Data recruitment is hard to get right. Damn hard.

With the data field evolving so quickly, it’s hard even for data experts to keep up with progress, let alone HR and talent teams.

Talent teams often lack the specialised skills and knowledge to run an effective recruitment process for fast-changing data roles, with new roles evolving all the time.

Hiring managers will often do their best to coach their talent teams through the process. But with the search descending into nothing more than a CV keyword scan and generic cultural fit phone screen, data leaders and data candidates are crying out for more. Unfortunately, so many hiring processes are pretty dreadful, but there are ways to get it right.

The best talent teams and hiring managers know their strengths and weaknesses, and engage help from the right specialist external agency, when it makes sense.

This is a comprehensive guide on how recruitment works with data recruitment agencies.

This guide is aimed at data leaders, hiring managers, talent teams, HR teams, leadership teams, and anyone else who is looking to engage a data specialist recruiter for their next data role.

In this guide, you will learn:

• why and when to engage a specialist data recruiter
• how to engage a data recruitment agency effectively
• how recruitment works when you hire a data recruiter
• the most common challenges with data recruiters
• how much data recruitment agency costs
• how data recruiters help with DE&I
• who the top data recruiters are in your market

…and a tonne more! Let’s get started.

Recruitment 101

What is a recruitment agency?

A recruitment agency is a company that organizations use to help them recruit people, for example - data analysts, data scientists & data engineers - into their organization.

What is a recruitment agency also called?

Recruitment firm, recruitment agency, recruitment agent, staffing agency, staffing company and recruitment company are all terms used interchangeably.

What is executive search?

Executive search is just recruitment, but for senior roles (say, director and above).

What is the difference between a recruitment agency, HR and talent acquisition?

A recruitment agency is an external company, whereas the HR and talent teams are internal to the organization. Talent teams are specifically for recruitment, and are a subset of HR. That said, in smaller organizations, there might be HR generalists who also do recruitment.

What kinds of roles do recruiters work on?

Agencies can be engaged to work on any type of role, including permanent (‘perms’) hires, contractors/contract staffing, and everything in between.

These could be any level of seniority, from interns, through to the CEO. An agency can potentially be engaged to do recruitment for any of those roles. It would be rare that one agency would do any seniority, of all roles, across all employment types - the processes and approaches are so wildly different, that one agency would not be good at all of those things.

What’s the difference between a data recruiter and a general recruiter?

A data recruiter will be an expert in data roles, and everything to do with them. A generalist recruiter will not have any knowledge around the specifics of data roles, but will have a broader knowledge across other roles. Because data roles are so specific and niche, generalist recruiters tend to not be able to recruit these roles effectively.

What types of agencies exist?

There are a few broad categories of recruitment agencies in the data space.

• Large general recruitment agencies - Michael Page, Robert Half, Hays etc. These are the big boys and they do a bit of everything, but approach recruitment in a traditional way, and do not specialise in data.
• Niche data agencies - ParkTrail Associates, Orcan Intelligence and DataBuzz. These agencies approach recruitment in a traditional way, but have a focus on data roles.
• Data driven tech enabled agencies, like Alooba Match, that use a combination of data, technology and human intelligence to recruit data roles.

When and why engage a recruitment agency?

When should we do it ourselves instead of engaging a recruiter?

Recruitment is a very time-consuming process, and very easy to get wrong without experience and skills.

That said, your organization will be best placed to do your own data recruitment when:

• you have a data function, including a seasoned data leader (head of or above) who is able to define the roles clearly, create the hiring process, interview the candidates and ensure quality
• you have an established talent function, that has access to jobs boards, an applicant tracking system and is willing and able to take feedback from the hiring manager

They are the basic requirements of being able to successfully execute recruitment in-house for your data role.

Try not to engage a data recruiter if you have already farmed the role to other agencies, or if you have candidates at an advanced stage of the hiring process.

I’ve used recruiters before and it’s been an epic fail - why should I engage again?

This is a very common sentiment in the recruitment industry, and while harsh, it is not without just cause. Traditional recruitment is plagued with endemic problems, which has left a sour taste in the mouths of many candidates and hiring managers.

It’s essential that if you do choose to engage a recruitment agency, that you do your homework on them. The single most important factor is their domain expertise in data.

