We at HackerEarth are excited to announce that the first physical edition of Hire 10(1) held on August 25th, 2022 in Bangalore was a roaring success! We have been virtually hosting this tech conference of (and for) tech recruiters and engineering managers since 2020, and this was the first time we got to meet everyone in person.

For the uninitiated, Hire10(1) is a mini event that is designed to do one thing above all else: share actionable insights to help recruiters and hiring managers build great tech teams. So, if you are in HR or Tech, and are spending a significant amount of your time hiring tech talent, this is one event where you’d get your money’s worth. After all, to recruit the best, it makes sense to learn from the best.

The best thing about a tech recruiting event? The insights. The networking. The brain fodder. And that is exactly why we’ve packaged the biggest takeaways from the event in this article for those of you that have missed attending!

P.S. Live snippets from the event have been captured on this Twitter thread.

How to make your tech hiring process resilient with Hire10(1)

Our CTO, Vishwastam Shukla kicked off the event and spoke about the why, when, and how of tech recruiting. In his words, “When you’re growing, you needed to hire yesterday. Sourcing is not a switch you can flip on. That’s why the first step in recruitment is employer branding. This is also why our hackathon platform has been so crucial. It is a powerful driver of employer branding along with innovation.”

Next up on stage, we had our wonderful keynote speaker Mino Thomas, Senior Director of HR at Adobe. While there were a lot of stories, some philosophy, and several takeaways on the need to have difficult conversations in the post-pandemic world, what stood out to us was, “Build trust. Have focus. And have conversations that make you uncomfortable, or else it’s not a conversation worth having!”

Moving on to our stellar panel, expertly moderated by our VP of Marketing, Alfred Alexander. Kapil Vardhan from Teachmint, Sowmya Malliah from Tekion Corp, Savita Hortikar from ThoughtWorks, Pragya Joshi from Cleartax, and Mohana M D from Standard Chartered had a wealth of information to share.

The conversation centered around how each company and industry vertical has changed and adapted to the whiplash effect of 2020 and after.

Our audience was enraptured by the wealthy exchange of information and ideas going on in the room, as you can see here –

Here are the highlights of the event:

#1 Looking back in retrospect

The discussion addressed how recruiting teams need to go back and assess their tools, and systems, and introspect on their internal processes during the hiring freezes and the post-pandemic lull. It is a blessing in disguise for recruiters to identify gaps in their hiring processes and work on improving them.

#2 Changing your mindset for better hiring

Hiring the right talent, to align with your vision is important, while also trying to evolve with the changing market space, especially in 2022.

Sowmya Malliah of Tekion Corp said, “Tier 2 and 3 colleges are such an underrated source of talented developers. We’ve hired many developers from these colleges over the last year. We look purely at the skill, and it makes matters better.”

Also, read: Create The Perfect Virtual Recruiting Strategy For Universities With These Tips

#3 Creating people-centric HR systems

There is no right way to deal with situations such as recession that lead to layoffs or the Great resignation where people left their jobs in droves. The onus falls upon the HR teams to take care of their people, understand the strengths of existing talent, and help them grow either through upskilling or opportunities that create a sense of challenge. It also goes without saying that you need to ensure all employees leave on a positive note.

Mohana reiterates the fact that “As an HR leader, it pays to stay on track with what skills are relevant, and stay in touch with top talent at your company even after they move on. The common denominator between welcoming an employee and laying them off is the human aspect.”

Also, read: Corporate Compassion In The New ‘New Normal’: Where Do You Stand?

#4 Building resilient tech teams

The hiring space has seen immense change in the last 3 years—from going remote due to the complete shutdown of offices to settling into the sweet hybrid mode of work. Post-pandemic, hiring teams have had to adapt and innovate as a lot of people want the flexibility of working from home. Without this option, the talent pool seems to shrink multifold. People are willing to switch jobs rather than go back to the office full-time.

Pragya also stresses the idea that “Trust definitely needs building because job security is so important to the candidate. They need to trust that they will be needed a few months or years down the road.”

This is the right time to begin building confidence in your existing and new employees. Create a space for them to openly share their fears about their job in the current uncertain market scenario, which helps in strengthening trust in their employers. This in turn leads to robust tech teams that can handle any challenge that comes their way!

