Hiring Tableau Talent in 2019: The Machine Learning Edition for LinkedIn Recruiters

Hello LinkedIn friends…we meet here again. Admittedly, it’s been awhile since we last touched base, connected, and even paid to message each other. Cheers to that, but at least you’re here for free.

My latest machine learning algorithm has predicted you have an offer for a contract job in Detroit with a laundry list of what my SQL, OBIEE, and machine learning skills should be. Oh, yes, it’s time we chat, but not for what you think…

I’ll let you in on some predictions from my latest spanning tree decision matrix that comes with extra Pokemon.

Prediction 1: Bob’s Your Uncle

Looking to send that perfect message to all 30+ Zen Masters and 60+ ambassadors? This algorithm bets on the most likely name being Bob. Please include this name to all you send it to, even the one called Robert (who, from what I know, has never been called Bob, but I might try next time…Sorry in advance, Rob…er, Bob.)

I get it, I’ve had to hunt people down before and remembering names sucks. We should all be Bob. You can rely on most languages to have a /b/ sound and the o is more like an /a/ in most pronunciations. Universal name. Until you go too far in that ‘Bab’ territory. Then you need to add an /s/ to the end. Thanks, Babs!

Most jobs can be listed on the Tableau forums. They even have a spot for them. This algorithm predicts you’ll be more successful finding the right applicants if you toss them there, preferably with location (“city, state/province COUNTRY” format recommended).

Bonus: you don’t have to customize a message or pay to be ignored.

Prediction 2: You need a Zen Master, Jedi, or Rockstar

You also were handed a list that this person must also love Redshift, OBIEE, PowerBI, and writing over 9,000 lines of SQL a week. This clustering analysis predicts that cohort might be rather small.

You see, superfans of Tableau rarely like to spend all day in other tools like this. (For a glossary, see my other post.) If you’re looking for someone who builds rock solid dashboards, there’s a high likelihood most don’t want to spend all day in ETL (this is like taking ALL of your clothes out of your closet, folding them, and putting them in 2 suitcases. It’s okay here and there, but only a few people really smile about travelling or shaping data this much. They’re usually the ones who can pack everything in just one suitcase.)

Many go out of their way to get certified. And certification is a big deal. Others go out of their way to make a Tableau Public profile. This too is a bonus, but also often a sign of commitment to wanting to work in Tableau. Full stop.

There are probably thousands of talented business intelligence (this is the term you’re looking for) or BI (these are the magic letters) people you’ve never heard of. They do fantastic work and, best of all, they’re a lot more quiet about it and do it all sans silly titles. You want these people. You really do.

You can find a ton of people by listing on the forums or in local job boards, such as Craigslist, Indeed, and probably 900 new ones I’ve never heard of. I personally don’t know a ton of people who want to move to Detroit. (Sorry, but gotta rep my OH-IO here….)

Prediction 3: It’s a Contract-to-Hire role somewhere in the US

Oh friend, you really got the shaft with this one. My unstructured data set tells me you’re most likely to struggle with this role, particularly if it’s in some far flung suburb in the Midwest. You know, the places that might have been in the Rust Belt, but went into service instead.

Most people who work in Tableau jobs stateside that I’ve polled tend to be the ones that hold benefits. You know, health insurance. And if you’ve ever tried to buy this solo, holy moly…so your pool for these jobs is going to be extraordinarily small.

If it’s truly a contract role, it’s better to engage a consultant that contracts. They tend to like projects, such as starting servers or big messy dashboard with requirements that are wholly undefined. If you want someone to go sit in an office somewhere and act like an employee for 6 months, you may want to check what state laws say about that. Or push to hire immediately.

Prediction 4: It’s a cluster of a job!

Oh, you know, 3 years ago, this might be a team of 4 people, but you’re not only seeking a unicorn, but a tricolor one with wings and diamond-encrusted feet.

This person is going to run the COE, manage the server, create all the data sources, work magic on 200 existing dashboards, create new dashboards, ad hoc analysis, research AND train everyone. No, friends, just no.

Most workweeks are ideally 40 hours. Somewhere in these 40 hours, people read their work emails, complete planned work, and with a small share of their time, respond to small emergencies. If the house is on fire daily, you need better wiring.

If one person must do the work of a small team (or a large one for that matter), you might have job security, but your candidates will be heading for the hills.

Also note, Tableau jobs can be any of the following:

• Designer
• Developer
• Server admin
• Center of Excellence manager
• Data engineer / architect / steward
• Trainer
• Implementer

Tableau also has Desktop, Server (various flavors here, including Cloud), and Prep, so consider that as well. Ideally, one person is not trying to do everything in the universe.

Prediction 5: It wants some level of AI or ML or even AIML!

Nothing says high tech like an endless sea of letter soup. So magically you want your candidates to be masters of Machine Learning…in Tableau.

Now Tableau comes with a level of built in artificial intelligence these days, but it’s to help the analyst making the dashboards (Explain Data) or the end users on server to check some quick facts (Ask Data).

Most people are not trying to run R out of Tableau. If they are, they usually demand a bigger paycheck and put words like regression on their profile. Even fewer businesses are prepared to run R out of Tableau (at some point, these cats want their own servers, Alteryx, DataRobot, or other expensive toys.) If they are, they might use words like statistics, data science, or predictive and ideally, your business has a proper data warehouse before delving into these endeavors.

You’re more likely to find machine learning with the Python types. They may even talk about TabPy, and want to do some wild things that involve training a data set. Data sets rarely sit on command, but they often expose some oddities around human behavior. These people also want a bigger paycheck and more toys (including Raspberry Pi’s just because).

Prediction 6: You’re going to be awesome

Now that you’ve read this post, you’re ready to rewrite your ad and try a slightly different approach. You’ll avoid all those wicked awesome superfluous Pokemon descriptors because jargon just gets punked. And it should. You’re offering a job that hopefully by itself is awesome, no jazz hands required.

You can also test your ad to see if it appeals to a broad range of applicants. Beer pong may be fun, but it’s not my cup of tea. If all your applicants look and sound the same, you may have landed in Stepford or written a Stepford ad. Use tools like Textio to test, but also ask real (paid) humans to review your ad.

Hopefully, you’ll also recognize the different things in LinkedIn profiles as relevant. For example:

• Most dashboard people want to build dashboards. They’re really good at it. They may know and do other things, but likely, they’ll want a job where most of the work (say 80%, but maybe even down to 60%) is that.
• Most server-y types may like writing SQL and coming up with ways at making stellar, accessible data sources. They may or may not make fantastic dashboards.
• Some people have a very clear trail of what they love to do and may be well known for certain things. These people – particularly anyone under-represented in leadership – would love an advisory role.

And, yes, I have a network of people that may just fit your Tableau job. I’ll be looking for you to get my name right (Bob) and that you’ve listed all appropriate Pokemon characters skills and benefits.

Happy recruiting,

Bob