Across the recruitment sector, there’s a lot to be gained from bringing more expertise to the table.
And this is especially true of data recruitment.
It’s one thing to have a recruitment partner take care of the sourcing, vetting and placing of candidates. But applying real-world expertise to the process – developed from time spent in an actual data team – makes a huge difference.
Read on to learn 4 specific ways that specialist expertise can benefit the recruitment industry as a whole. Whether that’s for candidates, data teams looking, anyone in the wider data sector, and beyond.
1) Knowing what “good” looks like
A recruiter with hands-on experience in the industry they hire for has a much more specific idea of what they’re after in a candidate.
They may have worked in the role themselves, or worked alongside that role in a similar team, and can therefore match the requirements of the role to the capabilities of a candidate more precisely.
Some key areas where specialist knowledge is particularly beneficial:
Identification
Specialist recruiters with real-world experience know what good looks like, and can therefore identify good-fit candidates with greater accuracy.
Screening and vetting
They also know the right questions to ask to assess a candidate’s suitability and job-readiness, as well as the more nuanced “red flags” to be wary of.
Candidate presentation
Hands-on experience helps specialist recruiters to articulate why a candidate is the right fit for the role, and discuss this more constructively with the hiring organisation.
Overall, expertise is a tool consultants can leverage to present strong and suitable candidates with greater speed and precision (more on that here.)
2) Offering high-value networks
A recruiter who has worked in the industry they hire for has a fundamentally different network to one who hasn’t.
This is because their network consists of those they have worked directly alongside, seen in action or who have been vouched for by trusted colleagues, as opposed to just “industry contacts.”
These tend to be much deeper and more authentic relationships – built on common ground, and supported by a mutual understanding of each others’ expertise.
These dynamics naturally allow for more open and honest communication, which gives them an advantage in understanding the needs and motivations of both clients and candidates, helping them deliver more effectively for both.
Relationships like these often last longer too – the end result of this is a much larger network for specialists with direct hands-on experience to leverage, and a larger pool of talent to source from.
3) Acting on behalf of the business
If you’re a senior data professional looking to nail your next hire, the reason you partner with a recruiter isn’t because you lack the capability to do the hiring yourself.
It’s that you simply don’t have the time or the resources to give it your full focus.
Recruiters with industry expertise can directly address this problem, by bringing the experience needed to truly act as an extension of your thought process.
Here at Fenway, we describe this to our clients as “being able to accurately represent your business in any conversation, as if you were in the room yourself.”
This means that across any interaction, no key detail gets lost in translation.
Whether that’s explaining a candidate’s suitability to the hiring team, or selling the candidate on the vision for the business.
4) Supporting the wider market
At a “30,000-foot view” of data recruitment, more input from industry experts ultimately benefits the entire market.
If more specialist recruiters apply their real-world insight across every step of the recruitment process, it has a ripple effect.
For us at Fenway, while our purpose is to deliver for our clients first and foremost, we also want to relay the insights we’ve gained as former data professionals to improve practices and processes across the industry as a whole.
We believe that through every conversation, conference, newsletter, podcast and blog post, if the industry listens and learns to the real-world experiences of data professionals, everyone wins.
Want to see how specialist recruitment practices could grow your data team?
Get in touch for an initial consultation, or follow us on LinkedIn for more insights into data hiring.