HackerRank aims to match developers with jobs based on demonstrated skills rather than resumes. Ravisankar traces the idea back to Interviewstreet, a paid mock interview service in India, and a later service helping students apply to graduate programs. Both struggled to grow, leading the founders to focus on selling to companies and building coding challenges for hiring.
Breaking Down HackerRank's Survey of 40,000 Developers
Speaker
Vivek Ravisankar, co-founder and CEO of HackerRank, discusses the company’s developer skills survey and hiring practices with a Y Combinator host.
HackerRank surveyed a million members of its community and received nearly 40,000 completed responses to a 40-question survey. Respondents came from several regions, with more than 40% in Asia-Pacific. Findings included that one in four developers learned to code before learning to drive, and that developers valued work-life balance and opportunities for continuous learning.
Hiring managers had mixed views of boot camps, which Ravisankar said may depend on their quality. The survey pointed to problem-solving as a priority across company sizes, while startups also valued experience with their specific technology stack and project contributions. Ravisankar said many developers learn through YouTube and practice sites, so employers should assess skills rather than rely on degrees, schools, or past employers as proxies.
Ravisankar said candidates evaluate employers too, including their interview process, peers, and the relevance of technical questions. He encouraged companies to discuss product and business strategy with developers and said brain teasers can be replaced by more relevant ways to assess problem-solving. For HackerRank’s first engineering hires, he emphasized motivation, learning ability, connection to the company’s mission, and looking beyond traditional credentials.
Takeaways
- Use work samples and relevant coding challenges to assess skills instead of treating resumes or degrees as proof.
- Focus an early product on a narrow group of users and make it valuable to them before expanding.
- When selling to a new audience, check whether they have the money and ability to pay.
- Show developers how their work connects to the product and business strategy.
- Look for early hires with drive and learning ability, including candidates without conventional credentials.
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What was claimed 12
- feature
HackerRank: Matches developers to jobs using demonstrated skills“Our mission at HackerRank is to match every developer to the right job, with the underlying driver being skill.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- ceo ofVivek Ravisankar CEO ofHackerRankCEO
“one of the founders and CEO of HackerRank”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- co-founderVivek Ravisankar co-founderHackerRank
“I'm Vivek, one of the founders and CEO of HackerRank.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureHackerRank: Lets companies create custom coding challenges for candidates
“We've built a platform where it's super custom for companies to create challenges.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- builtHackerRank built Interviewstreetearly mock interview service
“We started Interviewstreet; that was our first version.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- previously atVivek Ravisankar previously at Amazondeveloper
“I used to work at Amazon as a developer”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricDeveloper Skills Report: Survey had 40 questions and was sent to one million developers; close to 40,000 completed it
“We sent it to a million of our developers. It was amazing. We got close to 40,000 people to complete the survey.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricHackerRank: Developer community of over 3.4 million
“We have a developer community of over 3.4 million as of last week.”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricDeveloper Skills Report: Over half a million developers read the survey
“over half a million developers read the survey”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricDeveloper Skills Report: One in four developers learned to code before learning to drive
“one in every four developers learned to code before they learned to drive”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- metricDeveloper Skills Report: Work-life balance ranked above perks such as free food and ping-pong
“work-life balance beats all the different perks people offer”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
- featureHackerRank: Helps companies assess developer skills before candidates travel onsite
“They're doing it efficiently because they understand candidates' skills, strengths, and weaknesses before they come on site”
YouTube Unverified1 source· Talk
