We asked recruiters to give their biggest pains in tech recruitment

At DevSkiller, we work hard every day to make tech recruitment better. We also know that the people who best know how to make it better are the people who are actively engaged in the process and know their biggest pains. These are the recruiters, executives, and hiring managers on the front line, fighting to place the right candidates in the right positions.

The only way the tech recruiters can get better is if the tech recruitment community share our biggest pains and successes. With that in mind, we decided to ask people involved in tech recruitment what their biggest pains were and also as a bonus, what the features are of excellent tech recruitment process. Because this is for the community, we promised to share the results with everybody. Keep reading below to see what your peers we’re hiring developers are dealing with and how are they being successful.

Notes:

• The responses here are a collection of the topics discuss and are presented in random order.
• To make it easier to digest, we’ve published each unique concept rather than each individual answer

What takes up the most time in your tech recruitment process?

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• Technical test
• The HR response
• Sourcing
• Interviews
• Manager’s indecision
• Researching and understanding the technology
• Finding people with domain expertise
• Selection and validation of CVs
• Verifying candidates skills and experience
• Recruiting software
• Policy and procedures
• Finding an interviewer panel for a role
• Interviewees not selectively and succinctly answering questions
• Talking with candidates about the details of the job offer
• Skills assessment
• Getting feedback from the company
• Scheduling technical interviews
• Tech interviews
• Meeting candidates
• Kickoff meetings with managers
• The exercise stage
• Scheduling interviews
• Sourcing available candidates
• The timing: to hire the right candidate when he/she is still available.
• Passive sourcing
• Employer marketing
• Hiring
• Following up with candidates
• Convincing candidates to do interviews
• screening
• Writing reviews after the meeting with the candidate
• Waiting for replies
• Communication with hiring managers
• Feedback process
• Decision process
• Uploading candidates information on ATS
• Hiring for niche skills
• Challenge
• Developers
• Technical screening
• 4th to 5th rounds of interview
• Scheduling coding tests
• The multiple rounds
• Notice period
• Mobilization
• Connecting to recruiter
• Determining if the candidate is a fit
• Understanding the job description
• Project requirements gathering
• Selecting candidates
• Finding a recruiter

What are your biggest pains and blockers in filling open tech positions?

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• Technical skills
• Java developer
• specialist Technical Knowledge
• Response time for acceptance of a candidate
• English
• Salary
• Recruiting good candidates
• How to determine the knowledge and experience of candidates
• Availability of quality local candidates
• Lack of qualified candidates.
• Getting the right culture fit candidates.
• Lack of algorithm thinking
• Mix of skills
• Relocation issues
• High expectations vs a little experience
• Persuading developers to leave their current company
• Unstable job market
• Covid-19
• Find senior resources with the right profile
• Ignorance from/converting the passive candidates
• Developers being spoiled
• Interview process
• Developers understanding their own level within the industry
• Niche tech
• Form of employment
• Keeping the candidate warm during the long process
• Low scores in the computer-based tests
• Competition
• Unclear role expectations
• Misunderstandings in/lack of communication
• Budget
• Convincing candidates to join a start-up
• Consulting mindset
• Candidate availability
• Exact project details
• Prejudice
• Undisclosed salary
• Experience
• IT
• Finding candidates that fit the job opening
• Varying steps in the process
• Long process and time between interviews
• Convince senior developer to take technical tests
• Cybersecurity
• Recruiter knowledge
• Counteroffers
• Notice period
• Lack of understanding of the techie needs
• Job portals internal/external
• The hr response
• social media
• Developers, Architects
• Java
• Sourcing
• Employee brand
• Candidates adding skills they don’t have
• Unrealistic requirements
• Recruitment/sourcing tools
• Coding testing
• Internal administration process
• Candidates no show
• Candidates failing to provide proper information during screening
• Lack of interviewer skill mastery/technical background
• CTO
• Declined offer
• Python Developer
• Visa/immigration issues
• Naukri
• DevSkiller
• Candidate experience
• Client’s criteria’s
• Diversity
• Employee Referrals
• Job portals

What is the biggest reason that you lose good developer candidates?

