IT staff recruitment: how to find a Rare ASO Specialist for a Startup, If You Have a Large Stop-list of Candidates?

ASO specialists are professionals who are engaged in Mobile App search engine optimization. This is a very young and therefore rather rare profession in the IT market. Finding an ASO specialist with at least minimal experience is a great piece of luck, especially if we are talking about Russian-speaking candidates.

But what if we tell you that we managed to find not just an ASO specialist within a short time, but an experienced talent ready to fulfil the functions of a Team Leader?

In our new case study, telling you how our IT recruiter managed to quickly find an experienced ASO specialist for one of our regular clients - an international IT startup.

Technical recruitment: the task and difficulties

In summer 2021, a Finnish startup contacted us with a request to find a Senior ASO specialist. The candidate the company was looking for must not only have deep expertise in search engine optimization in mobile app stores but also have experience in team management.

The task was not among simple ones. As we've already mentioned, an ASO specialist is a rather exotic professional in the IT market. However, these are not all the obstacles we had to cope with:

1

The salary offered by our client was not higher than the market average.
2

The candidate had to complete a test assignment.
3

We were limited by a large stop-list of companies from which we couldn't lure specialists.

Being a fairly well-known service in the market, our client had a large number of companies using the service, and therefore close associates. Therefore, in order not to complicate regulations with partner companies, our client provided a fairly extensive stop list of companies.

This limitation further complicated the search for an already rare ASO specialist. Still, realizing that we are passionate about taking on unusual ambitious tasks, we started looking for a professional.

To hire software developers: extra challenges

In order to fill the vacancy, our technical recruitment agency used all existing recruiting channels, but LinkedIn turned out to be the most effective one in this case.

Unlike other channels, where there are still no specific keywords for finding specialists in the field of mobile optimization, LinkedIn gave an opportunity to find relevant candidates by showing suitable CVs.

However, straight after we'd started the search, we faced an additional challenge. This profession is so new in the IT market that most Senior ASO specialists have no experience in team management yet.

Working by the principle of partnership, which implies an open dialogue with the client, we discussed the issue with our customer.

Considering that only 30% of the tasks of a future employee were related to team management, our client agreed to look for specialists who didn't have such experience but were ready to master team management skills. At the same time, high expertise, Senior-level and a vast background of a specialist remained key requirements for a candidate.

Filling a vacancy: pivot

Having slightly adjusted the candidate's profile, we continued the search and just after a few weeks, we found a suitable specialist. Our candidate perfectly fit the client company, accepted the offer and is currently working for the customer's company.

In total, we processed 144 CVs of specialists, sent over a hundred emails and conducted interviews with 6 candidates. To one of them out client, finally, made an offer.

It is noteworthy that we worked in conjunction with other recruiters, but it was the candidate found by the Lucky Hunter team that turned out to be the most suitable for the role of the ASO team leader. This is yet more proof that the Lucky Hunter team provides only the most relevant specialists :)

How we managed to fill the vacancy: success factors

Competent motivation

After we'd adjusted the candidate's profile, we built a slightly different motivation strategy as we focused on candidate's expertise rather than experience in team management.

Shifting focus from the team leader duties to the core responsibilities of the ASO specialist turned out to be the right strategy.

So, the candidate our Lucky Hunter team has found, had no experience in managing teams, was still was interested in both the new "managerial" experience and the direct duties of ASO specialist.

Talking about the tasks in greater detail, we motivated to consider the offer even those candidates that have already had experience in team management and didn't want to return to the core competencies of an ASO specialist.

Сlient's flexibility

Realizing all the complexities of the position, the client flexibly approached the search process. Our client provided an opportunity to search for specialists from all over the world.

In addition, paying heed to our recommendations, our client was ready to consider candidates with no experience in team management. So, we not only quickly filled a vacancy but also found a motivated, worthy candidate for our client.

This is yet more proof that the principle of partnership, according to which we at Lucky Hunter work with all clients, is one of the key success factors.

This approach helped us to successfully fill the vacancy. The candidate our team found is a girl from Armenia. She knows English perfectly.

Lucky Hunter professionalism

Due to the fact that we know the specifics of the IT market and are well-versed in finding optimal strategies in each individual case, we were able to successfully fill the vacancy.

This is also proved by the fact that our client contacted us with a request to fill this vacancy after a long unsuccessful individual search.

Real Benefits of Hiring

A company must find the right employees to achieve its business goals, develop innovative products, and remain competitive in the marketplace. Our recruitment team helped this particular company secure a highly rare ASO Specialist, resulting in a range of benefits:

Improved visibility

The ASO specialist had the right expertise in optimising mobile apps for search engines, which led to increased visibility to potential customers and higher positions in search results.
Effective team management

The hired specialist was a motivated person who showed great results in team management, ensuring effective coordination and collaboration among team members, which led to increased productivity and efficiency.
Increased revenue

By improving the visibility of the app, the ASO specialist helped grow the number of downloads, which led to a 35% increase in revenue in just a year.
Competitive advantage

The ASO specialist helped the app stand out from the crowd by optimising the app's listing and identifying growth opportunities.

If you have a rare and difficult IT vacancy that you can't fill for a long time, do not hesitate to contact our team. We will help you find the perfect candidate and successfully fill the vacancy. We provide CVs of the first specialists within 4 days after the job opening discussion!

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