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[toc headings="h2,h3" title="Table of Contents"] Boston might not be the first place that comes to mind when you're listing the top cities to find innovative data science talent, but the truth is the city has always been a tech hub. Graduates from Boston's more than two dozen universities provide a ready source of skilled candidates for the wide variety of companies that call the city home, but in recent years that supply isn't quite keeping up with demand. The CompTIA monthly job report shows Boston's tech job postings increased more in 2023 than those of any other major US city, a trend that local hiring managers are paying close attention to. This competitive job market has salaries on the rise, too. The average salary for a data scientist in Boston in 2024 is $184,752, while data scientists in neighboring Cambridge have the third-highest median salary in the nation, and the highest of any city outside of California. Working with a recruiter can help companies navigate the Boston area's challenging job market. For hiring teams in New England with a tricky data science or data engineering role to fill, the firms listed below can be an invaluable resource.
The 5 best data science recruiters in Boston
1. Nexus IT Group
Nexus IT Group is one of the leading IT staffing firms in the Boston area. Not only do they have a high long-term placement rate, 81% of their successful candidates are sourced within a week, making them a top choice for companies with a time-sensitive opportunity that needs to be filled quickly. Along with their Boston location, they have offices in 10 other major US cities, giving them a broad reach for finding the top technology and data science candidates across the nation. This is particularly useful for filling in-demand positions in machine learning, data modeling, data security, and other skills that may be hard to find right in your area. Read more about Nexus IT Group
2. Beacon Hill Staffing
The variety of talent acquisition strategies available at Beacon Hill Staffing are their main strength. Along with direct hire and executive search placements, they provide contract-to-hire and temporary project staff, as well as consulting, project management, and managed services. In short, whatever your talent needs in the data science field, Beacon Hill has the ability to deliver results. The flexibility they offer will be particularly helpful for growth-stage businesses, or those with seasonal workload spikes, who may have needs beyond just hiring the best candidate. Read more about Beacon Hill Staffing
3. HireMinds
The recruiters at HireMinds aren't just skilled at finding talent, they're also experts in their industries of focus, marketing and life sciences. They have more than 25 years of experience recruiting in these spaces, and in that time have built an extensive network of digital marketing analysts, big data engineers, clinical and health data experts, and every other type of data professional your business may need. This wide network allows them to deliver candidates to a client in as little as 48 hours. The majority of the candidates they place are still with their company after three years, too, a testament to the effectiveness of their placements. Read more about HireMinds
4. Mondo
With offices in 10 US cities, including Boston, Mondo is the largest recruiting agency with a specialty in niche IT, tech, and digital marketing talent. That blend of national reach with a tight industry focus is ideal for filling specialized roles or hard to find skills like predictive modeling, deep learning, AI, and other emerging technologies. Along with full-time employees, they can also help companies recruit contract or freelance talent, expanding the ways they help clients hire the right people for their business. Read more about Mondo
5. Twice As Nice Recruiting
Based in Boston, #twiceasnice is a national direct placement recruiting firm with a unique process focused on efficiency. They used this process to place more than 100,000 candidates in roles across the United States in 2021, a clear sign that their approach works. The main strength of their services is value, with one of the lowest contingency fees you'll find from a professional staffing agency along with customized search processes tailored to your individual role and business needs. Read more about Twice As Nice Recruiting
Typical costs of data analytics recruitment in Boston
This is a trickier question to answer than it might seem on the surface. For starters, there are a number of fee models that a recruiting agency could use. The most common for recruiting companies in the United States are contingency hiring and retained search. In a contingency hiring model, the agency doesn't get paid until they've made a successful placement. In a retained search service, the recruiter is paid a portion upfront and the rest of their fee after the employment process. In either case, though, their fee will be a percentage of the new employee's first year salary, normally around 15-25% though it can be as high as 40-50%. This percentage model means you may not know exactly what the recruiter's total fee will be until you've completed your search. You can get a rough idea of what they'll charge by knowing the typical salary of the role in your area. The average salary for a data scientist in Boston is $104,000 a year, according to Glassdoor, so you can use that to estimate your recruiting costs if you don't yet know the specific salary of your position.