We already have a talent team - should we also use a recruiter?

With a talent team in place, it would still make sense to engage a recruiter, especially when:

• there is no data leadership in place to drive and control the process
• the role requirements are urgent
• the talent team are not coachable and do not have any understanding of data roles
• the talent team is swamped and under resourced

What happens if we don’t have a talent team?

Recruiters working directly with hiring managers works quite well, as talent teams can easily end up being a roadblock to the process.

That said, an effective talent team can at least assist with the process, ensure consistency and push people internally who need to be pushed.

What happens if we don’t have a data leader?

Hiring a data role into an organisation without a strong data leader poses some serious challenges. Without a strong data leader present, expect the following to happen:

• lack of understanding of which skills are needed in a candidate
• lack of ability to evaluate the skills of a candidate (via a test or technical interview)
• candidates dropping out of the process because of the lack of leadership and direction

This is where it is essential to engage with a data recruiter who has expertise in building out data teams, and data domain expertise - look for someone who has been a data leader within a business - they’ll be your stand-in ‘hiring manager’ during the hiring process.

Where do talent teams normally fail hiring data roles?

Talent teams often fail from a lack of understanding of data roles and the data domain. This is actually to be expected - why would HR professionals be expected to understand the intricacies of data roles in detail, as well as every other role in the business? This is unrealistic.

Less pressure and expectation should be placed on talent teams who take on the burden of hiring, especially the critical early stages of sourcing and screening candidates.

Without having the skills and knowledge of data roles, two things happen when talent teams screen candidates:

• amazing candidates are passed over, either at the CV or phone screen stage
• irrelevant candidates are shortlisted and sent for interview with the hiring manager

This causes huge frustration, especially on the part of the hiring manager. Hiring managers will often coach their talent partners through what to look for, but ultimately this just amounts to glorified CV keyword scanning.

The role isn’t budgeted for yet - should we engage a recruitment agency?

It’s fine to have an initial conversation with an agency at this time, but you should be fully open and honest with them. Do not ask that they start the search process because if the role ends up not being budgeted for, your agency partner will have incurred significant search costs that they are now unable to recoup.

Additionally, they will have engaged candidates who might have already committed time (e.g. interviews) to the hiring process. This will damage your employer brand, and your recruitment partner is unlikely to want to continue partnering with you.

Where should my data recruiter be located?

The location of your data recruiter is not normally a relevant factor in choosing a recruiter, because most hiring processes and meetings can be more easily conducted online. What is important is that your data recruiter has crossover in your working hours, and the typical hours of when your candidates will be available.

For example, if you are based in London, and are hiring for a role in your Paris office, it doesn’t really matter if your data recruiter is in London, New York or Amsterdam, as long as they are available during your business hours and the French business hours.

Engaging Data Recruitment Agencies

Where can I find a data recruiter?

You can use our data recruitment agency listing to find an agency that specialises in data roles in your area or reach out to us - Alooba Match operates worldwide.

How do we engage a data recruiter?

You can hire a data recruiter similar to engaging other consultants - create a shortlist of 2-3, and arrange introductory calls with them. If there’s one you’re happy to go with, then ask for their T&Cs, sign them, and get ready to start hiring!

What are the steps to onboard a data recruiter?

Onboarding with a data recruiter is generally pretty straightforward and fast, especially compared to onboarding software or technologies.

An onboarding normally consists of:

• introductory discussion
• agreeing to the terms and conditions

Then, for each role, an ‘in-take’ meeting will normally take place, which will be anywhere from 30-60 minutes. This call will delve into the requirements for any specific role that is being hired.

What will a recruitment agency want to know from me?

A good and experienced recruiter will want to learn as much as possible about you, your role, the role you’re hiring for and your organisation. Specifically, they’ll want to know:

• The role, including the exact requirements & responsibilities, remuneration and benefits
• Who the role reports to, and what their role is.
• Which team the role is in, and what their goals are.
• Practicalities like working hours, working location etc.

Basically, imagine everything that the candidate will want to know - you must prep your recruiter with all this information upfront. This is absolutely essential to the recruiter being able to conduct a good search and present you with the right candidates for the role.

Nothing looks worse than a recruiter that can’t answer the candidate’s questions effectively.

