Intern & New-Grad Hiring in 2025: What Top Programs Are Doing Differently
The landscape for entry-level tech hiring has undergone a seismic shift. With job postings for software engineers on Indeed at a five-year low in 2025 and the proportion of open software engineering roles seeking entry-level workers dropping to just over 20% from nearly 30% since January 2023, new graduates and interns face unprecedented challenges ¹. Meanwhile, 90% of tech managers say hiring top talent remains difficult in 2025, creating a paradox where companies struggle to find qualified candidates while entry-level developers struggle to find opportunities ².
This challenging environment has forced leading tech companies to fundamentally rethink their approach to university and new graduate hiring. The traditional playbook of campus recruiting, standardized coding tests, and lengthy interview processes is being rewritten as organizations adapt to economic pressures, AI transformation, and evolving candidate expectations.
The Modern Entry-Level Hiring Crisis
Economic Pressures Reshaping the Landscape
The tech industry is experiencing a fundamental restructuring that directly impacts entry-level hiring. High interest rates have influenced the job market for software engineers, with central banks around the world raising rates to combat inflation, making borrowing more expensive for companies ³. This economic reality means companies are no longer rewarded for rapid headcount growth but are instead being judged on their ability to operate efficiently and deliver results with leaner teams.
The numbers tell a stark story. The technology sector in 2024 experienced significant workforce reductions, with over 130,000 jobs cut across 457 companies ⁴. Major companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta have let go of thousands of employees, many of whom are highly experienced engineers, creating a pool of available talent that has grown significantly ³.
The AI Factor: Changing Skills Requirements
Artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering what companies look for in entry-level talent. In October 2024, Sundar Pichai announced that AI was writing more than 25% of new code at Google, while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced a hiring freeze for engineers in 2025, saying AI had increased productivity by 30% ¹. This shift means companies can afford to be far more selective in their hiring processes, setting higher standards and prioritizing candidates who can hit the ground running.
The demand for traditional coding skills is being supplemented by new requirements. Companies are increasingly looking for graduates who understand not just how to code, but how to work alongside AI tools effectively. A study by McKinsey estimates that as early as 2030, AI could create 20 million to 50 million new jobs globally, with a 50% increase in demand for AI-related roles but only a 25% rise in candidates with those skills ⁵.
Candidate Experience Challenges
The frustrations facing new graduates and interns are mounting. According to the HackerRank 2025 Developer Skills Report, which surveyed over 13,000 developers, 42% cite assessment prep as their biggest hiring challenge, while 77% say the assessments they face don't reflect the skills actually needed for the job ⁶. Additionally, 71% of developers say they grind Leetcode to prep for assessments, and 62% feel like they have to overprepare because they don't know what might be thrown at them.
The communication gap is equally problematic. Only 8% of students believe employers provide clear details about the hiring process in 2025, while 29% of developers say poor communication, especially slow or missing responses, is a major pain point ². According to Greenhouse's 2024 State of Job Hunting report, 61% of candidates have been ghosted after an interview ⁶.
How Leading Tech Companies Are Adapting
The Divergence in Assessment Approaches
Tech coding interviews are undergoing their most significant transformation in over a decade, with a clear split emerging between different company types ⁷. FAANG companies remain committed to their existing formats, having built entire recruiting machines around their current processes with years of calibration data. They believe that willingness to grind through arbitrary algorithmic challenges correlates with the on-the-job characteristics they value: persistence, ability to learn quickly, and comfort with abstract problem-solving.
In contrast, mid-sized companies including Stripe, Coinbase, OpenAI, and Airbnb have moved toward more realistic, open-ended coding challenges that better reflect actual work. Early-stage startups often replace traditional coding exercises with take-home projects that explicitly allow the use of AI tools, recognizing that this better reflects the reality of modern software development.
Structured Programs for Entry-Level Talent
Leading companies are investing in comprehensive programs designed specifically for new graduates. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Software Engineer Program (SEP) exemplifies this approach as a global two-year career development program designed to provide entry-level software engineering talent with foundational technical and professional skills ⁸. With over 55,000 technologists globally and an annual tech spend of $15 billion, JPMorgan demonstrates the scale of investment required for successful entry-level programs.
These structured programs address a critical gap. Companies are less willing to invest in training or mentorship programs compared to periods of rapid growth, yet the need for developing talent remains crucial ³. By creating formal pathways with clear progression and support systems, companies can build their talent pipeline while providing new graduates with the structure they need to succeed.
Embracing Remote and Flexible Hiring
The shift to remote hiring has become permanent for many organizations. According to CodePath's survey of nearly 700 U.S. Computer Science students, 66% rank remote or hybrid work options as a top priority in 2025 ². Companies that adapt to this preference gain access to a broader talent pool while meeting candidate expectations.
