A COMMON APPLICATION FORM FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS

The success of IT companies hinges on the ability to recruit talent. Which is why it is critical that companies focus on improving the recruitment process. This article focuses on one step in the recruitment process – screening CVs – and describes how it can be made more accurate and efficient. 

 

The Challenge Of Individualized CVs

 

The most popular mode of applying for a job is by typing out a CV in a format that appeals to the applicant (individualized), saving it as an MS Word or PDF or Text file and then emailing this CV to an employer. 60 – 90 percent of all applications a company receives are individualized CVs.

 

The problem with individualized CVs is that each CV presents information in different ways – some CVs start with contact information followed by education followed by employment history while others may miss out education information. Some CVs have information in chronological order while others may have it in reverse chronological order. Vital details might be missed out or may be incorrect – in our experience over 20% of all applicants either forget to mention their phone number or give a wrong phone number.

 

Further, screening individualized CVs is tedious and error prone. For instance, if a company’s selection criterion says, “should have a total of 2 years of experience on Java”, the CV screener has to add up time spent on each individual project in which Java was used and check if it adds up to 2 years. Moreover, since its a manual process and requires reading so much information screeners tend to make mistakes.

 

Since the CV screening process is time consuming, tech teams don’t do CV screening though it would be ideal if they did. It’s usually the recruitment team that does it. Since recruitment teams would not have a first hand feel of what is required it leads to wastage. For instance, a recruitment team sourcing Oracle DBAs might reject all SQL Server DBAs. Whereas the tech team may know that a few SQL Server DBAs are also required in the team since the project requires transitioning from SQL Server to Oracle databases. 

 

Finally, considering the number of CVs screened each month – approximately 200,000 software developer CVs screened in Bangalore alone – the process needs automation. But it is impossible to use automation to accurately parse individualized CVs owing to the fact that information is presented in so many different ways. Even the most “intelligent” parser is inaccurate.

 

Given these issues– multiple CV formats, incomplete information, tech teams not doing CV screening, automation unfriendly CVs – there is a need for a solution which will make the process of CV screening accurate and convenient.
 

The Software Developer Application Form

 

One solution is a web application form, which an applicant fills. The advantage here is that all CVs are in the same format making it easy to search and shortlist. The disadvantage is that it requires a candidate to fill out an application form each time he or she applies to a company. And filling out web forms is cumbersome. Companies who have offered applicants the option of filling out a web form or sending an email attachment have found that only 10– 20 % of applicants fill out web forms while others send email attachments. Even companies who say “web form or no way” have to make allowances for Placement consultants and Job sites since these sources cannot be easily integrated into web forms.
 
A simpler solution could be for IT companies to agree on a standard Software Developer Application Form, which is acceptable to all companies. Our own experience screening over 500,000 CVs for different software development companies has shown that all companies look for the same information on a CV. Across companies, employers are interested in experience years, technologies and projects worked on, current employer and education. Given this, it is possible to adopt a “Software Developer Application Form” that is acceptable to all companies – an Industry wide standard for software developer CVs. A sample Application Form with a some of the proposed 55 fields is shown in the table. This field list can be discussed and debated till a widely accepted standard is arrived at.

 

Table : Software Developer Application Form

 

:Source :Job Ad
:ApplyingFor:Java Developer
:Name:Ashish Ram
:Email:ashish@hotmail.com
:PassportNumber:T12040
:DateofBirth:2-Oct-73
:DayPhone(withSTDCode) :08026583827
:EveningPhone(withSTDCode) :08026584557
:City(Currentresidence) :Bangalore
:WillingtoRelocateto(CityNames) :Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai
:CurrentSalary(Annual) :3.5 Lakhs
:ExpectedSalary(Annual) :4.0 Lakhs
:Skills:Core Java, J2EE
:HighestQualification: Engineering
:HighestQualificationInstitution:REC Surat
:HighestQualification(%orCGPA) :65%
:TotalSoftwareDevelopmentExperience(months) :36
:Skill1Name:Java
:Skill1Expereince(months) :4

 

Some rules for the Application Form would be – do NOT change field names, field names are demarcated by separator like a “:”, Application Forms are submitted in plain text format (can be opened on any OS) and the Application Form name is always + + .

