Uncovering student values for hiring in the software industry

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of student responses to an exercise used in a computer ethics and a software engineering course to raise awareness of issues related to hiring, including issues of professional responsibility and diversity. Students from two different universities were asked to evaluate four candidates for two positions in a fictitious software company. They then developed a set of criteria for evaluation and constructed an argument to support their choices. After discussing their choice with others in the class, students could change their hiring decisions. Students' hiring criteria were coded using emergent categories, inferences in the arguments were coded according to the criteria, and reasons for changing hiring decisions were coded. Students considered criteria that fell into five areas: technical skills, soft skills, personal traits, previous employment, and career/job considerations. Reasons for changing hiring choices included previous experience, diversity considerations, people skills, leadership skills, and reaching consensus. The article also reports inferences students made about the job candidates.