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Ex‑Google Recruiter Says Degrees Alone No Longer Win Tech Interviews

Prasad Rao argues that compact, verifiable proof of engineering work now drives screening decisions for top roles.

Overview

  • Prasad Rao reviewed anonymised resumes on a Scaler School podcast on Tuesday and said one profile with ‘Co‑founder’, ICPC credentials and Meta Hacker Cup results was enough for him to push the candidate for an interview.
  • He said recruiters are prioritising clear signals of ability such as competitive‑programming results, hackathon wins, open‑source contributions and concise descriptions of what applicants personally built.
  • Rao emphasised that internships matter when they show real engineering work and ownership and that the technical depth of the work can outweigh the internship employer’s brand.
  • On AI, Rao said hiring for software roles has not fallen but the skills employers seek have shifted toward combining computer‑science fundamentals with the ability to apply AI tools effectively.
  • The trend he described reflects a wider change in India’s tech hiring where an IIT or B.Tech tag is now an entry cue rather than a guarantee and students should keep learning, build real projects and show ownership on resumes.