HackerRank Role Certifications Guidelines

HackerRank's Role Certifications use technical assessments to evaluate a developer’s proficiency in a set of technical skills associated with a specific role (i.e., Front-End Developer, Software Engineer). Role Certifications use HackerRank’s Skills Taxonomy as the basis for determining the specific skills associated with each role. HackerRank Role Certifications provide verification of skills proficiency associated with a specific role, they do not imply a guarantee or endorsement of a developer for employment decisions.

Role Certifications details

• Role Certifications consist of a specific set of skill assessments using valid HackerRank assessments. 

  • Learn more about the process we’ve used to develop valid, fair and reliable HackerRank’s skills assessments here 

• HackerRank identifies the skills associated with specific roles based on our Skill Taxonomy. HackerRank can support those who wish to map skills to their own taxonomy through our Professional Services team (additional fees may apply) 

• HackerRank’s Skill Taxonomy combines internal data, external job description analysis and SME review to develop our comprehensive Roles Directory. This directory is the foundation for identifying the skills assessed in Role Certifications.

• Assessments rigorously test developer proficiency in key languages, frameworks, tools and concepts required for a given role 

• Within the Role Certification assessment, dedicated sections provide assessment questions for important skills.

• Passing cut-scores are set by default to a score generated by HackerRank that is based on our benchmarking data. This threshold is an approximation of the 75th percentile score for a sampling of questions assessing the same skill at the same difficulty level.

Additional insights

• HackerRank assessments are developed based on HackerRank’s research and audited for bias to create tests that are valid and fair. If you choose to use custom assessments and want to achieve similar validity evidence, work with your HackerRank I/O Psychologist to create an action plan (additional fees may apply).

• Set Clear Internal Standards: 

  • Determine the specific Role Certifications that align with your organization's existing roles. 

  • Clearly define the skills required for each role. 

  • Document and communicate these standards & requirements to all dev managers for consistency and fairness in your assessment process.

• Be transparent regarding your expectations with employees. Create clear, consistent communication on how Role Certifications are used at your company.

Disclaimers

• HackerRank Role Certifications provide skills proficiency insights but do not imply a guarantee or endorsement of a developer. Any employment decisions made based on this data is at the sole discretion of the employer organization.

• HackerRank Role Certifications may not be available for all developer roles at your organization. HackerRank Roles Directory currently supports 77 roles. SkillUp provides Role Certifications for 19 roles as of March 14, 2024. Work with your HackerRank Customer Account Manager to discuss role certification details and requirements for your company.

• HackerRank Role Certifications consist of a specific set of skill assessments, using valid HackerRank assessments. No guarantee is made that HackerRank Assessments will align exactly with your proprietary skills taxonomy and may require modification to match the skills requirements for roles at your organization. 

• Passing cut-scores are set by default to a score generated by HackerRank that is based on our benchmarking data. This threshold is an approximation of the 75th percentile score for a sampling of questions assessing the same skill at the same difficulty level. 

  • Cut-scores may require adjustments by company based on organizational requirements, employee knowledge levels, and other company-specific differences. 

• Role Certifications do not holistically evaluate non-technical skills and are set by default to assess technical skills identified by HackerRank’s research. Therefore, other non-technical assessments for employees may be required for a holistic view of candidate skills. 

• Role Certifications are intended to enhance, not replace, your current learning & development (L&D), and internal mobility practices.