The breakthrough in recruitment strategies
The world doesn’t need paper-qualified programmers; instead, the world needs good logic makers, powerful think tanks and effective professionals that can complete projects with precision.
The convention when a company wants to hire a programmer is receiving CV or resumes, have them reviewed by an HR representative and schedule an interview. While this method has definitely gotten companies sharp minds, they have failed to bring effective professionals that can take their projects to a whole new level.
So, how do companies find a programmer that is as effective in the “field” with the practical knowledge and experience that grants them effectiveness? Well, hackathons are a way to go.
What are hackathons?
Hackathons are events and places where passionate professionals, or even students in the technology and BD (business development) get to gather and participate in a plethora of activities that range from creating teams, presenting pitches, and effectively using their expertise to create a solution.
These events are often open for a wide variety of people to participate; in fact, you can find people that have little to no knowledge of programming or coding attending these events to gain experience. At the same time, it is also open to the most talented people in the programming business, or the rising stars of programming.
For participants, this is to meet fresh minds ranging from diverse backgrounds who they couldn’t have otherwise met, and it also helps them learn new things from their mentors and teammates. Above all, it helps people see a problem from multiple perspectives and arrive at a solution. For companies, it’s an amazing opportunity to observe rising talent in the field. Want to hire a programmer? Recruit at hackathons.
Since a lot of hackathons attendees will oftentimes be affiliated with a company, you can steal them from their respective companies and hire them yourself by providing them with a nice deal.
Why are hackathons so effective when it comes to finding talented programmers?
People who are usually dedicated, and have the spirit to take the extra steps to achieve their goal. Most of the time, people that attend hackathons may be professionals that work for some company already, or have had offers of recruitment from companies.
Young talent is always looking for a better deal, and if your company is providing a good deal, you can find the world’s best talent, or even steal the talent from other companies.
Hackathons are amazing when it comes to finding new programmers. The best skill to have is working under pressure, working with teams, completing projects in a given time and competing in a competitive environment; this way, not only are the programmer’s skills checked, but you can evaluate whether they have the ability to be a valuable part of the team or even lead the team in the future.
Dedication is a key factor when you want to find a programmer, and you will easily find a lot of talent backing their dedication up. Many major companies actually closely monitor hackathons and offer internships, jobs and placements in their companies when they find a programmer that’s worth keeping.
Why the resume recruitment system is not effective in finding hidden talents?
Often times, you won’t find dedicated and talented programmers on the job market. The reason is, hackathon is a way of showing off skills to the world. For a programmer, that means to effectively show their skills in a practical manner. During hackathons you’ll find a slew of talented professionals with amazing problem solving skills, team work abilities and ideas that can be showcased by how they work in the hackathon. While interviews and aptitude lab tests are a great option, it often will not suffice as it pertains to tech companies. Hackathons do not simply allow recruiters to gauge a candidate's complex skills, but also just how they approach an issue and connect to others.
ChallengeRocket is a company that hosts hackathons that can provide opportunities for companies to find hidden talents, asses skill of participants and find programmers for their company faster. There are a ton of challenges all over Europe, which makes it easier for companies to recruit fresh talent. You can visit our website for more info and details by clicking here.
