Soumya Chittigala

Findings from the HackerEarth Developer Survey, 2020.

Developers are pretty awesome. Think of all those times that a developer had come to your rescue. As the keepers of code, they have incredible skills to create some amazing things.

While we all can agree that they just seem to be superheroes among men (developing lightning-fast code and fixing loose ends without even wrinkling their capes), most of us forget the ‘Clark Kent’ side of them—what they want, like, and dislike just like any of us.

We went behind the scenes to understand both these alter egos - what truly makes them the superheroes we look up to as well as the little joys they seek when they go about saving your day. Here are the findings of The 2020 HackerEarth Developer Survey, where we highlight the priorities and concerns of over 16,000+ developers from across 76 countries.

Data Science is still the demigod

From student developers (63%) to experienced ones (61%), everyone wants to have a slice of the Data Science pie. No wonder this is the most sought after developer skill. According to Glassdoor, the national average salary of a data scientist in the United States is $1,17,345, and Firstround.com says that in a competitive field like Data Science, strong candidates often receive three or more offers.

Other skills that student developers are looking out for include Cybersecurity and IoT, while professionals are interested in IoT and BlockChain.

Everyone wants Go in their arsenal

Go is this year’s most sought-after and popular programming language, with 29% of students and 32% of experienced developers seeking to add it to their programming arsenal. Other popular programming languages that student developers prefer are JavaScript, Kotlin, and C#. On the other hand, experienced developers want to learn Python and Kotlin.

The survey showed us that the top programming languages that student developers currently know include C++, Python, and HTML/CSS, while senior developers frequently code in SQL, Java, and HTML/CSS.

Use LinkedIn for your next coding mission

Are you looking for a new coding project? 56% of student developers and 57% of working professionals use LinkedIn more frequently than other channels, such as job boards and referrals, to find new coding gigs.

We also came across some interesting job avenues, such as hackathons, which student developers (13%) use to find new jobs. If you’re new to hackathons, this guide will equip you with some much-needed info.

Up for a challenge? Try a take-home coding test

Most experienced developers favor take-home coding tests, followed by an onsite interview for assessing coding skills. Surprisingly, 10% of developers who took the survey said that they wanted an option to decide their interview process.

A majority of developers, 70% of students, and 53% of working professionals, make use of coding assessment platforms such as HackerEarth to upskill themselves.

Try your next coding challenge here.

Aborting a mission midway? Let the developer know

If you’re leaving developers hanging after an interview, you need to stop, now! Developers hate it when no feedback is conveyed to them. 45% of the developers said that recruiters need to stop doing this right away.

Other reasons that irked them the most include too many interview rounds and misleading job descriptions.

Meetings are like kryptonite to developers’ productivity

You’d want your developers to be a ‘Jack of all trades’, but very often we forget that this comes along with a ton of ideation meetings that could very well spell doom for developers’ productivity. It is no surprise that when asked what they’d need to achieve 100% productivity at work, 70% of the developers opted for fewer meetings.

Other options that could help developers be more productive include multiple monitors, clutter-free working spaces, and a no interruption policy when they have their headphones on.

Developers play foosball and watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S in their fortress of solitude

When they are not coding, most developers spend their time playing indoor games such as foosball and table tennis (29%). They also love watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S (42%). Other TV shows they spend downtime watching include Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory.

For more on our coding superheroes, download the developer survey report.

Developing is hard work, and it takes a coding superhero to do it well. Developers, keep using your powers to the best of your abilities to create powerful stuff. We at HackerEarth will always be cheering for you from the sidelines. Here’s to creating code that matters! :)

Now that I’m older and my resume

is too long for you

Will you still be sending me a meeting invite?

Strategy session with a quick bite?

If I’ve been out on caregiver leave

Would you lock the door?

Will you still need me, will you still hire me

Now that I am 54?

