Landing a job as a software developer? Yay! Going through the hiring process to land it? Nay.
It’s a tough time to be a software developer looking for a new gig. A recent HackerRank report found that 74% of developers feel it is hard or very hard to get a job in tech today. The report, which queried more than 13,000 developers around the world, says the problem lies in how companies hire and evaluate talent, citing résumé filters, LeetCode-style tests, and “slow processes” as some points of friction.
Refurbished recruiting practices. Jimmie Lee, founder and CEO of JLee & Associates, a Bellevue, Washington-based technology advisory firm, told IT Brew that part of the reason behind the current unfavorable recruitment process is that the industry is in a buyer’s market, meaning the ball is in the court of those seeking out talent.
“Now, it’s flipped and there’s tons of talent, and companies don’t have to go over and above to hire that talent,” Lee said.
He added that the Covid-19 pandemic also caused a shift away from common practices, such as bringing applicants in to code on a whiteboard, toward conducting interviews largely online and with a bigger reliance on algorithmic testing.
Trials and tribulations. The current tech recruitment process can be a timely endeavor for applicants, according to Coderbyte CRO Nis Frome.
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“The testing alone can be two to three hours before you even speak to someone,” Frome said, adding that he has seen companies take more than a month in the hiring process, something he advises against if they are not one of the “Magnificent 7.”
And some applicants won’t stand for it. Mike Kyle, who has been in the technology staffing industry for almost 20 years and has placed thousands of candidates, told IT Brew that he has heard candidates say they are no longer doing coding tests because of how time-intensive the process is, as unpaid labor.
“Nobody would ask a surgeon to go do surgery for two hours to determine if they could be a surgeon,” he said.
A little fixing up. Frome told IT Brew that current hiring processes in the industry can scare away top talent. His advice? Don’t overcomplicate things.
“The more friction an employer adds into their candidate evaluation process…the more that you realize that the best candidates are just not going to put up with that because the best candidates are going to get other job offers,” Frome said.