Hackathon way of hiring: IT firms seek engineers with practical skills

Real-world problem-solving events are replacing conventional placements, giving IT firms a stage to recruit engineers for their practical skills

Harshini, who graduated in engineering from CMR Institute of Technology in Bengaluru, didn’t get her first job through conventional campus interviews. Instead, three hackathons helped her learn to “think quickly, collaborate, and build something workable under time pressure,” leading to an interview and an offer by her current employer HappyFox, a tech-enabled customer service company which organised the third such event. 

“Through these events, I understood what recruiters look for: Practical thinking, collaboration, clarity and the ability to build something workable under time pressure. Overall, hackathons directly strengthened my confidence and visibility during placements,” says Harshini, who uses only one name. “The HappyFox hackathon was especially important because it not only exposed me to how companies evaluate candidates but also led to an interview opportunity and a job offer.” 

A typical hackathon is a multi-disciplinary skill challenge centered on a real-world problem. Success hinges on assembling a small team — usually two or three people — with complementary talents: Someone skilled in visual design, others focused on front-end and back-end coding, and a critical member adept at solution architecture and problem decomposition. This focused, collaborative environment naturally creates a sense of camaraderie, forcing participants to build upon each other's strengths and actively seek guidance and mentorship. 

Indian IT service companies hire fresh engineering graduates for their skills, which are honed by competing in hackathons that aim to test them in a world rapidly changing due to artificial intelligence (AI). 

For years, the IT industry had an inextricable link between revenue and headcount. As projects flowed in, companies kept an army of engineers ready for deployment. But generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI have changed that outlook and companies now seek people who can solve problems, work in teams, and build services and products under pressure. Theoretical knowledge matters, too, of course. 

Hackathons at engineering colleges enable students, especially in their second and third years, to hone such skills and gain experience and certifications. When students are in their final years, companies often consider their performance at hackathons for giving jobs. 

Janardhan Santhanam, chief information officer of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said a bunch of nerds sitting together in a room, eating pizzas and solving challenges is an image of hackathons that is over. “That has changed dramatically with AI and GenAI. So for organisations to tap into true talent, whether it's internal or external, now hackathons have to be designed and implemented in a way that is very inclusive in nature.” 

“You are tapping into people who may not necessarily be the best in Python or TensorFlow, but who are able to decompose a problem, think about constraints, scale, best solutions, and then use as many tools as are available to them to build it very quickly,” he said, referring to types of software. 

TCS’ HackQuest, a programme which looks for students and enthusiasts passionate about ethical hacking, offers top participants provisional job offers. Exceptional performers are also offered opportunities to work with TCS Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence. 

Sudhir Singh, chief executive officer (CEO) and executive director of mid-tier IT firm Coforge, believes new engineers may not possess an “AI-infused mentality” but have a “solution-led mentality”. That is because they use a range of technologies and dabble with numerous tools — talent that can be attributed to hackathons. 

“We have found that the new cohort of engineers coming out of colleges are very well suited for the AI era unlike people of my generation, who used to walk out and show you certificates to prove that they were competent. They are walking out of colleges where the culture has now pivoted to participating in hackathons, techcons, discovering solutions on the fly, meshing together technologies and not just getting straight jacketed into one technology stream. I find this extremely promising,” he said. 

Cognizant, the American IT company which has almost two-thirds of its employees in India, is on track to employ 20,000 new engineering graduates by December, up from 9,000 in 2024. “You need more school graduates. In the world of AI, we need to reduce the cost of human capital by hiring at the bottom of the pyramid. Getting the right people and the right infra creates more throughput,” said CEO Ravi Kumar in October. 

Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director and CEO of Ciel HR, said another reason for companies hiring new graduates is cost optimisation and smaller projects. He agreed hackathons help engineers who show curiosity, agility and are willing to learn.

Professor Vivek V, deputy director, Alliance School of Advanced Computing at Alliance University, said students often participate in coding tests of companies. “Companies now attribute 20 percent to academics and the rest to projects, and activities on these coding platforms.”