The ultimate guide to

hiring technical talent

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THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Key strategies for hiring

teams to help streamline the
technical hiring process

Every organization, regardless of industry,

eventually faces the same challenge: how to
implement a process to quickly and efficiently
acquire top talent. The stakes are even higher when
filling technical positions, as traditional hiring
practices can’t always meet the unique challenges
technical hiring poses to an organization.

Resumes seldom reveal the true qualifications

and talents of a technical candidate and the
screening and interview process relies heavily on
existing teams, taking them away from important
work. The result is often a candidate who hiring
teams can’t be confident in their ability to excel in
the role on a daily basis.

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To address this, successful companies
are implementing scalable processes and
platforms that specifically address the
challenges of hiring technical talent.

Those that do this not only win top talent, they In this guide, we’ll review some of the traditional
also reduce the hidden costs and strain technical challenges recruiters and hiring managers
hiring takes on the company as a whole. encounter when filling technical positions and how
you can evolve your hiring process to discover and
This ultimately boosts productivity among
hire better candidates faster and easier.
everyone on the hiring team empowering them
to expand their focus to important factors like
cultural fit and long-term goals.

Why traditional hiring approaches often fail

Most hiring teams have a pretty straightforward approach to hiring
candidates that typically looks something like this:

Post job description Candidate submits resume

Resume reviewed
for minimum
requirements
Potential candidates (electronically or manually)

Advancing screened via phone

candidates invited
for in-person
interview Additional in-person Offer extended to
interviews as needed best candidate

When it comes to hiring for technical roles, a one-size-fits-all

approach may not result in the best candidate for the job.
Before exploring ways to evolve your hiring
process, it’s important to understand why
traditional hiring approaches often fail.
Resumes rarely represent a Technical recruiting and hiring have a diversity
challenge. Because unconscious bias can easily
candidate’s true potential
influence even the most well-meaning hiring
You probably know this scenario well. A resume managers, there’s a real risk that qualified
crosses your desk that looks too good to be true. candidates may get passed over. The result
of that unconscious bias can have a profound
They tick all the boxes, and their cover letter negative impact on an organization. Despite many
was personable and well-written, but after a few organizations implementing diversity initiatives and
interviews-or worse, after they’ve been hired-you vowing to hire more inclusively, research has shown
realize that their skills don’t stand up to their resume. the problem isn’t going away. According to a recent
Pew Research Center report, computer-based roles
Difficult to assess on-the-job skills have skyrocketed by 338% since 1990, yet only 25%
of those new roles have been filled by women, and
Ultimately, what every hiring team wants to know people of color represented a mere 16%. Companies
is if a candidate can succeed in the role. That that hire a more diverse workforce, however, see
means understanding how well they can navigate dramatic benefits including diversity of thought and
software and systems, how they approach perspective, leading to greater innovation, higher
challenges and handle failure. team morale, and even higher ROI.

While there have been some attempts to address A Credit Suisse Research Institute study, for
this, many solutions are merely band-aids for example, found that companies with women on
the real problem. For example, one popular tool, management boards outperformed those that
coding challenges, may show that a candidate can didn’t, indicating that having a more gender
solve a puzzle and may have some coding skills, diverse team lead to greater overall success
but it still can’t reveal how that candidate can for the entire company. Simply put, companies
apply their skills in a real-world situation. can’t afford the cost of a missed opportunity due
to bias when hiring technical talent.

Unconscious bias
Poor candidate experience
Most of us try to be conscious of bias and do
our best to counteract or avoid it completely. Finally, and possibly the most important,
The problem with some biases is that they’re is the poor candidate experience of the
completely unconscious. We couldn’t stop them traditional hiring process.
if we tried because we aren’t even aware we’re
Between lengthy interview timelines, to canned,
doing it. Traditional hiring is a breeding ground
impersonal interactions via Applicant Tracking
for unconscious bias to find its way into the hiring
Systems (ATS), the candidate may feel less like a
process. It begins with the way a job description
future employee and more like just another number.
is written and follows throughout the process
the moment a candidate’s name, educational With demand for skilled candidates on the rise,
background, years of experience, and many skilled candidates can take their pick from multiple
other details are shared. employment offers. Providing a positive hiring
experience for candidates is an important factor
many employers overlook, making it a strong
competitive advantage.