#5 Investing in employer branding and engagement

Companies need to define the kind of talent they require, be more present among the people, and create a strong community connection. It is important to nurture talent and build a strong relationship between the company’s values and the employee’s values to create better engagement of employees during this rapidly changing talent ecosystem.

Also, read: Building An Employer Brand: Everything You Need To Know

#6 Focusing on the mental well-being of recruiters

During the Q&A session, an audience member asked the panelists if they thought it was imperative for companies to focus on the mental health of recruiters to create resilience.

Savita Hortikar of Thoughtworks nailed it when she said, “Recruiters need a therapist on speed dial!”

Recruitment as a career can become stressful with or without a pandemic to make matters worse. Organizations need to prioritize work-life balance, now more than ever to help their recruiting teams get some much-needed downtime.

Another important thing to keep in mind is how hiring managers go about sending their requirements to the recruiting teams. Sitting down and discussing the open job role in detail will go a long way rather than simply expecting them to do everything on their own. Be present with them throughout the process instead of playing the number game of getting as many roles filled as possible.

This would help relieve recruiters of a lot of anxiety and stress that comes with the job.

For the whole experience, watch our recording of the event here! See you next year at Hire10(1), until then happy hiring 🙂

Hire IQ by HackerEarth is a new initiative in which we speak with recruiters, talent acquisition managers, and hiring managers from across the globe, and ask them pertinent questions on the issues that ail the tech recruiting world.

Next up in this edition is Patricia Gatlin, Diversity Lead/Talent Sourcing Specialist, at Johns Hopkins. She is also the curator of #BlackLinkedin ✊🏾 where she mentions how biased the LinkedIn algorithm is due to which her DEI posts were not getting the same exposure as everyone else.

We keep saying the tech world needs to break out of its “boys only” mode and become more inclusive when the tech we use on an everyday basis could be the very reason that relevant voices like hers are not getting seen, or heard.

All the more reason for this conversation with Patricia—to learn about her journey and understand inclusivity and diversity in the tech world, at a micro level.

Settle in, and let’s get to it!

P.S. If you missed the previous edition of HireIQ where we sat down with Colet Coelho from Recruit CRM, you can read it here 🙂

HackerEarth: You mention on your site that #BlackLinkedin was born out of shared knowledge of how Black and brown voices are discriminated against by the AI on LinkedIn. Have you seen this discrimination on other social sites, too? Could you share a few examples of this discrimination and how it has affected your work in the DEI space?

Patricia: Yes, I have seen it on other sites such as Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, Facebook, etc.

Algorithmic bias is systemic and it creates unfair circumstances for particular users and promotes access to privilege.

At the root of it all, are the rules – the platforms’ IFTTT framework gets coupled with messages from a certain section of society who may be classist, racist, or phobic.

Let’s be honest, not everyone had a computer when they first came out but guess who did? White affluent males, and therefore they were the first ones in the race while everyone else was catching up. We fail to acknowledge that white males have the most disposable incomes because they are getting paid more. So, if you started with a UX being focused on your target audience being white and having white privilege then, of course, you’re going to see AI issues.

Every mainstream social media platform has discrimination built into it. For example, TikTok is a Chinese-based company in a society that is monoethnic, and consequently, they don’t have to live in a polyethnic society like America, and the platform too, isn’t built to accommodate the nuances of a polyethnic American society. In fact, most countries aren’t polyethnic. Most societies don’t deal with the same racial and cultural constructs that America does. If a society deems whiteness as the most virtuous then a video platform will be biased toward that. We live in a global world that centers privilege and access around whiteness.

There is a strong need to be proactive in my quest to support black and brown content over people who are not of color. When I’m building out a talent pipeline I can already assume that if I’m doing a Boolean or X-ray search of Google I will see white candidates first because most likely the algorithm is based on social constructs that don’t support black professionals. Even if you are using YouTube and you search for a video data engineer you will most likely see men, mostly white, and a few men of color.

Why? Because white men most likely had privileged access either to education, the job interview, or to have camera gear to shoot content about their job. As a DEI specialist, it’s my job to find the problem, address it, and correct it with whatever tools I can find. First, I must admit there’s a systemic or institutionalized issue for POC in Tech, and only then can I begin to deconstruct what that looks like for them.