Benefits of using a recruiter to hire data professionals in Boston
Even for larger employers with an in-house hiring team, working with a recruiter can be a smart move for your company. This is especially true for roles like Senior Data Scientist or VP of Data Science, positions that require high-level knowledge and expertise, putting high-quality candidates in high demand. What are some specific advantages of using a recruiter to find solutions to your data hiring challenges? Here are some of the main benefits.
You'll hire better talent.
Recruiters have tools and resources to find and connect with professionals who are often hidden to the hiring managers within an organization. Established staffing agencies build an extensive network of candidates as they fill positions for clients, including passive job seekers who aren't actively checking job boards. They also have the time to reach out to these candidates and engage with them one-on-one about the role. Most in-house HR departments have too much on their plates already to give a search this kind of personal touch, and that can make a big difference, especially for hard-to-fill data analyst jobs. Along with access to more candidates, recruiters have experience matching job seekers to projects and positions. They know what to look for in a candidate's resume, skills, and background that indicates they'll be an ideal fit, and often use advanced research and candidate data analysis methods to gain information and insights in-house hiring teams don't have.
Faster time to hire.
A recruiting agency doesn't start from scratch for every role. They're already in contact with a variety of candidates before you approach them with your hiring needs, and that alone can significantly reduce the length of the recruiting process. Even if they don't have existing contacts for your job type, they know where to search for them and can focus on that work full-time. Because that's all they do, these firms also have a more comprehensive process and strategy than hiring teams in businesses, which allows them to find the right people more efficiently and deliver talent in less time.
Reduced overall hiring costs.
On the surface, it might seem like paying someone to recruit is an extra expense that will increase the costs of your business. While it's true you do need to pay recruiters for their services, you'll also save in other ways by using one. For one thing, your HR team can focus on their other work instead of searching for applicants and screening resumes. Employees hired using a recruiter are also more likely to be an ideal long-term fit for the role. It's incredibly frustrating when you think you've completed your search only to have to start it all over when the new hire quits after just a few weeks, or turns out not to have the skills you need for the role. Turnover isn't just expensive, it can also mean lowered workplace morale, wasted resources, and missed business opportunities. Those are all issues you can avoid by hiring the right person the first time, and working with a recruiter helps you to do that.
Tips for data science recruitment success
How can you make sure you get all those benefits of working with a recruiting agency? First and foremost, it's crucial to know what you're looking for from an ideal candidate and fully understand the needs and qualifications of the role. An experienced recruiter can help you refine your search parameters, but they don't know your business like you do. Before your initial conversation with a recruiter, have a planning meeting with the hiring team and company leaders to clarify what you're looking for. Once you're clear about your needs, the next crucial thing is to share that information with the recruiter. Be as transparent and honest as possible about your company, its culture, and the challenges you've encountered with hiring in the past. Even the best recruiter can't read minds, and they can't deliver the quality talent you need if they don't know what you're looking for. Finally, be communicative and responsive throughout the process. While you don't want to micromanage the process, you should stay involved in every stage of the search, from sourcing candidates to selecting and interviewing the top applicants. Ask questions when you have them, and if you think the recruiter is missing the mark, give them feedback that will help them refocus. The more open the communication between your team and theirs, the higher the odds that you'll find your perfect new hire.
Choosing the right data science recruiter in Boston
There is no one best recruiter for finding data scientists, and that's going to be true in any city. It all comes down to what level and type of talent you need, what industry you're in, and how quickly you need to make hires. The bottom line is, if you're struggling to find people, tight on time or resources, or have a complex or specialized role you're not sure how to fill, a recruiter can be an invaluable asset to level-up your hiring.
