Karat blog

The State of Software Engineer Hiring in India

India is a “global powerhouse for engineering talent,” with millions of experienced software engineers and 1.5 million engineering students graduating each year.  With the emergence of several prestigious engineering institutions, widespread Internet access that aids in skill development, the established presence of major tech companies, “a large youth population that is ambitious and tech-savvy,” the […]

High-growth talent leaders talk hiring strategy at IHR

Last week the Karat team had the privilege of meeting with the finalist for the In-House Recruitment’s High-Growth Company Award. We sat down with some of the best leaders in the business and discussed how they’re tackling the opportunities and challenges of hiring in 2023. Hiring collaborative problem solvers One finalist who has seen quite […]

Strategies to avoid in software engineer interviews

It may be the spookiest day of the year for those celebrating Halloween, but something else has been haunting the tech industry for quite some time: the technical hiring process. Job seekers looking for new opportunities in 2023 have had some pretty eerie experiences — experiences rife with scary strategies, terrifying tactics, and ancient rituals […]

Karat Establishes Technical Advisory Board to Accelerate Expansion into the Enterprise

Today, I am honored to announce the formation of Karat’s Technical Advisory Board – a group of ten senior leaders who recognize the significance of technical hiring in fueling digital transformation, creating the next big technological breakthrough, and breaking down barriers for underrepresented talent around the world.  With representatives from some of the world’s largest […]

Webinar insights: harnessing the power of genAI in tech hiring

The recent webinar, “Harnessing AI and the future of tech hiring,” featured an enlightening discussion about the future of generative AI, or genAI, in software development and engineering hiring. Moderated by Scott Bonneau, EVP of Product and Operations at Karat, the webinar brought together industry leaders Sagnik Nandy, CTO at Okta, and Eddie Zhou, Founding […]

Karat launches Qualify adaptive technical assessments to replace resume screens and code tests

SEATTLE – Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, today announced the launch of Karat Qualify, a top-of-funnel skills-assessment for organizations hiring software engineers. Qualify reimagines the concept of candidate screening using a short multiple-choice assessment to replace outdated resume screens and code tests. The highly approachable format creates a fair, candidate-friendly experience that produces faster […]

Insights that unlock opportunity: Top takeaways from LeadDev London

At the end of June, I attended LeadDev’s conference in London with more than a thousand senior development professionals. Karat was a conference sponsor, and I was joined by a cohort of my UK-based colleagues who ran our booth in the sponsor hall. I was there to speak about hiring processes with a focus on […]

Engineering interviews for a better candidate experience

In the first part of our series with Don Gannon-Jones, our VP of Content, we focused on the science behind the Interviewing Cloud and how it shapes technical interviews and hiring. In this post, Don and I discussed best practices for re-engineering interview experiences. For best practices throughout the entire hiring process, check out the […]

Debunking the diversity pipeline myth in tech: Black developer talent overflows at NSBE49

A line of hopeful, somewhat nervous current and aspiring software developers stretched past the Amazon and Google booths at the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Convention last week in Kansas City, Missouri. Over 10,000 Black engineers and computer scientists buzzed with determination, purpose and focus as they explored the arena lined with corporations seeking […]

Karat acquires leading adaptive assessment technology from Triplebyte

SEATTLE, WA – Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, today announced the acquisition of Triplebyte’s technical assessment product and team. The acquisition adds a unique top-of-funnel, skills-based assessment to Karat’s suite of Interviewing Cloud offerings, helping organizations identify and hire the best tech talent faster, more accurately, and fairly. The ability to quickly make confident […]

Karat expands push into enterprise market and focus on developer engagement – adding enterprise sales leader Marcus Taylor and marketing exec Dan Haroldsen to its leadership team

Karat today announced the addition of two executives to its leadership team – roles that will enable the company to grow further into the enterprise and continue engagement of developers. Dan Haroldsen is joining as VP of Marketing, and Marcus Taylor has been promoted to VP of Americas Enterprise Sales. Most recently, Dan led marketing […]

Karat Interview Questions, Explained

Google: What are Karat interview questions? Chances are, if you’ve taken a Karat interview, you’ve run a search like the example above. In fact, most candidates interviewing at any company will have scoured Leetcode, Reddit, Blind, Glassdoor, and other sites for clues on what questions they might be asked throughout the technical hiring process. At […]

Meet the Engineers behind the hire

We celebrate Black Brilliance throughout the year, but this month has been exceptionally special for us as we have highlighted Black leaders and candidates within the Karat community. Rounding up Black History Month, we’d love to shed more context on a few candidates who landed job opportunities through Brilliant Black Minds. Yosief Kidane, Isaiah Smith, and Victor Pimentel […]

Formulating culture fit interview questions for software engineers

Work culture plays a huge role in employee satisfaction, collaboration, and productivity, and assessing whether a candidate is a culture fit is an important aspect of the interview process. Unfortunately, culture is a tricky concept to nail down, and developing questions that probe culture fit is difficult. I recently sat down with Peter Bell at […]

How to audit your hiring process

In today’s job market, the hiring landscape varies greatly across industries. While some are capitalizing on the surplus of software engineering talent from recent tech layoffs and hiring top talent at an accelerated pace, others are proceeding with caution. For those in the latter group who are taking a more measured approach, this article provides […]

What Hiring Metrics Should You Be Tracking?

It’s easy to understand the value of a data-driven recruitment process. However, it’s not always clear precisely which hiring metrics to track. For example, in our most recent tech hiring trends report, we asked talent and engineering leaders which metrics they use to evaluate software engineer candidates at their organizations. Read Karat’s Tech Hiring Trends […]

Can I use ChatGPT for my technical interview?