Also, read: 10-Step Diversity Hiring Handbook

HackerEarth: Post creating #BlackLinkedIn, have you seen a change in the way your posts are being received online? Could you detail some of the wins of the movement for us?

Patricia: I have seen a change because the hashtag exists, and people know where to find mine and others’ content on the platform. I think the biggest win of the movement is BIPOCs’ finding each other on the platform, creating safe spaces, and connecting more; which is leading to more people landing opportunities through referrals or getting mentorship.

The hashtag has become a watercooler for us to hang out and tell our truths about what it means to a professional in and outside of the workplace.

We have a long way to go with growing support around it. In addition, I have put up an informative site and added a quarterly virtual event called, The Digital Cookout, where we get to gather and discuss hot topics from the water cooler (hashtag). Our last event was about over employment and how to navigate that as a black or brown professional.

HackerEarth: How do you think the DEI space has evolved since George Floyd and Black Lives Matter? In your opinion, is there an added emphasis on POCs in tech recruiting, or was it just a phase?

Patricia: The DEI space has dramatically changed, there are more activists now than before when everyone was just a human resource professional or community or social justice advocate. DEI has allowed activists, like me, to be considered ‘professionals’ and get paid for the emotional labor we do. Unfortunately, George Floyd had to die for people to really see how racism affects the black community in America. With his death, we saw Fortune 500 companies, and especially tech companies, pledge to become the change we so desperately need.

For some companies, it was just performative because they never put any action behind it or they simply just put money into it and left black and brown people to solve an issue they didn’t create.

Not only that but, many companies secretly support the systematic injustice of black and brown people on the back end. If you donate to politicians or groups who actively support the phobia of blacks, LGBTQ+, women’s rights, etc. then you are canceling out your public displays of advocacy which makes it performative. There’s an added emphasis from those companies now to hire POCs and I’ve seen some great discussions, accelerators, and apprenticeships come out of it but I can’t speak for the results because it may be 2-3 years before we see it.

Also, read: Recruiters Versus Bias: Who’s Winning This War?

HackerEarth: With inflation and layoffs, do you think that the emphasis placed on creating diverse teams in the days right after COVID will be lost?

Patricia: No I don’t think the emphasis will be lost but I believe the reasons could be twisted. Let me explain, junior and mid-level professionals tend to make up the majority of BIPOC. In addition, departments and teams that are deemed unnecessary tend to house a majority of BIPOC for example talent acquisition, administrative, facilities, marketing, etc. When you look at who makes up those teams you will see women and people of color.

The issue with inflation is people are cutting their budgets, but this is the time for companies to start looking at their diversity pipelines and discover what they can do better. Instead, what I see companies doing is, hiring BIPOC in their mid-COVID pipelines for low salaries. They blame it on having a lean budget, but we all know the CEO isn’t getting furloughed. Some companies are targeting BIPOC because they know that inflation can make them desperate. Therefore, some are using diverse pipelines as a lure to keep their ships from sinking and not really because they believe in the mission.

HackerEarth: According to you – what are the top 3 global tech companies who are doing DEI right, and what can others learn from them?

Patricia: If I’m being honest, I don’t co-sign for companies I haven’t been hired to audit myself or been hired at because I have heard horror stories from employees at some of the best companies. We must stop seeing DEI as a badge of honor when it’s actually what should have always been done. You can have the trophy one day and the next it’s been taken away. Don’t incentivize DEI because people will start doing it for the wrong reasons. But if I had to give an answer, from what I’ve heard, Twilio, Microsoft, and Blend (no further comment than that).

Also, read: How To Build Safe And ‘PROUD’ Workplaces – A Personal Story

HackerEarth: What is the on-ground reality among POCs applying for roles in tech? Is there more trust among the community, or are there vital issues that they think are not being addressed?

Patricia: Inflation is not going away or slowing down for another 2-3 years if that.

Hiring freezers are real if you want to get into big tech. Yes, you might be able to snag a contract role but that’s not FTE and people of color need full benefits.

The tech industry has gotten more competitive due to TikTok influencers marketing six-figure salaries and luxury lifestyles. Tech is making it even harder to get an interview or get an offer because tech companies are combating career influencers who give out elaborate narratives about the industry.