Boston might not be the first place that comes to mind when you’re listing the top cities to find innovative data science talent, but the truth is the city has always been a tech hub. Graduates from Boston’s more than two dozen universities provide a ready source of skilled candidates for the wide variety of companies that call the city home, but in recent years that supply isn’t quite keeping up with demand. The CompTIA monthly job report shows Boston’s tech job postings increased more in 2023 than those of any other major US city, a trend that local hiring managers are paying close attention to.
This competitive job market has salaries on the rise, too. The average salary for a data scientist in Boston in 2024 is $184,752, while data scientists in neighboring Cambridge have the third-highest median salary in the nation, and the highest of any city outside of California.
Working with a recruiter can help companies navigate the Boston area’s challenging job market. For hiring teams in New England with a tricky data science or data engineering role to fill, the firms listed below can be an invaluable resource.
The 5 best data science recruiters in Boston
1. Nexus IT Group
Nexus IT Group is one of the leading IT staffing firms in the Boston area. Not only do they have a high long-term placement rate, 81% of their successful candidates are sourced within a week, making them a top choice for companies with a time-sensitive opportunity that needs to be filled quickly. Along with their Boston location, they have offices in 10 other major US cities, giving them a broad reach for finding the top technology and data science candidates across the nation. This is particularly useful for filling in-demand positions in machine learning, data modeling, data security, and other skills that may be hard to find right in your area.
Read more about Nexus IT Group
2. Beacon Hill Staffing
The variety of talent acquisition strategies available at Beacon Hill Staffing are their main strength. Along with direct hire and executive search placements, they provide contract-to-hire and temporary project staff, as well as consulting, project management, and managed services. In short, whatever your talent needs in the data science field, Beacon Hill has the ability to deliver results. The flexibility they offer will be particularly helpful for growth-stage businesses, or those with seasonal workload spikes, who may have needs beyond just hiring the best candidate.
Read more about Beacon Hill Staffing
3. HireMinds
The recruiters at HireMinds aren’t just skilled at finding talent, they’re also experts in their industries of focus, marketing and life sciences. They have more than 25 years of experience recruiting in these spaces, and in that time have built an extensive network of digital marketing analysts, big data engineers, clinical and health data experts, and every other type of data professional your business may need. This wide network allows them to deliver candidates to a client in as little as 48 hours. The majority of the candidates they place are still with their company after three years, too, a testament to the effectiveness of their placements.
4. Mondo
With offices in 10 US cities, including Boston, Mondo is the largest recruiting agency with a specialty in niche IT, tech, and digital marketing talent. That blend of national reach with a tight industry focus is ideal for filling specialized roles or hard to find skills like predictive modeling, deep learning, AI, and other emerging technologies. Along with full-time employees, they can also help companies recruit contract or freelance talent, expanding the ways they help clients hire the right people for their business.
5. Twice As Nice Recruiting
Based in Boston, #twiceasnice is a national direct placement recruiting firm with a unique process focused on efficiency. They used this process to place more than 100,000 candidates in roles across the United States in 2021, a clear sign that their approach works. The main strength of their services is value, with one of the lowest contingency fees you’ll find from a professional staffing agency along with customized search processes tailored to your individual role and business needs.
Read more about Twice As Nice Recruiting
Typical costs of data analytics recruitment in Boston
This is a trickier question to answer than it might seem on the surface. For starters, there are a number of fee models that a recruiting agency could use. The most common for recruiting companies in the United States are contingency hiring and retained search.
In a contingency hiring model, the agency doesn’t get paid until they’ve made a successful placement. In a retained search service, the recruiter is paid a portion upfront and the rest of their fee after the employment process. In either case, though, their fee will be a percentage of the new employee’s first year salary, normally around 15-25% though it can be as high as 40-50%.
