When I graduated from a coding Bootcamp, I was flooded with a barrage of emotions and ideas. Feelings of accomplishment, determination, nervousness, and questions entered my head. I’ve done it, what’s next? Where do I go from here? And all the usual thoughts someone gets when they enter the next chapter of their life. But one question always remained:
How do I find a job?
When and Where did I graduate?
To begin, I attended a Coding bootcamp called Flatiron School in NYC. My program of choice was Data Science. To keep it short and simple, I chose Data Science because of the appeal of using Machine Learning and my background in Python.
I graduated in October 2019 after 15 weeks of studying machine learning, statistics, Python programming, and data analysis. I learned so much from relatively basic Data Science libraries like numpy to more complex ones such as TensorFlow.
Post-Graduation
After I graduated, Flatiron School assisted me by providing me with my very own job search coach and numerous online job resources. These resources ranged from helping me construct a good-looking résumé to networking with other tech professionals.
One important thing I learned from this period of time was that job searching itself is an extremely valuable skill that is often overlooked. One example of this is that not many people know to tailor their résumés and cover letters for each job post. I for one did not know about this as I would previously send just the same generic résumés and cover letters to each potential employer. However, I did not find my current job solely because of my résumé or cover letter.
The Job Search Process
My job search journey started immediately after I graduated from Flatiron School. I had some interviews and phone calls but nothing really took off. I added my projects to my Github profile and résumé. I applied to numerous job postings on LinkedIn and reached out to many Data Scientists working at companies I wanted to work for hoping to get a referral. I had some great conversations with many people (and even some awkward ones) I still remember to this day.
Everything was moving much slower than I anticipated as I expected to receive a job offer within 6 months of graduating. During those 6 months, my classmates started to receive their share of job offers. The feeling of being left behind started to creep up on me. I even fell short on several job interviews because of questions and answers that I was supposed know.
Pressing On
Even during those slow periods, I continued working on new projects and articles. Anything to keep my Data Science and programming skills sharp. I kept track of all my contacts and when I should follow up with them. I’ll admit that I annoyed my fair share of managers and recruiters just so I could hear back from them.
Nothing was really taking off. But, my articles and their respective projects began to receive some attention…
Writing Articles
One of the requirements during my time in Flatiron School was to write one article every other week. At the time, this seemed very overwhelming. How was I supposed to balance lessons, projects, and now writing? I didn’t know it at the time but I would start to enjoy writing.
After graduation and during my Job Search, I was still required to publish articles, but this time it was going to be every week. It was all part of the school’s money-back guarantee program. It was daunting but doable.
Articles and Projects
As I wrote my weekly articles, I started to create companion projects related to them. This would allow me to learn and practice my data science skills as well as write my articles. (Feel free to check out one of my first companion pieces below):
I Built a Machine Learning Model to Trade Stocks like Warren Buffett (Part 1)
Networking with My Articles
My articles were gaining attention. I started to receive messages from strangers on LinkedIn. These messages ranged from general appreciation and connect requests to opportunities to collaborate on projects.
I began to realize my articles were slowly turning into passive job applications. I began to realize that these articles would become my biggest assets during the job search process. With that in mind, I started to really showcase my articles on my resumes, cover letters, and networking messages on LinkedIn.
Messaging with Article Links
I was still applying to numerous jobs. However, I tried a different approach. I would apply, then message the company’s recruiter or manager. In these messages, I would link to one of my articles and explain why they should check them out. Hopefully, the articles would demonstrate my skillset and show why I would be a great fit for their company.
Most times, the messages received no response. But then other times, I would get an enthusiastic response. I am not entirely sure if linking my articles improved the response rate but I do believe it helped me stand out.
From Article to Job Interview
In one instance, I was able to get connected with the Director of Data Science for a small to mid-size company. My networking email to him included a link to one of my articles. (You can see the exact article I linked to if you’re interested):
He eagerly replied to my email with an invitation to video chat with him. After the video chat, I was invited for a formal interview at their company building. There I endured a 2+ hour interview process. It wasn’t as intimidating as I anticipated and I was subsequently invited to another interview.
After I finished the next interview, I was ecstatic! I thought I would definitely get the job. But unfortunately, this was not the case. I received a call from them a week later with the news that I did not get the position. (On another note, Covid hit NYC about a month later after this interview and I might have been let go anyways).
I was never given an answer as to why I didn’t get that job but that was to be expected. In the job search process, you will rarely receive a response about why you didn’t get the job.
Moving Forward
However, that didn’t stop me from continuing to reach out with links to my articles. I still pressed on with my networking messages. I was able to connect with people who read my articles and were also interested in offering me freelance opportunities.
Writing Articles to Freelance Data Scientist
As I continued writing articles, I brainstormed a Data Science project that would utilize ML clustering and a recommendation system. I had felt I did not get enough practice with these concepts and skills. So, I decided to write a series of articles related to them.
What I wanted to do for this project and series was to create a dating algorithm with machine learning. (You can read about it below if you’re interested):
Freelance and Collaboration
As it would turn out, plenty of people found my article very interesting. To this day, I still receive messages about my dating algorithm articles. One person reached out to offer me a freelance position. In this position, I was finally able to utilize my data science skillset. It was an independent position with little to no oversight. I still managed to get by and learned some more important data science tools.
While freelancing, I established a somewhat consistent monetary return for the work I was doing. I wasn’t making as much as I would if I were working for a large company but it was something. In the meantime, I was still applying and searching for a job in the long run.
Freelancing was great for the time being but it was just too uncertain compared to having an established role at a company.
The Job Offer
After some time, I received a message from someone that had read my dating algorithm article. He wanted to speak to me about an idea he and his business partner had that related to my dating algorithm articles.
He and I had many calls back and forth to fully establish what he needed from me. I asked numerous questions about the idea and the company. What are your expectations of me? How much will I be paid? Who will I be working with? When does this need to be done? He answered each of these questions promptly.
I tried to be sure that this wasn’t just a normal freelancing opportunity. He assured me that I would receive a formal job offer after freelancing with the company for 3 months. I wasn’t entirely confident but what did I have to lose? At best, I would freelance for them and get an official long time offer. At worst, I get 3 months paid experience. So I decided to just go for it.
The Job Now
As of writing this, it has been about 10 months since I started with this company. I did in fact receive an official job offer letter 3 months later. When I received it, I was relieved and excited to finally get out of the job search process and into the programming field. I’ve finally done it after basically a year of job searching through Covid, networking messages, and job applications!
The process may have taken longer than expected but it was still an experience for growth and learning. My only regret is that I should have continued my writing even after receiving the job offer. Now I am trying to get back into it. I never knew that my articles would eventually help in getting me a job!
