This document outlines the top 5 mistakes in technical recruiting: 1. Looking at resumes before conducting a technical interview, as resumes can introduce bias and don't measure technical ability. 2. Not having a clear plan for which interviewer measures which skill during onsite interviews, leading to overlap or gaps. 3. Letting interviewers see each other's feedback before writing their own, which can influence opinions. 4. Giving open-ended take-home assessments, which are open to interpretation rather than a true skill assessment. 5. Making resume review the first step, as resumes are inherently biased and reject the majority of candidates too early.

1. Top 5 Mistakes In Technical
Recruiting
This post is based on the fourteenth episode of the data-driven recruiting
podcast hosted by CodeSignal co-founders Sophia Baik and Tigran Sloyan.

2. #5
Looking at resumes
before conducting a
technical interview.
A technical interview measures
technical ability. You don't need to
know what school a candidate went
to or any other details that can
introduce bias upfront. Avoid the
invitation for unconscious bias by
skipping the initial resume review.

3. #4
Not having a clear
plan for which
interviewer measures
which skill.
This mistake occurs during onsite
interviews, where often 3 - 5
engineers are going to be
conducting their own interview with
the candidate.
Companies who don't have a lot of
experience with this might ask each
interviewer to come up with their
own questions, meet with the
candidate & then regroup as a team
to discuss. This creates an overlap
on the skills that were measured &
not enough wide coverage.

4. #3
Letting interviewers
see each other's
feedback before
writing their own.
Although it's a common problem,
interviewers can avoid it by
formulating a personal opinion
before reading anyone else's.
Almost every applicant tracking
system has a permissions selection
to hide other interviewer feedback.
Be sure to utilize this to avoid being
influenced. The best team
decisions are made when everyone
starts with their own independent
views.

5. #2
Giving open-ended
take-home
assessments.
Ultimately, it's not a true
assessment because it's open to
interpretation by the candidate.
Be clear and the experience (and
assessment results) will be more
fair.

6. #1
Making resume
review the first step of
the hiring process.
Resume reviews are inherently
biased. And 90-95% of candidates
are submitting a resume that is not
going to stand out. Recruiters
acknowledge that the top of the
funnel is the biggest problem in
hiring, so rejecting the majority at
that step defeats the process.
Start with what candidates can do
and assess their skills, whether
you're hiring early talent or more
veteran applicants.

7. learn more at codesignal.com