Would you expand your business to Tokyo without hiring anyone who speaks Japanese? No? Well, the same rules apply for the language of numbers in the digital age. If you plan on making decisions based on hard data – and who isn’t? – you need the very best analyst recruitment strategies.
However, analyst recruitment may not come so easily to hiring managers who don’t have personal experience crunching numbers. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the most sought-after analyst jobs in Philadelphia, paired with tips for employers as they hunt down the right candidates for these positions:
Business Analysts
Business analysts investigate business models, organizational processes and project management strategies, then report on their successes or shortcomings to improve their companies.
Focus on IT Experience
Business analysts will have varying degrees of experience in different departments. A candidate, for example, may have never worked marketing but spent a lot of time in human resources and killed it in sales throughout most of her early career.
Hiring managers can use their discretion regarding what sort of experiences they want their ideal analysts to have, but there is one area that recruiters must ask about: information technology. Prospective business analysts with IT experience are crucial these days because they already know how best to leverage SQL-related software and automation to achieve their employers’ goals.
Ask About Their Secret KPI Playbooks
Key performance indicators are the metrics that measure how a business operates in real time. A good business analyst can list off tried and true KPIs and tell you how to set them up.
Great ones, on the other hand, will also have a bunch of lesser-known KPIs hidden up their sleeves – ones your competitors aren’t using – as well as recommendations on how to apply them to weather tough situations.
Market Research Analysts
Want to know the latest trends impacting your industry? Ask a market research analyst. These professionals will also clue you in on which products or services perform best with customers, the efficacy of your branding and what kinds of campaigns will generate the most revenue.
Find a Bridge Between the Old and the New
Future-focused businesses want market research analysts who are already adept at the latest analytics technology, namely Marketo and Salesforce.
Chances are good, however, that your business still has a lot of useful information and several important processes tied up in good old-fashioned spreadsheets. New software skills matter, but so do candidates that know their ways around Excel pivot tables.
Be Ready to Compete
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment of market research analysts is going to explode over the next few years. Current projections estimate a total of 19 percent growth between 2014 and 2024. That’s well above the cross-industry average of 7 percent.
With so many businesses planning to hire marketing analysts – and so much startup activity in Philadelphia – you’ll want to review your compensation package and assess its competitiveness. According to Glassdoor, the average in Philly is presently just over $57,000, even though the national average is near $9,000 less.
Web Analysts
Behind the scenes, web analysts capture, manipulate and visualize data from customer service and intraoffice web-based software to serve greater business directives, including data from users, customers, and managers. More importantly, these technologically proficient individuals aim to provide prescriptive business intelligence that tells leaders exactly how to meet their objectives based on the numbers.
Ready Your List of Necessary Skills
Typically, web analysts are a fast-learning bunch. They have to be in a world of rapid technological innovation. However, as much as hiring managers value soft skills, they must interview web analyst candidates against a definite list of required, nonnegotiable technical experience.
Google Analytics Suite, HTML, JavaScript, Adobe Marketing Cloud, Tableau, Domo, SPSS, SAS, Matlab, Optimizely, SQL and NoSQL databases – these analytics solutions may all sound like gibberish to the laymen among us. But hiring managers must understand the difference between having versus not having web analysts with these skills from day one, as well as the potential costs of training. Only then can they recruit intelligently.
Sprechen ze English?
Think of your web analysts as if they are translators. They run the numbers firsthand, then express what they find to upper management. Conversely, they must listen to the requests of upper management, then find ways to follow through with those requests by leveraging data creatively.
Rid yourself of all those stereotypes about analysts you entertain, like that they’re quiet and introverted keyboard-tappers. All the best web analysts are also adept communicators.
Profiles Analyst Recruitment in Philadelphia
Modern businesses need modern perspectives on the data they mine and make. At Profiles, we understand the value analysts offer all kinds of companies, which means we also understand that the demand for top analyst talent will only continue to rise.
Philadelphia analyst recruiters at Profiles match our clients with skilled working professionals every day. When you partner with Profiles, you see only the cream of the crop. Just the top 20 percent of job seekers make our clients’ hand-selected short lists of candidates. If you’re unsure about what skills are relevant to your specific goals, our knowledgeable analyst recruitment experts can fill you in on what the market demands.
Contact Profiles to discover remarkable business, market research, and web analysts looking for work in your area.
