With the COVID-19 pandemic irrevocably shifting most recruitment online, companies should pause and rethink the technical hiring process. No longer does the mighty CV serve as the golden ticket to recruitment. Instead, advanced hiring technology is refocusing the spotlight on skill and expertise. After all, the recruitment process is the backbone of each company's progress and success. The hired candidates will reflect the amount of effort and resources put into the hiring process. To establish a successful technical interview process, recruiters must shift their thought processes and evaluations.
Recruiters designed the traditional recruitment process for face-to-face interactions, where HR schedules one-on-one appointments with numerous applicants. The recruiters of the time were working with the available resources, but the advent of work-from-home arrangements and online recruiting is evolving the process. Gartner reported that 86% of organizations used virtual interviews to hire candidates at the pandemic's beginning. Recruiters expect this trend to become the “new standard” even after COVID-19-related restrictions lift.
It’s also important to note that most technical positions are more in demand than in the past. The technology industry has always had a high demand for technical positions. Still, since other industries started moving into virtual workspaces and creating a demand for technical positions, the demand has far surpassed the supply. This creates more competition and puts pressure on the recruiters trying to fill these positions to get the positions filled quickly. Despite the pressure of fast-paced hiring, employers still require the same standard for evaluations and thorough assessments in the modern technical interview process as in traditional hiring. While the traditional way of hiring has a lot of key elements that recruiters should incorporate in modern-day recruiting, as a whole, it isn’t keeping up with the hiring demands and requirements. The only way to adapt the hiring process with faster fill times and thorough evaluations is to implement skill-based data-driven technology that can automate tedious tasks, incorporate more insightful analytics, and draw candidates from large talent pools in binding situations.
The technology sector is well-poised for the change if only recruiters and team leaders are prepared to set the bar for remote hiring with digital platforms as the new normal. This preparation means rethinking the traditional technical interview not as a segmented process but as a screening tool characterized by fluidity, performance, and efficiency. To adapt the traditional interview process to the modern-day technical interview process, we must first understand the aspects that are working and which are not.
With the availability of online meeting software and technical evaluation tools, there is no longer an excuse for following the segmented process of traditional interviews. We have all been there — getting a call, scheduling an appointment, rescheduling, waiting in line, finally meeting HR, and waiting for the last call (if that ever comes). Technical interviews should act as the first step to remove unnecessary and time-consuming tasks while condensing the hiring process into as few in-person steps as possible e for a fluid assessment flow.
Nevertheless, the following steps have made up the traditional interview process:
In comparison to the traditional interview process, the modern technical interview process simplifies each of the above steps. It’s no secret that a lengthy hiring and interview process is a major pain point for technical job seekers and recruiters. Shortening the interview process by removing tedious, repetitive tasks leaves more time for skill assessments and evaluation of a candidate’s true aptitude, which is the core of technical hiring.
Due to the technological improvements and integrations in the modern technical interview process, recruiters have shortened the hiring process to only two steps:
Adapting the hiring process and training your team will increase performance rates of hiring techniques overall, reduce turnover later into employment, and reduce time-to-hire and time-to-fill.
Technical interviews can set the gold standard for equitable hiring. The best technical assessment platforms are meant as screening tools for skill, not attractive resumes. Talent is often overlooked because of non-negotiables such as a university degree or lack of experience with a top company. Good candidates are also passed over based on race, gender, or ethnicity. Such prejudice is a loss to employers and applicants as the market concentrates on a select few and neglects equally qualified candidates applying for the same position.
A performance-based technical interview solves this issue by emphasizing performance as the main criterion for the job. Applicants are evaluated through simulated challenges that mimic real-world scenarios. Best-in-class technical interviews provide applicants with typical tools in a similar environment to showcase their expertise. An excellent technical interview process also uses clear criteria for scoring, which further eliminates bias.
Candidates who are a proper fit for a skill-based position are only too happy to prove their worth in a bias-free and performance-based technical interview. When skills are assessed for their own sake, everybody wins.
Automation of in-person interviews with asynchronous video interview allows for more applicants to move through the hiring funnel at a much quicker rate, producing a more fluid and efficient interview pipeline. With tech talent in high demand, speed is essential to secure the best from the rest. While training recruitment teams in modern techniques and technology might take some time, the technical interview process will compensate for it by lightening recruiters' load and improving success rates. Thus causing an easier and faster hiring process.
Candidates, too, can expect to hear from a recruiter sooner than later and make their decision. This accelerated process is a great boon to those who invest time in skill challenges, such as coding and programming. Efficiency in the technical interview process creates a positive candidate experience that benefits both the company and the applicant.
The technical interview process should act as a screening tool for talent and skill. It creates a good candidate experience and saves companies time and effort when done properly. A technical interview process is fluid and efficient, condensing in-person steps into one (if not removing them in their entirety), so there is plenty of time for a thorough skill evaluation.
Filtered is disrupting hiring by reimagining the technical interview process. AI and machine learning power our end-to-end hiring platform to remove unconscious bias from technical recruitment. You can find best-in-class simulation environments to test expertise and performance in job-specific scenarios for:
Filtered integrates candidate authentication, anti-fraud measures, and proctoring features to create a fair assessment that encourages unique talents and backgrounds to eliminate bias so you can focus on assessing skills. Filtered also enables live video interviews in virtual conference rooms built for engineers that provide more insight than an in-person meeting. We are proud to say that we have helped companies fill positions in an average of five days and increased interview-to-hire from 4% to 60%.
Filtered is a leader in skills-based hiring. Our end-to-end technical hiring platform enables you to spend time reviewing only the most qualified candidates, putting skills and aptitude at the forefront of your decisions. We’ll help you automate hiring while applying objective, data-driven techniques to consistently and confidently select the right candidates. To get started, contact our team today or register for a FREE demo.
