Staffing for Big Data: What You Need to Know

Big data brings with it big challenges, big opportunities, and big pressures on your existing staff. Unfortunately, as many IT employers are discovering, finding tech professionals with the right blend of skills, experience and character to work productively with big data is a real challenge. The employment gap surrounding big data has been widely acknowledged and bemoaned. But some experts believe the solution lies in rethinking our notion of what staffing for big data should look like. Soft skills, they suggest, are ultimately more important than specific technical credentials. With that approach in mind, look for these qualities in your recruits:

Commitment to Teamwork

Big data, by its very nature, is not an individual pursuit. Even the smallest projects require multiple professionals working in concert. Successful big data professionals understand their role in a team and how their individual contribution benefits the whole. That makes them better equipped to collectively solve problems rather than relying on a single team member to provide specialized expertise.

Ability to Communicate

The success or failure of any big data project depends on team members being able to consistently and clearly communicate with all stakeholders. Technical skills quickly become irrelevant when team members can’t communicate their progress to project managers, consultants, or each other.

Willingness to Retrain

The world of big data is changing and growing quickly, and the strategies and tools in use today could be irrelevant in five years. All big data professionals must exhibit a willingness to pick up new skills and adapt to changing circumstances. Staying ahead of the curve will be a challenge for all IT departments well into the future.

Enthusiasm for Engagement

Giving form and function to big data is not a passive process. IT professionals have to be willing to engage the data in question and the tools at hand as deeply as possible to get the most out of both. Look for recruits that want to be more than just stopgaps in an analytic assembly line. Seek out professionals that are willing to combine and stretch their skills out of a passion for discovery.

Innovative educational programs are popping up around the world to help fill the big data employment gap. They are training the employees of tomorrow based on the real needs of today. In a few years time, graduates of these programs will be uniquely poised to do more with big data. To connect with this growing rank of IT specialists, work with recruitment specialists from INSPYR Solutions.