Remote hiring also enables companies to optimize their processes. HackerRank's platform, for instance, allows hiring teams to evaluate candidate skills without having to invite them to costly and time-consuming on-site interviews, with 99.9% uptime and 24/7 support enabling a hiring process that never sleeps ⁹. This approach is particularly valuable for entry-level hiring, where volume is high and efficiency is crucial.
The HackerRank Solution: Modernizing Entry-Level Technical Hiring
AI-Powered Assessment Innovation
HackerRank has positioned itself at the forefront of the AI transformation in technical hiring. At AI Day 2025, which attracted over 7,000 attendees, the company unveiled five new features built directly into their platform: Proctor mode, AI interviewer, Engage assistant, AI tutor, and ASTRA benchmark ¹⁰. These innovations directly address the challenges facing entry-level hiring in the AI era.
The AI interviewer feature is particularly revolutionary for new graduate hiring. Designed to conduct first-round interviews, it evaluates depth of knowledge, problem-solving approach, code quality, and ability to work with AI, having already been used to conduct over 12,000 interviews with positive reviews ¹¹. This technology enables companies to scale their entry-level hiring while maintaining quality and consistency.
Solving the Skills Assessment Challenge
HackerRank's platform directly addresses the disconnect between traditional assessments and actual job requirements. The platform screens for fundamentals without AI, ability to work with AI, and knowledge of AI concepts, using real-world projects to test the ability to effectively review code and debug issues ¹². This approach aligns with what 24% of developers want: replacing Leetcode-style assessments with real-world project challenges ⁶.
The platform's comprehensive question library, the largest in the industry, covers tech's most in-demand roles and skills across all levels, allowing companies to launch standardized, role-based tests in minutes ¹³. For university hiring specifically, this means companies can create assessments tailored to entry-level expectations while still evaluating critical skills.
Maintaining Integrity at Scale
With AI-driven interview fraud becoming prevalent, integrity in remote assessments is crucial. HackerRank's platform includes cutting-edge proctoring and unmatched AI-powered plagiarism detection, monitoring dozens of signals including copy/paste tracking and tab switching ⁹. The Proctor mode feature offers real-time detection of suspicious activity during assessments, provides a full session replay, and generates transparent reports when a session is flagged ¹¹.
This is critical for entry-level hiring where volume is high and maintaining fairness is essential. The platform uses advanced machine learning to monitor for plagiarism, test-taker integrity, and question leaks, ensuring consistent testing whether hiring one developer or 1,000 ¹³.
Building Talent Pipelines
The Engage assistant feature revolutionizes how companies build and maintain relationships with entry-level talent. It helps companies rediscover past candidates and build strong pipelines of qualified talent by automatically analyzing previous candidate profiles, matching them with current hiring needs, and creating targeted marketing campaigns ¹⁰. With access to HackerRank's database of over 26 million developers, companies can tap into a vast pool of emerging talent ¹¹.
This capability is particularly valuable for university hiring, where building relationships with candidates early and maintaining engagement through their academic journey is crucial. Companies can create automated marketing campaigns and publish them to the HackerRank Developer Community, ensuring continuous engagement with potential entry-level hires.
Real-World Success Stories
The impact of HackerRank's approach is demonstrated through concrete results. PTC, a global leader in digital transformation, transformed its hiring process using HackerRank. Before adoption, PTC's hiring process for technical roles was manual and cumbersome, with managers creating custom tests and the HR team struggling to support technical hiring due to lack of coding expertise ¹⁴. After implementing HackerRank, PTC achieved reduced time-to-hire, improved candidate experience, and better quality hires.
Joshua Bellis, Global Head of Talent Attraction & Programs at PTC, stated that HackerRank helped streamline the process and speed up the time to hire ¹⁴. This efficiency is crucial for entry-level hiring where companies often need to process hundreds or thousands of applications.
The Future of Entry-Level Tech Hiring
Evolving Candidate Expectations
The next generation of tech talent has clear priorities that companies must address. According to research, 85% of students prefer employers that align with their values in 2025, while 39% consider salary and compensation their top priority when evaluating job offers ². LinkedIn's Workplace Trends Report revealed that 87% of millennials prioritize companies with values that align with their own, while Gen Z candidates demand remote work options and mental health support ⁵.
Companies that succeed in entry-level hiring will be those that can demonstrate clear values alignment, offer competitive compensation, and provide the flexibility and support that new graduates expect. This requires not just better hiring processes, but a fundamental rethinking of how companies present themselves to and engage with emerging talent.
The Skills-First Revolution
The shift toward skills-based hiring is accelerating, particularly for entry-level roles. HackerRank's platform allows users to benchmark against 26+ million developers, providing objective measures of skill that transcend traditional resume screening. This approach is particularly valuable for promoting diversity in entry-level hiring. Felicia Fleitman, Director of Early Careers & Diversity Pipelines, notes that putting skills over resumes helped achieve a goal where half their incoming class is female ¹³.
