Digi Skills Agency

You are here: Home / Archives for Software

Software

5 Top Tips For Attracting And Retaining Top Talent

by

Attracting and retaining top talent is imperative for any company. Employees are also brand advocates and most want to feel that they are making a difference. Creating the right environment for skill sharing and growth can cultivate the essential motivation to deliver excellent work. To support this, employers need to have the right recruitment and retention plan in place with a focus on ‘what are the needs of the employee’.  

 

Below are some top tips on attracting and retaining top talent:  

 

1. Make the application process easy 

When it comes to recruiting the best talent, businesses should focus on how they can create a positive experience. Is the application process well planned, easy to use and communication back and forth fast? Do you have your interview process in place, what are your core interview questions and who will be involved at various stages of the process?

The hiring process is time critical and we have seen many businesses lose out on some excellent people because they weren’t prepared enough or were to slow to respond to applications.  

 

2. Be a Mentor

Employees who are just starting out want to ensure they are doing things right or have chosen the right career/business. Therefore, a mentoring/buddy program should be created, this is where employees can discuss their progress and any other concerns they might have. Senior employees would also highly benefit from something like this, so schedule monthly meet ups or luncheons where everyone can network, share stories, strategies and advice on dealing with other business challenges.   

 

3. Offer Independence and flexibility 

Some potential employees are attracted to roles that offer them flexibility and the chance to build their own confidence and learning. Offering independence can be a positive form of motivation for some employees as they can focus on ‘business outputs’ and not just ‘time inputted’. Offering remote working options can also be a huge benefit as it opens up a bigger talent pool that isn’t based on office location.  

 

4. Outline Career Progression 

Active candidates want to know if the role they are applying for will offer them the chance for growth.  Be prepared as hiring managers to talk about the short- and long-term plans of the business.  Offering an attractive career path to potential employees is important, this will support retention and business goals. 

 

5. Lifelong learning  

With technology and the world constantly changing, it is important that employees’ skills are up to date. Any necessary training for employees can be done formally or online through certifications. Other possibilities include time off to attend relevant events such as conferences or training events that give new insights into your industry. 

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don’t want to”. R.Branson

 

Hiring managers and business owners should focus on continuous improvement through up-skilling and digital transformation. For more information on how to recruit and retain top talent you can download our free e-book.

Why is January the Best Time to Find a Job?

by

January 2020 – Is the Best Time to Find a Job

During the Christmas period it can be a struggle to search for a new job, but once that’s over it is a brand-new year, and some say it is the perfect opportunity to find a new career. January has been classed as the hunting season when it comes to finding a new job. So, if you are one of those people that has ‘find a new job’ on their New year’s resolution list then listed below are some reasons why January is the perfect month to job hunt and what you can do to prepare yourself.

Why is it the best month?

Employers are looking for new employees

In the New Year employers are feeling motivational and are eager to see what talent they can employ. They have a clearer mindset at this time of the year as they are less likely to be tied down to deadlines and projects. As January is the month for job hunting, there is a lot more competition for employers to choose from. Having a greater talent pool will enable employers to choose carefully resulting in a greater chance of your CV needing to impress them.

New budgets

The first few months of the year are normally the best times to apply for new jobs. Many job deadlines close at the end of January, so it allows for candidates plenty of time to apply within the New Year. Employers are also given a new budget at the start of every year, so this gives candidates a better chance at finding a new job and being hired. The salary is the main factor a candidate will look at when applying for a new job, so linking this with a company’s new budgets may mean the company will have more money to give to candidates.

What you can do to prepare yourself

Update your CV

When applying for new job in January it is essential that you keep your CV updated to keep track of your most recent skills and progression. Your CV is the first thing an employer will look at and it is your chance to stand out from the crowd, therefore making it a crucial factor when you are trying to start a new career. The key areas of your CV that you will need to keep updated are:

  • Your skills (technical and soft)
  • Employment history
  • Work experience
  • Qualifications

Once you have updated your CV it is important for you to understand exactly what job you are looking for. Applying for jobs you are marginally interested in will not benefit you in the future as this will impact your engagement, performance and success. Instead of applying for any job, try and find roles that you are passionate about and perhaps create a list that aligns with your personality, skills and interests. From this you are able to understand what companies you want to apply for and why.

