Hackathons have become increasingly popular over the years. On a superficial level, a hackathon is still seen as a one-off annual event or a PR stunt. According to the 2017 Global hackathon report, more than 50% of hackathons conducted worldwide are recurring events.
Companies such as Facebook and Cognizant use hackathons as tools for sustained innovation. Even smaller companies with a shoestring budget for innovation find hackathons as a safe and promising bet.
Process of Innovation
Broadly speaking, innovation is the process of commercializing new and innovative ideas. Let’s take a typical innovation process, for example.
The first step of the process is discovery. Discovery is the act of choosing your area of focus for innovation. It can be emerging trends, a big market insight that has the potential to disrupt the market or even a game-changing technology.
Once the area of focus is finalized, then you need to choose how can you exploit the opportunity. In other words, you figure out what can be done in this space that would offer the opportunity growth. And you need to consider all possible ideas. And this where the second stage of the innovation process, ideation, comes in. Rather than depending on a few ideas, you open it up to a larger group internally or externally.
The next step of the innovation process would be execution, where the ideas are evaluated and the best ones are shortlisted. This is followed by the development of a prototype, followed by a feasibility study and if all goes well, you roll it out to the market.
Role of hackathons in the innovation process
The challenge lies in executing every step of the innovation process efficiently and connecting them in a coherent manner.
With hackathons, you can take the market insights you have identified, translate it into themes and problem statements and open it up for ideation followed by the development of prototypes.
For instance, KONE, one of the world’s largest elevator manufacturers, wanted to capitalize on the expected $37 billion market growth. It conducted a hackathon with the identified market drivers as themes such as smart elevators, security, and energy efficiency. It opened the challenge to the developer community around the globe and ended up with working prototypes in a span of few weeks.
The infographic below clearly shows how valuable a hackathon can be in the process of innovation.
What makes a hackathon a valuable innovation tool
What makes a hackathon unique is that it is the only tool that enables the creation of minimum viable products or prototypes from ideas. There is no other innovation activity that covers roughly 70% of the process.
Hackathons are swift. The entire process of creating a hackathon, marketing the event, driving registrations, ideating, and creating prototypes typically takes 30 to 40 days. At the end of the event, you are left with working prototypes. An innovation program cannot get more agile than this.
The diversity of ideas is another important factor. When you open up a problem to a global audience, you are bound to receive a diverse set of ideas which wouldn’t be possible with traditional innovation models.
Overall, a hackathon is a consummate tool for sustained innovation. Regular events yield better results than one-off hackathons. If treated as an innovation program and crafted meticulously and executed efficiently, it is the most cost effective innovation tool.
[Ebook] How to conduct your first hackathon. Download now.
Welcome to the HackerEarth guide to hackathons for hackathon participants!
HackerEarth is a global community of 1.5 million+ developers who compete and innovate through various online coding challenges and hackathons hosted on our platform.HackerEarth encourages programmers to take part in hackathons, work on real-world problems, network, code, learn, and build incredible hacks.
Follow these steps to get started with your first hackathon at HackerEarth:
1) Create your HackerEarth profile
To log in, visit https://www.hackerearth.com/. Update your skills and complete the profile to find relevant hackathons and join the right teams.
Once you select the hackathon, you will get the registration details. Go through the overview, themes, submission guidelines, and requirements carefully before registering. All registrations at HackerEarth are free of cost.
Register for hackathons on HackerEarth
4) Complete your registration form
Submit your details in the registration form. You can participate only after successfully submitting this form.
Complete your Hackathon registration form
5) Add your skills
Add skills, tools, and frameworks that you are familiar with in the submission form.
Add your skill set in hackathon form
6) Form a team
On registering, you will be able to form your team by clicking, ‘Form Team’. You can either invite people to join your team or you can join an existing team. You can find team information under the section, ‘View Your Team’.
View your team on HackerEarth
You can see all participating teams. You can join any of these teams. There is also an option to update your profile to make it easy for others to find and add you. Once you join a team, you cannot build a team of your own.
Alternatively, you can build your own team by inviting other participants. You can invite team members via email.
Form your team on HackerEarth
7) Submit your hack
Go through the submission guidelines carefully before you submit the final entry or prototype. Incomplete or incorrect submissions will not be evaluated.
Submissions on HackerEarth
8) Evaluation
Your submission will be evaluated by a team of mentors and experts. Shortlisted teams will be notified by email. The final results will be announced on the hackathon page.
By participating in HackerEarth Hackathons, you can build your professional network, learn new programming skills, get recognized for your hacks, and make a measurable impact.
Over 80% of the Fortune 100 companies conduct hackathons.
There are over 1000+ hackathons conducted every year around the world and 48.5% of them are conducted by private companies. Yet, hackathon is still an underutilized tool when it comes to corporate innovation.
When asked what a hackathon is, the common definition you get is something along these lines.
“It is an event where a bunch of programmers come together to collaborate and code on a project lasting several days, typically 48 hours.”
While it is true in the literal sense, it is like saying,
“People paying $1000 to live in the middle of a desert for a couple of days and finally burning a wooden effigy while trying to adhere to some principles is what Burning Man is about.”
There is more to hackathons than meets the eye, especially from a company’s perspective. So why exactly do companies conduct hackathons and what do they aim to get out of it?
Here are 6 different reasons why companies conduct hackathons.
Crowdsourcing ideas and solutions for your business
Let us break this down a bit.
When to conduct crowdsourcing hackathons
When you have identified the problem and don’t have a well-defined solution or when you have a major insight or idea but do not have a full-fledged vision of the product, crowdsourcing is your best bet.
Let’s take blockchain, for example. It is an emerging technology and there is no denying that it is going to change the landscape of transactions as we know it. The applications range from digital identity to distributed cloud storage to cryptocurrency. However, the complete potential of blockchain is not yet realized. It is still anybody’s game to win.
Traditionally, a company would assign the responsibility of exploring this technology and the task of coming up with a killer product to a handful of people, their R&D division/Innovation departments that work in silos.
The problem here is by the time the R&D team comes up with a workable prototype or two, there could be five other similar products in the market.
Not convinced yet?
The famous and “anonymous” Satoshi Nakamoto conceptualized Blockchain in the year 2008. In the 9 years since there have been over 900 cryptocurrencies in the market and four major players.
IBM and Microsoft are two companies that leverage hackathons in this space. IBM launched Hyperledger Fabric Version 1.0 and Microsoft unveiled its open-source blockchain framework Coco. But beforethis, both these companies conducted or sponsored many blockchain hackathons, including the world’s biggest event— the Dutch blockchain hackathon.
Although innovation is still thekey responsibility of R&D/ Innovation departments, the hackathon approach enables the entire organization to embrace innovation. With this approach, the team primarily responsible for innovation works with the entire organization to synthesize ideas, proof of concepts, and, finally, take the shortlisted ideas for development under its wing.
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Why crowdsourcing hackathons
Shorten the innovation cycle
Get a diverse set of quality ideas
Incur lesser costs compared to traditional innovation models
An API can be used for a number of purposes, from driving innovation to developing a new line of business. Here is a snapshot of different ways APIs are used.
The more the active developers, the more the quality applications we can expect. More active users lead to more API calls, which could then translate into revenue.In other words, you need to get your product (API) to developers and get them to use it (say, use it to build great applications).
So, how do you acquire more quality developers and activate them? Here is a typical developer acquisition funnel.
Just like you would market any other product, there are plenty of ways, such as developing SDKs, posting on GitHub, and answering developer queries, to market an API. You should be carrying out a number of these activities in parallel and an API hackathon should be on the top of your list.
Even companies with a billion API calls still conduct hackathons. For instance, to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Google Maps took a cross-country road trip from San Francisco to New York to meet developers and creators who are building the map of today.
