We’re excited to share the latest updates from HackerRank’s January 2025 product release!

Highlights include new Prompt Engineering and Code Repository question types - designed to simulate day-to-day developer tasks and bring authenticity to skill evaluations. Developers benefit from upgrades like the enhanced Monaco editor and a new Run Test interface. Preventive features such as Secure Mode, along with live interview integrity signals, provide greater confidence in the fairness and security of your assessments.

To walk through the updates, check out our customer webinar recording.

Skills Platform

Prompt Engineering Questions (Available for Tests)

AI is transforming software engineering, making prompt engineering a critical skill for developers. With this release, you can now evaluate a candidate’s ability to create effective AI prompts through our new prompt engineering questions. This ensures you’re identifying talent ready to excel in a future that is human + AI. New enhancements include:

• Seven new prompt engineering questions added to the library.

• Ability to evaluate proficiency in building effective prompts with automated

Refer to Assessing Candidates on Prompt Engineering Skills for more details.

Retrieval Augmented Generation Questions (Limited Availability for Tests)

As developers increasingly use Large Language Models to create context-aware solutions, RAG expertise has become critical. With this skill launch, candidates can now be assessed on key capabilities, such as retrieving and utilizing relevant information to build personalized AI solutions like support bots. 

This feature is currently available on a limited basis. Please reach out to your account manager if you are interested in gaining access.

Code Repository Questions (Available for Interviews)

Developers work with code repositories daily, tackling tasks like rearchitecting systems, fixing bugs, and adding features. Our new Code Repositories question type in the Interview product lets you evaluate candidates in real-world scenarios like these. With 6 pre-built repositories and 110 tasks, this feature mirrors a developer’s day-to-day work, giving you greater confidence in hiring decisions.

If you would like to upload your own code repositories, we are working on bringing the functionality natively. In the meantime, you can email support@hackerrank.com, and we would love to help!

Refer to The Next-Generation of Hiring: Interview Features for more details.

Code Quality Grading (Limited Availability)

Code quality is as important as code correctness, reflecting a candidate's ability to write maintainable, efficient, and scalable code. With the new Code Quality grading and detailed comments, you can evaluate candidates on these critical dimensions, gaining deeper insights into their strengths and areas for growth. This helps you identify and hire candidates who can contribute high-quality code.

This feature is currently available on a limited basis. Please reach out to your account manager if you are interested in gaining access. 

Other Library Additions

The HackerRank Library is regularly updated with new challenges, enabling you to assess candidates across a wide range of technical skills.

New Content

• Coding + Database Tasks: 149 coding challenges designed to assess practical programming skills and algorithmic thinking.

• Projects: 65 projects that simulate real-world scenarios, enabling candidates to demonstrate their ability to manage and execute complex tasks.

Updated Job Families

The latest content enhancements focus on the following key job families to ensure comprehensive and relevant assessments:

• Software Engineering

• Web Development

• Cloud

• Cybersecurity

• AI/ML

• Quality Assurance

Content Quality Improvements

Clear and precise questions help you effectively evaluate candidates' skills and potential. HackerRank is dedicated to continuously improving library content to improve candidate comprehension. As a starting point, 60 existing questions have been enhanced using AI to improve clarity, precision, and readability. All new questions will undergo a rigorous review process to maintain this standard. Over the next few releases, you can look forward to further refinements to the question library, ensuring it maintains this quality level.

Here’s an example of a question that’s been improved for better comprehension:

Developer Experience

Monaco Editor Updates

Candidates will benefit from a more intuitive coding experience with the latest updates to the Monaco editor. Key improvements include:

• Colorized Bracket Matching: Simplifies working with deeply nested code by visually distinguishing each level.

• Sticky Scroll: Displays starting lines of visible nested scopes at the top for better navigation and context.

• Expanded Typescript Support: Now supports version 5.5, including the latest features like decorator syntax.

• Improved Vim Mode: Access Visual, Visual Block, and Visual Line Modes, along with shortcuts like <, >>, cmd + ], and more.