You can also register with a recruitment agency that specialise in your area of interest and skills. Having a professional confidant in the industry can help you find jobs that may not be advertised on generic job boards.

 

Practice interview answers

For some it may have been a while since you have been interviewed and therefore it will be beneficial to practice some generic interview questions. If you have been invited for an interview, do not wait until the night before to go through potential interview questions, you should start preparing as soon as you can. The majority of employers will always start with questions about yourself such as ‘Tell me about yourself’ or ‘What do you do in your spare time’. Following this they may ask you some competency questions which are based on your previous experience and certain situations you may have found yourself in. Competency based interview questions are a good way of an employer finding out how you would handle certain situations if they were ever to arise, and this can say a lot about you. It is also a good idea to know what you are looking for from the jobs you have applied for. This way if you are asked during the interview process, you can answer in a matter of seconds.

Some companies will have a long interview process which can last a few months, whereas other companies may invite you in for an interview within the next week. Therefore, you should always be prepared and have an interview outfit ready, so you feel well equipped for when the day comes. You can check out other interview hint and tips here: https://www.digiskills.agency/interview-hints-tips/

 

Update your social presence

Although your CV and cover letter will be the first documents an employer will look at, it is also beneficial to keep your social channels up to date. Recruiters may look at your LinkedIn for example to see if your experience matches up with your experience on your CV. More employers are using LinkedIn and may want to view your profile before calling you. You should ensure that you have a professional photo on your profile, your work experience is up to date and you have the relevant skills listed as this can be a decider for some employers.

 

Good luck! We wish you the best in achieving your career goals this year, and hope you’ll be in touch with us if you’re looking for a change so we can help.

8 Skills That Will Help You Get A Job In Big Data Or Data Analytics

by

8 skills that will help you a get a Job in Big Data

The secret is out, getting a Job in Big data is the newest hot topic, as Big Data is now seen as the ‘New Gold’! The mad rush is on to leverage big data analytic tools and techniques for competitive advantage. If you’re on the hunt for a new Job in big data, here are 8 highly sought after skills, that will help you a get that Job.

1. Apache Hadoop

Sure, it’s entering its second decade now, but there’s no denying that Hadoop had a monstrous time and is positioned for an even bigger year as test clusters are moved into production and software vendors increasingly target the distributed storage and processing architecture.The raise of Apache Hadoop created lots of new IT jobs in big data as the  platform is powerful, Hadoop can be a fussy beast and requires care and feeding by proficient technicians. Those who know there way around the core components of the Hadoop stack–such as HDFS, MapReduce, Flume, Oozie, Hive, Pig, HBase, and YARN–will be in high demand, and alternatively this will create lots of new IT jobs.

2. Apache Spark

If Hadoop is a known quantity in the big data world, then Spark is a black horse candidate that has the raw potential to eclipse its elephantine cousin. The rapid rise of the in-memory stack is being proffered as a faster and simpler alternative to MapReduce-style analytics, either within a Hadoop framework or outside it. Best positioned as one of the components in a big data pipeline, Spark still requires technical expertise to program and run, thereby providing IT job opportunities for those in the know.

bigdata1

Source: Dice Tech Salary Survey

On the operational side of the big data house, distributed, scale-out NoSQL databases like MongoDBand Couchbase are taking over IT jobs previously handled by monolithic SQL databases like Oracle and IBM DB2. On the Web and with mobile apps, NoSQL databases are often the source of data crunched in Hadoop, as well as the destination for application changes put in place after insight is gleaned from Hadoop. In the world of big data, Hadoop and NoSQL occupy opposite sides of a virtuous cycle.

3. Machine Learning and Data Mining

People in IT jobs have been mining for data as long as they’ve been collecting it. But in today’s big data world, data mining has reached a whole new level. One of the hottest IT Jobs in big data last year is machine learning, which is poised for a breakout year. Big data pros who can harness machine learning technology to build and train predictive analytic apps such as classification, recommendation, and personalization systems are in super high demand, and can command top dollar in the IT job market.

4. Statistical and Quantitative Analysis

bigdata2

This is what big data is all about. If you have a background in quantitative reasoning and a degree in a field like mathematics or statistics, you’re already halfway there. Add in expertise with a statistical tool like R, SAS, Matlab, SPSS, or Stata, and you’ve got this category locked down. Thanks to the big data boom, companies in all sorts of industries across the country are in need of ‘geeks’ with quantitative backgrounds and has created a boom in Big Data jobs.

