In today’s technology environment, data science is one of the fields with the quickest growth rates. Every industry uses a significant quantity of data to improve business decisions, and almost all of them are data-intensive.
However, there is no doubt that there is a severe shortage of qualified technical professionals, including web developers, engineers, and data analysts.
IBM had predicted 2,720,000 job openings for data scientists by 2020. But, as digital revolutions accelerated after COVID-19, the scarcity became more apparent. According to a recent CNBC report, the need for good data and analytical expertise is at an all-time high.
To hire a data scientist that’s the right fit for your business, consider trying out these recruiting strategies:
#1: Seek out passive candidates online
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2026, the number of occupations requiring expertise in data science will increase by nearly 28%.
Therefore, now more than ever, you must search for good candidates who can fill the job at your company.
Job ads alone won’t help you find the ideal data scientist, as most of them are already hired by your competitors.
The best strategy for finding talent is to actively target passive job seekers because these people are worth your time and effort!
Their significant expertise, for which they have been pre-qualified by their previous employers, will be an asset to your organization.
It can seem nearly impossible to get passive candidates to respond to your cold-call emails. However, it is found that even with the most elusive Data Scientists, you can increase your response rate to 30%.
What should be your method?
You can get started by learning more about the Data Scientists that other nearby businesses have already hired. Contact these candidates and set up meetings.
You can add a personalized touch to the job offer by giving Data Scientists a specific reason for choosing to work for you.
- Describe how this opportunity fits into their career path and how your values align with theirs.
- A tailored email subject line, introducing their mindset and thoughts about their future career, highlighting their successes, and referencing a common background in the pitch will help you grab their attention and be up to 50% more effective.
- Mention your team’s common background, such as education, work experience, location, and relationships.
- Sending 2-3 follow-up emails will help you connect with many more candidates, as follow-up emails account for two-thirds of responses.
#2: Consider creative talent pools
A recent study shows how difficult it is for established businesses and startups to compete with tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple for the best data scientists.
“Startups are no longer specialized, they have become mainstream,” said Daniel Gulati in the Harvard Business Review.
That’s because it can be difficult to find a good data scientist who not only looks great on CVs but can also understand and analyze data in practice. The ideal candidate will be proficient in at least one or two relevant programming languages and thinks like a data scientist.
You need to upgrade to unique sources for recruiting data scientists, to deal with outdated LinkedIn profiles and dried-up talent pools
Where to get started?
- Consider using online resources. Most businesses look for the top candidates on traditional job platforms such as Linkedin, Glassdoor, Indeed, and others. Posting an ad with a well-written job description on one of these forums is one of the simplest ways to attract and hire the most brilliant people in the software business.
- Techies can be found in their technical habitat on sites like Stack Overflow and GitHub, the largest global communities for data scientists, software developers, and other IT professionals to host and store their projects and collaborate with other tech experts
- Many professional Data Scientists have a research background – look out for those who work not only for other tech companies, but also for institutions that offer excellent programs in computer science, mathematics, statistics, physics, and computational biology.
- Investigate the latest work presented at Data Science conferences that may be of interest to your company.
#3: Maintain relationships with local colleges and universities
Fresh university grads are often more talented than other, more experienced candidates and are constantly looking for interesting career opportunities. It should be emphasized that seeking mid- and senior-level leadership positions at universities and colleges may not be the ideal idea. However, they can be quite useful when it comes to finding lower-level technical positions with good prospects.
The best strategy for attracting the best tech talent from universities is to ask about future events at a nearby institution. Many institutions offer mentorship programs or events with guest speakers that are great for attracting young tech enthusiasts.
Such initiatives are not only individually rewarding but also provide an opportunity to connect with emerging talent. The mentorship model also helps you get to know the people you are thinking of hiring, reducing the risk of wasting time with someone who will not work out.
You may find leads on promising graduates in the data science industry by contacting institutions in the area.
#4: Track down candidates from job fairs and technological events
A terrific technique to find and hire the most qualified employees is through job or career fairs. These are events created specifically for recruiters and hiring managers to talk to potential employees about employment prospects.
Thanks to modern technology, there are now numerous virtual job fairs every year. Global startups can hire talented IT employees from all over the world thanks to such online job fairs.
Today’s tech industry is also very large, and hundreds of technology-related events are held every year in different regions of the world. The most creative minds in the technology industry meet at numerous seminars, conferences, summits, and trade exhibitions hosted by some of the most prestigious organizations
Some of the most well-known tech events where you can meet the most brilliant minds include AI in Finance Summit, Open Data Science Conference East, Enterprise Connect, DevOps.js Conference, and Computer Vision Summit. Most of these conferences are held in places like San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, and Berlin, but many are also held virtually over the Internet.
#5: Search online for aspiring data scientists by hosting boot camps
If you want to try something new, consider young graduates who want to become data scientists. If you train them according to your company’s standards and regulations, you can more easily qualify them for the specific job you are hiring them for.
How can this be accomplished?
Training Bootcamp is an intensive accelerator program that transforms students into working developers and data scientists in a very short time.
Students spend more than ten hours a day learning to program from the ground up. Because of the intensity of the immersive learning paradigm, participants often outperform college curricula, making them an ideal breeding ground for recruiting talent in tech.
There are currently more than 100 boot camps and accelerators worldwide. Aspiring data scientists may advertise themselves online. Contact these individuals to find out how interested they are in the job and to set up interviews.
Using these rigorous training programs to find data scientists is a productive method.
The best part is that you can do it from the comfort of your own home without having to travel to another location. Since the global outbreak of Covid-19, there are numerous online coding trunk camps where students from all over the world can come together to learn.
Because the process is so easy and convenient, virtual boot camps can also improve your access to potential hires.
The infographic below shows the global dominance of on-site and off-site coding boot camps.
#6: Snap up talent from top data companies and Emerging IT Markets
Major Internet companies like Microsoft, Netflix, and Meta, which have lost more than $3 billion this year, are imposing hiring freezes, withdrawing bids, and even laying off employees.
Growing startups can take advantage of the upheaval to attract smart employees who might otherwise be captured by larger companies with a flexible corporate culture, career opportunities, and stock options.
As a result, companies can outsource their technology needs to candidates from emerging markets at IT. Due to the large populations of these countries and thriving IT companies, you can choose from a large pool of candidates.
If your main goal is to unearth tech talent faster than your competitors, it is recommended to search for open positions in industries that have a large pool of professionals eager for new opportunities.
It is easier for organizations to attract and retain data science candidates when they know where to seek them. You can attract and retain the top data science talent in the world by sourcing from the above-mentioned places and using best practices.
Contact BenchPoint, a health tech recruitment agency, to discover more about how to hire the best data scientist specialists in the shortest amount of time.
We’ll work with you over time to create employee-focused, results-driven environments, and we’ll be pleased to assist you with even the most basic concerns.