Here is a pretty cool video of one of their hackathon pit stops during the road trip.
Why conduct API hackathons?
A well-marketed and well-executed hackathon can get you easily 1500 developers and 3000+ for big names such as IBM, Google, etc.
Here is an interesting case study of how Flock drove API adoption using hackathons.
Flock is a collaboration tool. It is a lesser-known alternative to Slack and Microsoft Team. Flock found that vendors have been trying to layer collaboration tools on top of platforms that were designed for individual users.To facilitate that, Flock recently launched its API known as FlockOS for developers to build apps and bots using Java and node.js software development kits (SDKs).
To drive API adoption, Flock decided to organize a series of 9 hackathons over a course of 12 months. Each hackathon is hosted with a specific theme and problem statement in different cities.
So far Flock has completed 3 of the 9 hackathons. With these 3 hackathons, Flock was able to acquire 3600+ developers and build 70+ new applications. A scale of this kind of acquisition is not possible through any other approach.And, you can get anywhere between 20 and 40 decent applications. All this is done over a course of just 4 weeks.
In short, an API hackathon:
Gives you maximum air time to pitch your API to the developers
Gives you the opportunity to put your product (API) in the hands of passionate developers and get them to use it
Gets valuable feedback from the developers to improve your product
Drive innovation internally
Hackathons are one of the best ways to drive innovation internally by engaging with your employees. It provides a platform for your employees to collaborate with other business functions and showcase their talent.
In an interview with New York Times, CEO of Shutterstock, Jon Oringer explains the significance of internal hackathons for his company:
“We have hackathons, which are pretty fun. A lot of people get really excited about them, and they can build whatever they want for the company — it could be crazy, practical, whatever. We actually wind up implementing a lot of those things throughout the year. It pushes a lot of thinking. It’s pretty amazing what people can get done in 24 hours. Sometimes we talk about a new product feature and it can take three months to build. Then someone will prototype it overnight.”
And no topic about hackathons is complete without the Facebook hackathons. When it comes to using these events to drive innovation and employee engagement internally, there are not many companies who can do it better than Facebook.
Facebook organizes one hackathon per quarter and has done 50 major hackathons and 80+ small events around the world.
Many of the Facebook products created at the hackathons end up being rolled out to customers or they become internal tools within weeks. The Like button, Timeline, and Chat were all created at FB’s internal hackathons. Talk about sustained innovation!
It is estimated that by 2020 we will have produced 40 zettabytes of data. To put this in perspective, that’s 5.2 Terabytes of data for every person on this planet.But as of now, only 0.5% of this data is being analyzed and used by companies.
One of the recent emerging trends is Big Data/Machine Learning hackathons. Over 6% of the hackathons conducted worldwide are Big Data/ML hackathons.
A lot of companies are opening up their data sets to developers to build effective predictive models. Especially, BFSI companies, which produce massive amounts of data every day, use this data to gain insights and better understand their customers by building predictive models.
Societe Generale, the French multinational bank, built predictive models from its data by conducting a Machine Learning hackathon, which saw over 1800+ developers and data scientists participate.
Not just banks, Exotel, a cloud-based telephony platform, is one of Southeast Asia’s largest companies. With over 1300 customers, Exotel powers more than 3 million customer conversations every day and has processed 1.2 billion calls in the past 5 years.
For Exotel, emotion detection from audio was an unsolved problem. The company decided to conduct a Machine Learning hackathon. It provided developers with large volumes of voice samples to decipher the sentiment.
In just 18 days, the company got some impressive models, built by 2000+ developers using ML and Natural language processing (NLP), which could detect emotion from audio and flags conversations based on sentiments, such as, happiness, sadness, anger, etc.
If you are wondering what a powerful developer community can do for your business, listen to what Eric Migicovsky, Pebble’s founder, and CEO, says.
“Our developer community rivals any of the competition since we came from the community itself, with over 27,000 developers building apps and watchfaces for Pebble. We’ve demonstrated that even a small group of committed individuals can launch an entirely new computing platform from scratch.”
Hackathons can be a great tool to create brand advocates from a developer community. Once you successfully host or sponsor hackathons, you build a community of developers who are a simple marketing channel that is cost effective; these developers/designers/thinkers help in ideation for the future, review of beta products, and creation of revenue or brand awareness by API adoption.
“Developers engage in community in an effort to discover tools, exchange knowledge, and solve problems,” said Sarah Jane Morris, former Developer Community Manager at Mashery (Intel).
Putting together a vibrant hacker community is easy with these innovation-focused events that provide amazing networking opportunities. Remember to keep them engaged. It is nothing but some give and take!
Employer branding and Identifying tech talent
An employer branding hackathon is a highly targeted branding activity. It allows a company to let potential employees know what the company stands for, the challenging projects it works on and communicates its values to them.
For instance, say your company uses a Django/ Python framework. By conducting a targeted hackathon for Django and Python developers, you will be able to let the developer community know about your company and the technology stack you use. It also allows companies to build a talent pipeline.
Another case would be companies conducting women-only hackathons to attract female talent by positioning themselves as an attractive brand to the female workforce.
Hackathon, a tool for sustained innovation
Novelty + Commercialization = Innovation
Hackathon is the only tool that covers 70% of the innovation journey. It starts with discovery, idea generation, and ends with idea conceptualization.
And best of all, it is cost-effective and can be done on a regular basis to create a culture of sustained innovation. The stronger the insight and problem statement, the better the outcome of the hackathon.
Hackathon is to innovation what 3D printing is to manufacturing.
It allows you to rapidly prototype an idea, determine the quality of the idea, spot flaws, reiterate, scale it, and roll it out to the masses.
Research shows that almost 60 percent of the companies expect to kiss goodbye to more than 20 percent of their revenues within five years because of disruptive innovation. Unless they change the way they operate, that is.
Understanding that a bleak future lies ahead unless they obey the innovation imperative, organizations world over are trying to align innovation and business strategy, take up open innovation, and “out-innovate” their competitors. Innovation entails identifying challenges, ideating to find solutions, implementing the most promising ones, and managing the process to sustain the winning outcomes.
Hackathons, which are a quick route for idea generation, have been surging in popularity for various reasons in recent years. A hackathon is defined as an event where teams of experts and advisers come together to collaboratively build and launch new ideas. No longer are they confined to the IT sector. More than the lure of awards, participants are excited by the chance to learn and the collaborate, be recognized by peers, enable social change, and network extensively.
With focused intensity, hackathons aim to spur innovation through various creativity initiatives and sustain the successful outcomes via careful management practices. Hackathons are much more than prototyping exercises—they are fun, engaging events that can help companies from becoming disruptors and not disruptees. Conducting a hackathon is often thought of as “starting up within a corporation.”
Being in the business of hackathons, we knew that a detailed analysis of global events would bring questions and insights that would indisputably help in strategic decision making across sectors and geographies.
We analyzed nearly 1000 hackathons across 75 countries in the world during a two-year period (from 2015 onward) and put together a Global Hackathon Report. Overall, we discern a common trend—hackathons everywhere are helping organizations battle talent scarcity, acquisition, and retention while fueling innovation across domains and functions.
From ideation to execution, we see hackathons upending traditional business models and rewiring the competitive landscape. In this report, we discuss the hackathon format and culture and its exciting possibilities to help people adapt to the future.
The list of countries and cities where most hackathons were conducted has some surprising names emerging as incubators of innovation and new businesses. It is time global companies and governments take notice of these new ecosystems with their talented citizens and creativity-focused organizations. These areas can be certainly earmarked for growth and future investment.
