Web Analytics Recruitment in 2015
The UK analytics market is an ever-shifting landscape, with technical skills that flit in and out of favour more frequently than primary school playground friendships. Recruiting into this market, we at Harnham find the demand for analysts with up-to-date skill sets is a constant.
The subtle variants required within these skillsets coupled with the proficiencies we need to find, seem to also evolve on almost a monthly basis. This means that Harnham need to be as agile in our practices as the candidates we source. This is nevermore clearly illustrated by the fact that one month we can be scouring the country for highly technical Tag Management specialists, and the next, our focus shifts to sourcing 8 new Conversion Rate Optimisation specialists. Moving on to next month, pinning down the elusive and much sought-after Web Analytics / BI / Computer Science / Statistical modelling expert (aka. The mythical “Analytics Unicorn”).
The Benefit of Forward Thinking Skillsets
The diversity of technical requirements should give tremendous encouragement to any analyst looking to find work – regardless of background and skillset you possess; there will definitely be no shortage of suitors clamouring for the right expertise.
However, it is prudent to be ever mindful, that with this exciting and evolving landscape, there are also risks attached. How often have you heard stories of promised roles not being fulfilled by companies? Or about analysts who join a company to do a specific job, and then have their career development curtailed by lack of long-term strategy, or a lack of knowledge of what to do next for the team?
This kind of thing is and does happen regularly. Yet, hope is at hand. If you were to cast your gaze across the Atlantic Ocean to our American cousins, you would find that Analytics is a settled and well established practice, where Chief Data Officers regularly sit on the board and the Analysts control business strategy.
Becoming a Unicorn
Harnham’s team in New York City have found the lines between offline and online blur when stateside – Web Analysts do advanced statistical analysis and modelling, Stats Analysts measure conversion rates and so on and so on. The US is trying to breed their own “Unicorns”, rather than chase them.
As the dust starts to settle in the UK, and the market definition solidifies to become as robust as it is in the States; teams will grow and budgets will increase as the market develops. The senior analysts of today will become the thought leaders and managers of tomorrow.
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