I’ve specialised in recruiting for software developers over the last number of years so that’s what I’m referring to when I say technical candidates. I think we all know at this stage that it’s a candidate driven market and I think we need to adopt the mindset when we’re interviewing them that, if they’re good, they’re going to have three or four offers on the table at the end of this process.
So, there are a few things companies can do to ensure that when candidates are coming through the hiring process, that they’re interviewed the right way and the company doesn’t lose out on top talent.
Firstly, as a hiring manager, you need to remember that it’s as much the candidate interviewing you and the company as it is you interviewing the candidate. If someone is coming to interview with you, you may forget that they will have multiple options.
It’s really important to sell the company, but also the role itself. For example, maybe you haven’t spoken enough about projects that are coming up and another company has, so the developer can now picture themselves in that role easier.
We all know that what’s really important for software developers is technology stack, methodologies and the types of projects on the horizon. If the interviewer has failed to either give the candidate an opportunity to ask questions about upcoming projects or they haven’t volunteered that information, you may come to the end of the process and find that the candidate has chosen another role.
Not showing enough of a human side can be a problem too. I’ve had candidates choose one offer over another because they got more of personal touch in the interview.
When it comes to asking ‘traditional’, HR-focused questions, I believe there can be a place for them, but be cautious. It really depends on the needs of the company, so if cultural fit is really important you as the company scales and grows and you want to retain that culture, then there is a place for HR, culture questions.
However, in terms of a full, one-way interview, it may be a good way to assess them, but it’s not going to be a good way to attract them.
I think a lot of very good technically strong developers want the focus to be more on the technical interview. There’s a fine balance around asking technically challenging questions where the developer is left feeling challenged in a positive way, which reflects high technical standards internally, and asking about strengths and weaknesses that you may want to assess but that the candidate might not deem relevant. Companies can also fall into the trap of asking very theoretical, ‘book smart’ questions instead of focusing on the methods, abilities and approaches.
When it comes to a technical assessment, there’s a lot of different ways of doing this successfully. You can use a multiple-choice question platform, you can do the quick-fire theoretical questions, you can do whiteboarding sessions to name a few.
So, there’s a lot of different methods of technically assessing candidates, but it’s important that the assessment is fit for purpose and will attract the right talent. It’s important to ensure that it’s not so focused on one technology that it’s missing out on good candidates with transferrable skills.
Another issue I’ve come across for attracting top tech talent is the hiring process as a whole being way too long. Again, there’s a fine balance between just doing one round of interviews, making an offer and not doing enough assessment, and conducting four or five rounds of interviews and risk losing the candidate to companies with swifter processes.
Another issue I’ve come across is developers not getting feedback or even responses after several rounds of interviews. Hiring managers have to remember that technical professionals and developers tend to hang out together.
It’s a small, close-knit community and they speak to each other, so if they have a bad candidate experience, it’s going to stick and other developers are going to find out about it as well. There’s a recurring theme through all of this and it’s about having an excellent candidate experience.
Looking to hire top technical talent? Check out our award-winning IT hiring solutions or talk to me by email at jennifer.murphy@recruiters.ie or on the phone at 353 1 632 5048.
Jennifer Murphy is a senior technology recruitment consultant at RECRUITERS
Coding photo by Danial RiCaRoS on Unsplash