Governments and NPOs fall behind private firms in terms of the number of hackathons hosted. Corporates have been harvesting the benefits of hackfests—employee engagement, recruitment, branding, API adoption, innovation, beta testing—for a while now, and the interest hasn’t petered out yet. Still, we notice that open hackathons with more non-developers than ever before are catching on as a reliable means to drive social change. With so many hackathons coming back year after year, it wouldn’t be presumptuous to claim that hackathons are certainly living up to their potential.
Creating gender-inclusive environments doesn’t seem to be happening at the pace one would hope for. Unfortunately, this seems to be true in the case of hackathons as well, with women-only events being just too few to be considered significant. In a time where diversity and inclusion are key goals for any agency, this finding only reinforces the fact that hackathons continue to be male-dominated.
Predictably, universities and high schools prefer to attract students to hackathons for the immense learning on offer. In the report, you’ll see that the most popular rewards for the winners are rarely cash prizes.
Over the years, the power of hackathons has been cleverly leveraged in other industries, aside from IT. Intensive collaboration in a short period of time to arrive at novel solutions seems to be working for the financial, communication, media, high-tech, and automotive industries equally well. From our data, we could conclude that hackathons are being increasingly conducted to accelerate the pace of digital transformation.
Hackathons are clearly helping companies go from idea to action. To know what hackathons are, how these problem-solving exercises are being used to create an impact, and why people are turning to external partners and platforms to navigate the mercurial landscape of innovation, download our full report.
Grow into a major player in the global blockchain space with an innovative mindset.
The concept of a digital economy has rewritten business models you’ve adopted so far. Over 90 percent of organizations want a digital transformation strategy, anticipating cost reduction, increased innovation, and business growth in the future. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about products, services, technology, culture, or data; everything revolves around delivering value to customers and thwarting competitors.
With the technology still being in its infancy, people are unsure about how to make inroads. This post aims to convince the reader that whether it is a city, an organization, or an individual, an innovative mindset seems to be the answer to adjusting course and deriving maximum value.
What is blockchain technology?
An open, decentralized database that keeps a record of all digital transactions across a peer-to-peer network—that’s blockchain. All members with access to the network can view and validate the transactions using cryptographic keys, without a third party, such as a bank. The computers in the network are called nodes. This shared database with a secure audit trail is hard to tamper with. Blockchain is expected to tackle challenges such as duplication and control of information.
To understand how blockchain works, watch this great video from IBM using the diamond industry as an example:
Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, and Ethereum, a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts, are perhaps the most famous examples.
How can your company start implementing blockchain?
If you’ve decided that using blockchain will expand frontiers for you, then what next?
According to Deloitte, there are six key steps for companies to get started with blockchain:
Inspiration (interact with think tanks or labs like MIT Media Lab)
Education (gather information about practical implementation)
Ideation (generate ideas, categorize, and prioritize)
Collaboration (test and refine ideas with leading industry people)
Prototyping (create a rapid or breadboard prototype)
Implementation (critical, testing and validation phase)
Studies show that it doesn’t matter whether a country or a company wants to leverage blockchain, an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset is a key prerequisite. Ideation is a crucial step, where you can expect action when your ideation is effective. Get engaged employees to improve the existing capabilities or discover new possibilities using blockchain to unlock new use cases.
To make innovation in this space happen, companies typically look for implementation of ideas within or partner with vendors. Budding blockchain startups in the fintech ecosystem need backing in terms of capital, skills, mentorship, and infrastructure. Whereas, legacy companies tie up with accelerators to better their impact and reach. BFSI institutions and other firms are forming alliances, sponsoring innovation labs, and creating incubator programs on several platforms.
Scott Robinson from Plug and Play, a startup accelerator and open innovation platform, says that accelerators, incubators, and hackathons “show very quickly if a use case is something that makes sense for large corporations and they paint a pathway to matriculate the technology into the [legacy player’s] tech team.”
Many banks and other financial institutions are using hackathons to explore this emerging technology. Also, blockchain companies are struggling to encourage widespread adoption, especially when trying to reach the management of incumbents. Startups that are blockchain enthusiasts find that hackathons can give them that much-needed access to corporates in the financial domain, and the latter can work with these experts to make the most of blockchain. Companies also participate in hackathons for the wonderful networking opportunities they offer.
A hackathon, which involves all the six steps Deloitte talks about, is a great tool to discover talent and develop breakthrough products or services. The highly focused event leverages an innovative mentality and the right skills to augment the value chain. Crowdsourcing ideas from developers could be the only way for now to find financial solutions using this potentially disruptive technology.
Chainhack, Dutch Blockchain Hackathon, Blockchain Virtual GovHack, Hyperledger Hackathon, and Consensus are a few popular hackathons that drive home the point that Ishmael Malik, CEO of Blockchain Lab, makes: “Blockchain and Hackathons are poised to redefine the entire tech innovation lifecycle, accelerating by orders of magnitude technological progress.”
Then there is ether.camp (a recurring virtual hackathon), which “is a project aimed to create the ideal innovation environment for startups by utilising blockchain technology for the release of the Virtual Accelerator.”
Malik adds: “The future of such Hackathon-led innovation as highlighted by IBM and Intel in relation to the HyperLedger Hackathon, illustrates the ability for such a format in harnessing, showcasing and market testing new advancing technologies. Furthermore, it allows for previously untapped hacker skill sets to form into teams and generate innovative new ideas and products.”
Why now is the time to explore and invest in blockchain
This foundational distributed ledger technology is a mini-revolution all right.
Blockchain researcher Bettina Warburg says in her great TED talk, human beings keep trying to lower uncertainty to exchange value. Just as formal institutions such as banks or governments do according to American economist Douglass North. And just as blockchain technology will transform our economy by reducing uncertainty in not knowing who you are dealing with, not having visibility into a transaction, and not having recourse…to an extent.
Once you have understood the applications of blockchain and its implications for your business, you need to explore its potential and find a challenge that can be solved. That is, identify a use case → build a proof of concept → do a field trial → roll out.
Asset transactions are immutable and secure, and this opens up several avenues for innovation, either in the underlying technology or in the possible use cases of the technology that were previously unfathomable. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination as of now. (Read about some interesting things you can do with blockchain here.)
Accenture predicts that the adoption of blockchain by the financial services sector will be in the growth phase from 2018 to 2024 and by 2025, it will hit maturity. Capital market spending on this technology, which was $30M in 2013, is expected to touch $400M by 2019. While Gartner says a blockchain business will be worth $10B by 2022.
Although the adoption of this disruptive technology is growing, it will be some time before the fledgling goes mainstream. “But no doubt the application of blockchain will drive the fourth industrial revolution,” says Thomas J. Carroll, Avant Global’s Chief Information Officer. Eventually, innovative solutions will emerge to tackle the scalability, security, interoperability, and privacy issues of blockchain.
In this article, we talk about what Challenge problems are and how to solve them. I find them the most attractive questions in a long contest.However, students new to competitive programming often avoid them because they seem weird at first. Let’s try and change that perception.
What are Challenge problems?
A challenge problem in a programming contest uses NP (Nondeterministic Polynomial) problems to test a candidate.
With no perfect answer, candidates are tested on how good they are at finding approximate solutions.
This is why the evaluation is score based.The top scorer is given a score of 100, while the others are given relative scores.Usually, problem statements are simple and allow candidates to find interesting nuances while solving.Because of the generality of the problem, candidates can choose numerous approaches to optimize their score.These include Number Theory, Graphs, Data Science, etc...Some problems require prior knowledge of algorithms, but the best challenge problems are those which have simple explanations and lots of scope for improvement.Such problems allow beginners to try and test their approximate solutions while making sure that the experienced players are tested too.
How do we solve this:
Watch this brilliant video by MIT professor Patrick Wilson, who solves a problem (at 42:30) and amazing trick he puts into it
To summarize the procedure for the problem discussed by the professor, here are the steps -
Definition Does the problem reduce to Knapsack? Subset sum? Something else?