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 Adapting for
technical hiring
For many hiring teams,
recruiting technical talent can
be a bit daunting-especially if
it’s for a position that the team
isn’t super familiar with.

Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert

in the field in which your hiring to recruit
great candidates. In this section, we’ll
outline key steps you can take to evolve
your hiring process to adapt for recruiting
for any technical role.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Focus on ability and talent

One of the most important adjustments you can make for
technical hiring is to become laser-focused on assessing
a candidate’s abilities right from the start.

There’s a growing trend toward skills-based Assess real-world performance

(also called competency-based) hiring, and
for good reason. Nearly every major challenge
Common tools for skills assessments used in
presented by the hiring process-for technical
technical hiring are standard coding challenges
roles or any other - can be mitigated by
and brainteasers.
assessing a candidate’s skills and talents first.
While these types of assessments can be
Once it’s been established that a candidate can
somewhat helpful in identifying basic skills,
perform the day-to-day tasks necessary to the
they don’t reveal how a candidate solves the
role, you can advance to the next stage, which
assignment which is an important factor when
we’ll discuss later on.
determining overall ability.
First, let’s outline how to go about
Additionally, many brainteasers are well-known
assessing a candidate’s abilities-especially
amongst job seekers, and therefore easy to
if you’re not well-versed in the field or
memorize and practice. Asking candidates these
specialty for which you’re recruiting.
types of questions won’t reveal what they really
know or how they handle real-world challenges.

Instead, it’s far more effective to simply

have candidates perform the same tasks
they’d be responsible for in the position for
which they’re applying.

For example, if you’re recruiting for Ops

Engineering, it’s likely you’ll need that person
to troubleshoot a faulty app server as part of
their regular duties, so make sure that your
assessment includes this as a required task.

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How to do it
This can be an intimidating aspect of the recruiting process if the hiring
team isn’t totally familiar with the specifics of a role or its requirements.
Fortunately, with a little help from your existing technical team (e.g. developers, engineers, etc.) you can
streamline this step to quickly and effectively identify candidates who’ll meet your requirements.

Step 1: Step 2: Step 3:

Review the job Create a set of Determine who
description with your assessments based on should review and rank
technical team the job requirements candidate assessments

Before you can understand how to You’ll need your technical team’s Once a candidate has completed
assess your candidates, you need help with this step too, but the their assessment, someone will
to make sure that you’re attracting good news is, once you have the need to review it. Some teams
the right ones from the start. How template you can reuse it again prefer to have their technical teams
your job description is written says and again for any candidate manually review every candidate’s
a lot about your organization and applying for the same position. work, while others rely on tools and
the role, so don’t rush this part. platforms to help automatically
Additionally, depending on what grade or rate assessments. The
Gather a few members of the platforms or services you use, latter method is preferred for many
team the candidate will be joining some, like Lytmus, provided teams as it eases the burden on
and ask them to describe the a pre-set list of questions for technical teams and speeds the
skills, abilities, and functions they assessments based on role. This hiring process.
need this person to perform on makes it easy for anyone to quickly
a daily basis. Take careful notes create an assessment for any Depending on the tool or platform
and record your discussions, if role, without needing the requisite you’re using, certain reports can
possible, as the team may use knowledge of the intricacies of usually be generated that will
terms you’re not familiar with that the role or relying too heavily on show how candidates performed
you may want to use, verbatim, in technical teams for guidance. giving you a quick snapshot of top
your job description. performers allowing you to quickly
advance suitable candidates to
Once you know exactly what’s the next stage of the process,
needed, include that in the roles whether that’s a more in-depth
and responsibilities section of skills assessment or an
your post. This will also dictate in-person interview.
what you’ll want to assess in the
next step.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Reduce bias in recruiting

Reducing bias is a top priority for any competitive organization,
but putting it into practice during the recruitment process can
be a challenge if you’re not well positioned ahead of time.

If you’re starting out by focusing on a candidate’s Step 1:

talents first, you’re already on the right track
as you’re taking a first look at a candidate’s Choose your words carefully
capabilities and nothing else.

To help avoid bias from that point forward, For example, certain words have been shown
there are a few things you can do to help your to be more appealing to male applicants, while
team stay objective. turning female applicants away.