This percentage model means you may not know exactly what the recruiter’s total fee will be until you’ve completed your search. You can get a rough idea of what they’ll charge by knowing the typical salary of the role in your area. The average salary for a data scientist in Boston is $104,000 a year, according to Glassdoor, so you can use that to estimate your recruiting costs if you don’t yet know the specific salary of your position.
Benefits of using a recruiter to hire data professionals in Boston
Even for larger employers with an in-house hiring team, working with a recruiter can be a smart move for your company. This is especially true for roles like Senior Data Scientist or VP of Data Science, positions that require high-level knowledge and expertise, putting high-quality candidates in high demand.
What are some specific advantages of using a recruiter to find solutions to your data hiring challenges? Here are some of the main benefits.
You’ll hire better talent.
Recruiters have tools and resources to find and connect with professionals who are often hidden to the hiring managers within an organization. Established staffing agencies build an extensive network of candidates as they fill positions for clients, including passive job seekers who aren’t actively checking job boards. They also have the time to reach out to these candidates and engage with them one-on-one about the role. Most in-house HR departments have too much on their plates already to give a search this kind of personal touch, and that can make a big difference, especially for hard-to-fill data analyst jobs.
Along with access to more candidates, recruiters have experience matching job seekers to projects and positions. They know what to look for in a candidate’s resume, skills, and background that indicates they’ll be an ideal fit, and often use advanced research and candidate data analysis methods to gain information and insights in-house hiring teams don’t have.
Faster time to hire.
A recruiting agency doesn’t start from scratch for every role. They’re already in contact with a variety of candidates before you approach them with your hiring needs, and that alone can significantly reduce the length of the recruiting process. Even if they don’t have existing contacts for your job type, they know where to search for them and can focus on that work full-time. Because that’s all they do, these firms also have a more comprehensive process and strategy than hiring teams in businesses, which allows them to find the right people more efficiently and deliver talent in less time.
Reduced overall hiring costs.
On the surface, it might seem like paying someone to recruit is an extra expense that will increase the costs of your business. While it’s true you do need to pay recruiters for their services, you’ll also save in other ways by using one. For one thing, your HR team can focus on their other work instead of searching for applicants and screening resumes.
Employees hired using a recruiter are also more likely to be an ideal long-term fit for the role. It’s incredibly frustrating when you think you’ve completed your search only to have to start it all over when the new hire quits after just a few weeks, or turns out not to have the skills you need for the role. Turnover isn’t just expensive, it can also mean lowered workplace morale, wasted resources, and missed business opportunities. Those are all issues you can avoid by hiring the right person the first time, and working with a recruiter helps you to do that.
Tips for data science recruitment success
How can you make sure you get all those benefits of working with a recruiting agency? First and foremost, it’s crucial to know what you’re looking for from an ideal candidate and fully understand the needs and qualifications of the role. An experienced recruiter can help you refine your search parameters, but they don’t know your business like you do. Before your initial conversation with a recruiter, have a planning meeting with the hiring team and company leaders to clarify what you’re looking for.
Once you’re clear about your needs, the next crucial thing is to share that information with the recruiter. Be as transparent and honest as possible about your company, its culture, and the challenges you’ve encountered with hiring in the past. Even the best recruiter can’t read minds, and they can’t deliver the quality talent you need if they don’t know what you’re looking for.
Finally, be communicative and responsive throughout the process. While you don’t want to micromanage the process, you should stay involved in every stage of the search, from sourcing candidates to selecting and interviewing the top applicants. Ask questions when you have them, and if you think the recruiter is missing the mark, give them feedback that will help them refocus. The more open the communication between your team and theirs, the higher the odds that you’ll find your perfect new hire.
Choosing the right data science recruiter in Boston
There is no one best recruiter for finding data scientists, and that’s going to be true in any city. It all comes down to what level and type of talent you need, what industry you’re in, and how quickly you need to make hires. The bottom line is, if you’re struggling to find people, tight on time or resources, or have a complex or specialized role you’re not sure how to fill, a recruiter can be an invaluable asset to level-up your hiring.