Representation Should the main data structure be an array, a list or a tree?
A key point is that drawing and discussing ideas are far more important than jumping into code. The other super important thing is you can't follow this process in just one shot.
It has to be repeated, with each iteration improving your solution.
First, you need a base solution. Choose a simple, clear-cut algorithm (like the first three mentioned above in point 4).
This is the foundation, setting a minimum guarantee to your score.
Invest your time in this, because a weak base solution will directly result in a poor score.
You now need to tweak the best solution you have, updating if you get something better than the current best.
Most of your time after this will be spent improving the parameters of the algorithm and improving the time complexity.
The time required to solve them
They can’t be solved in half a day, to be practical. Unless you are looking for an okay score and minimum effort, be prepared to invest significantly.Also, beware of the law of diminishing returns. In general, the more time you invest in these problems, the smaller the improvements you will see.
The first few hours will give you interesting solutions => perhaps a score of 75–85; the next few days might take you to 95–100. And staying there takes tons of effort.
The primary reason why these problems are difficult is that we have to customize and optimize our solutions every time.
You can create a general framework for Simulated Annealing to help in the coding phase. However, the “representation” part will change every time.
Up to which 't' point do I keep optimizing
Until you feel that there is very little progress being made. To be practical, the other problems will give you many more points for the same amount of effort.
When you hit problems beyond your league, come back to improving on the challenge problem solution.
Remember that the people at the top have access to the same resources as you do. There is no reason why they should get a better score than you.
When should I start with this problem
This problem will stay at the back of your mind throughout the contest. So, it is better to start a little late.
More often than not, the problems within our league are solved within the first 80% of the contest’s duration.
The challenge problem can be started then.
Final tips and tricks:
Do not jump into meta-heuristics (Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing) without creating a strong base solution.
When optimizing, try to keep the code clean for later.
Your nested loops need the most attention because that’s where you get the maximum gains.
Greed is good. Keep your heuristics simple and easy to change.
If some idea feels too complicated, it is. Save it for the next contest, after reading a little more and being confident about it.
Explore HackerEarth’s top products for Hiring & Innovation
Discover powerful tools designed to streamline hiring, assess talent efficiently, and run seamless hackathons. Explore HackerEarth’s top products that help businesses innovate and grow.
Get to know the experts behind our content. From industry leaders to tech enthusiasts, our authors share valuable insights, trends, and expertise to keep you informed and inspired.
The last couple of years transformed how the world works and the tech industry is no exception. Remote work, a candidate-driven market, and automation are some of the tech recruiting trends born out of the pandemic.
While accepting the new reality and adapting to it is the first step, keeping up with continuously changing hiring trends in technology is the bigger challenge right now.
What does 2024 hold for recruiters across the globe? What hiring practices would work best in this post-pandemic world? How do you stay on top of the changes in this industry?
The answers to these questions will paint a clearer picture of how to set up for success while recruiting tech talent this year.
7 tech recruiting trends for 2024
Recruiters, we’ve got you covered. Here are the tech recruiting trends that will change the way you build tech teams in 2024.
Trend #1—Leverage data-driven recruiting
Data-driven recruiting strategies are the answer to effective talent sourcing and a streamlined hiring process.
Talent acquisition leaders need to use real-time analytics like pipeline growth metrics, offer acceptance rates, quality and cost of new hires, and candidate feedback scores to reduce manual work, improve processes, and hire the best talent.
The key to capitalizing on talent market trends in 2024 is data. It enables you to analyze what’s working and what needs refinement, leaving room for experimentation.
Having a strong employer brand that supports a clear Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is crucial to influencing a candidate’s decision to work with your company. Perks like upskilling opportunities, remote work, and flexible hours are top EVPs that attract qualified candidates.
A clear EVP builds a culture of balance, mental health awareness, and flexibility—strengthening your employer brand with candidate-first policies.
Trend #3—Focus on candidate-driven market
The pandemic drastically increased the skills gap, making tech recruitment more challenging. With the severe shortage of tech talent, candidates now hold more power and can afford to be selective.
Competitive pay is no longer enough. Use data to understand what candidates want—work-life balance, remote options, learning opportunities—and adapt accordingly.
Recruiters need to think creatively to attract and retain top talent.
Trend #4—Have a diversity and inclusion oriented company culture
Diversity and inclusion have become central to modern recruitment. While urgent hiring can delay D&I efforts, long-term success depends on inclusive teams. Our survey shows that 25.6% of HR professionals believe a diverse leadership team helps build stronger pipelines and reduces bias.
McKinsey’s Diversity Wins report confirms this: top-quartile gender-diverse companies see 25% higher profitability, and ethnically diverse teams show 36% higher returns.
It's refreshing to see the importance of an inclusive culture increasing across all job-seeking communities, especially in tech. This reiterates that D&I is a must-have, not just a good-to-have.
Trend #5—Embed automation and AI into your recruitment systems
With the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, automation is being adopted across every business function—including recruiting.
Manual communication with large candidate pools is inefficient. In 2024, recruitment automation and AI-powered platforms will automate candidate nurturing and communication, providing a more personalized experience while saving time.
Remote interviews expand access to global talent, reduce overhead costs, and increase flexibility—making the hiring process more efficient for both recruiters and candidates.
Trend #7—Be proactive in candidate engagement
Delayed responses or lack of updates can frustrate candidates and impact your brand. Proactive communication and engagement with both active and passive candidates are key to successful recruiting.
As recruitment evolves, proactive candidate engagement will become central to attracting and retaining talent. In 2023 and beyond, companies must engage both active and passive candidates through innovative strategies and technologies like chatbots and AI-powered systems. Building pipelines and nurturing relationships will enhance employer branding and ensure long-term hiring success.
Recruiting Tech Talent Just Got Easier With HackerEarth
Recruiting qualified tech talent is tough—but we’re here to help. HackerEarth for Enterprises offers an all-in-one suite that simplifies sourcing, assessing, and interviewing developers.
Staying ahead of tech recruiting trends, improving hiring processes, and adapting to change is the way forward in 2024. Take note of the tips in this article and use them to build a future-ready hiring strategy.
The first part of this blog stresses the importance of asking the right technical interview questions to assess a candidate’s coding skills. But that alone is not enough. If you want to hire the crème de la crème of the developer talent out there, you have to look for a well-rounded candidate.
Honest communication, empathy, and passion for their work are equally important as a candidate’s technical knowledge. Soft skills are like the cherry on top. They set the best of the candidates apart from the rest.
Re-examine how you are vetting your candidates. Identify the gaps in your interviews. Once you start addressing these gaps, you find developers who have the potential to be great. And those are exactly the kind of people that you want to work with!
Let’s get to it, shall we?
What constitutes a good interview question?
An ideal interview should reveal a candidate’s personality along with their technical knowledge. To formulate a comprehensive list of questions, keep in mind three important characteristics.
Questions are open-ended – questions like, “What are some of the programming languages you’re comfortable with,” instead of “Do you know this particular programming language” makes the candidate feel like they’re in control. It is also a chance to let them reply to your question in their own words.
They address the behavioral aspects of a candidate – ensure you have a few questions on your list that allow a candidate to describe a situation. A situation where a client was unhappy or a time when the developer learned a new technology. Such questions help you assess if the candidate is a good fit for the team.
There is no right or wrong answer – it is important to have a structured interview process in place. But this does not mean you have a list of standard answers in mind that you’re looking for. How candidates approach your questions shows you whether they have the makings of a successful candidate. Focus on that rather than on the actual answer itself.
Designing a conversation around these buckets of interview questions brings you to my next question, “What should you look for in each candidate to spot the best ones?”