We’re also not discussing the Gen Zs who don’t want to work harder but smarter and how that will affect retention rates in the future. Luckily there is more trust amongst POCs who are sharing amazing IRL information about what it means to work in this industry. I love BlackTechTwitter and all the Facebook groups for POCs in different fields. Yet, a vital issue is that there are even more gatekeepers in tech now because of all that I previously mentioned.

HackerEarth: What are 3–5 pieces of advice you have for organizations looking to improve the impact of their D&I strategies?

Patricia: When DEI professionals are burned out they can’t solve problems.

Put your money where the problem is, don’t just say you want to work on DEI strategies and not pay DEI professionals well and then not give them a team to support those efforts.

BIPOCs are just as capable as anyone else but they also need support before, during, and after the interview phase. For every employee it’s going to look different, for example, one might need relocation assistance even if they aren’t a director or VP. The others might need a buddy system or mentorship to guide them through working at your corporation for the first 90 days. Another might simply need a roadmap on how to climb the ladder at your corporation. Have a collaborative plan with your BIPOC so they can become pillars at the job and not just metrics. These are retention methods you should be considering.

Promote black and brown people at the C-Suite level. It’s that simple. Black women are the most educated group in America and eventually the world. Create a seat at the table or be prepared to be sitting alone. The world is becoming more diverse (brown) by the minute and Gen Z will not put up with the same things previous generations have.

Stop taking weeks and months to interview candidates, especially BIPOC because most people are living paycheck to paycheck. The average cost for a company to interview a candidate is 4k and the cost for a candidate to interview with a company given they make it to the last round is half of that. People can’t afford to wait months to go without an answer. Candidates can’t afford to do 3-4 rounds of interviews and an assessment that’s just overkill.

About Patricia Gaitlin

My name is Patricia (Sonja Sky) Gatlin. I’m a New York Times featured activist, DEI Specialist, EdTechie, and Founder of Newbies in Tech. I live in the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. I’ve worked 10+ years in Higher Education and 3+ years in Tech. I’ve recently merged the two fields and currently work part-time as a Diversity Lead sourcing and recruiting STEM professionals to teach gifted students. In addition, I’m a full-time Coordinator flexing my project management, instructional design, and community engagement skills. My goal is to inspire people and become a Chief Diversity Officer and Tech influencer.

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Cybersecurity is among the most critical aspects of building an online business and it goes without saying it needs to have an expert to make sure everything is in place. Without good cybersecurity experts, it becomes an extremely difficult task to protect your company’s data, servers, software, and other electronic systems from hackers and other cyber attacks. As per Accenture data security breaches have surged by 11% since 2018.

As of today, we are in a world where almost everything is online and electronic devices are important as food, we can’t live without them. This goes without saying that our information is online too but the threat of cyber-attacks or stolen data still looms over us.

This is why cybersecurity interviews should be as thorough as any other interview for a tech role. When hiring a cybersecurity expert, you should know what the role requires, what to ask, and what you should look out for in a candidate.

What is cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from digital attacks. These attacks aim to access, change, or destroy sensitive information, extort money from users, or disrupt normal business processes.

In essence, cybersecurity is about safeguarding the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information. It involves a combination of technologies, processes, and people working together to create a secure environment.

Key areas of cybersecurity include:

Network security: Protecting computer networks from intruders.

Application security: Ensuring software and applications are free from vulnerabilities.

Data security: Protecting sensitive information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.

Endpoint security: Protecting individual devices like computers, laptops, and smartphones.

Cloud security: Safeguarding data and applications stored in the cloud.

Importance of a thorough tech interview for cybersecurity candidates

As mentioned above, almost everything is online. To keep up with the ever-growing online population and to make the best out of this opportunity, businesses need individuals who are well versed in coding and other related aspects.

Moreover, it’s not just about coding and tech, you also need someone who can think on their feet and come up with abstract solutions for abstract problems. As a recruiter, you will find a ton of applicants with outstanding resumes, but a lot of them may not translate to practical application.