Kerry Gates is the Director, MCB Community Professional Development and Communities Executive Event Producer at Microsoft. She has been a prominent voice in the space of Diversity and Inclusion and has been instrumental in building diverse teams and organizations resulting in high-impact, result-oriented workplaces. We first came across Kerry's poem on Ageism, When I'm 54, on Linkedin. These are her views on ageism in tech.

1. People have different definitions for ageism. Some define it based on stereotypes, some on prejudice and some on age. How would you define it?

   Well, the dictionary says and I am paraphrasing a bit, the discrimination of a person based on their age. In this instance I’d say anyone over 45 /50 is headed into the ageism in tech.

2. Is ageism a myth or does it actually pose a serious threat to the tech industry?

   Yes it does pose a threat. Why? The industry will miss out on a great deal of the market if they are not looking at the over 50 demographic and to do that effectively you need to have the over 50 demographic working on the solutions.

   It is pretty simple; almost all new technology is designed for use by younger people. Designers and manufacturers are deliberately ignoring the over-50s when creating new products and services. Quite logically, older people choose not to use products that have nothing to offer them. By not targeting products to an older demographic, the industry is reducing the customer base by half, not to mention dollars.

   This data is old, like 4 or 5 years but the 50+ population has an estimated $2.4 trillion in annual income. Don’t know about you but I am not keen to leave that kind of cash on the table. So why is tech? If you don’t understand me I am not buying from you.

   

3. Wow! ageism in tech is a real problem which needs to be tackled right away. Kerry, do you know of any instances where candidates were biased due to their age?

   Yes but not people who are willing to go on record. That’s the issue, so many people are embarrassed. Many people remove jobs from resume’s to not look like they have been in the workforce for as long as they have. You won’t even get a phone interview.

   Every year since the early days of the dotcom bomb, when I lived and worked in San Francisco, I interview regularly-at least once a year. Not that I want another job, but to keep my skills fresh and my interviewing up to date, it changes. I should mentioned my search tends to be outside of Microsoft as I am not really looking to leave and want to have a tougher experience in the interview. Internal can be tough but it is still internal, so a bit more open.

   What got me going was this last year I could not get a bite at all-The recent experience, well it sucked. Once I removed 10 years off of my resume and downplayed my longevity in the industry, I was able to get a phone interview and some feelers, but no in person. I mean what do I do, take off 20? That’s just so screwed up.

4. How can candidates overcome age discrimination in a job interview?

   I think sharing how you are keeping your skills up to date, the way you view learning. Give examples of how you are always learning and experience does not breed complacency.

   

5. What are some ways companies can tackle ageism in tech?

   Set up reverse mentoring. Be honest and highlight it. Recently our CMO did just that and invited an older worker to share their experience with the rest of the org. It was great and eye opening for others. Just like any kind of discrimination, meet it head on with honesty and address it. I also think make the case for those dollars not coming to your business. It is the ethical thing to do, including others and not being judgmental on someone’s age, but also geez the group 55-64 outspends all adults in nearly EVERY category. * US Consumer Expenditure report/ survey

It is about time companies took measures to combat ageism in tech. Tech’s youth driven culture and workforce could make some developers and engineers feel obsolete. The best way for developers to combat ageism is to never stop learning and when you’re hiring senior engineers, it’s always good to consider the whole story and incorporate a bias-free screening process. Let our go-getter's guide to diversity hiring in tech lead the way.

This post has been updated on October 19th, 2022.

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Welcome to the last episode of #NetflixandHire! Over the last couple of episodes, we’ve learned that sometimes what you see is not what you get, why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and why you need to think outside the box when it comes to tech screening and hiring. Doing this is a sure-shot formula to reach those ambitious tech hiring goals you’ve set for yourself.