• Resolved Accessibility Issues: A more inclusive coding environment with previous accessibility issues addressed.

Refer to Using Monaco Editor to Answer Coding Questions for more information. 

Run Test Interface

The new Run Test Interface in the VSCode IDE makes it easier for candidates to interpret test results for front-end and Code Repository questions. This feature provides an intuitive, developer-friendly interface for questions with test commands configured to generate XML output.

Refer to Taking Front-end, Back-end, Full-stack Developer Assessments for more details.

Screen

Secure Mode

Enhance the integrity of your assessments with Secure Mode, which locks the assessment interface in full-screen mode and warns candidates if they switch tabs during the test. You can enable Secure Mode in the Test Settings, ensuring candidates rely solely on their skills without external assistance during the assessment.

Candidate Experience

Refer to Proctoring HackerRank Tests for more information.

Enhanced Library Experience

The latest HackerRank Library updates make discovering the right questions for your assessments easier. With an improved interface, you can leverage advanced filters, view concise question summaries, and access additional sorting options. Here’s what’s new:

Question Summaries: Quickly review essential details such as question type, key concepts, difficulty level, and a brief summary—eliminating the need to read lengthy question descriptions.

Expanded Filters: Narrow your search with 17+ new filters, including average scores, candidate performance data, and completion times, enabling more precise alignment with your hiring objectives.

Enhanced Sorting Options: Organize questions by metrics such as average score or candidate performance to identify the most suitable questions for your assessments.

Refer to Enhanced HackerRank Library for more details.

Decimals & Zero Scores in Multiple Choice Questions

You can now set decimal point scores for multiple-choice questions, giving you finer control over grading. For tests with numerous MCQs of lower importance, you can allocate fractional scores like 0.25 or 0.50 per question. Additionally, you can assign a zero score to MCQs, allowing you to create practice sections or evaluate question quality without impacting candidates’ overall scores.

Skill-Based Scores in API

Users leveraging the API for reporting can now get skill-based scores for each candidate. 

Interview

Interview Integrity Signals

Build confidence in the integrity of remote interviews with live signals designed to detect candidate behaviors such as tab switches, code copy-pasting, and the use of multiple monitors. 

Candidates are given clear expectations during the onboarding phase to avoid surprises. For added flexibility, these notifications can be muted during interviews, allowing you to align with your company's preferences, such as permitting or restricting the use of AI tools.

Refer to Interview Integrity for more details.

Custom Scorecards

Ensure consistent and structured interview evaluations with customizable scorecards tailored to your unique hiring needs. From the new Scorecards tab or within an interview template, you can create and edit scorecards that mirror your specific evaluation criteria, making it easier to assess candidates effectively. 

Scorecards can include multiple grading sections using any of these six input types:

• Text field

• Single select

• Multi-select

• Yes/No radio button

• Dropdown

• Rating scale

You can also add description fields, hints, or tips to guide interviewers, ensuring consistent evaluations across teams. Once created, scorecards can be assigned to interviews from the Interview Details page, by using the associated interview template or directly selecting from the scorecard dropdown. Interviewers can access the scorecard during the live interview by clicking the Scorecard icon on the right-side panel.

Interview Question Library Tab (Limited Availability)

It’s now easier for you to find interview-specific content with a separate tab in the Library menu dedicated to questions designed for interviews. This helps you quickly discover questions suited for scenarios like system design and bug-fixing tasks, categorizing them separately from take-home assessment tasks that typically emphasize foundational skills.

This feature is currently available on a limited basis. Please reach out to your account manager if you are interested in gaining access. 

Rooster Integration for Interview Scheduling

You can now take advantage of a new integration for technical interview scheduling between Rooster and HackerRank, built specifically for Workday-integrated customers. This integration makes it easy to manage interview scheduling and sync scorecards across Workday, Rooster, and HackerRank.