We have a JD, is that enough for a recruiter to get started?

This is certainly a good start, assuming the job description is up-to-date and accurate. An in-take call will normally be arranged, where a seasoned recruiter will delve into understand the details of the role, the hiring process, the team and everything that’s not on the job ad.

Experienced recruiters will want to know where the bodies are buried - this will allow them to carefully navigate delicate issues with the candidate, and also source and attract the right candidates for the role.

I’m the hiring manager - can I engage a recruiter?

Yes, you can. As the hiring manager, you’ll be best placed to understand the requirements of the role in detail, well beyond whatever is written on the job description. You might want to double check if you have any rules in your organization about agencies, or if you have your free choice. You’ll also want to ensure you have a budget available for the recruitment agency spend.

I’m in HR/talent acquisition - can I engage a recruiter?

Yes, you can. You might want to double check if you have any rules in your organization about agencies, or if you have your free choice. You’ll also want to ensure you have a budget available for the recruitment agency spend.

We’d also ensure that the hiring manager is included in the process as they are essential - they’re the ultimate decision maker for the role, and understand the requirements in the most detail.

Do recruitment agencies compete with talent acquisition?

It’s tempting to view things this way, but the best recruiters are complementary to talent acquisition teams. Talent teams are routinely understaffed, and are generalists across many roles. Engaging a specialised, dedicated recruiter who knows one domain very well makes a lot of sense.

What should I ask the data recruiter?

Here’s a set of questions that you can ask your data recruiter to understand them

• What sets you apart from other recruiters?
• What experience do you personally have working data roles?
• Have you ever led data teams, and if so, how did you grow them?
• What hiring process would you recommend for hiring our data role?
• Suppose we go ahead with your service - what is your onboarding process?
• What is your fee structure?
• How do you communicate updates during the hiring process?
• What happens if the candidate quits or gets fired?
• How soon can you start working on this role?

We are required to let our talent team fill the role first - is this normal?

Some organizations have policies geared towards reducing agency spend, and so with an internal talent team in place, they will require that the talent team try to hire the role first. This will normally have some time limit (e.g. 2-4 weeks), after which you are free to engage an agency as you see fit. Check with your HR team about their policies. Mind you, sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness, rather than seek permission, especially if you just want to get your role filled ASAP and you know you can’t really rely on your talent team, many of whom are overworked and underappreciated.

Should we engage multiple data recruiters for the same role?

While this may seem tempting, this is considered a rookie error. Engaging multiple agencies on the same role, all of whom are on a contingency model, will lead to several challenges:

• each agency will now be less incentivized to fill the role, because their odds of closing it have halved. They will now present their best candidates to their clients who they work with on an exclusive basis.
• agencies will be incentivized to also act very quickly, flinging over the first candidate that they think you will say yes to, rather than conducting a thorough search to find the best candidate.
• you will now have to manage a relationship - and coordinate with - two different agencies, doubling your overhead.
• the agencies may struggle to get their candidates interviewed with your team, as there might not be enough interviewers available.
• candidates might end up speaking to multiple agencies about the same role, which causes an air of confusion.

We recommend engaging in an exclusive relationship with a recruitment agency on a per role basis, under a contingency model. The contingency model means you only pay for success.

However, be very careful here - never agree to blanket exclusivity for all roles. This would mean you could not:

• fill future roles yourself with your own talent team
• engage recruiters in the future for different roles

These are effectively handcuffs and borderline unethical practice.

What makes a great data recruiter?

If you’ve decided to engage a data recruiter, it helps to have a blueprint of what great looks like.

A great data recruiter:

• Has deep, hands-on experience as a data professional themselves - look for someone who has headed up an analytics or data science team, or has at least been a senior individual contributor.
• Honest and no BS. You’ll want to avoid anyone who is giving you used car salesperson vibes.
• Communicates quickly and clearly - a recruiter’s role sits in a delicate position between the candidate, the hiring manager and others in the organization. Keeping everyone in the loop and on the same page is a crucial skill.
• Proactively coaches their clients and candidates through the hiring process. Candidates and hiring managers alike make rookie mistakes, and it’s up to the seasoned recruiter to prevent these from happening.
• Has the confidence and ability to pushback on unreasonable demands. Experienced recruiters will question the need for (yet another!) unexpected hiring step, and will step in to prevent anything that will derail the process.
• Coaches their clients through how to run a professional hiring process to prevent common mistakes
• Presents facts, not just opinions

Ultimately, a great data recruiter delivers - they present a consistent set of candidates that match the requirements, and avoid wasting everyone’s time.