 

With a standard Application Form, the process of CV screening becomes accurate since CV screening becomes a “process” rather than an “art” – the rules are defined and easy to explain to anyone.  Further, it would possible to break up CV screening into two activities – the first part would be screening applicants on the basis of “hard” facts –age, educational background, willing to relocate etc which can be done by almost anyone. The second part would be to present the short-listed applicants’ information in a tabular format to Tech teams for them to choose candidates based on projects executed. This way, tech teams can participate in the CV screening process.

 

For applicants, the big benefit is “write once, apply several times”. A Job applicant would create a standard Application Form at the beginning of their career. As he or she goes along, they add or edit information on the Application Form. Each time they apply for a job, they open the standard Application Form, double check information, attach it and email it. And everyone - employers, placement companies and job sites - accepts the Application Form.

 

Finally, it is easy to write software to read the Application Form and upload the information into a database from where it is easy to search and retrieve information. And since all sources of CVs use the Application Form it is possible to put CVs from different sources into a single database – a big challenge currently.

 

Acceptance of such an Application Form has to be driven by the top IT services companies. These companies will have to agree on a standard Application Form and insist that everyone applying to them use it. With time the industry could move towards a “Only standard Application Forms accepted” model. To popularize the Application Form and to educate job applicants the Form could be made available on websites of employers, assessment companies, placement companies, HR portals, and emailed across to college campuses.

Requirement Gathering - Addressing the challenges

This Post is Authored by Sree Krishna (During migration the authors name could not be migrated)
The problem exists everywhere... I hear the usual terms "we did not get the complete details from the Client" or "Client did not approve the final product" or "we have sent the details to the Client, they are yet to revert"...



Steve McConnell, in his book “Rapid Development”, details a number of ways Users/Clients can unknowingly inhibit the process of Requirements gathering, which can subsequently impede the total product development process.



This may lead to the situation where the end product might not be valid or product keeps changing as we continue to receive newer requirements.



That is why, Users need to be adequately informed about the use/developmental-process of Assessments because :-



a) Users need to clearly understand what they require from the Assessments that are being developed/designed.
b) Users are apprehensive about committing to a set of written requirements.
c) Users insist on new requirements after the cost and schedule have been fixed.( Last minute requirements when the development process is already under progress.
d) Communication with users is slow.
e) Users often do not participate in reviews or might not have the bandwidth of doing so.
f) Users need knowledge upgradation on technical concepts.
g) Users do not understand the Test development process.

Educating the stakeholders (Users/Clients) about their vital role in the product developmental process is critical and should be a part of the regular process flow of any Client Interaction exercise.

AC Buses to Retain Tech Employees

IT companies have high employee attrition rates. And they have tried every HR practice in the book to keep attrition under control. Yet there is one thing they have not offered employees as a retention tool.

Drive down Silk Board Junction to Electronics City in Bangalore - one of the busiest traffic stretches  -  and you see several IT company buses ferrying employees to work. These buses offer the same levels of comfort as Bangalore's local transport buses and the commute is tiring and frustrating. Why dont companies provide air conditioned buses for employees instead of regular buses? It can make a big difference in employee satisfaction levels.

AC buses ensure employees are ferried to and from work in comfort. They dont have to hear blaring horns or noisy vehicles. On hot days they won't sweat in the heat. When employees reach office they would be fresh and ready for the day. The cost of AC buses is far more than regular buses. But the advantages companies will gain are several.

The biggest advantage companies providing an AC bus service would have is that it will be seen as a differentiator by employees. When all else matches - job role, office location, employee perks - employees might choose not to make the shift to another company since they get to go to work in an AC bus as against a regular bus. Consider the impact it can have when employees in an AC bus wave to rival company employees traveling in a non-AC bus on a hot summer afternoon! 

The other advantages could be the fact that there are employees commuting in a noise free environment. The commute time could be used for training. Organization wide training courses on communication skills or presentation skills are ideally suited for delivery in an AC bus using LCD displays. Also, HR teams could use the commute to  interact with employees. Tax consultants can have tax return forms filled out on the bus. Financial advisors can offer investment advice. Others who want to popularize their services with employees can use the commute to do so. Also with charging points in place, employees can even work on their laptops. Considering the advantages the cost may make the option worth exploring.

Commuting in the AC buses operated by the BMTC has shown that commuting  can be a pleasurable experience. Is this the next employee perk?