Hire GREAT developers by asking the right questions
Before we dive deep into the interview questions, we have to think about a few things that have changed. COVID-19 has rendered working from home the new normal for the foreseeable future. As a recruiter, the onus falls upon you to understand whether the developer is comfortable working remotely and has the relevant resources to achieve maximum productivity.
#1 How do you plan your day?
Remote work gives employees the option to be flexible. You don’t have to clock in 9 hours a day as long as you get everything done on time. A developer who hasn’t always been working remotely, but has a routine in place, understands the pitfalls of working from home. It is easy to get distracted and having a schedule to fall back on ensures good productivity.
#2 Do you have experience using tools for collaboration and remote work?
Working from home reduces human interaction heavily. There is no way to just go up to your teammate’s desk and clarify issues. Virtual communication is key to getting work done. Look for what kind of remote working tools your candidate is familiar with and if they know what collaborative tools to use for different tasks.
Value-based interview questions to ask
We went around and spoke to our engineering team, and the recruiting team to see what questions they abide by; what they think makes any candidate tick.
The result? – a motley group of questions that aim to reveal the candidate’s soft skills, in addition to typical technical interview questions and test tasks.
#3 Please describe three recent projects that you worked on. What were the most interesting and challenging parts?
This is an all-encompassing question in that it lets the candidate explain at length about their work ethic—thought process, handling QA, working with a team, and managing user feedback. This also lets you dig enough to assess whether the candidate is taking credit for someone else's work or not.
#4 You’ve worked long and hard to deliver a complex feature for a client and they say it’s not what they asked for. How would you take it?
A good developer will take it in their stride, work closely with the client to find the point of disconnect, and sort out the issue. There are so many things that could go wrong or not be to the client’s liking, and it falls on the developer to remain calm and create solutions.
#5 What new programming languages or technologies have you learned recently?
While being certified in many programming languages doesn't guarantee a great developer, it still is an important technical interview question to ask. It helps highlight a thirst for knowledge and shows that the developer is eager to learn new things.
#6 What does the perfect release look like? Who is involved and what is your role?
Have the developer take you through each phase of a recent software development lifecycle. Ask them to explain their specific role in each phase in this release. This will give you an excellent perspective into a developer’s mind. Do they talk about the before and after of the release? A skilled developer would. The chances of something going wrong in a release are very high. How would the developer react? Will they be able to handle the pressure?
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#7 Tell me about a time when you had to convince your lead to try a different approach?
As an example of a behavioral interview question, this is a good one. The way a developer approaches this question speaks volumes about how confident they are expressing their views, and how succinct they are in articulating those views.
#8 What have you done with all the extra hours during the pandemic?
Did you binge-watch your way through the pandemic? I’m sure every one of us has done this. Indulge in a lighthearted conversation with your candidate. This lets them talk about something they are comfortable with. Maybe they learned a new skill or took up a hobby. Get to know a candidate’s interests and little pleasures for a more rounded evaluation.
Over to you! Now that you know what aspects of a candidate to focus on, you are well-equipped to bring out the best in each candidate in their interviews. A mix of strong technical skills and interpersonal qualities is how you spot good developers for your team.
If you have more pressing interview questions to add to this list of ours, please write to us at contact@hackerearth.com.
The minute a developer position opens up, recruiters feel a familiar twinge of fear run down their spines. They recall their previous interview experiences, and how there seems to be a blog post a month that goes viral about bad developer interviews.
While hiring managers, especially the picky ones, would attribute this to a shortage of talented developers, what if the time has come to rethink your interview process? What if recruiters and hiring managers put too much stock into bringing out the technical aspects of each candidate and don’t put enough emphasis on their soft skills?
A report by Robert Half shows that 86% of technology leaders say it’s challenging to find IT talent. Interviewing developers should be a rewarding experience, not a challenging one. If you don’t get caught up in asking specific questions and instead design a simple conversation to gauge a candidate’s way of thinking, it throws up a lot of good insight and makes it fun too.
Asking the right technical interview questions when recruiting developers is important but so is clear communication, good work ethic, and alignment with your organization’s goals.
Let us first see what kind of technical interview questions are well-suited to revealing the coding skills and knowledge of any developer, and then tackle the behavioral aspects of the candidate that sets them apart from the rest.
Recruit GREAT developers by asking the right questions
Here are some technical interview questions that you should ask potential software engineers when interviewing.
#1 Write an algorithm for the following
Minimum Stack - Design a stack that provides 4 functions - push(item), pop, peek, and minimum, all in constant order time complexity. Then move on to coding the actual solution.
Kth Largest Element in an array - This is a standard problem with multiple solutions of best time complexity orders where N log(K) is a common one and O(N) + K log(N) is a lesser-known order. Both solutions are acceptable, not directly comparable to each other, and better than N log(N), which is sorting an array and fetching the Kth element.
Top View of a Binary Tree - Given a root node of the binary tree, return the set of all elements that will get wet if it rains on the tree. Nodes having any nodes directly above them will not get wet.
Internal implementation of a hashtable like a map/dictionary - A candidate needs to specify how key-value pairs are stored, hashing is used and collisions are handled. A good developer not only knows how to use this concept but also how it works. If the developer also knows how the data structure scales when the number of records increases in the hashtable, that is a bonus.
Algorithms demonstrate a candidate’s ability to break down a complex problem into steps. Reasoning and pattern recognition capabilities are some more factors to look for when assessing a candidate. A good candidate can code his thought process of the algorithm finalized during the discussion.
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#2 Formulate solutions for the below low-level design (LLD) questions
What is LLD? In your own words, specify the different aspects covered in LLD.
Design a movie ticket booking application like BookMyShow. Ensure that your database schema is tailored for a theatre with multiple screens and takes care of booking, seat availability, seat arrangement, and seat locking. Your solution does not have to extend to the payment option.
Design a basic social media application. Design database schema and APIs for a platform like Twitter with features for following a user, tweeting a post, seeing your tweet, and seeing a user's tweet.
Such questions do not have a right or wrong answer. They primarily serve to reveal a developer’s thought process and the way they approach a problem.
What do you understand by HLD? Can you specify the difference between LLD and HLD?
Design a social media application. In addition to designing a platform like Twitter with features for following a user, tweeting a post, seeing your tweet, and seeing a user's tweet, design a timeline. After designing a timeline where you can see your followers’ tweets, scale it for a larger audience. If you still have time, try to scale it for a celebrity use case.
Design for a train ticket booking application like IRCTC. Incorporate auth, features to choose start and end stations, view available trains and available seats between two stations, save reservation of seats from start to end stations, and lock them till payment confirmation.
How will you design a basic relational database? The database should support tables, columns, basic field types like integer and text, foreign keys, and indexes. The way a developer approaches this question is important. A good developer designs a solution around storage and memory management.
Here’s a pro-tip for you. LLD questions can be answered by both beginners and experienced developers. Mostly, senior developers can be expected to answer HLD questions. Choose your interview questions set wisely, and ask questions relevant to your candidate’s experience.
#4 Have you ever worked with SQL? Write queries for a specific use case that requires multiple joins.
Example: Create a table with separate columns for student name, subject, and marks scored. Return student names and ranks of each student. The rank of a student depends on the total of marks in all subjects.
Not all developers would have experience working with SQL but some knowledge about how data is stored/structured is useful. Developers should be familiar with simple concepts like joins, retrieval queries, and the basics of DBMS.
#5 What do you think is wrong with this code?
Instead of asking developer candidates to write code on a piece of paper (which is outdated, anyway), ask them to debug existing code. This is another way to assess their technical skills. Place surreptitious errors in the code and evaluate their attention to detail.
Now that you know exactly what technical skills to look for and when questions to ask when interviewing developers, the time has come to assess the soft skills of these candidates. Part 2 of this blog throws light on the how and why of evaluating candidates based on their communication skills, work ethic, and alignment with the company’s goals.
