Our specialist recruitment offering is headed by Ryan Jaiswal, our Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment. With over 13 years of experience in the industry, Ryan takes pride in embedding himself into his client’s companies, taking the time to truly understand their culture and role requirements.
In a recent discussion, Ryan shared his insight for business owners on the benefits of remote work, candidate perspectives on the most exciting projects – and his advice on how to attract the best data and analytics candidates.
Can data and analytics jobs work remotely?
Research from Answer The Public suggests that two of the highest searched-for questions within the data and analytics world are:
- Can data and analytics work from home?
- Are data and analytics jobs remote?
As an employer within this industry, you are likely familiar with flexible working, or perhaps your data and analytics jobs are already fully remote. This industry lends itself well to remote work as not only will your tech-based processes and workflows allow for seamless integration, but you’ll also increase your ability to retain your top employees whilst also attracting the best data and analytics candidates in the market.
“If you start with 5 days in the office, your potential talent pool when looking to hire will be very limited. This pool gets bigger with every day you offer more flexibility. In fact, 3-4 days in the office is still seen as quite high from a data and analytics specialists perspective. However, you start to really attract the best candidates when you offer 1 or 2 days maximum in the office and the rest as WFH, or even better; fully-remote.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
Increased flexibility around home working means that you’ll also gain attention from workers who are willing to travel much further afield. This enlarged candidate pool means that you’ll be able to find the ideal applicant far quicker and with the exact tech stack, industry experience, and cultural fit.
The data and analytics hiring market is highly competitive, as revealed in a report by CrowdFlower;
“89% of data scientists are contacted at least once a month for new job opportunities, over 50% are contacted on a weekly basis, and 30% report being contacted several times a week.”
Consequently, offering the most attractive package, in-terms of tech, remote work and salary, will likely give you the edge over your competitors and make you a destination employer for this industry.
“The retention of your talent is also going to be higher as a result – as long as you’re paying them well, providing flexibility, and getting them involved in interesting projects, your people will stick with you.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
What do data and analytics candidates find engaging? | Junior vs senior level
“The most exciting time for a new data and analytics specialist to join your business is often at the start. This is likely when processes will be put in place such as producing visuals, creating new dashboards, or working with stakeholders to understand requirements.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
Senior-level interim candidates often enjoy identifying problems and finding solutions. It is this level of ownership and challenge that will keep these people engaged. Couple that with their role being hybrid or fully remote and you have the makings of a very happy and thus loyal data and analytics employee.
At the junior level, applicants are more interested in what they’ll learn and the experience they’ll gather. These are just a few of the questions that these candidates will look to have answered in your job spec:
- Who am I going to learn from?
- What tech stack will I be using? Is it new or commonplace in the industry?
- Will I have scope to expand my skillset and become more experienced?
- Will they provide me with training for new and different specialisms?
Ryan Jaiswal’s advice for hiring managers to attract the best data and analytics candidates.
“Move quickly – don’t dwell on CVs or require an extended interview process.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
The market is moving at an accelerated pace to match its rapid growth. The data and analytics industry is predicted to be worth around USD 346.33 billion globally by 2030, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 30.41% from 2022 onwards. This means that competition is strong, but with vast potential if your hiring process is efficient.
“A lot of the best candidates, who work remotely or flexibly, will in turn be speaking with a wider pool of businesses – namely ones which quickly adapt their methods to attract the most talented people and solidify their position in a growing market. This means that you could be competing with similar employers for the best candidates on a nationwide scale.
Therefore, it’s vital that you move swiftly when reviewing CVs and holding interviews. However, perhaps the most important consideration throughout the hiring process is to keep your candidates engaged. It is this transparent and clear communication with candidates that could make all the difference in successfully acquiring your preferred applicant over your competitors.
This is the key stage to reiterate your culture and the reasons why they would be the ideal match for your company.“
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
The two types of data and analytics candidate
As recruiters, we get to the source of why your vacancy is such a good opportunity.
“In the data and analytics market, there are two main types of candidates. If you post an advert on LinkedIn saying “We’re hiring!”, you’ll likely just get applications from people who aren’t currently in work and are actively looking. Whereas, if you put out an advert saying exactly why your job is better than other options in the market, then you’ll widen your pool of potential employees to those who are also already in work, thus increasing your opportunity of hiring the very best candidates available.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
No matter the level of experience, all applicants will have a strong desire to know exactly what they’ll be expected to do on a day-to-day basis in the advertised role. By providing a solid job specification, you can show them exactly what to expect, and in turn you’ll be more likely to attract applicants who are a compelling match for your company’s ambitions.
If you don’t have the time to create an in-depth job spec or simply need some assistance, we’re here to support and advise as your dedicated recruitment agency.
“If you provide the bare bones of the information we need, our data and analytics team can produce a full specification that really focuses on the aspects which will appeal to the right people.”
Ryan Jaiswal, Director of Data and Analytics Recruitment.
To find out more about how Distinct can support your goals, let us know your hiring requirements.