Words like ‘analyze’ may attract more males, while

‘collaborative’ may appeal more to women. Comb
Create an inclusive job description through job descriptions before posting and be
sure to utilize tools currently available to make
your posts as neutral as possible.
Reducing bias begins even before you receive your
first application. It starts with the job description.

In addition to outlining the skills required for

the role, as mentioned above, it’s also important Step 2:
to frame job descriptions in a way that feels
inclusive for a wide range of applicants. Consider reducing or eliminating
educational requirements
This may feel counterintuitive, but given how
many individuals in technical roles are self-
taught or have non-traditional educational
backgrounds, it makes a lot of sense.

Even large, global companies like Ernst & Young

(E&Y) and Google have opted to eliminate
educational requirements, such as a college degree,
for new hires. E&Y found that, after an internal
study of over 400 employees that their educational
background had little correlation with their job
performance, thus inspiring the new policy.

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Level the playing field: Blind resumes
Prepare candidates for
assessments interviews Once a candidate’s assessment scores come in
you’ll naturally want to forward the top scorers to
You never know what kind of background your the hiring team for review.
candidates are coming from, so be sure that
you’re leveling the playing field by preparing But before you do, consider redacting any identifying
them all equally on what to expect from the information about the candidate. This includes things
application and interview process. like their name or educational background-anything
that may provide subtle hints to reviewers on the
For example, let all candidates know upon candidate’s age, gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation,
receipt of their application or resume, that they’ll or educational background.
be asked to complete a skills assessment to
determine their compatibility with the role, and By doing this, you’re once again guiding hiring
if they perform well, they’ll be invited to the next teams to focus on what really matters-the
stage of the process, then explain what that stage candidate’s ability to perform the tasks necessary
entails. By preparing all candidates equally, you’re for the role. As an added benefit, you’ll focus the
giving everyone the same opportunity to prepare, first part of the hiring process on competency,
rather than assuming every candidate knows the leaving the in-person (or video) interviews
process and potentially leaving some skilled but free for you and your team to get a feel for the
new to the field candidates underprepared. candidate’s fit with the company and team.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Promote a candidate-
centered approach to hiring
The hiring process for technical roles has sometimes
earned a reputation for being cold and impersonal.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given For example, if you have an auto-reply set up
that many candidates are asked, up-front, to for whenever a candidate submits a resume,
‘prove’ that they’re qualified through skills be sure that it outlines that they will be asked
assessments, quizzes, or coding challenges. to complete a skills assessment prior to their
application being considered, and explain how
While these assessments are a necessary part of the assessment will be administered and provide
the process, they shouldn’t make candidates feel them with the necessary contact information if
like just another number. Fortunately, there are a they have questions or technical difficulties.
few simple steps you can take to help
make candidates feel welcomed and valued Additionally, it’s important to give candidates an
throughout the recruitment process. expected timeline, if possible. If it typically takes
candidates about two weeks to complete their
assessment, have a phone screening, and schedule
an in-person interview, share that information with
Clearly communicate the process
them. This will help manage candidate expectations
and help keep the hiring team on track to assure
One of the top complaints candidates have the process doesn’t drag on (another key complaint
about the hiring process is feeling left in the candidates have about the hiring process).
dark about what happens next.

By clearly stating up front how the process will go,

candidates are immediately prepared and know
what to expect. Some companies even list the
hiring process in the job description which is a
great way to set the stage early on, but even if you
do this, it’s still important to remind candidates
throughout the process what’s happening now,
and what will happen next.

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Be respectful of their time Thank candidates for applying

Just as employers expect candidates to be While most employers expect a thank you from
punctual for interviews and submitting their candidates, it’s not often a candidate receives
assessments, hiring teams should also be one from a prospective employer-which is all the
respectful to candidate’s schedules. more reason to do it.

Set clear timelines for milestones in the process Even if a candidate wasn’t selected for a role, you
and stick to them. It may seem like common can make a huge impact on their perception of
sense, but so many candidates report that they your organization by treating them with the same
don’t feel their time is a consideration in the courtesy and respect they’ve granted you. Send
hiring process, so it’s an easy way to set yourself a personalized thank you to every applicant after
apart from competing employers. they’ve completed a certain step in the hiring
process (we’d recommend after their first in-
person interview).
Prepare your team
This is a also a great opportunity to once again
provide some guidance on what to expect next.
The candidate isn’t the only one that needs to
The in-person interview can be one of the most
prepare for the hiring process-your team does, too.
nerve-wracking steps in the process, so providing
Before even posting an open position, gather some extra attention after candidates achieve
everyone that will be involved in the hiring process this step will be a welcome change for many.
and establish clear goals and responsibilities
for everyone. This is a great opportunity for
the team to help shape the role requirements,
job description, and agree on the necessary
assessments to be completed by applicants.

