How will you make your company attractive to potential data science employees? Today, star candidates steer the data science market. The availability of professionals within this field cannot keep up with the demand for their services. Counteroffers are standard practice and often a good candidate will have multiple offers. Even signed employment contracts are not always respected.
Candidates are definitely king, and their ability shines to all corners of the market. To attract their attention, employers and recruiters must work hard to shine right back at them.
IT recruiters are starting to jump on the ‘big data’ bandwagon
IT recruiters are starting to jump on the big data bandwagon, but their industry knowledge does not always run deep enough. As the CEO of a data science recruitment firm, I can say that the key is to be knowledgeable of your market, whilst maintaining an unprecedented level of industry service. We do our best to join the debate on social media and “play” in the same conference and event sandpits where our candidates congregate. We want to be advisors rather than market traders. When counteroffers are in force, recruiters and hiring managers must be able to negotiate.
From a hiring company’s perspective, personal branding should not be underestimated. Star candidates will do their research. You should be talking (and talked about) in the press about the scale of your data science plans. There should be a buzz in the market about the boundaries that you are pushing. The wider company should have a passion for innovation and an unrelenting pursuit of excellence. There honestly aren’t so many companies like this, but this is what every company should be striving towards.
Candidates need an environment in which they can thrive
How a company treats its employees is also a key consideration for the best data science candidates. They don’t expect special treatment, but I can say that flexible working, career development, and team-building initiatives feature highly on a candidate’s wish list. They need an environment in which they can thrive. If they are likely to be thwarted by bureaucracy and intrusive management, it isn’t likely that they will stay for long.
When great candidates are scarce, a recruiter’s job is to be an ambassador for their clients. We won’t ever “oversell” an employer, instead we focus on matching the specific needs of clients and candidates. Sometimes this throws up some unlikely matches, but humans are complex creatures.
We aim to take star candidates and find them a place where they can shine even brighter. We can’t ever dictate the best move for any given candidate, just as employers can’t make them join, but we can give them every bit of information to help them make their decisions.
