You Don't Know How To Hire A Data Scientist
Carla Gentry
Data Scientist/Contractor/Influencer @ Analytical-Solution | Certified Scrum Product Owner
I was contacted by a recruiter a few years ago concerning a Director of Data Science position at a Private University in my home state; they wanted to know if I could recommend someone for the position since I had a background in Education and Data Science. I dug through my contacts and supplied them with 4 names of experts that would be more than qualified for what they were looking for, all of them Data Scientist with at least 15 years of experience. Well, finally I heard from the last of those I had recommended, and each, for various reasons, were disqualified for the position, HUH?? I called the recruiter and asked what was going on, she said.... "her client, was looking for someone with more experience in fundraising" so, let me get this right..... you disqualified some of the greatest minds in Data Science because of lack of fundraising experience, really.
This is not the first time I have seen "truly amazing" people overlooked for a position due to "them" NOT having some little missing detail on their resume. It makes me question the people doing the hiring; do they even know what they want? Can they recognize an experience candidate or are they going on gut feelings and preconceptions of what "they" think the position requires? 6 seconds on a resume and relying on HR data in general is outdated and I know it's hard to believe but true, I can’t measure “I had a good feeling about them”
Would you recognize a true Data Scientist if you met one? If you wanted to add data science or analytics to your University or Corporation where would you go, to a head hunter, staffing agency or a recruiter? Probably, but what makes you think they are qualified to find you the best Data Scientist out there when most of them are still trying to figure out what Data Science is!
If you really want to hire the best, I recommend you research the position first "logically and analytically", how can you find the perfect candidate if you don't? Buzzword like "Data Science" and "Big Data," are added to everyone's resume in analytics, this DOES NOT make them qualified, stop searching for the obvious and look for language that REAL Data Scientist would use - probability, models, machine learning, statistics, data engineering, pattern recognition, learning, visualization, data warehousing, are some examples.
In conclusion of my rant, I'd like to make one point...... If you really want to hire an expert in Data Science don't go for the one with the biggest blog or the one that writes the most books, honestly a great data person doesn't have the time or the desire to write blogs and books, we'd rather be doing what we love; playing with data.
Happy Holidays, Carla Gentry
Data Scientist at Talent Analytics Corp.
Entrepreneur, Polyglot Software Engineer, and Visual Artist. Aggressively generalist.
7 年I guess it's true for most technical positions.
Price and profit optimization. Protection gap filling.
7 年As with other readers, I totally agree. However this is not just a problem relating to data science, of course, though DS does throw in more than its fair share of buzzword-related recruitment prerequisites. I believe the more general problem is one simply of recruitment itself. Over 30+ years I've observed a poor standard (and falling?) standard of recruitment. Given the huge value that good recruitment can add to an organisation, it's perhaps surprising that firms don't target this as being a source of competitive advantage - and yes, I know your people are your greatest asset etc. Nor is the recruitment challenge one that's restricted to old-style 20th century companies. I've seen some pretty grim recruitment from fintech; potential game-changing employees being told they failed the entrance exam because they didn't use the right library would be one example. One final rant. Firms who use machine learning and AI to recruit people who are willing to speak into a webcam with no one on the other side are IMHO the pits. I predict that firms who use such techniques will get no exposure to game changing recruits - after all, who'd want to work for a firm who thought *that* was a smart way of getting people?
Computer Science Teacher at York Region District School Board
7 年Timothy Eadie, P.Eng.
Cloud Computing Software Architect at California Department of Education
7 年I agree. As I've worked in software I've always been of the opinion that the number of certifications someone had is related more to the number hours spend studying for an exam rather than solving real world problems.
Chemist | Environmental Research | Certified Six Sigma Green Belt
7 年Wow... Confident