All You Need to Know About Recruiting Machine Learning Talent

November 21, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

In recent years, AI technology has become a necessary part of many businesses and in the years to come, it’s only going to become more popular. Regardless of the size of the company, more and more are now in need of an AI specialist.

Recruiting such a specialist is difficult when you have to compete with top brand tech giants such as Google and Microsoft. It’s impossible for smaller or even medium-sized companies to offer the same salaries and opportunities as AI specialists working for Amazon, for example. Amazon invests the most in AI and machine learning hiring, an average of $227.8 million per year. Google spends considerably less, however, the average is still $130.1 million.

There is no need to despair. Even if your budget is a fraction of Amazon’s there are still some things you can do to increase your chances of finding the perfect AI specialist.

Emphasis On Experience When Recruiting

AI and ML (machine learning) specialists will have various levels of experience. You need your hiring strategy to include a specialist with the level of experience that meets your project’s needs. On top of that, you need to look in the right place for this type of experience.

If you are looking for a junior AI candidate, you should focus your search on universities, training programs, hackathons, and meetups. Those with more experience ready to fill a senior role can be found by networking and researching academic papers.

Understand What You Need

As with any position you need to fill, you need to have a clear understanding of what you are looking for. Machine learning roles will require a strong background in math and statistics. If you are recruiting for a senior role, you may want someone with a Ph.D. in these fields. These skills are fundamental in problem-solving and identifying the best algorithms for a certain problem.

Another good skill your candidate should have is curiosity, a need to investigate things. This will go a long way when it comes to facing unclear problems. A strong candidate will be able to understand data and quickly catch on to the new concepts of AI and ML, as this field advances very quickly. Many also find it’s beneficial to have someone who s genuinely enthusiastic about their job and the company.

Show That You Have Opportunities Their Current Job Doesn’t Have

Nowadays, people’s priorities are changing and it’s not always about the highest salary. If you want to attract a high-end ML candidate, you are going to have to provide intellectual challenges, a range of problems, expertise in the team, the quality of your brand, and a competitive salary.

If you can’t match the salary of your competitors, try offering other incentives. Flexibility and the ability to work remotely are very attractive to a lot of people.

Offering things that people don’t have but want is an ideal way to attract people who are currently employed and therefore not actively searching for a new job.

Team Up With Universities

This is a case of going straight to the source of machine learning talent. Keeping close contact with local universities allows you to make contact with new recruits before they start looking elsewhere. You could even consider funding school projects.

This method has become very popular and you may find other companies doing the same thing to recruit AI and ML talent. For you to stand out from the rest, make sure your projects, or even competitions, are interesting and engaging.

Contact A Staffing Agency

Recruiting in the IT industry is cut-throat, more so for high-end, experienced AI and ML specialists. Recruiting takes time and money, two things nobody wants to waste.

Recruitment agencies have access to a large talent pool with candidates ready to start straight away. They save you a lot of time by doing much of the paperwork themselves and there is often more flexibility than when you high a candidate.

While recruiting AI and machine learning specialist is certainly a challenge, it’s not impossible. These strategies are some ideas to put into place in order to increase your chances of finding the right candidate for your needs.

Employer

The Key to Hiring a Great UX/UI Designer

September 26, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

UX and UI design are pivotal in creating websites and apps that are easy to use and attractive and appealing to new users. UX refers to User Experience design, while UI is user interface design. A UX/UI designer will turn those window shoppers into actual buyers, allowing you to stay ahead of the game.

What can excellent UX achieve?

Stanford University released a study that showed 46% of online sales aren’t completed because of a lack of UX. The reason for this was that without a credible, trustworthy design people didn’t want to make a purchase. Not only will a bad design reduce your landing page conversion rate, but it will also have a negative impact on the traffic your site receives.

On the other hand, a site that has the specific and necessary desktop and mobile designs in mind will encourage customer interaction, participating more with your products and contents. A great UX/UI design is the link between your product or service and your target audience. A UX/UI designer will improve the user’s experience, change consumer behavior, stimulate new actions, and save your audience time.

How to hire a UX/UI designer

Prepare questions based on design

Whether you have a hiring team or it’s just yourself, there will already be the standard interview questions as well as a chance for you to view the candidate’s portfolio. But to get a better understanding of your potential hire, you need to ask questions specific to design. In your list of question make sure you ask about wireframing techniques and how they acquire/process consumer data. It is very interesting to learn about the process of creativity. While a portfolio can tell you if a candidate is qualified, design questions will allow you to assess if the candidate is a good cultural fit and will work well with the rest of your team.