This is why you need to be thorough with your cybersecurity interview questions to hire the best candidates only. You can also make use of HR tech software and tools to smoothen the process of tech interviews. For instance, you could use FaceCode, a useful tool by HackerEarth that lets you take online interviews with an in-built code editor that can be used in real-time and comes with a lot of other features as well.

Apart from that, asking the right questions and looking out for optimal answers will get you the best candidates possible. Asking the right questions also opens up the avenue for good dialogue and helps the candidates understand the role and brand better. The answers provided will help the interviewer understand candidates better.

It also helps recruiters understand the extent of the candidate’s abilities and their interest in/towards the brand.

Also Read: Hiring DEV Talent: SQL Interview Questions

Interview questions to ask cybersecurity candidates

Here’s a list of 20 cybersecurity interview questions that you should ask if you want to hire the best candidate:

#1 – State your personal achievements and certifications in cybersecurity.

This is an important question, it will help you understand the candidates’ qualifications and experience. It will give you a brief look into their academic journey in cybersecurity as well from which you can ascertain if they’re a good fit for the role or not.

Any candidates who have put in the work will clearly stand out from the rest.

What Should You Look Out For?

Keep an eye out for applicants who have certifications that could close the gap in your cybersecurity system.

Don’t just look at their qualifications, look for candidates who are willing to learn on the job as well, why?

Because you need someone who can constantly grow with the organization.

#2 – Tell us, If you were a hacker, how would you steal our information?

This is a unique question and in simple words, you should look out for unique answers.

Cyber-criminals, typically are able to get into several well-protected systems because they’re either one step ahead or are extremely abstract in their thinking and if you want to keep your systems/data safe, you need someone who can match their abstract thinking.

You need someone who can understand the way they think and should be able to come up with solutions for the same.

What Should You Look Out For?

Look out for practical yet hypothetical problems with solutions. Also, someone who can read patterns and predict future trends in the digital world will be of great help, undoubtedly.

#3 – What is effective cybersecurity? How would you quantify it?

One of the cybersecurity interview questions that need not have a correct answer, you should ask this question to understand your candidates’ definition of effective cybersecurity and the parameters he/she would follow to quantify the same.

Of course, every answer will not be the same, but this will also help you differentiate between people who’ve had practical experience and those who haven’t. Although answers may vary, a good candidate will use practical examples and offer practical parameters for measuring different aspects of effective cybersecurity.

What Should You Look Out For?

Look out for the methods they use to define effective cybersecurity and more importantly, you need to know how the candidates rate and understand the different parameters involved.

#4 – When building firewalls, do you choose closed ports or filtered ports? Explain why

Talking tech terminologies and understanding them are two different things, this question helps you understand if the candidates have sound knowledge of the basics. Anyone who has been in this field will answer this question with relative ease.

#5 – Tell us about a time when you had to resolve an issue after finding a vulnerability issue in your company’s server.

The answer to this question will tell you how good the candidate is at figuring out problems and weak spots in the server. You will also be able to assess them on their problem-solving skills.

What Should You Look Out For?

The ability to take initiative, and always trying to be one step ahead are two things you should look out for here.

#6 – If there was a massive security breach? How would you inform your superiors of the situation?

One thing has always been clear in business, communication is everything, it does not matter how skilled you are, if you cannot communicate with other people within the organization, then you are not helping the organization grow.

It also helps you see how well the candidates can communicate the problem to people who aren’t well versed in tech.

What Should You Look Out For?

Look out for the ability to explain tech terms in a non-technical way. Someone who can explain the gravity of the situation without disrupting any peace.

#7 – Tell us about how well you work with a team. Give an example as well.

Working together with other employees and teams when necessary is an important part of the job description, you need individuals who can build rapport and work with other team members as well. A lone wolf is of no use to a company.

What Should You Look Out For?

It goes without saying that you need to keep an eye on someone who can be a great team player.

Again, look for moments of hesitation when you ask this question, it could indicate they may not play well with a team.

#8 – Did you ever identify an incoming cyber-attack? If so, how did you handle the same?

This can give you an insight into how good the candidate is at identifying incoming attacks, be it internal or external threats. Also, it gives you a picture of how they are handled from which you can ascertain their effectiveness and the candidates’ ability to think/act quickly.

What Should You Look Out For?