ChatGPT’s original demos included some tantalizing examples of the model producing Python code from a simple natural language prompt. Since those initial examples, we’ve received many questions about what this means for technical interviews like the ones we conduct. Most commonly, we hear candidates ask, “Can I use ChatGPT in my interview?” But I think […]

Can ChatGPT pass a technical interview? Part 2

Retail, industrials, and financial services are three sectors gaining ground in the race for top tech talent

Recent market volatility and tech layoffs have created a unique landscape for companies hiring top tech talent. Industries that were previously the top choices for job-seeking software engineers have been hit hard; while large enterprise non-tech companies have become increasingly desirable destinations. This has resulted in a discernible shift in the job market and a […]

The top 20 cities for hiring software developers in 2023

Last month, Karat’s data and insights team ranked the top cities in the U.S. for technical hiring. These rankings covered the metro areas with the highest concentrations of software developers scoring in the top quartile of all global coding scores in technical interviews. Unsurprisingly, the greater Seattle Area and San Francisco Bay Area (including Silicon […]

Top U.S. cities for hiring software developers

2022 represented a shift in the tech hiring landscape. Tech layoffs and hiring freezes produced an influx of high-performing software developers on the market. Talented engineers started to prioritize the security of larger enterprises over the hypergrowth segments, driving up close rates in industries like financial services, insurance, and telecom. And despite high-profile return-to-office mandates, […]

6 Predictions for Tech Hiring in 2023

As we round out 2022, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the state of the tech industry and hiring landscape. The second half of the year has been tough for the tech industry, due to increasing layoffs and broader economic concerns. However, I see signs of hope. There are many positive trends that […]

The technical hiring process explained

It’s 2022, you’re a software engineer, and you’re looking for technical work. If this describes you, you’re not alone. The good news is that openings in tech still exist. However, there’s one big step between today’s you and the you who is building interesting things and getting paid for it: you need to get hired […]

2022 Tech Hiring Trends: What Engineering and Talent Leaders Need to Know as the Tech Talent Market Shifts from Startups to Enterprise

According to new research from Karat and The Harris Poll, the top technical hiring leaders interview more, prioritize speed, and benefit from diversity, equity, and inclusion investments SEATTLE – July 28, 2022 – Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, today released its 2022 Tech Hiring Trends report to help companies continue to hire strong technical […]

1,000 hires can’t be wrong: the redo interview is the right approach

Business and technology leaders frequently ask how they can hire faster AND make progress on critical diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. In fact, they usually talk about these goals as mutually exclusive. But I believe this is a false tradeoff. At Karat, we’ve found that the redo – offering every candidate the opportunity to redo […]

Serena Williams teams up with Karat to double the number of Black Software Engineers in the U.S.

(Seattle, WA — April 19, 2022) – Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, today announced a strategic investment from Serena Williams to significantly scale Brilliant Black Minds, a program that improves access and inclusion across the technology industry. By opening the program to all current and aspiring Black software engineers and serving as Karat’s “Champion of […]

How Brilliant Black Minds and the power of practice changed my career trajectory

My name is Darius Faison, and I’m a senior at Morehouse College graduating this spring. I’ll be starting as a software engineer at Microsoft this summer in Atlanta, Georgia. But trust me, my journey wasn’t at all linear. This is my story about the power of practice and Brilliant Black Minds. Growing up, I was […]

Three tips for consistent interviewing

In a world where software engineering time is becoming more valuable every day, consistent interviewing is essential for hiring at scale. Improve your hiring signal with these three tips: Develop questions that accurately assess specific competencies Use structured scoring rubrics calibrated to your role Train interviewers to deliver questions with clarity and empathy This blog […]

How to assess proficiency in the most common software development technologies

Last week we covered the top ten in-demand skills for software engineers. This week we’re following it up with the ten most common software development technologies found in job descriptions. We’ll also cover a few tips for how hiring managers can assess proficiency with these and other technologies. Ten most common software development technologies #10 […]

Ten In-Demand Skills for Software Engineers

Imagine for a moment that you’re a contractor hiring carpenters for a construction site. What tools do you expect them to bring with them on day one? Now I’m no expert in the construction field, but I’ve never seen a carpenter without a toolbelt. It allows them easy access to all their essentials: hammers, screwdrivers, […]

Karat expands Brilliant Black Minds partnerships and advisory board, welcoming Anthony D. Mays and Dr. Katherine Picho-Kiroga to diversify the world of tech

SEATTLE–Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Brilliant Black Minds program by announcing new industry partners, adding two new advisory board members and hosting a special SXSW edition of Real Talk. Former Google senior software engineer and founder of Morgan Latimer Consulting, Anthony D. Mays, is joining the Brilliant […]

Empowering the future of Black brilliance

Why would a successful engineer quit his day time job at Google in the midst of a global pandemic? Simple: to focus on his purpose to serve underrepresented communities in tech. Anthony Mays is no stranger to Karat. He  has been an integral part of Brilliant Black Minds since the launch of the program, joining […]

Four Advantages of Interviewing Cloud

In a candidate-first world, creating an enjoyable and equitable hiring process is paramount, and Interviewing Cloud creates opportunities for more enjoyable and equitable hiring. With digital transformation accelerating at an unprecedented pace, every company is turning to software to gain a competitive edge. Engineering time is more valuable than ever, with many companies investing 80 […]

4 tips for interviewer training

It’s 2022 and we live in a candidate-first world. The great resignation (or the great reshuffling, depending on who you talk to) has made the candidate interviewing experience more important than ever, but 72% of engineering leaders agree that very few people at their company know how to conduct interviews. Even for hiring managers with […]