How C++ Competitive Programming Can Help Hiring Managers and Developers Alike

Competitive programming is a mind sport in which participants solve complex coding puzzles. Competing in these events has the potential to translate into professional success for developers. Reciprocally, hiring managers can find top notch talent by following competitive algorithm contests. Case in point: Eight years ago, Google noticed my impressive C++ competitive programming rating on the Topcoder Single Round Match (SRM) platform and recruited me as an engineer.

Originating on college campuses in the 1970s, competitive programming has since expanded in popularity, gaining attention from large technology corporations, and covering topics such as algorithm programming, machine learning, and game development. In this article, I’ll share my own perspective and experiences as a rated algorithm programmer.

A Look at Competitive Algorithm Events

Most algorithm competitions take place on specialized online platforms, attracting as many as tens of thousands of international participants per contest. The following online platforms offer regular, real-time, and rated contests:

• AtCoder
• CodeChef
• Codeforces
• HackerEarth
• HackerRank
• LeetCode
• Topcoder SRM

Notable sponsors of contests include global companies (e.g., Meta, Google—at least, this was true until the project was sunset in July 2023) and organizations for students (e.g., ICPC, IOI). Additionally, groups such as UVa Online Judge and Project Euler support the competitive programming community by hosting puzzles for developers to solve.

Competition Structure

In an algorithm contest, competitors are typically presented with three to six puzzles to solve within a given time frame. Contestants attempt to solve the puzzles by writing programs in their language of choice. Some platforms, such as Codeforces, provide programmers the opportunity to design test cases that cause fellow competitors’ source code to fail, with points earned for successful hacks.

Point System

Contestants primarily earn points by submitting correct solutions to puzzles. Contest platforms enforce rigorous standards and automatically grade each solution against an exhaustive set of prepared test cases. Contestants are rewarded for development speed, algorithm efficiency, and code accuracy.

Most platforms will only award points to perfect solutions, but some will grant partial credit for incomplete solutions, like those that miss a certain edge case or are too slow for big data sets, but still give a solution to the puzzle.

Rating Assignment

Once points are awarded, an Elo-inspired formula determines participant ratings that accurately reflect competitors’ abilities relative to those of their peers. Thus, as the number of competitions a developer has participated in increases, their rating will more accurately reflect their standing.

Competitive Algorithm Programmers Are Top Engineering Candidates

A competitive programming rating is a robust indicator of a developer’s talent. While rating systems vary among online platforms, competitor percentile placements translate well universally. Ratings are publicized and are therefore accessible to any interested party.

Fortune 100 technology companies have known the value of competitive algorithm programming for some time. Global companies regularly sponsor competitions as a combined marketing strategy and talent search initiative.

Streamlined Hiring Process

When an organization targets highly rated competitors, it can safely streamline its hiring process by eliminating interview segments that weed out unqualified applicants. A shorter hiring pipeline results in benefits for both developers and companies:

• Organizational cost savings: Fewer interview stages translate into fewer meetings and accommodations booked per candidate.
• A more competitive hiring process: Faster hiring decisions mean less time between a candidate’s first interview and an offer letter. For companies, this means better candidate retention. And for developers, this means a less cumbersome interview process.

Applicable Professional Skills

A candidate who has earned a strong rating from a key event platform has demonstrated their proficiency in algorithms and data structures. After all, competition puzzles are effectively coding interview questions. The expertise attained by competing translates into provable, real-world professional skills:

Finally, this section would be incomplete without a mention of technical creativity, the overarching attribute that drives innovation. Solving challenging algorithm contest puzzles requires ingenuity and resourcefulness. It therefore stands to reason that highly rated competitors will demonstrate proficiency in technical creativity—a sought-after trait in professional engineers.

If you’re a programmer, make yourself easy to find by showcasing your rating in the Honors and Awards section of your résumé. And if you’re a hiring manager, identify these candidates to ease the hiring process.

Skills Not Assessed at Competitive Algorithm Events

Algorithm contests focus on a specific subset of skills, and some important proficiencies are not featured in them:

Can a competitive programmer transition into the professional engineering world? Yes, and many have done so. It is advisable for newcomers to boost their skill set with supplementary technical and soft skills. And, with a competitive programmer’s proven algorithmic strengths, hiring managers are free to focus their efforts on screening for business or other skills.

Why C++ Is Ideal for Competitive Algorithm Events

A high-performance language, C++ is extremely popular in competitive programming. C++ also offers an extensive standard library and easy access to bit manipulation and low-level elemental types—all of which can be useful in contest puzzles.

C++ was designed for use in large enterprise systems. In algorithm contests, competitors typically limit their use of this feature-rich language to this subset:

Note that in preparation for the professional world, a developer should master C++ features beyond the competitive algorithm programming subset presented here.

Tips for the Aspiring Competitive Algorithm Programmer

Getting started on your competitive programming adventure is as easy as creating a profile on your platform of choice and registering for a live contest. Getting up to speed, however, entails preparation, self-education, and perseverance.

Attempting puzzles from past contests is an effective way to practice and familiarize yourself with your selected platform’s standard contest format. Learning standard algorithms and techniques (e.g., the shortest path problem and the caterpillar method) builds confidence and prepares you to compete.

Use the post-contest editorials that are published by many of the contest platforms as resources; they describe past puzzles exhaustively, offering detailed analyses of the solutions. Additionally, some sites host a curated list of practice puzzles.

Transitioning From Competitive Programming Into the Working World

I entered the professional world with several years of competitive programming plus an undergraduate degree under my belt. Over time, I tackled various assignments and collaborated on multiple teams, and grew to be a competent site reliability engineer.

I had a eureka moment early on in my site reliability engineering role at Google. I performed exceptionally well on a project that leveraged my competitive C++ programming skills, and my manager and I realized that I would thrive in any situation that plays up this skill set. We put this theory to the test and cherry-picked projects that emphasized competitive programming skills. The result? I was happy, achieved success, and found my niche within the industry as I also advanced professionally.

As competitive programming continues to grow in popularity, hiring managers will see more candidates with algorithm contest backgrounds. Understanding the skill profile is key to unlocking a competitive programmer’s full potential. And if you are a competitive programmer—with C++ or another language—advertise your accomplishments to boost your professional profile.

The editorial team of the Toptal Engineering Blog extends its gratitude to Umer Arshad for reviewing the technical content presented in this article.