In today's tech world, many companies face a shortage of specialists with unique skills. It can take months to find such professionals, especially when it comes to DevOps with experience in FinTech, Computer Vision Engineers, or Data Engineers with expertise in Big Data. In this article, we'll tell you who rare IT professionals are, what strategies can help you find them, and how to convince them to accept your company's offer.
Who are rare IT specialists?
Rare IT specialists are professionals whose competencies are in demand in narrow areas, and the number of such candidates on the market is limited. Among them are:
- DevOps engineers with experience in FinTech — know the peculiarities of financial services and ensure their stability and safety.
- Computer Vision Engineers — are developing computer vision algorithms that are in demand in medicine, autonomous cars and e-commerce.
- Data Engineers with experience in Big Data — create an infrastructure for working with huge amounts of data and ensure their processing in real time.
- Blockchain development specialists — participate in the creation of decentralized solutions, and are especially in demand in Web3 projects.
- Narrow-profile cybersecurity expertise — protect corporate networks, financial transactions and users' personal data.
Why is it difficult to find such specialists?
- Limited candidate market — many of them are already employed in large companies and are not actively looking for work.
- High competition — companies are ready to offer high salaries and bonuses to get such specialists.
- High requirements — such candidates expect challenging tasks, modern technologies and a strong team.
Where to look for rare IT professionals?
1. Professional communities and forums
- GitHub, Stack Overflow — search for active participants and their projects.
- Highly specialized Slack and Telegram chats, forums and Discord communities.
2. Conferences and meetups
- Attending and sponsoring thematic events: DevOpsDays, CVPR (Computer Vision), KDD (Data Science).
- Hackathons and technical competitions where you can find strong practitioners.
3. Personal networking and referrals
- Recommendation programs within the company.
- Using LinkedIn and directly searching for candidates through a network of contacts.
4. Cooperation with universities and research centers
- Internship programs and partnership projects with universities (MIT, Stanford, MIPT, HSE, etc.).
- Working with PhD graduates when it comes to R & D development.
How do you attract a rare specialist?
1. An attractive technology stack. The use of modern technologies and approaches, such as Kubernetes, MLOps, Rust or Blockchain, can be a decisive factor.
2. Flexibility in working conditions . Remote format, flexible schedule and the ability to work on open-source projects.
3. Competitive compensation. Given the high demand for such specialists, it is important to offer competitive salaries, options or bonuses.
4. A strong team and interesting tasks. Experienced professionals want to work with other professionals to solve non-standard problems. Demonstrating the project's ambitious goals will help keep them interested.
Conclusion
Finding and attracting rare IT specialists requires an integrated approach that includes active search, networking, HR brand development and a well-thought-out motivation system. Companies that pay attention to these aspects can not only find the right specialists, but also retain them in the long term, which gives them a competitive advantage in the market.
