In a recent article in FCW, “Demand grows for data scientists“, the author, Frank Konkel, discusses how the addition of 2.5 Quintillion bytes of information every day to our current systems has affected the demand for data scientists. A survey of 313 federal agency executives showed only 4% plan on hiring a data scientist. This presents a tremendous opportunity for government contracting companies to provide the required services. Follow up articles such as “How to spot a data scientist” and “Conflicting reports on demand for data scientists” make it clear that plenty of controversy surrounds the need for and definition of data scientists. The job is simultaneously described by the Harvard Business Review as the “Sexiest Job of the 21st Century” and has made U.S. News and World Report‘s list of the 10 most overpaid jobs.
Once an organization answers the core strategic questions such as: (a) Can consolidation of servers and data warehouses reduce real estate operation costs; (b) Will the reduction of hardware and services costs drive enough savings to support operations; and (c) Will the data scientists produce enough usable and actionable information to prove to be a worthy investment; the key question still remains. How will your company identify, recruit and hire the most talented data scientists?
Out-of-the-box thinkers are the most difficult to hire through conventional practices. Is your human resources team prepared to recognize data scientists? Are they aware of the various titles data scientists are called in other industries? Are they prepared to pursue talented individuals who won’t have a degree identifying them as “data scientists” and who may not have completed their advanced degrees? Pursuing candidates skilled in finding needles in haystacks will be like finding a needle in the haystack without the right partnerships to bring your firm to the talent pool’s attention. If you want to compete for candidates in high demand, make certain your internal and external recruiting teams are prepared for the competition.
TMG’s Take is a regular e-mail advisory produced by The McCormick Group. The company’s Government Contracting group combines the expertise of our knowledgeable consultants to help government contractors fulfill all of their recruiting needs. TMG’s Take covers topics across the spectrum of the government contracting industry, including business development, proposals, contract management, cyber security, compliance, R&D, technology, and finance. Please direct all inquiries to Brian McCormick, Executive Vice President at (703) 841-1700 or bmccormi@tmg-dc.com.
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