My take on the 2018 HackerRanks reports
Reading the HackerRank 2018 reports on Tech-Recruitment and Developer skills I get a sensation that this corresponds well with what we have observed here at Craft Academy.
In this post, we will look into the two reports and try to draw some conclusions that would be helpful for developers that are just about to start their careers.
There are a number of statistics given in this report. I will go through those that caught my attention and that I think give the most value for new or aspiring developers to know.
First, there is often a difference between Tech Recruiters and Recruitment Managers. Tech Recruiters are often external partners who specialize in finding the right candidates for tech companies. Recruitment Managers are often employees of tech companies that are responsible for finding, interviewing and hiring the right candidates. Now that being said, both tech-recruiters and hiring managers have the same ultimate goal, which is to find the best candidate that will bring the most value to a company. However, the difference is how they search for the right candidates and their view on which candidate will bring most value to the company.
What do Hiring managers look for?
- Quality of skills
- Future performance
The first thing Hiring managers look for is the quality of skills, meaning how well a developer knows a framework or a programming language.
Second on the list is the future performance of the candidate, what value will the candidate bring during an extended time.
Hiring managers obviously know that it takes times for any new developer to become productive. The time it takes for a new developer varies but some of the factors that play a role are code base, new colleagues, and companies internal routines. If a company would expect me to be productive immediately after they hired me, especially if I am a junior developer, then I would apply to another company.
How are most of the candidates found?
- They are found through internal referrals
- Second is through job portals
The majority of the candidates are found through internal referrals, meaning that it matters that you know a lot of people. How would you as a new developer with limited contacts in the industry go about extending his/her network?
Some tips in no particular order:
- Become active on Linkedin write a blog post and share your experience
- Attend meetups, a lot of them
- Join a coding community
- Attend Hackathons
- Attend tech events
What do recruiters and hiring managers look for in a candidate?
- Previous work experience
- Years of experience
- Personal projects
- Degree
Companies that are out to hire new developers value previous work experience of the candidate highest. Degrees only come in fourth place. This means that there is a lot of opportunities out there regardless if you have a degree or not.
Should I apply for a job even though I don’t have all the requirement that the company is asking for?
Yes if you meet the majority of requirements, then you should go ahead and apply for the job.
The fact is that 3 out of 4 companies hire people that don’t look good on paper and are shown to be great candidates. The list of requirements that companies post is often more of a wish list rather than set in stone (with some exceptions of course).
So the previous stats are about what companies want, but what should a new developer do in order to be a successful candidate?
What traits do developers need to cultivate?
- To prioritize learning
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Work on own projects
The first thing is to learn as much as possible. It is no wonder that 70% of developers out in the industry are self-taught in some degree or other rather than only having learned programming at university. This skill is particularly important as the tools of the trade are always changing in a rapid pace.
The next trait that is a high priority is problem-solving skills. This means that companies look for developers that are good at solving problems, any problems. They take note of your strategies and workflow that you use to solve complex tasks or when you debug code.
The third thing companies look for are hobby projects that developers are working on or have completed. This shows the companies that you have passion and a willingness to grow. I think that this is the most important point of all because this trait makes you both learn new things and also solve problems that you face.