Key features:

• Sync interviewer availability between Rooster and HackerRank, allowing candidates to self-schedule

• Securely and automatically sync interview feedback into Workday

• Quickly create HackerRank interviews directly from Rooster

Refer to Rooster - HackerRank Integration for more details.

Platform Enhancements

New Design System & Accessibility Improvements

The platform has been upgraded with HackerRank’s latest design system, created with accessibility at its core. At HackerRank, accessibility is central to designing and developing, ensuring you benefit from a more inclusive and consistent experience. Learn more about the updated accessibility guidelines here.

SkillUp

Updated Skill Proficiency Labels

Skill proficiency level labels are now updated to better align with commonly used competency models and frameworks. Here’s what’s changed:

These updated labels provide clearer, more standardized definitions for proficiency levels, ensuring a better understanding and alignment with organizational standards.

Refer to SkillUp Employee Platform for more details.

Exportable Reports

Gain deeper insights into your team’s skills and achievements with the ability to export detailed reports for Skill Badges and Role Certifications, previously accessible only as a widget on the Overview tab.

• Skill Badges Report: This export includes separate columns for each skill badge proficiency level (Foundational, Intermediate, and Expert) and detailed breakdowns of badges assessed and earned. This ensures improved clarity and actionable insights.

• Role Certifications Report: This export provides detailed information about certifications, such as insights into the number of users certified and assessed for each role, offering better visibility into your team’s progress and expertise.

Refer to Accessing SkillUp Employer Platform for more details.

Engage

Show Accurate Program Timelines

Ensure participants understand timelines by setting schedules for each round of your hiring event directly within the microsite editor. This feature helps your audience see how a specific coding challenge fits into the overall program, making it easier for them to stay organized and on track.

Refer to Setting up the Event Microsite for more details.

On-Brand Microsites

With the new ‘Theme’ capability in the microsite editor, you can now set your brand colors and automatically generate on-brand microsites with a single click. This feature ensures your events run smoothly and leave a lasting impression.

Refer to Setting up the Event Microsite for more details.

Marketing Insights

Track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns with a new signal on the analytics dashboard in Engage. This feature lets you see the number of views and visitors on your microsite, segmented by source, directly from your event overview page.

Refer to Engage Marketing Insights for more details.

Candidate Workflow Updates

• New content for Invite and Reminder Emails to help distinguish hackathons from regular assessments, ensuring participants know what to expect.

• Automated nudges sent days before events start, reminding you to publish challenges and keep the event on track.

• Ability to shortlist candidates, ensuring the eligibility and relevance of your top-of-the-funnel participants.

Developer Community

Mock Interviews

Developers can practice and refine their skills with a variety of AI-powered mock interviews tailored to real-world scenarios. Here’s what’s new:

• System Design Mock Interview: This session tackles challenges like designing URL shorteners or scalable news feeds. It includes a built-in whiteboarding tool and an AI interviewer to simulate real interview conditions. Interviewees receive detailed feedback on scalability, reliability, and clarity of communication in their responses.

• Other Mock Interviews Enhancements: Benefit from a more interactive and realistic AI interviewer experience. Improved navigation, a "scroll to bottom" button, streamed chatbox text, and markdown support make the process smoother. An interactive feedback feature lets the user review detailed performance metrics while continuing to engage with the AI interviewer.

Over 10,000 mock interviews have already been conducted on our platform, and we’re continuously improving the AI interviewer’s capabilities to mimic real technical interviewers more closely.

React Practice Track

Developers can sharpen their React skills with a new practice track consisting of 10 coding challenges. These challenges are designed to help master core React concepts, including:

• Components: Learn how to build reusable and efficient components.

• Forms: Practice handling user inputs effectively.

• State Management: Understand and implement robust state management solutions.

Refer to HackerRank Community Upgrades for the latest updates.

Thank you for supporting our mission to change the world to value skills over pedigree. Your feedback continues to drive our innovations forward. If you have questions or need assistance, email support@hackerrank.com or contact your account manager.