Data plays a crucial role in every element of business.
From economics to the stock exchange, to foreign policy – it all ebbs and flows according to external influences, trends, and patterns.
In this bigger scheme, you mightn’t think that, when hiring for an open development position, that data, trends, and patterns wouldn’t play much of a role.
And you’d be wrong.
Recruiters used Devskiller to send out over 112,000 coding tests top developer candidates over the last year. These tests were used to assess the skills and abilities of developers that had applied for a position.
And in doing this, we learned a lot about both the developers being interviewed and what recruiters are looking for.
We collected this data, put it into one neat little package and named it the Devskiller Technical Hiring & Skills Report 2019.
What is collated in here, is essentially the state of the current tech recruitment industry. If you’re in a position that regularly hires developers, you can see:
- What your industry peers are doing
- What they look for in a candidate, and
- Where those candidates are sourced from.
Here’s a closer look at a few things we learned:
1. Testing JavaScript skills is important for recruiters
Taking a closer look at the 8 most technologies tested together, we can see that 5 of them features JavaScript. This means that tech recruiters have a solid understanding of the importance of front-end skills, as JavaScript is often tested alongside CSS and HTML. This is hardly surprising, as these languages make up the core skills of a front-end developer.
JavaScript is often regularly tested alongside back-end technologies, according to the report’s findings. JavaScript coupled with .NET, PHP, or Java is also a very common trend. The takeaway here is that there is a demand for full stack developers, proficient in both front and back-end technologies.
The big conclusion the data points to is that database technical skills are highly prized, sought after, and in demand.
2. Languages are frequently tested with other technologies
JavaScript isn’t the only language in the top 8 technologies being tested together which is frequently paired with other technologies:
As you can see, SQL is quite popular. In fact, 4 out of the top 8 involve SQL often paired with a frontend language like JavaScript or with backend technologies like .NET, Java, or PHP.
What this tells us is there is also a common need for database skills alongside the main skillset that the position entails.
3. Your industry peers are probably more qualified and knowledgeable than you
It makes sense that a good recruiter is aware of the skills they’re hiring for. But a great recruiter knows the basics of the job they’re hiring for. And when it comes to tech recruitment, an HR specialist with a background in any coding language is a very very rare thing.
But what’s invigorating to know is that more and more tech recruiters are bringing themselves up to speed with the fundamentals of the technologies they’re looking for.
This is reflected in the fact that Devskiller’s Tech Recruitment Certification Course is proving to be a hugely valuable resource. Furthermore, recruiters who sit this test are taking their time to study, commit information to memory, and then pass on the first attempt.
As a tech recruiter, this means that there’s an increasing chance that those in equivalent positions in rival companies know more about the coding world than you. This means they can better evaluate candidates, and make more accurate decisions.
4. The US is busy. Very busy.
It shouldn’t surprise you that the home of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and other digital epicenters is the home to both the most exported developers, as well as the biggest hirers of international talent. This is in part thanks to the sheer volume of developers that the United States recruits. A third of all of the overseas developers tested in the study were being recruited by US companies.
5. New Zealand developers are technically the best
New Zealand developers, on average, rank the highest, followed by the Dutch. Considering that a lot of candidates are screened out and that the average score is just above 40%, New Zealand’s score of 54% is most impressive.
This can be attributed to a number of things – the quality of education, access to the internet and the quality of life which New Zealand companies use to lure the best tech talent.
6. Only 10% of sent coding tests are not completed
This small percentage can partially be attributed to Devskiller’s RealLifeTesting methodology. This means that the programming tasks that are sent are familiar to the candidates that sit the test.
Remember, developers are people too, and therefore also perform better when there are no surprises. This means that your candidates are more willing to take tests so that you can analyze their best performance.
Interestingly, our data shows that areas like Central American and sub-Saharan Africa have lower completion rates, which may be due to lack of internet infrastructure.
Want more facts and stats?
2 out of 3 recruiters say that the biggest challenge they face is a lack of quality talent. In the world of tech recruitment, this issue is only exacerbated by the sheer volume of the talent pool. Assets like the Devskiller Global Technical Hiring & Skills Report 2019 can help tech recruiters implement the same methods and protocols that their industry peers do, in order to ensure quality hirings.
To find out more about the trends, habits, and patterns of tech recruiters in 2018, be sure to check out the Devskiller Global Technical Hiring & Skills Report 2019.
Author bio:
Tom Winter is the CRO at Devskiller, a developer screening & online interviews in one platform powered by RealLifeTesting™ which recently published the Devskiller Global Technical Hiring & Skills Report 2019. Madly in love with everything tech, Tom specializes in streamlining the hiring process of tech talent and data-driven recruitment. He’s also an avid conference speaker.