P.S. If you haven't already gone through our previous episode, here you go! - Episode 3: How to up your collaborative hiring game in 2020 ft. Breaking Bad

Source: Reddit

For our finale, we’ve chosen a show that everyone is obsessed with—Stranger Things. This show has just enough intrigue to keep a seasoned pro on their toes while giving us major ‘80s nostalgia. The reason why we chose this show for this particular episode is the main protagonist, Eleven, aka El. If you’ve watched this show, you’ll know that the first impression anyone has of Eleven is of a helpless runaway who’s been subjected to something terrible. When she takes refuge at her soon-to-be-friend Mike’s place, you’d only feel sorry for her. But 20 minutes into the show, you’ll see Eleven channel her telekinetic skills to actually topple a truck while on the run from her abductors, giving us a goosebump-worthy moment when we least expect it🤯

Source: Amino Apps

Now think of it. If El was a resume you were screening, would you actually consider her a worthy candidate? With her shaved head and hospital gown, many would just judge her by her first impression and add her to a pile of other resumes that didn’t make the cut, thus disregarding her actual skill set.

And then there are the ‘Jim Hoppers’ who claim to have the skills but rises to the occasion much later (for the uninformed, Jim Hopper is the sheriff in El’s town who conveniently ignores the sinister events happening around him initially).

Source: The Geek Heral

78% of resumes contain misleading statements, while 46% contain actual lies!

This is precisely why you need to hire based on skills if nothing else. According to staff.com, a tech giant like Google receives close to 2 million job applications in a year and with recruiters spending an average of just 6 seconds looking at a candidate’s resume, there is a high chance of overlooking potential ones.

The key takeaway—Seeing someone’s skills in action is a far better indicator of their performance than their CV

Here’s how you can measure how good a developer is at his job.

Screen coding skills before interviewing a developer in person

Incorporating skill-based assessments in your tech screening process is a sure-shot way of bringing only viable candidates to the interview stage. This also gives more bandwidth to your hiring managers to assess these candidates further on technical skills in the upcoming interview rounds.

Skill-based assessments allow you to create tests for a variety of programming skills ranging from basics such as C and C++ to more advanced topics such as Big Data.

Create a take-home coding test for free

Why skill-based hiring should be your go-to

1. You reduce the time to hire

Time to hire measures how quickly a recruiter is able to hire a candidate. Skill-based assessments reduce the number of tech screening rounds, thus reducing the time to hire.

A skill-based assessment can bring down your time to hire by 50%!

2. You reduce your cost per hire

The cost per hire is the total cost involved in hiring an employee. Technical assessments allow you to hire at scale at much lesser costs.

A skill-based assessment can save 87% of your hiring cost!

3. You improve the quality of tech hires

Quality of hire is the value a new employee brings to your company. This depends on how successful you are at finding candidates who are the right fit for your organization. Skill assessments can help you screen and shortlist talented developers quickly.

70% of the candidates who passed a skill-based assessment ended up getting hired!

4. You can scale your tech hiring

As your organization grows, your hiring requirements also grow. Skill assessments help you scale your hiring process through automated candidate screening, allowing you to screen more candidates in less time.

Companies have sped up their hiring cycle by 98% through assessments!

5. You can increase recruiter bandwidth

Recruiter bandwidth is the time and resources at the disposal of a recruiter. As all tactical aspects of hiring are taken care of by the skill assessment platform, it frees up more time for recruiters to concentrate on other aspects of hiring.

A skill assessment platform can increase recruiter bandwidth by 66%!

Now that you’ve discovered all the benefits of skill-based assessments, it’s time you started using them for screening and hiring developers. Also, if you’d be interested in trying out an assessment tool for yourself, you can sign up here.

We hope you’ve learned some great lessons over the course of #NetflixandHire. It’s time I went back to binge-watching more TV shows and I will be back with more content soon. Until next time. Till then, #NetfixandHire! 😎

We hope you are enjoying our series on #NetflixandHire and that it’s helped you be productive and get better at recruiting while binge-watching a TV show! For our third episode, we learn some lessons on collaborative hiring from a show so iconic that even the Simpsons paid a tribute to it.

Just in case you've missed our first 2 episodes, here they are - Episode 1 and Episode 2

(Drumroll!) Breaking Bad 😎

Why did we choose it? Because it takes collaboration to heights like no other. If you’re wondering why so many people are enthralled by the antics of two meth cooks, we’ve tried to explain the show’s awesomeness with 3 iconic collaborative hiring takeaways for recruiters—Breaking Bad style.