In today's competitive talent market, attracting and retaining top performers is crucial for any organization's success. However, traditional hiring methods like relying solely on resumes and interviews may not always provide a comprehensive picture of a candidate's skills and potential. This is where pre-employment assessments come into play.
What is Pre-Employement Assessment?
Pre-employment assessments are standardized tests and evaluations administered to candidates before they are hired. These assessments can help you objectively measure a candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality traits, allowing you to make data-driven hiring decisions.
By exploring and evaluating the best pre-employment assessment tools and tests available, you can:
Improve the accuracy and efficiency of your hiring process.
Identify top talent with the right skills and cultural fit.
Reduce the risk of bad hires.
Enhance the candidate experience by providing a clear and objective evaluation process.
This guide will provide you with valuable insights into the different types of pre-employment assessments available and highlight some of the best tools, to help you optimize your hiring process for 2024.
Why pre-employment assessments are key in hiring
While resumes and interviews offer valuable insights, they can be subjective and susceptible to bias. Pre-employment assessments provide a standardized and objective way to evaluate candidates, offering several key benefits:
Improved decision-making:
By measuring specific skills and knowledge, assessments help you identify candidates who possess the qualifications necessary for the job.
Reduced bias:
Standardized assessments mitigate the risks of unconscious bias that can creep into traditional interview processes.
Increased efficiency:
Assessments can streamline the initial screening process, allowing you to focus on the most promising candidates.
Enhanced candidate experience:
When used effectively, assessments can provide candidates with a clear understanding of the required skills and a fair chance to showcase their abilities.
Types of pre-employment assessments
There are various types of pre-employment assessments available, each catering to different needs and objectives. Here's an overview of some common types:
1. Skill Assessments:
Technical Skills: These assessments evaluate specific technical skills and knowledge relevant to the job role, such as programming languages, software proficiency, or industry-specific expertise. HackerEarth offers a wide range of validated technical skill assessments covering various programming languages, frameworks, and technologies.
Soft Skills: These employment assessments measure non-technical skills like communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and critical thinking, crucial for success in any role.
2. Personality Assessments:
These employment assessments can provide insights into a candidate's personality traits, work style, and cultural fit within your organization.
3. Cognitive Ability Tests:
These tests measure a candidate's general mental abilities, such as reasoning, problem-solving, and learning potential.
4. Integrity Assessments:
These employment assessments aim to identify potential risks associated with a candidate's honesty, work ethic, and compliance with company policies.
By understanding the different types of assessments and their applications, you can choose the ones that best align with your specific hiring needs and ensure you hire the most qualified and suitable candidates for your organization.
Leading employment assessment tools and tests in 2024
Choosing the right pre-employment assessment tool depends on your specific needs and budget. Here's a curated list of some of the top pre-employment assessment tools and tests available in 2024, with brief overviews:
A comprehensive platform offering a wide range of validated skill assessments in various programming languages, frameworks, and technologies. It also allows for the creation of custom assessments and integrates seamlessly with various recruitment platforms.
Provides a broad selection of assessments, including skill tests, personality assessments, and cognitive ability tests. They offer customizable solutions and cater to various industries.
Utilizes gamified assessments to evaluate cognitive skills, personality traits, and cultural fit. They offer a data-driven approach and emphasize candidate experience.
Wonderlic:
Offers a variety of assessments, including the Wonderlic Personnel Test, which measures general cognitive ability. They also provide aptitude and personality assessments.
Harver:
An assessment platform focusing on candidate experience with video interviews, gamified assessments, and skills tests. They offer pre-built assessments and customization options.
Remember: This list is not exhaustive, and further research is crucial to identify the tool that aligns best with your specific needs and budget. Consider factors like the types of assessments offered, pricing models, integrations with your existing HR systems, and user experience when making your decision.
Choosing the right pre-employment assessment tool
Instead of full individual tool reviews, consider focusing on 2–3 key platforms. For each platform, explore:
Target audience: Who are their assessments best suited for (e.g., technical roles, specific industries)?
Types of assessments offered: Briefly list the available assessment categories (e.g., technical skills, soft skills, personality).
Key features: Highlight unique functionalities like gamification, custom assessment creation, or seamless integrations.
Effectiveness: Briefly mention the platform's approach to assessment validation and reliability.
User experience: Consider including user reviews or ratings where available.
Comparative analysis of assessment options
Instead of a comprehensive comparison, consider focusing on specific use cases:
Technical skills assessment:
Compare HackerEarth and Wonderlic based on their technical skill assessment options, focusing on the variety of languages/technologies covered and assessment formats.
Soft skills and personality assessment:
Compare SHL and Pymetrics based on their approaches to evaluating soft skills and personality traits, highlighting any unique features like gamification or data-driven insights.
Candidate experience:
Compare Harver and Wonderlic based on their focus on candidate experience, mentioning features like video interviews or gamified assessments.
Additional tips:
Encourage readers to visit the platforms' official websites for detailed features and pricing information.
Include links to reputable third-party review sites where users share their experiences with various tools.
Best practices for using pre-employment assessment tools
Integrating pre-employment assessments effectively requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices to follow:
Define your assessment goals:
Clearly identify what you aim to achieve with assessments. Are you targeting specific skills, personality traits, or cultural fit?
Choose the right assessments:
Select tools that align with your defined goals and the specific requirements of the open position.
Set clear expectations:
Communicate the purpose and format of the assessments to candidates in advance, ensuring transparency and building trust.
Integrate seamlessly:
Ensure your chosen assessment tool integrates smoothly with your existing HR systems and recruitment workflow.
Train your team:
Equip your hiring managers and HR team with the knowledge and skills to interpret assessment results effectively.
Interpreting assessment results accurately
Assessment results offer valuable data points, but interpreting them accurately is crucial for making informed hiring decisions. Here are some key considerations:
Use results as one data point:
Consider assessment results alongside other information, such as resumes, interviews, and references, for a holistic view of the candidate.
Understand score limitations:
Don't solely rely on raw scores. Understand the assessment's validity and reliability and the potential for cultural bias or individual test anxiety.
Look for patterns and trends:
Analyze results across different assessments and identify consistent patterns that align with your desired candidate profile.
Focus on potential, not guarantees:
Assessments indicate potential, not guarantees of success. Use them alongside other evaluation methods to make well-rounded hiring decisions.
Choosing the right pre-employment assessment tools
Selecting the most suitable pre-employment assessment tool requires careful consideration of your organization's specific needs. Here are some key factors to guide your decision:
Industry and role requirements:
Different industries and roles demand varying skill sets and qualities. Choose assessments that target the specific skills and knowledge relevant to your open positions.
Company culture and values:
Align your assessments with your company culture and values. For example, if collaboration is crucial, look for assessments that evaluate teamwork and communication skills.
Candidate experience:
Prioritize tools that provide a positive and smooth experience for candidates. This can enhance your employer brand and attract top talent.
Budget and accessibility considerations
Budget and accessibility are essential factors when choosing pre-employment assessments:
Budget:
Assessment tools come with varying pricing models (subscriptions, pay-per-use, etc.). Choose a tool that aligns with your budget and offers the functionalities you need.
Accessibility:
Ensure the chosen assessment is accessible to all candidates, considering factors like language options, disability accommodations, and internet access requirements.
Additional Tips:
Free trials and demos: Utilize free trials or demos offered by assessment platforms to experience their functionalities firsthand.
Consult with HR professionals: Seek guidance from HR professionals or recruitment specialists with expertise in pre-employment assessments.
Read user reviews and comparisons: Gain insights from other employers who use various assessment tools.
