PALO ALTO, Calif., May 22, 2018 — Hiring technical talent has become increasingly competitive as companies across industries are relying on software developers to drive business innovation. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer-science related jobs available with only 400,000 computer science graduates to fill those roles.

New research from HackerRank, based on a survey of nearly 1,000 technical recruiters and hiring managers, highlights the priorities, pain points, and opportunities when it comes to hiring software developers.

“Recruiters have a unique challenge: Hire great people, but also hire fast,” says Gaurav Verma, VP of Customer Success at HackerRank. “In a market as high demand as technology, it’s critical for technical recruiters and hiring managers to share a deep understanding of the skills they need, expectations for the role, and what success looks like. The stronger the alignment, the more efficiently companies can build strong teams in a competitive market.”

The report also highlights an opportunity for technical recruiters and hiring managers to work together to bridge gaps and create more effective and efficient recruiting processes through clearer expectations around candidate skills.

Key findings from HackerRank’s Tech Recruiting Report include:

• Tech recruiters are measured on speed, while hiring managers are focused on future performance. Technical recruiters look at time-to-hire as one of their top metrics of success, but hiring managers care more about future performance and retention and are often willing to wait longer to find the right fit.
• Recruiters and hiring managers inadvertently create hurdles for each other. Unlike most other industries, recruiters of technology roles are screening for skills that are growing in complexity at a rapid rate. Nearly one third of hiring managers feel that technical recruiters need to have a stronger grasp of skills and expectations for the roles they’re filling. Meanwhile, the biggest hurdle recruiters say they face is not aligning on skills, but receiving more feedback in a timely manner. Awareness about each other’s priorities can help boost alignment and success internally.
• Technical hiring is outgrowing resume-based hiring. 3 out of 4 technical recruiters and hiring managers say they’ve hired someone who didn’t look good on paper. Resumes are not conducive to aligning on the right technical skills. If companies are serious about building more diverse teams, they should be evaluating candidates based on skill.

The full report detailing these and other findings is available here.