Telegram's CEO says this is how he hires great engineers

"Fancy a job at the messaging service Telegram? You might want to look out for the next coding competition the company organizes to recruit engineers. Pavel Durov, the cofounder and CEO of Telegram, said in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, which aired on Tuesday, that he prefers to assess candidates through a coding contest instead of the standard interview process. "It's in line with my overall philosophy. I think competition leads to progress," Durov said."

""If you want to create an ideal process for selecting the most qualified people for certain specific tasks you have in mind, what can be better than a competition?" he added. Durov said coding contests are the best platform for candidates to "demonstrate their skills," which makes it easier for Telegram to "just select the best." "These competitions are the closest experience to what people will have when working at Telegram," he added."

"Durov told Fridman that another quality he looks for is whether a candidate has actually used Telegram themselves. This is something that he can select for by promoting his contests on Telegram, he said. "What can be better than, for an employee of your company, somebody who has been a user? If this person has no prior experience of using Telegram, their understanding would be very limited," Durov continued."

Telegram relies on coding competitions rather than conventional interviews to evaluate engineering candidates. Competitions allow candidates to demonstrate practical skills and provide a direct way to select top performers for specific technical tasks. Contests are promoted on Telegram to attract applicants who have used the platform, ensuring product familiarity among hires. The company uses a proprietary platform to host monthly or bi-monthly contests and then selects the best participants for employment. The competition format is presented as closely mirroring the work experience expected at Telegram, streamlining the hiring process toward measurable performance.

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