HackerRank, TopCoder, Codility and Codefights: All crowdsourcing hubs to test programmers with the end goal to reveal talent otherwise overlooked. The premise is good. Judge coders (the majority self-taught) on their skill and their code, not their pedigree. However, can we 100% trust a couple coding challenges to definitively determine our next hires? There are inherent issues in narrow coding challenges which can result in bad hires, just the same as traditional hiring methods. With the average cost per hire at an all time high of $4,000 is there another route we can take to finally nail down tech hiring?
Crowdsourcing Woes
The cynics of HackerRank and company declare the programming challenges as poor indicators of problem solving capabilities. Software development is art as much as it is a science, and superb syntax, (as is tested on HackerRank challenges) doesn’t always mean creative thinking.
. This is the same as I need creative thinkers“I do not need developers who can successfully code in Notepad, criticising J.K. Rowling’s skill at storytelling due to her prowess at spelling, i.e. pointless.” - Richard Linnell
What these coding challenges do right is their effort to blindly rank and match candidates based on skills. What these sites do wrong, is narrow the evaluation platform to a limited base level of syntax and semantics where skills such as critical thinking and strategy are overshadowed, or even nonexistent.
Why HackerRank is Wrong About the Resume
The Landscape
We know a couple of things. It’s hard to hire for tech. Tech jobs are in demand and turnover is expensive. Better hiring and recruiting teams will have to devise alternative approaches to hiring in order to outwit and outlast. The employment of tech and computer occupations is expected to grow 12% by 2024, greater than the average for all other occupations. And, nearly 500,000 jobs are projected to be added from 2014 to 2024 in technology alone, with the most in-demand jobs netting the highest salaries we’ve seen.
The tech job landscape is a competitive, dense and rapidly evolving faction. The recruiting, hiring and management of tech positions needs to be mapped out efficiently and effectively in order to meet the demand and not miss out on underserved talent.
Are you a recruiter? Don’t say these phrases in the interview.
One Step Further
Where crowdsourcing leaves off, other technologies can pick up the torch and carry it on through to the finish line. After determining a skills capability, the job isn’t done, that’s only the first step to cross. Crowdsourcing discounts the traditional resume. But, a resume tells more than just where someone went to school. Resumes show experience, positions held, project managed and teams worked with. It can reveal career and role progression and the experience acquired along the way. This can lead to a better match for a role where knowledge and experience besides programming is involved i.e. working closely with business teams, filling multiple roles, and or balancing multiple responsibilities.
Resumes can then be analyzed and synthesized to score the individual on a wide-array of traits and experience, rather than just coding languages mastered. Instead of focusing solely on keywords or job titles, software for IT recruiting can determine candidate capabilities from actual responsibilities they've held.
Get Ahead, Stay Ahead
New tools (like Pomato) cognitively analyze each resume to ensure accuracy and fit in seconds. Pomato scans and digests each resume, then outputs easy-to-read graphs and visuals to help even the least techy recruiter understand the candidate. This data is matched alongside open job post requirements to find the best person for the job. Smarter tech hiring requires smarter tech tools. Using artificial intelligence, applicants are better analyzed and evaluated based on a wide array of criteria.
Watch: How to Make Tech Recruiting More Intelligent with Candidate Matching [Video]
Crowdsourcing’s premise on finding talent in an alternate way is a shakeup the tech hiring world needed. Take it one step further to fully understand each applicant in a more wholesome way considering all facets of a job. Interested in supercharging your tech hiring? Request a demo of Pomato for IT Recruiting today.
