HackerEarth Releases The State of Developer Recruitment 2020 Survey
Foresees high demand for AI specialists in an economy transformed by COVID-19
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India:
Highlights
- 47% of Indian recruiters who used manual tech hiring process, embraced online assessment tools with the onset of the pandemic
- Recruiters prioritize developer skills over pedigree and embrace remote hiring tools
- 13% of Indian respondents were interested to use an assessment tool as it eliminates bias
The survey results include responses from 2,500 recruiters and hiring managers globally spanning various industries such as Technology, Pharmaceutical, Retail, Automobile, Construction, Banking, Media, Finance & Insurance. The report distills these survey results and is designed to provide recruiters and hiring managers with crucial actionable insights from their peers, as well as a solid strategic overview of the swiftly changing field of developer recruiting.
“To say the entire field of human resources and hiring was turned upside down in 2020 due to the pandemic and issues around racial equality is an understatement,” said Sachin Gupta, CEO of HackerEarth. “In developer recruitment and hiring, we’ve seen a massive abandonment of outdated practices, the elimination of geographic boundaries when sourcing talent, and the acceleration of an ethos that prioritizes developer skills, as well as the adoption of technology that enables the most positive experience and outcomes for both hiring managers and candidates.”
India’s IT sector saw massive layoffs in the second quarter of 2020. Most companies wanted to downsize the workforce, given the uncertain business environment the pandemic ushered in. With mass layoffs, one would expect the talent pool to increase significantly. A vast number of respondents said they were not hiring. For developer recruiters, LinkedIn and internal referrals were the preferred talent sourcing channels. For most recruiters, regardless of company size, hackathons were a popular way to engage with developers. Interestingly, according to the survey, Diversity & Inclusion hiring was also important for most recruiters.
Key findings from the report include:
COVID seems to have forced a shift towards remote hiring tools:
- 42% of the global respondents who were not using an assessment tool before COVID have graduated to using one. In India, this figure increases to 47%.
- Managers who do not use a tool said they would consider using a tool to conduct accurate evaluations, eliminate bias, and standardize their hiring.
Hiring managers have vastly different requirements when it comes to evaluating technical assessments:
- Problem solving, and code quality are among the most in-demand skills across all experience levels.
- Accuracy in evaluation is the most important criteria for both managers who use an assessment tool and managers who do not.
- Saving time, eliminating bias, and improving candidate experience are the other features that managers appreciate.
Hiring managers have specific preferences for the remote interview process:
- Video conferencing tools were the most popular method of conducting tech interviews in 2020. This means that most tech hiring managers had no way to assess a candidate’s coding capabilities in real time.
- Most hiring managers look for good communication skills, nice temperament, and culture fit during interviews with candidates. Interestingly, despite COVID, culture fit remains a priority while hiring.
- Managers who use a code editor believe that it enhances candidate experience, and the real-time collaboration is an added benefit in the interview.
A look ahead:
- When asked about the future, hiring managers said that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) would be the most in-demand skills.
- When asked the ideal place to work from, people in tech hiring selected Amsterdam over others, with Venice and Paris in close competition.
- When asked the ideal ‘superhero’ coding colleague, respondents chose Iron Man over Batman, Professor Hulk, and even Forge!
Download the full report here to find out more including, attitudes toward blind recruiting, the developer roles that recruiters said were the most difficult to assess, whether hiring managers will continue to use remote interviewing even post-COVID, and the aspects of office culture in our world of remote work that candidates tell recruiters they value the most.