1) Never compromise on the quality (of your candidate experience)

Viewers who have seen the show can easily relate to Blue Meth, a 99.1% pure form of crystal meth that the lead character, Walter White, creates. In fact, White was so obsessed with the quality of the Meth that he wouldn’t even let a fly get into his Meth lab. His product was so potent that he couldn’t tolerate even 0.01% of depreciation!

Source: Behance.net

Maybe as recruiters, it’s impossible (and a little unhealthy) to have Walt’s irrational and obsessive quest for perfection, but running a near-perfect hiring process can have its perks.

Now think about it—you provide a candidate experience so supreme that:

✅ Candidates remain positive and engaged and can’t wait to work with your organization.

✅ You build a great developer brand that they can’t say no to.

✅ And, as a result, you end up building a stronger talent pipeline.

In a nutshell, providing a great experience by collaborating well with your candidates should be one of the main objectives of your collaborative hiring process

At HackerEarth, we take pride in being a developer-first company and we follow a few steps to provide a great candidate experience:

1. Simple and clear job descriptions.
2. A short and mobile-friendly application process.
3. A bias-free screening process using an assessment platform.
4. Acknowledging, communicating with, and thanking candidates at every step of the hiring process.

2) It takes two flints to make a fire (so make your employees your brand advocates)

While Walter White can cook meth like nobody’s business, Jesse Pinkman (his sidekick) has the street smarts to connect the product with the customer. Honestly, both these characters could never function without each other. In Walt’s own words—

"You kill me, you have nothing. You kill Jesse, you don't have me."

Source: Amazon

If this doesn’t spell collaboration, we don’t know what does. Collaborating well with both your internal and external community can spell great benefits when you go about making a hire. And the best part is, you can inculcate this into your hiring process by making your tech team your brand advocates. This is one of the most effective ways of bringing in talent and here’s how you can do it:

Collaborative hiring through referrals

Every time you are looking to close a position, make sure you check internally for referrals. You could run some really cool referral programs for your employees. Perks could include handsome referral bonuses or a chance to win some awesome tech gadgets.

Collaborative hiring through developer experiences

If you've followed step 1 to a T, you'd now know how to provide a great screening experience for your candidate. The next step is to have these developers share their experience either working for your organization or interviewing for it on social media. This is one of the best ways to showcase what you stand for as a brand. These recommendations also attract other developers to try out your brand, thus helping you generate a pipeline of developer talent with almost no effort.

3) It takes a village (to build your dream team)

Fans of the show will know who Gustavo Fring is. For the uninitiated, Gus is a respected restaurateur who uses his business savvy to run an extremely successful meth distribution empire. But when Gus isn’t orchestrating drug operations or running his legitimate fast-food business, he gives his time to his community (whether providing food for the entire Albuquerque police department or glad-handing with the DEA)

Source: Pinterest

Just like Gus, forging ties between your company and your community has big benefits, especially for a recruiter. Collaborating with a tech community gives you a chance to discover potential hires. Here is a great example of leveraging a developer community like GitHub to make your collaborative hiring goals come true:

Collaborative hiring via GitHub

GitHub is one of the world’s largest code hosts, with close to 31 million developers. A developer’s GitHub profile gives you a wealth of information. Before you start shortlisting profiles on GitHub, make sure that the developer is open to recruiters approaching him/her with jobs. Once this is sorted, follow these steps to find the best talent on GitHub.

Other great forums to find some amazing developer talent include StackOverflow, Kaggle, HackerEarth, and HackerNews.

Other ways that you could run a collaborative hiring process -

• Recruit through virtual job fairs
• Find great developer talent at your local meetup
• Hire from social media

You could read more about collaborative hiring in this Ebook. There you have it-our lessons on collaborative hiring vis a vis Breaking Bad. See you at our next one!