What editor do you use for coding challenges? While general-use collaboration docs are easy to use, they can’t format for code. On the flip side, dedicated coding tools can often be difficult for candidates to grasp in a time crunch. If it takes someone 20 minutes to get acclimated to the tech, that’s a huge chunk of the interview spent grappling with the tool, not the problem. Having candidates use their preferred coding tool while screen-sharing isn’t much of a work around either: It limits your ability to jump in and collaborate or capture the document for later review. 

When every minute counts, in an already stressful context, no time should be wasted on inefficiencies and learning curves. That’s why we built OpenBracket — a web app that enables collaborators to effortlessly pair on technical challenges, with no barrier to entry.

A coding editor that just works

We recognized that OpenBracket would need to balance comfort and intuitiveness with enough functionality to accurately assess coding aptitude. We also wanted to ensure an interview candidate could grasp the tool in 30 seconds or less.

Our solution? A simple box. But a box that lets you do everything. With OpenBracket, a candidate and interviewer can type and code together in one space, as unmediated as possible, on a tool supportive for coding. There’s no need for screen sharing or toggling back and forth from multiple tabs. 

And there’s no barrier to entry. You only need to go to the website to create a document and share the link. Then you’re in the same document together. No account needed for a person to join you in solving a technical problem.

Purpose-built for tech interviews

OpenBracket supports different languages, from Javascript to SQL, assisting a candidate in every stage of problem-solving. With this versatility, collaborators can focus on the content of the challenge and not the mechanics of the tool.

It’s also sharable. As of right now, each document supports 7 concurrent participants: three collaborators and 4 viewers. This allows an interviewer to have another developer observe to help assess a candidate or even be trained for conducting tech interviewing.

It supports code execution for Javascript, Typescript, Python, C, C++. Running the code helps you get more indication on how the person thinks during troubleshooting issues. 

And, importantly, it has the ability to lock the documents if needed, which allows the interviewer to add it as a reference for interview notes.  

Bringing OpenBracket to the real world

We’re now looking for Design Partners who can test OpenBracket in their own interviews and share their experience. We also think, given OpenBracket’s flexibility, it has the potential for broader application. It could be a pedagogical tool for teachers demonstrating how to write code to their students. Or it could have value for tech conference presenters who want to code live for an audience. We’re eager to explore some of those other use cases. 

Looking for a better way to code collaboratively? Try OpenBracket for your next tech interview.