Comparethemarket.com hosts ‘Job in a Day’ to find new software engineers

• 
  Kayleigh Bateman

  Computer Weekly
• Published: 08 Nov 2013 12:24

Price comparison website comparethemarket.com has invited ten hopefuls to its offices today, to take place in the ‘Job in a Day’ challenge, which will see successful candidates bag themselves a job at the company.

The firm launched its competition as a way to recruit several software engineers to work at its headquarters.

The ten candidates will spend today showcasing their coding expertise, with the aim of securing a job and winning an iPad. All candidates will be given a Raspberry Pi for their attendance.

After reviewing CVs and conducting telephone interviews, the ten candidates were selected to attend the open day in Cambridgeshire.

James Lomas, IT director for comparethemarket.com, said: “We wanted our recruitment approach to mirror the way we work and so pair programming forms part of the day. Continuous feedback throughout the event allows us to make a job offer immediately and we hope that everyone learns and takes something away in addition to their gift of a Raspberry Pi.”

Nick Jerman, HR director at comparethemarket.com, said it is increasingly difficult for people with limited work experience to secure jobs: “This initiative will give recent graduates and talented individuals in the Cambridgeshire area a chance to accelerate their careers.

“No previous work experience is required; we are looking for a passion for code and programming. Our comprehensive training programme will enable successful candidates to be trained on the job using a clear and structured framework based on technical skills and behaviours."

Jerman said a software engineer at the company can expect a starting salary of £25k and could be promoted to senior software engineer within 18 months.