James Ilott

Mid-February ON Data Staffing was retained by a Boutique Data & AI Consultancy, to help grow their Data & ML Engineering team with Databricks-experienced hires. In just under 10 weeks, we managed to help find 5 key permanent hires, which works out one hire a fortnight. How so quickly? We focused on 3 things that the client & potential candidates should align on. Culture Cultural fit in any Data-driven SMB is key, therefore knowing a client's & a potential candidate's approach to teamwork, communication style, and work ethic is vital. Beliefs Understanding both client and candidate beliefs can provide insights into whether motivations and approaches to work align. Values It's so important that when hiring or joining a new organization people's values align from the offset, it fosters a sense of shared purpose and commitment. It goes without saying that technical ability on a profile is what gets noticed initially by a Data Headhunter, but if any of the above is not aligned then it proves no service to a client looking to hire or a candidate looking for their next move. Hours are put into speaking with stakeholders of an organization, observing and learning what their beliefs, values, and culture are REALLY like. Hours are put into shortlisting and this is where we at ON Data Staffing dive deeper into the culture, beliefs, and values of the candidate too. After that, the match-making process begins. #DataRecruitment #DataHeadhunter #BigData #DataAnalytics #DataEngineering #Databricks #Snowflake #DataConsulting

9

3 Comments

The Manchester Databricks meet up will be Thursday 15th August. We have an awesome line up which I'll announce soon 👁️👁️ Check out a quick video from June's meet up below. If you'd like to sign up to the Manchester Databricks user group, please see link in comments #databricks #meetup #networking

22

1 Comment

AI vs Self-Serve Analytics, or both? 😬 As recruiters in the data space we have the pleasure of speaking to industry leaders at a range of companies, both big and small, across a variety of sectors every day. In the last week or so, I’ve had a couple of very interesting conversations specifically around AI. Spoiler alert - it’s a huge buzzword at the moment, and the one (potentially controversial) thing that the conversation doesn’t seem to really get away from is how unprepared some businesses are for REAL AI. It’s interesting to see some businesses hurling themselves into the AI world without things such as: - A data-driven culture - An appropriate setup for the basics i.e. self-serve analytics - The right tools and technologies for data professionals to do their job effectively, that are fit for purpose On the flip side, we’re also seeing some companies that have the above, enter a world of unknowns from a data governance standpoint, by not necessarily putting the correct precautions and/or factors in place to foster the safe use of AI in their business. This is all very exciting stuff… but at what cost? Having met and spoken to several industry leaders, it is overwhelmingly clear that it is more important than ever for leadership to get a grasp of the potential for data within their business in order to be able to get the balance between self-serve analytics and the use of AI right, and more importantly, fit for purpose. If you’re a senior leader in the data space, please do reach out – I’d be keen to hear from you! #AI #DATA #HIRING

13

Generative AI Scientist required - Experience with Python & AWS essential! Is a post I saw yesterday... and I think that just about summed up every organisation getting onboard the hype train with zero thought process behind it. Similarly this also shows you clearly have no idea what you are looking for when you are basically opening yourself up to half the engineering & tech market as a whole.... potentially putting off the talent who could actually be a good fit. Appreciate GenAI is a lower barrier to entry at the moment... but this takes the biscuit... If you don't know what skills you need, speak to us or speak to someone in the field who can direct you #ai #hiring #expectations #misselling

12

1 Comment

Are we giving too much to AI? I recently saw a news article regarding Google's Gemini asking for a user to "Please Die" and that they are a "burden on society". This could cause serious consequences for those suffering with mental health or suicidal thoughts and I wonder if we are not regulating AI as we should. With the AI Act in place, safeguarding should be guaranteed so how did this happen? With many companies looking to automate and focus on emerging topics, do you believe we are giving too much information to AI? Is it the process of their evolution that we should be worried about?

7

4 Comments

Talent forecasting shouldn't have to be that difficult. See how Multplyr's #TalentAcquisitionCoPilot makes it a breeze to access a curated list of #DataEngineers, available to join soon and vetted against several tech & domain criteria. Write to me and experience the magic of Human + Data + AI :) [email protected] #Multplyr #MultplyrCoPilot #TalentAcquisition #TalentForecasting #Hiring #DataEngeering #UrgentHiring #ImmediateJoiners #Startups #GCC Ravi Vyas Jilian M. Mini Nager Follow Multplyr for all things data.

