If you have been invited to take a certified assessment or custom assessment on CodeSignal, this guide will help you:
Access the assessment
Click on the assessment URL you received via email. Depending on how the company chooses to send assessment requests, this email will either be directly from the company or from CodeSignal.
If this is your first time using CodeSignal in any capacity, once you click on the assessment URL you will see this Sign up page. If you need to access the assessment link again, you should use the Log In option.
If you have used CodeSignal before, either to take an assessment or in the developer platform, you will need to log in to take the assessment.
Start & complete the assessment
After you sign in to take the assessment, you will see an information page with the following details:
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Assessment duration
- Each assessment has a custom time limit set by the administrator
- Note: Once you start the assessment, it must be completed in one sitting. No pausing is allowed.
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Number of questions
- Assessments can vary in the number of questions and style of question which will be visible before you take the assessment.
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Instructions/Guidelines
- You must submit your work, via the green button in the IDE, in order to receive a score.
- You have the option to answer questions in any order and switch between questions.
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Practice
- As a best practice, we provide a sample assessment for you to view before taking the scored assessment.
- For practice before taking the scored assessment, click on the PRACTICE icon. Here you can see the variations on the duration and questions in a sample assessment as well as the sample assessment instructions.
- From here you can practice question types in your actual assessment, as well as all other question types in CodeSignal.
- Click START PRACTICE to begin your assessment practice
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Note: If your assessment contains a single coding question that happens to be filesystem, you will be able to select an execution environment for it before starting the assessment.
The below image was captured from a test account. You will see the company's name as the assessment title and variations on the duration and questions in an actual live assessment.
Here you can select your preferred language to solve coding challenges. Please note, that you will have the option to change the language later in the code editor.
Then click NEXT to move to the final instruction page. Before you are able to move into the official assessment, you will need to:
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Acknowledge the terms
- Check the box beside each term to acknowledge you have read and agree to the terms.
After acknowledging the terms, click the START button to begin your assessment.
Note: Once you start the assessment, you are not able to pause it and restart again. You must complete the assessment in the given time frame or it will time out and submit as you left it.
Taking the assessment
When you enter the assessment, the count down clock automatically begins. You will be prompted to submit your work when the clock reaches the one minute mark.
Once you click on a question you have the option to customize the IDE. In the top right corner, you can change the language and in the left of the IDE, you can find the settings icon to adjust the theme, font size, auto-brackets, etc.
The menu bar on the left also has the following tabs:
- Description - Question-specific instructions and examples
- History - Code Hostory. Here you can restore a previous solution.
- Rules- The question guidelines and evaluation rules
- Read Me - General information for solving coding challenges
After completing a question, hit the green SUBMIT button, located at the bottom right. You must submit your work in order to receive a score for the question.
Optional: Skip a question by either clicking the SKIP button, next to Submit, or by clicking BACK TO QUESTIONS at the top left of the IDE. You have the option to work on the question again as long as you submit your solutions before the assessment time expires.
Troubleshooting: FAQs
My assessment link expired. Can I get a new assessment link?
We recommend reaching out directly to the person who requested you to take the assessment. The hiring company makes the decision on whether to re-administer an assessment for any reason. Please contact the hiring company directly for details on their processes around expired assessment invitations.
When I click on the assessment link, I get the message "Assessment not Found."
Once you start the assessment, you must complete it in one sitting. If you start the assessment and then leave for any reason, the count down clock does not stop and therefore the assessment will time out. When an attempt is made to access the assessment link again, the user will see a "Assessment not Found" error message. Please reach out to support@codesignal.com if you see the "Assessment not Found" message when accessing the assessment for the first time.
When I try to access the assessment as a Guest, I get the message "Sign in with your password or click Forgot Password if you don't remember it." Why?
If you have used CodeSignal before, even by signing in as a guest for this assessment or another assessment, you will need to use the Log In tab to access the assessment. You are only able to access CodeSignal's platform as a guest one time.
Do I need to use a certain browser when taking the assessment?
We recommend you use the most up to date version of the following browsers:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Windows only: Microsoft Edge
Our preference is Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If you are unsuccessful with one browser, try another. Reach out to support@codesignal.com if you are using an up-to-date version of the browser and remain unsuccessful in accessing the assessment.