5. SQL

The data-centric language is more than 40 years old, but the old grandpa still has a lot of life yet in today’s big data age. While it won’t be used with all big data challenges (see: NoSQL above), the simplify of Structured Query Language makes it a no-brainer for many of them. And thanks to initiatives like Cloudera‘s Impala, SQL is seeing new life as the lingua franca for the next-generation of Hadoop-scale data warehouses and IT Jobs.

6. Data Visualization

Big data can be tough to comprehend, but in some circumstances there’s no replacement for actually getting your eyeballs onto data. You can do multivariate or logistic regression analysis on your data until the cows come home, but sometimes exploring just a sample of your data in a tool like Tableau or Qlikview can tell you the shape of your data, and even reveal hidden details that change how you proceed. And if you want a job as a  data analyst, being well-versed in one or more visualization tools is practically a requirement.

7. General Purpose Programming Languages

bigdata3

Having experience programming applications in general-purpose languages like Java, C, Python, or Scala could give you the edge over other candidates when applying for big data or any similar IT Job. According to Wanted Analytics, there was a 337 percent increase in the number of IT  job postings for “computer programmers” that required background in data analytics. Those who are comfortable at the intersection of traditional app development  and emerging analytics will be able to write their own tickets and move freely between end-user companies and big data startups.

8. Creativity and Problem Solving

No matter how many advanced analytic tools and techniques you have on your belt, nothing can replace the ability to think your way through a situation. The implements of big data will inevitably evolve and new technologies will replace the ones listed here. But if you’re equipped with a natural desire to know and a bulldog-like determination to find solutions, then you’ll always have Big Data or Data Analytics job offers waiting for you.

For more jobs in Big Data or Data Analytics please check out some of our latest jobs here. 

 

5 Advantages in using CSS

by

Discover 5 Amazing Advantages of using CSS for your website!

When you create a website for your business, time and money are likely to be major concerns. Luckily, there is a web design method that can help you save time and money while also improving your visitor’s experience. Cascading Style Sheets, more commonly known as CSS, has fast become the preferred web design method for the benefits it offers web designers and website visitors alike.

 

What is CSS?

CSS is the key presentational technology that is used in website design.

Before it’s development, nearly all of the presentational attributes of HTML documents were contained within the HTML markup; all font colors, background styles, element alignments, borders and sizes had to be explicitly described, within the HTML.

As a result of, development of large web sites, where fonts and colour information were repeatedly added to every single page, became a long and expensive process.

CSS solve these problems, by allowing web designers to move much of that formatting information to a separate style sheet resulting in considerably simpler HTML markup.

 

Origin

HTML was originally designed as a simple way of presenting information intended for sharing scientific documents and research papers online.

Later on, as the Internet expanded from the academic and research world into the mainstream, and became more media oriented, the presentation of the web pages has become considerably important for a website’s success.

To improve web presentation capabilities CSS was introduced by World Wide Web consortium’s (W3C). It was intended to allow web designers to define the look and feel of their web pages, and to separate content from document’s layout.

 

Advantages

The biggest advantage of CSS is that it allows separating content of an html document from the style and layout of that document. It can thus make documents much easier to maintain and give much better control over the layout of your web pages, because content of an entire set of HTML pages can be easily controlled using one or more style sheets. Check out 5 additional advantages for CSS below:

 

Lots of time will be saved — Lots of flexibility is given to set the properties of an element. You can write it once; and then the same code can be applied to the groups of HTML elements, and can also be reused in multiple HTML pages.

Easy maintenance — It provides an easy means to update document formatting and maintain consistency across multiple documents. By making one change to the website’s CSS, elements in all the web pages will be updated automatically.

Pages load faster — CSS enable multiple pages to share formatting, and reduce complexity and repetition in the structural content. It significantly reduces the file transfer size, which results in a faster page loading.

Superior styles to HTML — CSS has much wider presentation capabilities than HTML, so you can give far better look to your HTML pages in comparison to the HTML presentational elements and attributes.

Multiple Device Compatibility — CSS can also allow the HTML document to be optimised for more than one type of device or media. Using CSS the same HTML document can be presented in different viewing styles for different rendering devices such as computer screen, mobile phones, printer, etc.

 

If you found this article interesting, check out our latest Software Development job vacancy by clicking here! It may be just right for you!