8

1 Comment

How we leveraged technology to hire a Principal Data Engineer in 29 days. AMP People recently helped a Health-Tech based in London secure a Principal Data Engineer. This was a critical hire, but the client's small internal team didn't have the bandwidth to conduct a thorough search. Here's how we delivered: 🔎 Deep Discovery: We started with a comprehensive discovery phase, focusing on desired outcomes rather than just buzzwords. 📈 Market Analysis: Leveraged LinkedIn Talent Insights to perform a laser-focused market analysis. 📽 Personalized Video Outreach: We chose Loom for personalised video outreach and SourceWhale for automated follow-ups. 🧠 AI Interview Notes: We recorded interview notes using Metaview, ensuring consistency and providing context to hiring managers as needed. 🤝 Continuous Feedback: Established a Slack channel with hiring managers for immediate and continuous feedback. The results speak for themselves: 115 Candidate Identified  23 Informal Chats 13 Screening Calls 8 Submissions 6 First Interviews 2 Second Interviews 1 Final Interview 1 Successful Hire First contact > Offer = 29 days If you’d like to learn more about how AMP People leverage world class technology to deliver quick and precise results for our clients, please get in touch! #HiringSuccess #RecruitmentTech #CaseStudy #DataEngineering #Recruitment

15

8 Comments

Recruiters! Have you seen our #Bullhorn #Automation webinar about the sexy topic of data: health, hygiene, monetisation? It helps you assess how to achieve data health (and thus business health) either manually, or by using automation. #Recruitment #Tips https://buff.ly/3UpJkmE

1

Our last day as a 3..... 😁 Exciting times for us here at Cognify. On Monday we will be a 4 person team, broadening our markets to also cover Data Science, ML & AI. 🤖 We have hired a Principal Recruiter who we have known (and competed against) for many years, and we are excited to better support our clients (new & old) in one of the most in-demand areas of data. Thanks to everyone from the data community who have supported Harry Gollop and I on our Cognify Search journey to date, we have already completed 4 of our 6 OKRs for headcount, contractor growth, community projects (Stacked Pathways, The Stacked Data Podcast & The London Analytics Engineering Meet-up) and Market growth. Tune in Monday for the big reveal. #TeamExpansion #DataScience #ML #AI #RecruitmentConsultancy #CommunityBuilding

44

⁉ Are you making most of Databricks ❗ 🏭 50% of my week is spent speaking to Contract Data Engineers across the UK market. Almost every single one has worked with databricks... but have they really made the most of databricks? ☁ With so many platforms and services in the data market it's so hard for companies to make it through the maze of data strategy. 👨‍💼 Any hiring manager that has worked on an Data Engineering role within the last 12 months can probably relate to the pain of having to find people who know the intricacies' and latest features of databricks. 🏢 I've spent the last 4 months diving deeper into the databricks market and getting to know who the best people are, and working with organisations to truly utilise their platform. If you can relate to this I'd love to speak further and learn a little more about the strategies people are implementing to make the most of databricks. What are the most important features for a data engineer to understand about databricks? #followthemethod #databricks #dataengineer #headofdata #datastrategy

8

1 Comment

We are very excited to release episode (002) of our AI Insights series with Digitalent - AI & Machine Learning Recruitment and Mike Nedelko 🇺🇸🇦🇺🇪🇺. In this session Mike discusses the Strawberry problem, a new ARC-AGI high score, the rise of AI Data Scientists and the benefits of Federated Learning. Check out the full session in the comments. Very keen to hear people's thoughts, so any feedback welcome. Subscribe to tune into future sessions! Thank you for everything, Mike! #ai #artificialintelligence #aiinsights #digitalentai

11

1 Comment

To those of you on the publish or perish treadmill, what do you think could be done to encourage trustworthy research within open access? Are pre-prints the answer? Is peer review a solution? Does/should AI enter into it? Here is an article on the topic I found interesting, but wished it offered some solutions... do you have any? https://lnkd.in/et6XvZF7