A little preparation beforehand will ease the

burden for everyone on the team, and provide a
much smoother and faster path
for candidates.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Putting your
new hiring
process into
practice
Now that you have a good foundation for
establishing a more structured technical
hiring process it’s helpful to understand how
some platforms, like Lytmus, can help you
better manage the process. In this section,
we’ll share how Lytmus customers use the
platform to streamline their hiring process.

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THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

How our customers use Lytmus

The best way to understand how a platform can be beneficial is to
see it applied in real life scenarios. Below are two common ways
in which Lytmus customers use the platform to hire technical
candidates of all levels and disciplines.

High volume of candidates

For some positions, a large candidate pool will be expected which typically means
a lot of time up front reviewing resumes and confirming qualifications.
For those types of roles, our customers employ the following hiring workflow using the Lytmus platform:

Step 1: Step 2:
Lytmus Take-Home Lytmus Remote Interview
For high volume roles, it’s best to first Once a candidate meets the threshold and has
require all interested candidates to complete passed their Take-Home assessment, they can
a take-home assignment to quickly and proceed to a traditional phone screen, or move
easily assess a candidate’s abilities-before right into a Remote Interview in which the hiring
committing to a phone screen. team can observe candidates solving real-world
challenges with the tools they’d be using on the job.
Once candidates complete their assignments,
their scores are made available to the hiring
team via their Lytmus dashboard. A minimum
score can be established, making it easy to
quickly eliminate unqualified candidates early
on. One customer, a consumer mobile app
company, reduced its volume of phone screens
by nearly 60% by using Take-Home tests to
assess large volumes of candidates.
Step 3:
On-site Interview
By now you’ve established the candidate has
the skills they need to get the job done which
means you have the time and flexibility to focus
on deciding if the individual is a great cultural fit
for your organization.
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Specialized roles

For some roles, a Take-Home assessment might not be appropriate or provide

the best hiring experience for candidates.
Candidates with highly-specialized skills, extensive experience, or hard-to-find
expertise may be better suited to the following workflow using the Lytmus platform:

Step 1: Step 2:
Initial screening Lytmus Remote Interview
Given the specialized qualifications for the role Once the hiring team has determined the
- and the limited number of available candidates candidate has potential, they can move right into
-some customers opt to start out with an initial a Remote Interview in which they can observe
phone screen to gauge a candidate’s interest candidates solving real-world challenges with the
and experience. tools they’d be using on the job.

Step 3: Step 4:
On-site interview Take-Home
By now you’ve established the candidate has the In some cases, it may be appropriate to follow up
skills they need to get the job done which means an on-site interview with a higher-level Take-Home
you have the time and flexibility to focus on to validate any additional skills and experience
deciding if the individual is a great cultural fit for before considering an offer.
your organization.
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HIRING TECHNICAL TALENT

Hiring, evolved
Just like the technology we use
every day evolves, so should the
approach to finding, evaluating, and
hiring the best technical talent.

Great candidates have a lot of options when it

comes to where they work, and the companies
that put the candidates themselves at the center
of the hiring process have the best chance of
attracting their interest.

Hiring great technical talent isn’t about school

pedigree or how well a candidate can solve an
obscure coding challenge that’d never happen during
the normal course of daily work-it’s about finding
the individuals that can-and want to-do the work
required and are a great fit for the organization. For
many companies, this means a dramatic shift from
traditional hiring practices.

Focusing on demonstrable skills and aptitude, with

real-world scenarios are the best way to cut through
the noise and distraction of standard hiring practices
and find the best candidates fast, significantly
reducing the burden of hiring and technical teams,
enabling everyone to get back to what they do best.

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Great engineering
teams rely on Lytmus.

Want to learn more?

If you’d like to learn more about Lytmus, our
products, and how the platform can help you
hire better candidates fast, get in touch

Request your free demo

Take Home Remote Interviews

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