If you can hack it, DBS wants you

DBS plans to hire 100 software developers after a two-day hackathon.

It is the first bank in South-east Asia to adopt such a recruitment approach, said DBS in a statement

In recent years, companies looking to improve capacity in the digital arena have hosted hackathons.

These typically last between two and five days, and involve a large group of people working together to solve - or hack - a problem, usually coming up with usable software.

Hackathons have been gaining popularity as a recruitment tool among tech companies, especially in start-up markets like India.

The DBS recruitment drive - DBS Hack2Hire - will include an online challenge to gauge the programming and technical capabilities of candidates, followed by a live two-day hackathon, where approaches to problem-solving will be tested.

Shortlisted candidates from the second round will be offered full-time roles at DBS - making them the first hires ever to be made by the bank through hackathons.

DBS' group head of core systems technology, Ms Soh Siew Choo, said: "We are seeing rapid advancements in banking technology using cloud, machine learning and Big Data, which are paving the way for a new world of seamless banking.

"We want to bring developers well-versed in these new technologies into the bank to accelerate our digital transformation efforts."

At the hackathon, to take place next month, talent will work on projects related to data analytics, machine learning, and cloud native application development.

These projects span across spectrum of the bank, from enhancing customer experience during loan applications to digitisation of finance operations.

DBS Hack2Hire is conducted in collaboration with leading technology providers Amazon Web Services, Cloudera and Pivotal.

marilee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 20, 2017.
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