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• Total compensation
• Time
• Salary
• Interviewer expertise
• Time from interview to offer
• Time to select CV
• HR turnaround time
• Client decision time
• Having jobs that aren’t a fit/tech doesn’t match
• Not be agile during the process
• Accepted another offer
• Better offer from a competitor
• Can’t be persuaded to switch jobs
• Old technology
• The Company’s inflexibility in negotiations
• Lack of diversity awareness from the hiring managers
• Not passing our tech. challenge
• The role is not challenging enough
• Not being able to assess their skills properly
• The appeal of our working environment
• Skills not sufficient
• They don’t complete the tech hiring exercise
• Projects
• Very inflexible working hours / no home office
• Brand awareness|convincing
• Forecasting growth path
• Matching both candidate’s and client’s expectations.
• Tolerance
• Getting them interested
• Cultural fit
• Not able to provide all the information candidate wants to know
• Startups
• Notice period
• Sourcing
• Visas
• Coding test
• Location
• Difficult reading skills
• Wrong Attitude
• Relocation

How do you find new techniques and tools to improve your tech recruitment results and solve your biggest pains? Can you list your favorite sources?

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• DevSkiller blog
• Github blog
• Stackoverflow blog
• Reddit
• Quora
• LinkedIn
• Reading Hiring Books
• Empleos TI
• OCC
• El empleo
• Tic job
• Torre
• Colleagues
• Webinars
• Workshops
• Investigations
• Blogs
• Testdome
• Self-improvement
• DevSkiller newsletter
• Google
• Journals
• On the job
• Technical recruitment courses
• YouTube
• Indeed
• Facebook
• Newsletters
• Candidates
• Kasia Tang’s blog
• Xray search
• Recruiter Lite
• Boolean
• Use of external agencies
• Sourcing tools
• Nofluffjobs
• Worms portal
• Meetups
• Recruitment
• Twitter
• Books like Full Stack Recruiter by Jan Tegze
• Hiring services
• Online tests
• Pluralsight
• Workable
• Recruiter.com
• Recruitment brain food by Hung Lee
• Metacognition development
• Manatal
• SourceHub
• Conferences
• AmazingHiring
• Java
• Springboot
• Glassdoor
• Medium
• Yet a tete
• Lusha
• Dice
• Recruiting
• Hiretual
• Hirist
• Artificial intelligence
• Naukri
• Monster
• Iimjobs
• Glossary tech
• Geek to geek
• Angelist
• Social talent
• Snaphunt.com
• Talent hub
• Telegram
• HR magazines
• CATS
• Online survey
• Lean recruiting canvas
• Google Feed
• Sourcecon
• Toggl
• DOU.ua
• Social media
• Codibility
• Hackerrank
• Jobsdb
• Blognone
• CareerBuilder
• Guruskills
• SAP
• Bootcamps

What additional skills/information do you want to learn to become better at tech recruitment and solve your biggest pains? Can you list them?

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• Programming Skills
• Skills development
• Sourcing
• Personality tests
• Tech assessments
• Agile methodologies in Human Resources
• Employer Branding
• Machine learning
• Cloud computing
• Big data
• English
• What are the different roles in tech?
• Webinars
• Courses
• Coding test platform
• Interviews techniques
• How to attract senior devs
• Advanced boolean
• New technology
• Computer science
• DevOps processes
• Tools
• Qualifying candidates
• Engaging candidates
• Social networking
• More information about certain profiles
• Negotiation skills
• Better communication with US teams
• Working with other recruiters
• HR Analytics
• Candidate expectations
• Alternative sources
• Communication
• Working with a hiring manager
• Best practices
• Future trends
• Case studies
• How to use bots
• Gen Z
• Market trends
• Conversion rate
• Leadership positions
• People profiling
• Sales
• Storytelling
• HR coaching
• Forums
• People management
• Time Management
• How to minimize offer backout ratio
• Filter CVs
• Marketing
• SQL
• Social media
• After offer Management
• Writing good job specifications
• Project staffing
• Candidate matching
• Strategy
• Psychological evaluation
• Passive candidates
• Management
• Diversity

What features would an online coding skills screening tool need to have for you to use it?