What are some red flags when engaging a data recruiter?

Common red flags to look out for when engaging with an agency recruiter are:

• Lack of deep data domain knowledge (your data leader, if there is one, will be able to evaluate this)
• Focuses on vanity metrics (e.g. candidate pool size)
• Lack of listening to your requirements
• Slow to respond to you
• Over-reliant on legacy approaches (e.g. CV screening)
• They hard sell you each candidate
• Lack of numbers/facts - rely more on emotions/sales tactics

Once you start working together, then the biggest red flag is normally:

• Presentation of irrelevant candidates - this highlights that they do not understand the data domain

Also beware of any recruiters who you know email blast entire candidate databases or share candidate CVs en masse.

From an agency’s perspective, what are the biggest client red flags?

Any business relationship is a two way street, and the most in-demand data recruiters will carefully choose their clients. Experienced data recruiters know to look out for these red flags when working with clients:

• Moving the goalposts: if the requirements or hiring process change mid-process, this will raise alarm bells. Try to avoid ‘just one more chat’ AKA, a whole other interview, to the hiring process.
• Lack of clarity: you need to be 100% crystal clear on the basic things like the remuneration package, the working conditions etc. as the recruiter will need to articulate and sell this to the candidate.
• Slow: slow to schedule interviews, slow to provide post-interview feedback and slow to respond in general.
• Long hiring processes: no data analyst needs to go through 4 interview rounds, a test, background checks etc. so try to keep the process reasonable, and be flexible when your recruitment partner recommends changing the process.
• General chaos: the feeling that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing is not a good look. Remember, recruiters are endorsing the candidate to you, and your organization to the candidate.
• Overconfidence: if you declare ‘I’m a human lie detector’ or ‘I know in 1 minute if they’re the right candidate or not’, these will raise a major red flag that you lack self awareness to understand common human interview biases that experienced data recruiters will know all about.
• Slow to pay bills: nothing will erode your business relationship with your recruitment agency than not paying your bills on time. We recommend doing the right thing to avoid leaving a bitter taste in their mouth.

What should be included in a data recruitment contract?

Firstly, your recruitment agency should have their own contract that they issue to you, which will prevent you having to create your own. The recruitment contract should include key terms such as:

• replacement guarantee - this will be a period of 3-12 months that protects you if the candidate quits or is fired. The agency will have to replace this candidate, without an additional cost.
• candidate introduction - this will outline the ‘ownership’ rules over a candidate. There will be some time frame e.g. 1-2 years. If the agency introduces you to a candidate and you hire them within this period, you are obligated to pay the placement fee. This will normally include situations where the candidate also applied directly to your organization after being introduced, and also if they are ultimately hired into a different role.
• fee structure - this will outline what the costs and how/when they are incurred.
• payment terms - this will explain when you have to pay your pay.

And of course, all the other boilerplate things you’d expect to see in any other commercial contract, such as confidentiality clauses, privacy agreement, IP clause, liability and indemnity.

Data Recruitment Process

What is the basic recruitment process?

The recruitment process varies a bit from role-to-role, and also a bit depending on whether you run the process yourself or engage an agency to do it for you.

In general terms, you’ll want to:

• define what role you need to hire, and why
• source candidates for the role
• screen the candidates down to a shortlist
• evaluate (via interviews, skills tests, psychometric tests etc.) who is the best candidate
• conduct background checks (optional)
• table an offer
• onboard the new hire

It sounds simple when you put it like that, but of course the devil’s in the details.

What does a great recruitment process look like?

A great recruitment process is:

• fair: candidates should be treated well, provided feedback and not put through the ringer
• affordable: it should not cost an arm a and a leg to hire someone
• transparent: candidates should be kept in the loop and have the full information about the role
• fast: a great hiring process should be finished in 2 weeks
• accurate: the best candidate should get the job

You can read more about ethical hiring here.

What does a terrible hiring process look like?

