Codeathons: What’s in a game?

Coding platforms are helping companies with critical talent identification, workplace engagement and making right hiring decisions in a cost-effective way.

Codeathons have emerged as an effective platform to hire high quality tech talent not just for the IT companies but across industries.

Last year, in a survey carried out by TechGig, only 30 per cent of the respondents agreed to have received job offers based on participation in such code contests. This year, the figure has moved up to 45 per cent. About 70 per cent of the respondent employers agreed that code contests are a great way to improve skills, become better problem solvers, learn the intricacies of programming languages and even prepare for job interviews.

Overall, more than 55 per cent of employees and 65 per cent of employers who participated in the survey felt that participating in code contests is a worthwhile pursuit.

The encouraging fact is that codeathons are no longer restricted to men. In 2016, the ratio of male: female participants was 65:35; this year the ratio has changed to 55:45.

“Coding platforms are helping companies with critical talent identification, workplace engagement and making right hiring decisions in a cost-effective way,” says Ramathreya Krishnamurthi, business head, TechGig.

Such code competitions are increasingly being leveraged to promote creativity, innovation and healthy competition at the workplace, further boosting motivation and productivity levels, while simultaneously addressing talent and employability concerns – both for employers and employees.

Shyam Verma, an avid coder who has participated in more than 20 code contests in the past six months, says, “It started with following my passion for coding but eventually it gave me a great background when I recently switched to being a game developer/designer in a renowned company. Honestly, I can’t imagine having a better background for this.”

According to the survey, 45 per cent of the respondents considered codeathons to be a great learning exercise.

The premise of coding contests is to write source code of computer programmes which can solve given problems. A clear majority of problems appearing in programming contests are mathematical or logical in nature. Designers and coders are challenged to build a completely original and functional application prototype.

An HR professional of a large-scale tech company quips, “Code contests are in a way similar to tech interviews except that you actually have to implement your solution and it actually has to work. That’s probably the best thing in comparison to talking about it face-to-face.”

Not just hiring, employers also claim that code contests promote creativity, innovation and healthy competition at the workplace, further boosting employability and addressing talent concerns.