What parts of the job hunt irritate developers the most? With the tech unemployment rate hovering at 2.4 percent, and companies desperate to hire the specialized technologists they need to implement their grand plans, questions over which parts of the recruitment process and interviews work—and which don’t—are more important than ever.
HackerEarth recently surveyed more than 25,000 developers as part of its 2021 Developer Survey, and found that a lack of post-interview feedback was one thing that drove developers nuts as they attempted to secure a new job. “Too many rounds in the interview process (16 percent) and misleading job descriptions (14 percent) are some of the other things about the tech hiring process that vex working professionals,” the survey added. Here’s the full chart:
If companies want to ease developers’ irritations and fears during the interview process, they can reduce the number of interview rounds, ask relevant technical questions, and make sure that communication between the hiring managers and the candidate is frequent.
Developers also told HackerEarth that they prefer to be interviewed remotely with an IDE or another means of sharing code. If a remote interview isn’t available, they’re fine with an onsite coding interview. Small percentages of developers, on the other hand, liked pair programming as a way of testing their skills:
If you’re preparing for a job interview, keep in mind that different companies have radically different interview policies; some like structured interviews with lots of tests and scoring, while others prefer a more unstructured (and sometimes quite informal, at least by HR standards) process. The past year of remote work (and the possibility that companies will continue hybrid and remote work well into the future) adds another element to the equation—prepare for questions about your remote-work schedule and even your home office environment.
Before the interview, make sure you research the company, paying particular attention to anything you can find about their tech stack, preferred tools, and recent technology releases. Chances are good that you’ll be asked about how you tackled previous projects and challenges, so come prepped with stories that put your technical and “soft” skills in their best light.
