How to Source Google Code Jam Events

June 23, 2020 Jonathan Kidder No comments exist

Gone are the days where recruiters only needed LinkedIn and some savvy research skills to find and hire top candidates. With the competitive market at its peak, recruiters like you are having to go to new lengths to find the best leads for any given position, especially in the tech space.

 

Fortunately, if you know where to look, you can find the cream of the crop with ease. And, when it comes to Google Code Jam events, consider them a gold mine for great tech talent. Here’s how to source and recruit from these events:

 

What Is A Google Code Jam?

Since 2003, Google has been hosting international programming competitions known as Google Code Jams. In this competition, developers try to solve a set of complex algorithm problems within a given time frame. They can use any programming language to do it and obtain a solution with any environment they choose.

 

How to Source Using Google Code Jams

As a recruiter, a Google Code Jam might seem like a confusing resource at first thought. Are you looking for leads who say they’ve attended? Are you trying to narrow down leads by their performance in such events? Actually, the best way recruiters can use Google Code Jams is to go through the leader board.

 

Developers get ranked for every round of the Code Jam, giving you a full list of leads and an idea of their area of expertise and corresponding experience. In the list that shows how developers perform in the Code Jam, you’ll be able to scour for usernames that you can then lookup on GitHub and LinkedIn.

 

With the usernames of relevant, top-ranking developers at your fingertips, you’ll be able to quickly cross-reference and compile a list of qualified developers from other professional platforms, thereby giving your contact list a head start!

 

Source Previous Competitions:

2019 List

2018 List

2017 List

2016 List

 

Tips for Using Code Jams

Not all of the usernames that get placed on the Code Jam ranking list will be able to be cross-referenced. Obviously, you’ll only be able to find leads from this list if someone uses the same username on other platforms. Fortunately, that’s not too unlikely and, given the sheer size of the Code Jam competitors list, you shouldn’t have any issue coming up with a number of leads that you can cross-reference and contact at a later date.

 

Other Resources for Sourcing

While Google’s Code Jam remains the largest coding competition in the world, many others have followed suit. Although they may not be able to out-do the volume of Google’s long-running competition, you can still find plenty of leads in these other competitions, too.

 

Two worth trying would be Codeforces and HackerRank. You can source from these competitions in much the same way you’d source from Google Code Jam’s list of competitions, so get to sourcing.

 

Recommended Reading:

What will Change in Recruiting after Covid 19?

How to Find Contact Information Online for Free

How to Support your BIPOC Coworkers During this Time

 

Jonathan Kidder
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