By carefully considering these factors, you can select the pre-employment assessment tool that best aligns with your organizational needs, budget, and commitment to an inclusive hiring process.
Remember, pre-employment assessments are valuable tools, but they should not be the sole factor in your hiring decisions. Use them alongside other evaluation methods and prioritize building a fair and inclusive hiring process that attracts and retains top talent.
Future trends in pre-employment assessments
The pre-employment assessment landscape is constantly evolving, with innovative technologies and practices emerging. Here are some potential future trends to watch:
Artificial intelligence (AI):
AI-powered assessments can analyze candidate responses, written work, and even resumes, using natural language processing to extract relevant insights and identify potential candidates.
Adaptive testing:
These assessments adjust the difficulty level of questions based on the candidate's performance, providing a more efficient and personalized evaluation.
Micro-assessments:
Short, focused assessments delivered through mobile devices can assess specific skills or knowledge on-the-go, streamlining the screening process.
Gamification:
Engaging and interactive game-based elements can make the assessment experience more engaging and assess skills in a realistic and dynamic way.
Conclusion
Pre-employment assessments, when used thoughtfully and ethically, can be a powerful tool to optimize your hiring process, identify top talent, and build a successful workforce for your organization. By understanding the different types of assessments available, exploring top-rated tools like HackerEarth, and staying informed about emerging trends, you can make informed decisions that enhance your ability to attract, evaluate, and hire the best candidates for the future.
Layoffs in the IT industry are becoming more widespread as companies fight to remain competitive in a fast-changing market; many turn to layoffs as a cost-cutting measure. Last year, 1,000 companies including big tech giants and startups, laid off over two lakhs of employees. But first, what are layoffs in the tech business, and how do they impact the industry?
Tech layoffs are the termination of employment for some employees by a technology company. It might happen for various reasons, including financial challenges, market conditions, firm reorganization, or the after-effects of a pandemic. While layoffs are not unique to the IT industry, they are becoming more common as companies look for methods to cut costs while remaining competitive.
The consequences of layoffs in technology may be catastrophic for employees who lose their jobs and the firms forced to make these difficult decisions. Layoffs can result in the loss of skill and expertise and a drop in employee morale and productivity. However, they may be required for businesses to stay afloat in a fast-changing market.
This article will examine the reasons for layoffs in the technology industry, their influence on the industry, and what may be done to reduce their negative impacts. We will also look at the various methods for tracking tech layoffs.
What are tech layoffs?
The term "tech layoff" describes the termination of employees by an organization in the technology industry. A company might do this as part of a restructuring during hard economic times.
In recent times, the tech industry has witnessed a wave of significant layoffs, affecting some of the world’s leading technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta (formerly Facebook), Apple, Cisco, SAP, and Sony. These layoffs are a reflection of the broader economic challenges and market adjustments facing the sector, including factors like slowing revenue growth, global economic uncertainties, and the need to streamline operations for efficiency.
Each of these tech giants has announced job cuts for various reasons, though common themes include restructuring efforts to stay competitive and agile, responding to over-hiring during the pandemic when demand for tech services surged, and preparing for a potentially tough economic climate ahead. Despite their dominant positions in the market, these companies are not immune to the economic cycles and technological shifts that influence operational and strategic decisions, including workforce adjustments.
This trend of layoffs in the tech industry underscores the volatile nature of the tech sector, which is often at the mercy of rapid changes in technology, consumer preferences, and the global economy. It also highlights the importance of adaptability and resilience for companies and employees alike in navigating the uncertainties of the tech landscape.
Yes, the market is always uncertain, but why resort to tech layoffs?
Various factors cause tech layoffs, including company strategy changes, market shifts, or financial difficulties. Companies may lay off employees if they need help to generate revenue, shift their focus to new products or services, or automate certain jobs.
In addition, some common reasons could be:
Financial struggles
Currently, the state of the global market is uncertain due to economic recession, ongoing war, and other related phenomena. If a company is experiencing financial difficulties, only sticking to pay cuts may not be helpful—it may need to reduce its workforce to cut costs.
The tech industry is constantly evolving, and companies would have to adjust their workforce to meet changing market conditions. For instance, companies are adopting remote work culture, which surely affects on-premises activity, and companies could do away with some number of tech employees at the backend.
Restructuring
Companies may also lay off employees as part of a greater restructuring effort, such as spinning off a division or consolidating operations.
Automation
With the advancement in technology and automation, some jobs previously done by human labor may be replaced by machines, resulting in layoffs.
Mergers and acquisitions
When two companies merge, there is often overlap in their operations, leading to layoffs as the new company looks to streamline its workforce.
But it's worth noting that layoffs are not exclusive to the tech industry and can happen in any industry due to uncertainty in the market.
Will layoffs increase in 2024?
It is challenging to estimate the rise or fall of layoffs. The overall state of the economy, the health of certain industries, and the performance of individual companies will play a role in deciding the degree of layoffs in any given year.
But it is also seen that, in the first 15 days of this year, 91 organizations laid off over 24,000 tech workers, and over 1,000 corporations cut down more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to an Economic Times article.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge economic slowdown and forced several businesses to downsize their employees. However, some businesses rehired or expanded their personnel when the world began to recover.
So, given the current level of economic uncertainty, predicting how the situation will unfold is difficult.
What types of companies are prone to tech layoffs?
Tech layoffs can occur in organizations of all sizes and various areas.
Following are some examples of companies that have experienced tech layoffs in the past:
Large tech firms
Companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Twitter, Better.com, Alibaba, and HP have all experienced layoffs in recent years as part of restructuring initiatives or cost-cutting measures.
Market scenarios are still being determined after Elon Musk's decision to lay off employees. Along with tech giants, some smaller companies and startups have also been affected by layoffs.
Startups
Because they frequently work with limited resources, startups may be forced to lay off staff if they cannot get further funding or need to pivot due to market downfall.
Small and medium-sized businesses
Small and medium-sized businesses face layoffs due to high competition or if the products/services they offer are no longer in demand.
Companies in certain industries
Some sectors of the technological industry, such as the semiconductor industry or automotive industry, may be more prone to layoffs than others.
Companies that lean on government funding
Companies that rely significantly on government contracts may face layoffs if the government cuts technology spending or contracts are not renewed.
How to track tech layoffs?
You can’t stop tech company layoffs, but you should be keeping track of them. We, HR professionals and recruiters, can also lend a helping hand in these tough times by circulating “layoff lists” across social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter to help people land jobs quicker. Firefish Software put together a master list of sources to find fresh talent during the layoff period.
Because not all layoffs are publicly disclosed, tracking tech industry layoffs can be challenging, and some may go undetected. There are several ways to keep track of tech industry layoffs:
In addition, they aid in identifying trends in layoffs within the tech industry. It can reveal which industries are seeing the most layoffs and which companies are the most affected.
Companies can use layoff trackers as an early warning system and compare their performance to that of other companies in their field.
News articles
Because many news sites cover tech layoffs as they happen, keeping a watch on technology sector stories can provide insight into which organizations are laying off employees and how many individuals have been affected.
Social media
Organizations and employees frequently publish information about layoffs in tech on social media platforms; thus, monitoring companies' social media accounts or following key hashtags can provide real-time updates regarding layoffs.
Online forums and communities
There are online forums and communities dedicated to discussing tech industry news, and they can be an excellent source of layoff information.
Government reports
Government agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publish data on layoffs and unemployment, which can provide a more comprehensive picture of the technology industry's status.
How do companies reduce tech layoffs?
Layoffs in tech are hard – for the employee who is losing their job, the recruiter or HR professional who is tasked with informing them, and the company itself. So, how can we aim to avoid layoffs? Here are some ways to minimize resorting to letting people go:
Salary reductions
Instead of laying off employees, businesses can lower the salaries or wages of all employees. It can be accomplished by instituting compensation cuts or salary freezes.