There are many ways that a hiring process can truly suck. Unfortunately, bad hiring processes are all too common. This is why it’s important to engage data recruitment experts to help create and execute a smooth hiring process for your open data role.

The most common problems we see are that:

• lack of planning: the exact steps, who is going to be responsible, when they’re going to happen etc. just seem to be made up on the fly
• arbitrary requirements: it’s still common for requiring things like a university degree, or x years experience in some technology that a) hasn’t been in existent that long and b) is not actually used in the business
• candidate kept in the dark: ghosting is all too common these days and there’s really no excuse for this
• pointless stages: without proper forethought, it’s easy to bung in another interview with a random person in the business for a ‘2nd opinion’, but the interview performance means nothing.
• nothing measured: every stage advances with a gut feel type of approach, with nothing written down and no numbers around anything.

You can read more about hiring process problems here.

Why do some data recruiters fail?

Data recruiters will typically fail when they:

• Lack of domain knowledge and understanding about data roles
• Have poor communication skills and expectations management
• Lack of ability to influence clients and candidates
• Rely purely on CVs and gut feel interviews

How do data recruiters source candidates?

Recruiters will source candidates in various ways, including:

• tapping into their existing database of candidates
• from job ads on sites like Indeed and LinkedIn
• through direct outreach to candidates over LinkedIn or email

How do data recruiters ensure candidates have the right skills?

Most don’t, and expect the company to do this instead. Traditional recruitment agencies will typically just read CVs and conduct a short interview with the candidate. Traditional recruiters do not come from a data background, and so are not able to understand the candidate’s skills via interview, and are reluctant to use skills testing to validate a candidate’s skills.

Should my data recruiter be responsible for evaluating candidates’ skills?

Yes they should be, but in practice they are not. Traditional recruitment agencies do not have the capabilities to evaluate candidates’ skills in-house. This is why it’s important to understand what type of data recruiter you’re working with, and engage a data-driven recruiter.

Should I invite the external recruiter to our ATS?

This is up to you. There’s a few scenarios:

• you have no ATS in place
• you have an ATS in place, but it’s not used or set-up professionally
• you have an ATS in place and it’s used consistently

Beware that, sometimes the ATSs are set-up such that the recruiter might not be able to share

Some ATSs also don’t have an ‘agency log-in’ feature, so it might not be possible.

You’ll also want to ensure that you are able to create an agency log-in yourself or that this can be actioned quickly. If it can’t be, it’s best just to accept the candidates however else they are presented (e.g. via a shared Google Drive folder, email, Slack message etc.)

Is there any other recruitment software that will be used during the recruitment process?

Your recruiter might subscribe to other recruitment software like a skills assessment software as part of their skills-based hiring approach. If they do this, ensure that the skills assessment has adequate cheating prevention mechanisms.

The candidate applied to us directly as well, what happens now?

Firstly, it depends on which happened first and what your recruitment contract stipulates.

If the candidate applied to your organization directly first to the same role (and recently), then you’d have ownership.

But if they had been presented to you by the organization before applying directly, normally, then the agency will have ‘ownership’ over that candidate for a period of time 6-24 months. If your organization hires the candidate within that period, you’ll be liable for the placement fee.

Of course, this only applies to agencies with whom you have a recruitment agreement in place - do not worry about any unsolicited resumes you have received.

The candidate was presented to us, but we hired them for a different role - what happens now?

If you are within the ownership window, then you now are due to pay the placement fee. If it is years later, outside the ownership window, then no fee would be due.

How can data recruiters prevent candidates cheating during the hiring process?

Traditional recruiters are often poorly placed to prevent this from happening. You’ll want to engage with a more modern recruitment agency that uses skills assessments with proctoring, for example.

Check out the complete guide to cheating prevention here to learn more about how to prevent cheating during hiring.

Who is responsible for providing interview feedback to the candidate?

This does vary depending on what you’ve agreed with your recruiter. During your in-take call with your recruiter, you should get on the same page about how and when candidates will be provided feedback, what the feedback will be and who will be providing it.

What happens if the candidate quits or is fired?

You are normally protected by a ‘replacement guarantee’, if this happens within a certain period after the candidate starts. The guarantee is from anywhere from 3 to 12 months (12 months would be on the long end).