The platform's assessments are validated by IO psychologists and undergo expert-led analysis for adverse-impact studies and sensitivity reviews, ensuring fairness in the evaluation process. This scientific approach to skills assessment helps companies identify talent that might be overlooked by traditional screening methods.
Continuous Learning and Development
The future of entry-level hiring extends beyond just recruitment to ongoing development. HackerRank's AI tutor feature, part of SkillUp, helps upskill developers through real-world tasks, creates structured learning paths, and certifies them to be next-gen developers ¹¹. This continuous learning approach addresses the reality that 75% of workers lack essential digital skills to effectively collaborate, automate workflows, and leverage AI ⁴.
For companies hiring entry-level talent, providing clear development pathways is becoming a competitive advantage. Stack Overflow's survey found that 96% of developers prioritize learning new programming tools and languages, making continuous learning opportunities a key factor in attracting and retaining new graduates ⁴.
Conclusion: Adapting to the New Reality
The landscape for intern and new graduate hiring in 2025 presents both unprecedented challenges and innovative solutions. While economic pressures and AI transformation have made the market more competitive, companies that adapt their approaches can still successfully build strong entry-level talent pipelines.
HackerRank's comprehensive platform addresses the core challenges of modern entry-level hiring. With over 2,500 companies and 40% of developers worldwide using the platform to hire tech talent and sharpen their skills, it has become the standard for technical assessment in the AI era ¹¹. The platform's AI-powered features, from automated interviewing to talent pipeline management, provide the scale and sophistication needed for successful university and new graduate hiring programs.
As we look ahead, the companies that will win the war for entry-level talent are those that embrace modern assessment methods, prioritize candidate experience, and leverage AI not as a replacement for human judgment but as a tool to enhance and scale their hiring processes. The integration of platforms like HackerRank into university hiring strategies represents not just an optimization of existing processes, but a fundamental reimagining of how companies identify, evaluate, and develop the next generation of technical talent.
The future belongs to organizations that can balance efficiency with empathy, technology with human touch, and rigorous assessment with genuine opportunity. In this new landscape, HackerRank stands as the bridge between ambitious new graduates and forward-thinking companies, enabling both to thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive market.
FAQ
What are the biggest challenges facing new graduates in tech hiring for 2025?
New graduates face unprecedented challenges in 2025, with software engineering job postings on Indeed at a five-year low and the proportion of entry-level roles dropping from nearly 30% to just over 20% since January 2023. High interest rates have made borrowing more expensive for companies, leading to tighter hiring budgets and more selective recruitment processes.
How are top companies adapting their intern and new-grad hiring programs in 2025?
Leading companies are leveraging AI-powered platforms and implementing more sophisticated assessment methods to identify top talent efficiently. They're focusing on skills-based hiring rather than traditional credentials, using real-time proctoring technology, and creating more structured evaluation processes to ensure fair and effective candidate selection.
What role does AI play in modern university and new graduate hiring?
AI is transforming university hiring by automating up to 80% of recruitment tasks, allowing human recruiters to focus on strategic decision-making. HackerRank's AI-powered platform offers features like real-time detection of suspicious activity during assessments, full session replays, and transparent reporting to ensure fair evaluation of candidates' coding abilities.
How can companies overcome hiring challenges for entry-level tech positions?
Companies can overcome hiring challenges by adopting comprehensive assessment platforms that provide objective skill evaluation, implementing AI-driven screening processes, and focusing on candidates' potential rather than just experience. Small and medium-sized businesses particularly benefit from technology solutions that help them compete with larger organizations for top talent.
What makes HackerRank's platform essential for university hiring programs?
HackerRank's platform is used by over 2,500+ companies globally and offers specialized solutions for university hiring, including AI-powered assessments, real-time proctoring, and comprehensive skill evaluation tools. The platform's Proctor mode feature provides real-time detection of suspicious activity and generates transparent reports, ensuring fair and reliable assessment of new graduates and interns.
How has the economic climate affected software engineering hiring standards in 2025?
The current economic climate, characterized by high interest rates to combat inflation, has significantly raised hiring standards for software engineers. Companies are being more selective due to tighter budgets and increased competition, requiring candidates to demonstrate stronger technical skills and adaptability to secure entry-level positions.
Citations
2. https://www.codepath.org/news/recruiting-2025-hiring-technical-talent
4. https://www.gravityer.com/blog/white-paper/rethink-your-approach-to-tech-hiring
5. https://hirium.com/blog/top-10-hiring-challenges-in-2025/
6. https://www.hackerrank.com/blog/5-ways-tech-hiring-frustrates-developers/
7. https://hellointerview.substack.com/p/how-tech-coding-assessments-are-splintering
9. https://www.hackerrank.com/solutions/remote-hiring
11. https://www.hackerrank.com/blog/hackerranks-ai-day-2025-product-launch-recap/
12. https://www.hackerrank.com/products/screen
13. https://www.hackerrank.com/lp/enterprise-ready/
14. https://www.hackerrank.com/blog/ptc-wins-with-hackerrank/
