In just two years, digital transformation has been accelerated forward by nearly a full decade. In today’s job market, technology has been the only way for organizations to stay competitive, and with that, the demand for software engineering roles has never been higher. Engineers are being sought after by every company, and although the average time software engineers spend at any given company is shrinking, the Great Resignation trend of 2021, now known as the “Great Reshuffle,” has only exacerbated the problem.
This means employee churn is driving even greater demand for new and diverse talent, while at the same time, the industry faces a multi-decade shortage of software engineers. With the shift to remote or hybrid work, organizations are no longer simply competing for talent within the Silicon Valley recruitment bubble. Instead, companies now are recruiting from a truly global ecosystem. This has given organizations the enormous opportunity to acquire top talent outside their previously limited referral networks and recruit from new or non-traditional sources—including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and local colleges.
In turn, top engineers across the U.S. now are experiencing an onslaught of better, newer opportunities than ever before. This may be bad news from a retention standpoint, but it also means higher-quality candidates are on the market across the country. Because there are so many job openings, many candidates go through multiple hiring loops. The best organizations adapt to these new trends by ensuring the candidate experience is a top priority, ultimately securing the most qualified and most diverse talent from nearly anywhere. All that said, what does a candidate-first hiring methodology look like?
Be Transparent
When candidates have inside knowledge of a company and its hiring process, they can come into interviews more prepared for the types of questions they can expect. Hiring managers should ask themselves if a candidate interviewing without knowing anyone at their company has the same understanding of the interview process and questions as one who has an “in” with someone on the team.
Failing to do this will artificially benefit people from similar backgrounds as your existing team, resulting in hires that consciously or unconsciously prioritize interpersonal relationships and subjective “likeability” over skill. Consequently, this leads to less diverse and ultimately less effective teams, hurting both the efficiency and equity of the hiring process.
Keep the Hiring Light Switched to ON
Top hiring companies should move at the speed of candidates. By creating an on-demand interviewing capacity, candidates can interview on their terms.
We see a higher concentration of candidates with “good” or “excellent” technical interview scores in the first 72 hours than any other time frame. More confident candidates are more likely to schedule interviews quickly.
Interestingly, while we’d expect to see an inverse relationship between candidate quality and close rates, that isn’t the case in this three-day window anymore. Historically, the candidates who perform the best in technical interviews are the hardest to close. This makes sense as they typically have the most competing offers. But over the last year, that inverse relationship breaks when candidates are interviewed within 72 hours of receiving an invitation. Close rates are higher in the first three days.
Not only does speed get you in front of the best candidates, it also helps identify the ones who are most passionate and excited about your business. This twofold benefit of having reserved interviewing capacity boosts hiring yield.
Be Flexible
As remote and hybrid work considerations are becoming the new normal, candidates expect the same level of flexibility in the hiring process. Over the last year, more than 50 percent of our interview candidates requested times outside regular business hours (i.e., nights and weekends). Moreover, the most significant increases in off-hour interview requests come from our diverse candidate groups.
The percentage of candidates from underrepresented backgrounds requesting night or weekend interviews has increased by 9 percent since the pandemic. That shift is even more extreme for women of color, whose off-hour interviewing grew by 15 percent.
In a world where organizations strive for more inclusive hiring practices, offering candidates this level of flexibility can make your process more equitable and hit DEI targets.
Give Second Chances
Offer multiple interview opportunities to candidates. One way to do this is by allowing candidates to redo their technical interview if they’re unsatisfied with their performance.
Offering computer science students multiple practice interviews benefits both candidates and companies. After each consultation, provide students with written and verbal feedback on their strengths and opportunities for growth, followed by a second interview opportunity. Data shows that 76 percent of participants who received practice interviews focused on data structures maintained or improved their scores, and 85 percent of participants who received algorithm interviews also maintained or improved.
In today’s hiring market, candidate experience has never been more critical. High churn levels in the software engineering industry have conjured a multi-decade shortage, meaning more hiring opportunities and wider talent pools than ever. To ensure organizations are setting up interviewees and future employees for success in the hiring process and beyond, adding transparency, flexibility, speed, and second chances is essential. Now more than ever, organizations can demonstrate their commitment to a diverse, supportive, and inclusive company culture.