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• Adaptability
• Software development
• Don’t work
• All in one
• Solve real problems
• Selection of frameworks
• Reliability
• Vagas.com integration
• LinkedIn integration
• Code test
• Plagiarism checks
• Test builder
• Web-based platform
• Simple UI
• Simple to use for candidates/developers/non-tech people
• Reports
• Advanced JavaScript conceptual/architectural questions
• See the candidate’s computer screen
• 1-hour time commitment
• Not tricky
• Show where candidates are in the process
• Fast
• Reliable answers
• Comparable results
• File download
• Detailed candidate feedback
• Tablet
• Information supporting recruiters
• Live code editor
• Can use google
• Lifeshare
• Can leave notes about candidates
• Keep CV
• Level appropriate tests
• Code review exercises
• Email notification
• Automatic correction
• Transparent
• Clear/understandable results for recruiters/candidates
• Hackerrank
• DevSkiller
• Python scripting
• Random questions
• Most used technologies
• AI
• Set of pre-defined tasks
• Be light
• Live preview
• Code quality preview
• Technical Ranking per technology usage
• Modular
• IDE integrations
• Free or freemium model
• Support for several languages/latest technologies
• Situational/behavioral questions
• Github
• Hackerearth
• Timer
• Video
• MCQ
• Versatile
• Competitive
• Available
• Check bugs/errors
• Landing page signup
• Multiple-choice questions
• ATS integrations
• Full project description
• Debugging tasks
• Social media
• Boolean
• API
• Auto-run
• Collabedit
• Test only specific skills
• Sourcing
• Basic understanding
• Better recruitment
• Camera
• Reasonable price
• Simple questions
• Codethon
• Stackoverflow profile
• Github profile
• Portfolio
• C
• Bot
• Filled in by the candidate
• Customize options
• Bias mitigation
• Java
• Visual studio

Bonus: Think of an excellent tech recruitment experience you’ve been a part of. What factors made it successful?

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• Hiring Manager’s satisfaction aligned with high performance’s hiring.
• Candidate experience
• The code challenge was funny/interesting
• Short time duration/moving quickly between stages
• A lot of applicants applying for the position
• Precise job description
• Effective feedback from the technical evaluator
• The assessment/test
• The candidate was a good fit
• Technical expertise
• Good communication with recruiters
• Selection
• Teamwork across the organization
• Well defined position
• Good employee value prop
• Perseverance
• Luck
• Good developer communication
• Events
• University relationships
• Consistency
• LinkedIn
• Great tech recruiters
• Staying in touch with candidates who drop out of the process
• Contact with candidates
• Good offer
• Location flexibility
• Multiple interviewers
• Candidate engagement
• Competency-based interview
• Honesty
• Support form management board
• Candidates willing to negotiate
• Professionalism
• Interview
• Employee advocacy campaign
• Send automated invitations for the interviewers
• Communication
• Candidate availability
• Sales
• Negotiation
• Job fairs
• Personalization
• Transparency
• Recruiter training
• Employer branding
• Strategy
• Responsibility
• Network
• Good database
• Social Media
• Recruiting agency match
• Tools
• Budget fit
• Confidence
• Time pressure to fill the position
• Hackathon
• Sourcing
• Behavioral interviews
• Consultant
• Boolean search
• Tools
• Practice
• Hard work
• Skill mapping
• Lean recruiting canvas
• Understood relocation
• Niche candidates
• Organized process
• Professional development

Make your recruitment better

These answers should give you some ideas about what the biggest issues are that you will face in tech recruitment. It’s now time to take these, along with some ideas for a great process to recruit the right candidates.

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