What happens if the candidate is made redundant?

Replacement guarantees do not normally cover candidates being made redundant, or if they leave for any other reason that’s beyond their control - for example, they were bullied or harassed.

What happens if the candidate is underperforming?

This should be dealt with internally as a performance management question, and this is generally not shared with the recruiter unless the candidate has been terminated and the replacement guarantee needs to be called in,

Where does a recruiter’s responsibility normally start and stop?

This does vary a little bit, however typically the recruiter will be responsible for at least the following:

• sourcing candidates
• screening candidates
• initial interviews
• coordinating interviews with the candidate and your business
• keeping all parties in the loop
• conducting background checks
• negotiating offers

How do we communicate with our recruiter?

This does vary a lot depending on what you require and how you like to work. Your recruiter might propose a weekly catch up to run through progress, set up a shared Slack channel for quick comms, or simply buzz you on your mobile as and when needed.

Does Alooba offer a data recruitment service?

Yes, Alooba offers an expert recruitment service for data roles called Alooba Match.

Data Recruitment Costs

What are the cost models of recruitment agencies?

Recruitment agencies normally work on one of two models:

• contingency model
• retainer model

The contingency model means that the recruiter will only get paid if they successfully place the candidate. They are paid x% of the candidate’s first year full remuneration package. For example, suppose they introduce you to a candidate, who will earn EUR100 000 in their first year (salary, bonuses etc.), and the commission rate is 20%. They will charge EUR20 000 for the placement. If they don’t place a candidate, they earn nothing. This is one reason why it’s important to provide the agency with an exclusivity over a role, because if not, the agency is likely to put their best candidates forward for other roles where they do have an exclusive relationship.

The retainer model is different, and is less risky for the recruitment agency. The fee structures do vary, but one popular option is ‘a third, a third, a third’. That is, the agency will earn:

• ⅓ of the commission for commencing the search
• ⅓ of the commission when they present x shortlisted candidates that meet the criteria
• ⅓ of the commission when they successfully place 1 candidate

For example, suppose the commission rate is 15%, and the candidate is going to earn EUR100 000 in the first year, the recruiter will charge EUR 5000 up front, EUR 5000 when presenting the shortlist and EUR 5000 when placing the candidate, if they manage to do so.

How much do data recruiters cost in different markets?

These are the median contingency commission rates for data recruitments are:

• ANZ 20%
• US 25%
• Canada 23%
• UK 20%
• Europe 18%

The median retainer commission rates are:

• ANZ 17%
• US 20%
• Canada 19%
• UK 17%
• Europe 15%

Are data recruiters expensive?

That’s a matter of perspective. Once you conduct a full accounting of the costs of doing your own hiring, data recruiters are actually quite reasonably priced. Have you considered the following hiring costs:

• job ad fees (e.g. 1 LinkedIn job slot costs about USD1k per year)
• subscriptions to outbound tools to proactively outreach to candidates (e.g. Apollo - from USD5k per year onwards)
• subscription to an ATS to manage the candidate data (USD5k-50k per year)
• subscription to a skills assessment platform to evaluate the candidates’ skills (e.g. Alooba Assess - starts at USD5k per year)
• and most important, the time to source, screen, interview, evaluate and manage candidates

Once you’ve produced a full accounting of the costs, it is unlikely it will be cheaper to do the work yourself.

DE&I

What happens when data recruiters rely on CVs?

This opens up the process to bias, so be wary of recruiters who exclude candidates based on their CV.

How can we ensure our data recruiters present us with diverse candidates?

Check that they use an ethical recruitment process. A critical part of this is doing away with relying on CVs, as CV screening causes bias and discrimination in recruitment.

Check out the definitive Alooba guide to diversity hiring.

Data Recruitment For Candidates

Where do I find data jobs?

Check out Alooba Jobs for a curated list of all the top data jobs currently available, including data analyst jobs, data scientist jobs and data engineer jobs.

Should I use a recruiter to help me find a job?

Working with an experienced recruiter with good contacts is a great way to get your profile in front of the hiring manager.

Do I have to pay the recruiter to find a job for me?

No. The company pays the recruiter to find you, not the other way around. If a recruiter asks you for payment to find a job, do not work with them.