Integration Architect is one of those IT roles which has witnessed a sharp spike in its demand and the surge doesn’t seem to decimate in the future. Integration Architects are scarce and headhunting them requires a completely new approach. The Human Resource (HR) teams fight their toughest battles when they need to acquire talent for this role in quickest period of time. So what’s the right approach to recruit a seasoned integration architect? Here are some easy steps to make the recruitment process frictionless:
Focussing on Skills: The most important thing is to focus on the skills required for the integration project. The recruitment team should examine the integration requirements of stakeholders to bucket the skills required for a project. After this, the team should envision a strategy to hire individuals who are broadly trained in multi dimensional integration concepts. The bucketing outline should cover the concepts like software architecture, design patterns, design principles, and construction patterns and ensure that a candidate can navigate through them.
Crafting an Awesome Job Description: Structuring a crackerjack job description is important and it is the foundational step in attracting top talent. The biggest mistake is copy pasting the job description from Google. Recruiters should identify the unique project related requirements and prepare a unique job description firsthand. The description should include:
- Role: Architecting and building mission critical, high performance, high availability, Multi-tenant and secure enterprise class SAAS based software systems.
- Design Skills Required: UML, understanding of enterprise software design patterns and data structures, etc.
- Technologies: Java/J2EE development with Multithreading, Performance tuning, clustering, Web Services (SOA 75), JDBC, REST, SOAP, XML, RMI, Spring, Hibernate, JPA/ORM, HTML5, Javascript Frameworks, JUnit, test driven development, etc.
- Proven Competencies: To assess the performance of software systems, diagnose & fine tuning performance problems, modify communication based on the technical level of the target audience, resolving risks and disruptions, etc.
- Educational Qualification: B.Tech/ M.Tech
- Growth Opportunities: Benefits & perks of joining the organization
- Organization’s Culture: Blogs and events
Identifying the Right Platforms for Headhunting: It is not recommended to search for IT integration specialists on generic job sites. Recruiters should target candidates on those websites which narrow down the integration specialists with appropriate filters. Some websites offer a curated list of jobs for organization’s. These portals also notify employers about specific profiles and their competencies. Some of the best names in this regard are GitHub and TripleByte which enable recruiters to find freelance and permanent integration specialists with hands-on experience. Organization’s can also target Integration Experts on Stackoverflow where tech and data experts share knowledge on coding practices.
- 1.How do cohesive architectures look like?
Answer: They are monolithic. You have a cohesive architecture which is established on a workstation.
- 1.What is the point of having Logical and Physical models in a design pattern?
Answer: In modern architecture, both models help in application setup. A logical model is used to represent any functional component which denotes a service or piece functionality. Whereas, physical models provide ways to communicate and get something assembled.
The questionnaire should urge target candidates to give a crisp answer for the sake of simplicity and time saving. Talented interviewers know how to conduct a pre-technical chit chat for knowing target candidates better. Next, candidates should be asked questions about specific design decisions, coding styles, and patterns for solving technical & business problems. Impatient and disrespectful candidates should not be selected as they can spoil the reputation with client.
Shortlisting the Candidates: An architect should also be evaluated on the basis of his communication skills, patience, and positive attitude besides technical acumen and problem solving abilities. HR teams should consider current & future integration needs and embrace a strategic approach before shortlisting candidates. Moreover, HR teams should try to verify that what makes a candidate exciting about the work. The hiring funnel should be streamlined and aligned with the project and business needs.
Recruitment is not a one time event and it shall be taken as a continuing process. The wheel should be reinvented over and again on timely basis to ensure that it has not become static. An updated recruitment process can help in hiring the right candidates for building integrations and ensuring continued success of an organization.