Fresh from its $200m Series E round last year, Andela has announced an expanded talent pool

After a Series E no one knows where a company is headed but this is not the case for Andela, on Wednesday, the global talent company said it is expanding its offering beyond engineering talent to include matching in new practice areas: specifically design, data, and product management.

“Having worked across the continent and beyond, we know that the tech ecosystem does not just need only engineering talent,” Agnes Muthoni, Director of the Andela Learning Community, said on the move. “It’s very rare that software engineers work entirely independently. It takes a variety of skill sets and expertise to make technical solutions that work.”

The onboarding process for the new set of technical talent will be similar to Andela’s existing model, consisting of English language and soft-skills assessments, technical assessments, and a portfolio review. But within the latter two, there will be some variance.

“Where a software engineer will typically complete a coding challenge and peer code review, a designer may complete a project or do a portfolio walk-through and critique,” Muthoni told TechCabal in an interview.

Hiring managers simply have to create a company profile, post a job, and can see curated and vetted candidates instantly. Talents can also see how well their skills match up to roles, with both parties having access to visualise compatibility, including overlap in skills and preferences.

“Each assessment and onboarding path gives a better indication of the kinds of teams they will be successful in,” Muthoni said. “Technologists only need to test once instead of for each client or role, allowing hiring managers to focus on team fit instead of skills reviews. It simplifies the time commitment on both sides and increases the likelihood of a successful match.”

According to Andela, the matching accounts for depth and breadth of skill requirements, timezone and working hour overlaps, industry expertise, and team fit. In addition, the platform uses data-driven technology and algorithms to make smart match recommendations.

“The Andela platform is constantly learning, helping to refine its personalised recommendations. As users accept or reject recommendations, they are also asked for specific feedback. With each bit of feedback, the platform becomes more personalised,” the company explained in an official statement.

When it comes to platforms, personalisation has become a “basic expectation”, notes Jeremy Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Andela.

“Amazon, Apple, and Netflix have changed every aspect of our lives—from how we shop to how we consume culture and everything in between. This is why we’ve built our new platform—to help talent find jobs that match their technical skills and careers that match their lives,” he said.