Implementing a hiring freeze
Businesses can halt employing new personnel to cut costs. It can be a short-term solution until the company's financial situation improves.
Businesses might search for ways to cut or remove non-essential expenses such as travel, training, and office expenses.
Reducing working hours
Companies can reduce employee working hours to save money, such as implementing a four-day workweek or a shorter workday.
These options may not always be viable and may have their problems, but before laying off, a company owes it to its people to consider every other alternative, and formulate the best solution.
Tech layoffs to bleed into this year
While we do not know whether this trend will continue or subside during 2023, we do know one thing. We have to be prepared for a wave of layoffs that is still yet to hit. As of last month, Layoffs.fyi had already tracked 170+ companies conducting 55,970 layoffs in 2023.
So recruiters, let’s join arms, distribute those layoff lists like there’s no tomorrow, and help all those in need of a job! :)
In today’s fast-paced world, recruiting talent has become increasingly complicated. Technological advancements, high workforce expectations and a highly competitive market have pushed recruitment agencies to adopt innovative strategies for recruiting various types of talent. This article aims to explore one such recruitment strategy – headhunting.
What is Headhunting in recruitment?
In headhunting, companies or recruitment agencies identify, engage and hire highly skilled professionals to fill top positions in the respective companies. It is different from the traditional process in which candidates looking for job opportunities approach companies or recruitment agencies. In headhunting, executive headhunters, as recruiters are referred to, approach prospective candidates with the hiring company’s requirements and wait for them to respond. Executive headhunters generally look for passive candidates, those who work at crucial positions and are not on the lookout for new work opportunities. Besides, executive headhunters focus on filling critical, senior-level positions indispensable to companies. Depending on the nature of the operation, headhunting has three types. They are described later in this article. Before we move on to understand the types of headhunting, here is how the traditional recruitment process and headhunting are different.
How do headhunting and traditional recruitment differ from each other?
Headhunting is a type of recruitment process in which top-level managers and executives in similar positions are hired. Since these professionals are not on the lookout for jobs, headhunters have to thoroughly understand the hiring companies’ requirements and study the work profiles of potential candidates before creating a list.
In the traditional approach, there is a long list of candidates applying for jobs online and offline. Candidates approach recruiters for jobs. Apart from this primary difference, there are other factors that define the difference between these two schools of recruitment.
AspectHeadhuntingTraditional RecruitmentCandidate TypePrimarily passive candidateActive job seekersApproachFocused on specific high-level rolesBroader; includes various levelsScopeproactive outreachReactive: candidates applyCostGenerally more expensive due to expertise requiredTypically lower costsControlManaged by headhuntersManaged internally by HR teams
All the above parameters will help you to understand how headhunting differs from traditional recruitment methods, better.
Types of headhunting in recruitment
Direct headhunting: In direct recruitment, hiring teams reach out to potential candidates through personal communication. Companies conduct direct headhunting in-house, without outsourcing the process to hiring recruitment agencies. Very few businesses conduct this type of recruitment for top jobs as it involves extensive screening across networks outside the company’s expanse.
Indirect headhunting: This method involves recruiters getting in touch with their prospective candidates through indirect modes of communication such as email and phone calls. Indirect headhunting is less intrusive and allows candidates to respond at their convenience.Third-party recruitment: Companies approach external recruitment agencies or executive headhunters to recruit highly skilled professionals for top positions. This method often leverages the company’s extensive contact network and expertise in niche industries.
How does headhunting work?
Finding highly skilled professionals to fill critical positions can be tricky if there is no system for it. Expert executive headhunters employ recruitment software to conduct headhunting efficiently as it facilitates a seamless recruitment process for executive headhunters. Most software is AI-powered and expedites processes like candidate sourcing, interactions with prospective professionals and upkeep of communication history. This makes the process of executive search in recruitment a little bit easier. Apart from using software to recruit executives, here are the various stages of finding high-calibre executives through headhunting.
Identifying the role
Once there is a vacancy for a top job, one of the top executives like a CEO, director or the head of the company, reach out to the concerned personnel with their requirements. Depending on how large a company is, they may choose to headhunt with the help of an external recruiting agency or conduct it in-house. Generally, the task is assigned to external recruitment agencies specializing in headhunting. Executive headhunters possess a database of highly qualified professionals who work in crucial positions in some of the best companies. This makes them the top choice of conglomerates looking to hire some of the best talents in the industry.
Defining the job
Once an executive headhunter or a recruiting agency is finalized, companies conduct meetings to discuss the nature of the role, how the company works, the management hierarchy among other important aspects of the job. Headhunters are expected to understand these points thoroughly and establish a clear understanding of their expectations and goals.
Candidate identification and sourcing
Headhunters analyse and understand the requirements of their clients and begin creating a pool of suitable candidates from their database. The professionals are shortlisted after conducting extensive research of job profiles, number of years of industry experience, professional networks and online platforms.
Approaching candidates
Once the potential candidates have been identified and shortlisted, headhunters move on to get in touch with them discreetly through various communication channels. As such candidates are already working at top level positions at other companies, executive headhunters have to be low-key while doing so.
Assessment and Evaluation
In this next step, extensive screening and evaluation of candidates is conducted to determine their suitability for the advertised position.
Interviews and negotiations
Compensation is a major topic of discussion among recruiters and prospective candidates. A lot of deliberation and negotiation goes on between the hiring organization and the selected executives which is facilitated by the headhunters.
Finalizing the hire
Things come to a close once the suitable candidates accept the job offer. On accepting the offer letter, headhunters help finalize the hiring process to ensure a smooth transition.
The steps listed above form the blueprint for a typical headhunting process. Headhunting has been crucial in helping companies hire the right people for crucial positions that come with great responsibility. However, all systems have a set of challenges no matter how perfect their working algorithm is. Here are a few challenges that talent acquisition agencies face while headhunting.
Common challenges in headhunting
Despite its advantages, headhunting also presents certain challenges:
Cost Implications: Engaging headhunters can be more expensive than traditional recruitment methods due to their specialized skills and services.
Time-Consuming Process: While headhunting can be efficient, finding the right candidate for senior positions may still take time due to thorough evaluation processes.
Market Competition: The competition for top talent is fierce; organizations must present compelling offers to attract passive candidates away from their current roles.
Although the above mentioned factors can pose challenges in the headhunting process, there are more upsides than there are downsides to it. Here is how headhunting has helped revolutionize the recruitment of high-profile candidates.
Advantages of Headhunting
Headhunting offers several advantages over traditional recruitment methods:
Access to Passive Candidates: By targeting individuals who are not actively seeking new employment, organisations can access a broader pool of highly skilled professionals.
Confidentiality: The discreet nature of headhunting protects both candidates’ current employment situations and the hiring organisation’s strategic interests.
Customized Search: Headhunters tailor their search based on the specific needs of the organization, ensuring a better fit between candidates and company culture.
Industry Expertise: Many headhunters specialise in particular sectors, providing valuable insights into market dynamics and candidate qualifications.
Conclusion
Although headhunting can be costly and time-consuming, it is one of the most effective ways of finding good candidates for top jobs. Executive headhunters face several challenges maintaining the g discreetness while getting in touch with prospective clients. As organizations navigate increasingly competitive markets, understanding the nuances of headhunting becomes vital for effective recruitment strategies. To keep up with the technological advancements, it is better to optimise your hiring process by employing online recruitment software like HackerEarth, which enables companies to conduct multiple interviews and evaluation tests online, thus improving candidate experience. By collaborating with skilled headhunters who possess industry expertise and insights into market trends, companies can enhance their chances of securing high-caliber professionals who drive success in their respective fields.