2

Another week has flown by at MBN Solutions in the world of Data Talent….. Final prep for our Data event with FanDuel and BJSS in Glasgow on the 15th May (details in comments) calls all week speaking to Data Leaders about our Data Leaders Forum that we will be launching in London in June… Also sent our ebook to the designer and we will be shairing soon (Delivering Impact Through Data: A Guide for Data Leaders - it is an in-depth e-book crafted to empower data leaders with the knowledge and strategies essential for unlocking the full potential of their data assets) My colleagues have been non stop in the market and have recently found candidates excellent new positions ranging from a CTO and Lead Machine Learning Engineer in an AI Startup, Data Engineers, AI Researchers, Data Scientists, Econometricians and more….. The MBN Solutions are also going in to May with some exceptional searches in AI, Data Science, Azure Data Engineering and contract Developers / LLM) - all positions are here, www.mbnsolutions.com/jobs All and all a busy productive week and it’s nice to be finishing it at home, makes a change from being in Koba Korean Restaurant in London with Joshua Smith and clients a couple of weeks ago in this picture) Have a great weekend and please reach out direct if you are hiring data professional or would like a chat about the market and what myself and the MBN team are seeing and working on - [email protected] #AI #artificialintelligence #datascience #machinelearning #data #dataengineering #anlytics #technology #talent

28

1 Comment

The Benefits of Using a Recruiter for Tech Contractors in the UK: Like if you think Recruiters waste your time! Vast network access Time-saving Specialized industry knowledge Streamlined hiring process Quality assurance Flexibility and scalability Long-term relationships Market insights Risk mitigation Post-placement support

1

The State of AI Report 2024 published by Nathan Benaich ( 👏 ) last October has been referenced by almost every VP of AI I have spoken with in the past 2 weeks, as it sheds light on the incredible progress and challenges in artificial intelligence today. Whether you're just beginning to explore AI or are curious about its impact on the world, this report is a great place to start. For those that are curious to see the full report, please reach out! Otherwise, here are five key takeaways that explain the current state of AI in a way that everyone can understand! 1. AI Models Are Getting Better and More Alike: Leading AI tools, like OpenAI’s GPT-4, used to stand far above others, but that gap is shrinking. More companies are now able to build powerful AI systems, which is changing the competitive landscape. 2. AI Companies are Thriving: The business side of AI is booming. Together, AI companies are valued at $9 trillion, and many startups, especially those working on video and audio tools, are making a lot of money. But some worry about whether these companies can keep growing over time. 3. NVIDIA, NVIDIA, NVIDIA: If you’ve ever wondered what makes AI run, it’s advanced computer chips, and NVIDIA is the leader in making them. This company is now worth $3 trillion 🤯 —making it one of the most valuable in the world. It shows how important the right hardware is for AI progress and many companies are now working towards cheaper and faster GPU's. 4. Balancing Risks and Benefits: AI is incredibly powerful, but with great power comes responsibility 🕷️ . While some early concerns about AI taking over the world have softened, researchers are still working to make sure AI is safe and used for good. They’re identifying risks and putting safeguards in place, however this continues to be a tumultuous space, especially off the back of the news of OpenAI's AGI Readiness team disbanding. 5. Pseudo-Acquisitions: A new trend is emerging among AI startups—pseudo-acquisitions. This signals the growing difficulty of sustaining cutting-edge innovation while running a viable business The report also touches on advances in how AI systems think, plan, and solve problems, as well as how AI is being used in areas like math, biology, and neuroscience. It’s not just about technology anymore, it’s about making AI-powered tools that can solve real problems in the world. From businesses to research labs to governments, everyone is trying to figure out how to harness its potential while staying mindful of the risks. Where do you think the next big breakthrough will be in AI and where should the main focus be? https://lnkd.in/gnGqwwZk

10

1 Comment

I just registered for Big Data LDN 2024! Very excited to attend my first Analytics and AI event in the UK. If anyone in my network is planning to go, reach out—I’d love to connect with as many of you as possible! 🚀 #BigDataLDN #Data #BI #Analytics #BusinessIntelligence #DataRecruitment #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

16

1 Comment

📽️ How do you build Data Products that "Sell"? In last weeks episode of Driven By Data: The Podcast (Ep 49) Maddie Armitage, Director of Data & AI Solutions at BT Group Talks us through how to stay laser focused on adding impact and realising benefits Full episode (comments) ⬇️ #dataproduct

34

15 Comments