So I co-founded a telecommunications startup and we're in the process of trying to hire new devs. Been looking for a almost 6 months now. I need help.
So, we're working with several recruiters to help find candidates as well as having job posting on job boards/indeed.co.uk and similar.
The process candidates go through is we receive their CV and then if they seem ok we give them a coding test. Extremely simple but with some hidden subtleties that mean we know how much a dev actually thinking about the problem. Now nearly all the CV's that we get also go onto the test phase. The test is distributed by the recruiters and candidates are given 24 hours to complete and send back to us for marking.
The only issue is that 80/90% of candidates who receive the test fail. Are we being too strict or are devs just that bad at the moment (mainly grads with comps sci degrees, but also some mid/senior level devs too).
It's started to really get to me because somewhere someone is doing something wrong - is it us or is it uni's or it the industry?
I'm open to anything really. I really need advice.
There's only four of us in the startup so a cultural dynamic is also needed.
Finally, it seems like devs are overpriced. Is that due to the industry or just general? I know recruiters will put £1 or 2k on top in order for them to make more money but still. Seems excessive - expecting an average of £28k.
(I don't know a great deal about the industry - by academics I'm an engineer and that industry is quite harsh.)
The Test: I would like to clarify a couple of things with the test. We give the candidates the test (in there own time and at a time of their choosing) for 24 hours. In addition to this, we do not stipulate they can't use google/stack/hash etc, the test itself is a simple word count test, and we allow programmers to use the language they are most familiar with.
I don't mean to sound overly critical but any test in which 90% of the takers fail is probably the fault of the test creator. It could be because you are asking questions outside the scope of knowledge of a normal programmer, in which case you are probably looking for a specialized and advanced skill set (which requires you to pay more and search deeper through the talent pool). Another possibility is that you are not asking questions that reflect the job description or requirements. If you put out a job listing for a web developer, but ask them questions about C, you should expect every one of them to fail. (Likewise, if you are hiring C developers and ask them questions about JavaScript scope, they will do poorly.) In short, you might need to either adjust your expectations or bring your test more in line with the job description.
Side note: I've taken several of these coding tests, and I hate them. They are time consuming and, frankly, a little disrespectful. The company wants me to take time out of my busy day to complete a test with no input or investment from the company, instead of a 1-1 interview in which both the interviewer and the candidate invest time. There have been several instances where I've completed these tests and never even gotten a response. I view that as incredibly disrespectful (I'm not saying you do this but it seems to be a problem with some companies). Now when a company asks me to do a test, I don't respond. I would rather not risk wasting my time, and would prefer to work for a company that is willing to invest resources into their potential employees.
Just my two cents.
Don't you think £28k a year is too little to be in UK? Come on, I'm in Bangkok, Thailand and I can easily find a job paying that money. Considering cost of living in Thailand and in UK, £28k in UK sound like an insult to me.
Nate
King Puma
whats the test? cannot comment until i see it