Why you should use Slack hacks to hire developers

If you work in an office, there’s a good chance that you use Slack. It’s an incredible tool for collaboration. It will come as no surprise then that there are a few key Slack hacks that can speed up tech recruitment. In this post, you’ll find out some fantastic Slack hacks you can use to do a lot more in the same workflow that you already use. If you don’t already use Slack for tech recruitment, there are some good reasons why you should.

This post will cover,

• Why use Slack hacks?
• Using Slack when recruiting developers
• Slack hacks using integrations
• Start using these Slack hacks immediately

Why use Slack hacks?

Launched in 2013 as the result of an aborted attempt to make a video game, Slack now boasts over 8 million daily active users. Why is this important for you? Because with these levels of adoption, there is a thriving community of companies and tools, building slack hacks to improve your workflows.

Part of what makes Slack so important is how present it is in our standard workflows. In fact, the average Slack user spends 10 hours a day plugged into the platform. If you think about it, is there any other tool you use which you’re plugged into more? And this is where it brings value to the tech recruitment process.

Positive and efficient workflows depend on not having to switch between a number of tools unless absolutely necessary. This means that there is a huge advantage to using a central hub for communication and collaboration. Slack has done a great job of filling this role for a number of companies which is why Slack hacks are so useful. If you incorporate your workflows from other applications into Slack, you’ll be able to manage your entire candidate funnel in the same place you communicate and collaborate with your team.

Use Slack when recruiting developers

Collaborate with your team

Slack is first and foremost a collaboration tool within a team. This means that you can use it to coordinate writing and posting job descriptions, arrange and prep interviewers, and get feedback from said interviews. Because Slack is secure, it’s an ideal place to discuss sensitive topics like private candidate information and compensation.

Slack hacks using integrations

The best Slack hacks come from applications that integrate with Slack. These make your outside tech recruitment functions as easy as talking with your colleague across the hall.

Remember how I said that Slack has 8 million active users a day who are plugged in for up to 10 hours? These usage rates support a thriving market of third-party Slack integrations which can help you recruit developers.

Slack hack #1: Integrate each of your recruitment tools with Slack to get notifications all in the same place

Image source: Greenhouse

For instance, a number of applicant tracking systems like Greenhouse and SmartRecruiters integrate with Slack. Getting messages from these tools in Slack means you won’t have to hunt around a few different tools to check on the progress of your recruitment funnel.

Slack hack #2: Respond to developer candidate coding tests directly in Slack

When hiring developers, a fantastic Slack hack is to respond to their coding test directly in your chosen channel. This is really easy to do with DevSkiller’s Slack integration.

Coding tests are an essential part of the developer hiring process. You need to know exactly what skills the developer has before you ask them to an interview or else you will be bogged down with interviewing unqualified candidates. As a technical recruiter who is already managing a big stable of potential candidates, your job isn’t to do a technical interview. Your job is simply to manage the screening process.

Slack hack #3: Establish a benchmark

This is something you can do with your tech team. A small amount of effort at the start of your process will save you tons of time in the future. How does it work? A DevSkiller coding test gives you more than just a pass or fail. It gives a score that depends both on the solution that’s provided, the cleanliness of the code, and other technical factors. First, decide on a benchmark of what constitutes an acceptable score to invite somebody for an interview. Then use that to guide the candidates you accept to the next stage of your hiring process.

The benefit of this Slack hack is that you get notified as soon as the developer takes the test. Since the time they take it is up to them, the Slack notification means that you won’t have to go back and check other apps to see if the candidate took the test. Since you probably have Slack open more often than any other application, this makes it the best place to receive these notifications

Slack Hack #4: Accept/reject candidates in Slack

Image source: DevSkiller

After receiving the notification that your candidate has completed their coding test, you can hit accept or reject right there in the app. This means that once you get the notification, you don’t need to go to DevSkiller for something as simple as accepting or rejecting a candidate. Instead, it’s as simple as looking at a Slack notification and making the decision right then and there.

Slack Hack #5: Give candidates feedback in the same place you collaborate

One of the foundations of good candidate experience is giving timely and relevant feedback to your candidates, whether they will advance in the process or not. Feedback isn’t complicated and shouldn’t require you to move out of your workflow.

Image source: DevSkiller

Slack is at its heart a collaboration and communication tool. It is the ideal place to give your candidates feedback. Because you message your colleagues on Slack all day long, it would be slow and annoying to use a different tool to reach out to your candidates. You can send messages as simple as “You have been accepted and we will be contacting you shortly,” immediately after you get the test results.

Slack hack #6: Invite your candidate for an interview directly from Slack

You can even invite candidates to an interview, as a part of the message you send them. This will speed up your process, meaning you immediately move the candidate along to the next stage in your recruitment process, so they don’t drop out of your hiring funnel.

Start using these Slack hacks immediately

It is really easy to set up DevSkiller and Slack integration. All you need to do is go to the settings menu in the DevSkiller app and click on “integrations”. Then click on “Add Slack” and DevSkiller will be added to your chosen Slack workplace. You can even choose which channel to receive notifications in. They can be sent to you or you can receive them collectively as a recruitment team.

Using these Slack hacks, you can cut down the number of times that you have to bounce around different applications while managing developer candidates. You can respond to candidates in real-time from your natural messaging workflow. This will make your job easier and will mean that you can respond to candidates faster providing a better experience and make it more likely that they will join your company.

Image Source: Scott Webb on Unsplash