– TutorialRepublic

– NetworkSolutions

IT Jobs Feature: What is PHP used for?

by

PHP is a popular server-side scripting language for the web and has common use in many IT Jobs

Generally, PHP is used to add a functionality to websites that HTML alone can’t achieve. There are many IT Jobs which require PHP knowledge as a key skill. But what is PHP capable of and what are the main functions in which someone seeking IT Jobs involving PHP be familiar with? Here are some examples:

Performs Calculations

PHP can perform all types of calculations, from figuring out what day it is or what day of the week a date in the very distant future will be, to performing all  types of mathematical equations. In PHP, math expressions are made up of operators and operands. Basic math addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are done using mathematical operators. The large number of math functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use them.

Collects User Information

Using PHP, you can let your user directly interact with the script. This can be something really simple, like collecting the temperature from the user that they want to convert from degrees to another format, or it can be more extensive information, like adding their information to an address book, letting them post on a forum or participate in a survey.

Interacts With MySQL Databases

PHP is particularly good at interacting with MySQL databases, which opens endless possibilities. You can write user-submitted information to a database, and you can retrieve information from the database. This allows you to create pages on the fly using the contents of the database. You can even perform complex tasks like setting up login systems, creating website search features, or store product catalogues and inventories online.

You can also use PHP and MySQL to set up an automated picture gallery to showcase products.

Creates Graphics with GD Library

Use the GD Library that is bundled with PHP to create simple graphics on the fly or to edit existing graphics. You might want to resize images, rotate them, change them to grayscale, or make thumbnails of them. Practical applications allow users to edit their avatars or generate CAPTCHA verifications. You can also create dynamic graphics that are always changing such as dynamic Twitter signatures.

Works With Cookies

Cookies are used to identify a user and store the user’s preferences as given on the site so the information doesn’t have to be re-entered each time the user visits the site. The cookie is a small file embedded on the user’s computer. Using the programming language, you can create, modify and delete cookies and retrieve cookie values.

Are you seeking IT Jobs which involve working with PHP in a professional environment? Keep an eye on our vacancy page for the latest featured IT Jobs updates. Visit it by clicking here!

 

– Angela Bradley

Experiencing Poor Phone Battery Life?

by

Have you been experiencing reduced battery life on your phone recently?

Unsuspecting mobile phone owners may be left with flat batteries after they update their handsets, despite technology companies promising longer life and better performance from the new software.

It was recently discovered that when iPhones or Android phones are updated to the latest version of their operating systems, their battery life can fall by as much as three hours.

A two-year-old iPhone 6 lost 38 minutes of battery life when it was updated to the latest version of Apple’s iOS software, iOS 10. A Google Nexus 6P phone went from 12 to nine hours of battery life when the most recent version of Android was installed.

Both the iPhone and Android software claim that features in the latest versions improve battery life, rather than hurting it.

Mobile phone companies typically release major software updates every year as well as adding smaller changes throughout the year. When an update is released, users are sent notifications urging them to upgrade and are often given no way to revert to the previous operating system, meaning they are stuck with the new software even if they suffer from worse performance.

It was recently stated that software updates can also mean the memory of tablets and phones falling dramatically due to the extra capacity taken up by more advanced software. A Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet lost 30 gigabytes of storage when upgrading to the latest version of Windows – enough for thousands of photos.

The updates often include new features and important security changes that protect users from being tracked or having their details stolen, but early versions can be loaded with bugs.

It’s also been said that mobile phone companies should do more to warn users of the side effects of updating, and allow them to revert to older software if they wish.

It was found that battery life and storage were improved in some cases. Updating an iPad Air to the latest software improved battery life by two hours and updating a Samsung Galaxy tablet improved it by four and a half hours.

Richard Headland from ‘Which?’ said “Given how much we rely on mobile devices, companies should do more to tell us about the possible downsides of updates, as well as the benefits,”

Apple and Google declined to comment.

This year, Microsoft was forced to pay a travel agent (£8,000) after an unwanted automatic upgrade to her computer left it slow and prone to crashing.

 

If you found this article interesting, check out our ‘Latest Industry News’ page for more Technology insights. You can view it by clicking on this link!

– James Titcomb

© 2025 Digi Skills Agency Ltd. All rights reserved. Sitemap

Website Design by Yellow Marshmallow.