Intricate information about the cyberattacks and the candidate’s responses to the same.

#9 – What do you use in your home network?

A simple yet effective cybersecurity interview question, it will help you understand the candidates’ personal preferences in tech and how they make use of it. It is also an indication of how well the candidate’ knows the tools he’s using.

What Should You Look Out For?

Keep an eye out for how the candidate uses his/her setup, even if they don’t have the latest setup, what matters is how effectively they use their current ones.

#10 – What do you think is this organization’s cybersecurity risk?

Of course, he may not be able to give the most accurate answer given the fact that he doesn’t know all the details involved. But if the candidates recommend a one-for-all solution, that is not what you’re looking for.

You need someone who can do a risk assessment with the relevant information and accordingly comes up with an effective solution.

What Should You Lookout For?

Look out for candidates who ask for certain specific information when they’re faced with this question, you want people who will understand your system and its intricacies.

#11 – If you were our cybersecurity expert, what would you want from our company to get the job done?

In this question, it’s not just about obtaining software and quoting prices. You should look for the candidates’ interest to work with other teams for better outcomes.

You should understand if the candidates’ request is feasible or not and if it is, is it worth spending that money?

What Should You Look Out For?

Candidates who don’t just name tools and software but know how to make effective use of them and are able to come up with viable solutions.

#12 – How will you prevent a brute-force attack?

one of the cybersecurity interview questions that will help you understand how good the candidate is when it comes to preventing an attack. It will tell about the preventive measures that the candidate is familiar with.

#13 – Has there been an instance where you’ve taken down your company’s network while testing?

Although that shouldn’t happen, it is quite unavoidable. For candidates to admit the same and their experience may not be the best thing to do, but the truth is quite the opposite.

If a candidate opens up about an incident where he took down the company server, it reflects honesty and you need honest people on the team. Everyone makes mistakes, but they should be accepting of it as well.

What Should You Look Out For?

It’s simple, look out for genuine answers that reflect their honesty.

#14 – Are cybersecurity certifications the most important?

A ton of candidates nowadays come with multiple certifications, but do they think it’s the most important?

Their answer will tell you a lot about them. Of course, certifications are important but the experience will always matter slightly more. The reason for asking this is, that you need someone who understands that practical cybersecurity problems aren’t like certification courses.

What Should You Look Out For?

For candidates with relevant certifications and experience to back it up as well.

#15 – Do you have an emergency procedure in place?

Cybersecurity professionals must concentrate on both regular surveillance and application as well as long-term planning and development. This is done to prevent cyberattacks and if a cyberattack happens, they should have a contingency plan in place.

These cybersecurity interview questions will help you understand if the candidate can think one step ahead at all times.

What Should You Look Out For?

Keep an ear out for practical contingency strategies and also for prior experiences that state the same.

#16 – What is the difference between IDS and IPS?

This will help you understand how well the candidate knows his basics. IPS is basically to scan and identify incoming cyberattacks. IDS is a monitoring system.

What Should You Look Out For?

For a detailed difference between the two as they are different and yet they work together. Someone who knows will be pretty experienced.

#17 – Explain system hardening.

This refers to software and methods used to protect vulnerable systems in the organization. You need someone who can compress the attack surface effectively.

What Should You Look Out For?

A practical example of them hardening any system and how it helped.

#18 – Polymorphic viruses: What are they?

You need someone who can not only identify attacks but identify viruses as well, especially the ones that can change after it infects a file.

As an organization prone to this risk, you need someone who can identify this and provide a solution for the same.

What Should You Look Out For?

Practical ways of identifying polymorphic viruses and effective solutions. Also, look for any experience related to the same.

#19 – Explain active reconnaissance.

This refers to reconnaissance by the attackers. But this isn’t a direct attack, it’s a recon mission of sorts, mainly to steal data.

You need someone who can differentiate between different types of attacks and provide positive outcomes for the same.

What Should You Look Out For?

For any experience of the same and how they handled it.

#20 – How would you strengthen our company’s cyber defense?

You need someone who will proactively suggest effective solutions to safeguard to company’s systems and servers.

What Should You Look Out For?

Questions about the current system to make said suggestions, will help you understand how well the candidates can understand your system and provide defensive solutions for the same.