Ensure you are offering a competitive salary

Consider the sheer number of websites that are offering goods and services. Each of those site owners will be thinking in the same way you are and will be investigating the best way to hire a UX/UI designer. It is human nature for people to apply for jobs with the most attractive salary, and for you to attract the perfect designer for you, you will have to be able to compete with these salaries.

Do some research before you advertise your position as you also don’t want to spend all your remaining budget while setting the salary too high. Compare similar jobs in your area and read the job titles to find similar positions.

Emphasis on skills

Many employees in the IT industry say that there are more important factors to consider than just the salary. Team members like to feel that they are making a valuable contribution, rather than just another worker. When you invest in the skills of your team members, you are adding to the value and progress of your company. By doing so, you are encouraging employees to take more initiative in their own personal development.

A UX/UI designer will bring your site up to the expected design standards, encouraging more traffic to your site and therefore more sales. To hire a designer that will suit the needs of your company as well as the working environment, make sure you are offering an attractive salary, asking the right design questions in the interview and placing an importance on skills.

Employer

7 Characteristics You Need In a New Software Developer

September 17, 2019 Comments Off Roxana read

For your company to succeed in today’s world, an excellent software engineer is crucial. While many are focusing on the coding abilities by using software and tests, they still need to pay attention to the more traditional qualities. If your candidate has passed all the coding assessments, don’t forget to keep an eye out for the following 7 traits.

Passion

This can be said about any job, but a programmer who isn’t passionate about software and codes is not going to be very effective. They need to be in this job for more than just the money if you want outstanding results. Many programmers see programming as part of who they are, a hobby as well as a job. They are constantly stepping out of their comfort zones and excited about exploring new technology. They do this because they want to, not because it is part of their job description.

Pay attention

A good programmer needs to show great passion for the IT industry, but they also need to know when to reign the passion in and stay focused. This focus has to be on the short-term and long-term objectives. Everybody wants the best from their developers but not with risks. Those who aren’t focused may try to insert the most modern idea into a program where it is completely unnecessary. This puts his or her personal interest above the main focus of the team’s.

A quick, independent learner

The IT industry moves at a pace like no other. New ideas, concepts, and technologies are constantly coming into play and your hire needs to be able to keep up with all of this without constant reminders from you. It is important they are able to learn new programming skills without additional support or lessons from other members of staff. If your programmer can’t keep up with the latest innovations, nor will your company.

(Sub-) Domain expert

Companies have moved away from hiring what are known as ‘generalists’. They have a general knowledge of computer science and many different types of technologies, with probably one favorite. A generalist web developer will have a good grasp of front and back-end development but they won’t be up to date with the best techniques for either. With the speed of this industry, it is almost impossible to keep up with all that is new in every area. So it is more common for companies to seek specialized talent but also with a solid knowledge of the fundamentals and their domain. An ideal candidate will have expert knowledge of the sub-domain required of them. For this reason, you need to consider specific testing for the skills the job will require.

Team player

It is highly unlikely that you will find two developers that will come up with the same solution for a problem. They are very individual in their own style. Nevertheless, they need to be able to adjust their individuality to suit the dynamics of the whole team. The code that one developer writes will have to be worked on by others in the team, so their style can be unique as long as it is logical. The documentation they write should also be understandable to others in the team. Being part of a team is also about handling feedback in an appropriate manner. This is not something you can spot in an interview, so keep an eye out for this trait early on.

Problem Solving

Essentially, problem-solving is the job of a programmer. It’s not just about solving the problem, engineers need to be able to first identify the problem. Finally, they need to be able to solve the problem with eagerness and speed. For some employers, there is nothing worse than someone who complains about problems. Problems that might have to be faced include bugs, scalability, or handling the increased demand.

Craftsman

As a carpenter would marvel his handmade wardrobe, a programmer should be proud of his/her work. Each code must be well-considered and tested with a huge amount of effort gone into the details. A good craftsman will consider the deadline without sacrificing quality. One thing is having the skill, another thing is having creativity.

It can be challenging finding your perfect developer, especially if you are feeling the pressure of time. Staffing partners like StaffAugmentation have years of experience finding quality cultural and technical fits for a variety of companies. Our recruiters are trained to acquire talented and qualified employees to ensure the most effective staffing solutions for you. Posting and advertising the position, background checks, employment verification, testing, and screening, checking references, —all these tasks will be taken care of the staffing agency, freeing you up to focus on more important day-to-day company operations. By taking the appropriate steps to align work goals, performance, and character, there is a greater employer/employee satisfaction and therefore better retention.