Businesses may be missing out on top tech talent because they are too set in their ways when it comes to recruiting, according to a survey by developer recruitment platform CodinGame.*

Skilled tech candidates are slipping through the net because businesses are not adapting new recruitment strategies quick enough and are too conservative in their selection processes.

A recent survey by CodinGame of 150 businesses looking to hire tech staff, found that 70% are still shortlisting candidates based on their resume. 

When CodinGame polled tech recruiters at the end of 2021, the majority (57%) said they were ready to drop the CV in their hiring process, but this latest poll reveals that the practical reality is the polar opposite.

Although the resume has its limitations in identifying candidates with the necessary skills, and is seen as a major contributory factor towards bias during the hiring process, many recruiters aren’t ready to ditch the CV.

Of those businesses polled, shortlisting based on the resume (82% performed by HR professionals), followed by a phone call, is the method that the majority of companies adopt in the first stage of recruitment.

This is followed by an online technical test and a technical interview to verify the applicant’s skills, concluding with an interview with HR. On average, less than half (45%) of applicants make it past the shortlisting stage.

An automated skill test, located further upstream in the recruitment process (or “skills-based hiring”) gives a better chance to applicants, especially those with an atypical career history, who are in the process of changing careers, or who don’t have the requisite degrees, and thus expand the hiring pool.

However, 39% of businesses are reluctant to require all applicants to take a technical test. The reason given? Fear of losing candidates in the process, as they might be less likely to apply if their first contact isn’t with a real person, which reflects the current market and the need to create an optimal candidate experience.

Yet, when CodinGame recently polled developers on the hiring process, more than three quarters (77%) stated that they prefer to demonstrate their skills using online technical tests.

Loick Michard, CEO of developer recruitment platform CodinGame, comments: “In a tense job market, logic would dictate that businesses modify their hiring process to avoid arbitrary selection criteria that eliminate candidates that don’t fit.

“Having applicants pass a technical test, in order to shortlist candidates based on their actual skills rather than trusting the information on their resume, is a method proven to expand the hiring pool. But almost three quarters of the businesses that we surveyed are still shortlisting candidates based on their resume.” 

HR/Technical Managers collaboration in question

CodinGame also asked recruiters about the “skills testing” stage of the hiring process, with three-quarters (74%) agreeing that it allows them to objectively measure skills.

With two thirds (66%) of recruiters accepting that employment bias is an issue, this begs the question why skills-based hiring hasn’t been adopted faster, when the resume has been identified as a major factor in introducing prejudices.

One of the reasons may be at the point of cooperation between HR and technical teams, which is central to the tech hiring process, but is often inefficient.

Two-thirds (67%) of technical skill tests are set up by tech managers/project managers, 77% are issued to candidates by HR professionals, and 81% are finally analysed by tech managers.

Loick Michard comments: “Cooperation between HR and tech teams is crucial to be able to maximise the use of skill tests.

“HR teams need efficient tools to choose applicants that fit the criteria set by the technical team, who don’t want to waste their time interviewing incompetent applicants.

“A technical test is more effective if it is set up internally to cover challenges that are relevant to the position in question. Additionally, technical teams must be involved in the detailed analysis of results, particularly in examining the code created by applicants.

“Too often, the companies surveyed struggled to align their HR department with their tech teams.

“In this context, prioritising skill tests that would not be fully utilised can be daunting, and we default to using the resume to choose candidates. The risk is companies end up hiring ‘clones’.’