Job hunting is hard, especially if it is your first time. After a few jobs and several hundreds of applications, I wanted to share with you my experiences. Here I will discuss five lessons learned through job hunting and tips to help you in your search.
1. Don’t Focus on the Job Title
Suppose you are looking for a job working with data. In that case, the job title can vary significantly from a data analyst, data scientist, machine learning engineer to a data engineer, and more. There are so many jobs that allow you to work with data. Focusing solely on job title can make it easy to miss opportunities that are out there. Instead, try focusing on the skills you have, the skills you want to have, and the type of company you are interested in working with.
For myself, I knew I wanted to work in Python, Spark, and Big Data. Instead of looking for job titles, I use keywords to search for jobs and companies that focus on big data processing with Spark and Python. I was open to a company of any size and industry as long as the team and culture felt the right fit. Searching for keywords instead of job title helped expand my searches and show what other positions were available that I would not have generally seen if I was only looking for "data scientist."
2. Showcase Your Work
When I first started job hunting for internships, I didn’t have much experience and wasn’t sure what to include. Through my own experiences, I have found showcasing my work, and the projects I have done is of interest to those reading my resume. Showcasing your work can come in many different forms: publications, Github, personal websites, and more. Find the way that works best for you and showcase the work you have done in your field. If you are in college and looking for what to include, consider:
- What projects have you worked on? What skills have you learned from those projects?
- Did you have any internships in which you can discuss the work you did there?
- Did you do any research projects that you can share posters or publications?
- What side projects do you have, and what did you learn from those?
When I showcase my work, I focus on the research projects I have done, the posters I have presented, and publications that I have written. I want to include the projects that I can speak to and understand well, which I received questions on. Find what works best for you to showcase your work, and share that on your resume and LinkedIn.
You can showcase your work by building your personal brand online. Be open to promoting yourself and what it is that you are capable of. Your brand shows the experiences you have had, the skills you possess, and your personality. Your brand is your story that you present on social media through your projects, resume, and stories.
To showcase my work now, I am sharing my experiences working in Data Science and engineering. I share what I have done, what I have learned, and where I am going. On my LinkedIn, I speak about the accomplishments of my job and lessons learned. How is it that you are presenting yourself to others?
3. Share the KPIs of Your Projects on Your Resume
Along with showcasing your work comes developing KPIs for your projects. What did you change or improve as you did this project? This aspect of my resume took me the longest to understand and utilize. When people want to see your work, they also want to see your results. They want to know what it is that you achieved.
When looking at the following statement, it is clear that I developed documentation to aid in reducing the time to onboard new employees. What is unclear is the amount of time reduced by this statement. What was the outcome of this work?
❌ I developed detailed documentation, reducing the time to onboard new employees.
Taking this line, we can capture time to onboard before the changes (2 weeks) and time to onboard after the changes (2 days). With this information, I can now back up my statement and explain the reduction in time to onboard new employees.
✅ I developed detailed documentation reducing time to onboard new employees from 2 weeks to 2 days, resulting in an 80% reduction in time to onboard.
Learning to capture performance before and after an update has helped me immensely, not just on my resume but also presenting at work. There will be times you need to deliver the value-added from a project and have KPIs that show how your work improved the process helps drive your point home.
A method that has helped me significantly understand how to describe my work is STAR: situation, task, action, and result. Since learning about that method, I have used it in interviews, annual reviews resumes, and more. The way I do that is to write one sentence for each letter of the acronym. Are there any methods you have found helpful?
4. Know the Type of Company You Want to Work For and Understand the Work Culture You Thrive Best In
As you are Job Hunting, consider what type of company and work culture you are looking for. As I worked my way through internships, I understood what I was looking for in a company. I knew I wanted to work reasonable hours focusing on work-life balance, and I wanted a team that focused on collaboration. As I looked for a job and sat in interviews, I made sure the questions I asked included ones targeted towards what I wanted. I wanted to make sure I understood how the team operated, how the company operated, and the overall expectations of the position. If you know you work best in a fast-paced, start-up company, then focus your job hunt on places that will give you that. It would help if you found what works best for you and targeted your search for companies that align with your expectations.
5. Don’t Settle on Your First Offer
As you look for a job, it can be tempting to settle on your first offer. Even if you need to take a job to support yourself, if you are not 100% happy with the position, keep up the hunt while you work. You should find a job, a team, and a company that makes you happy when you go to work.
One job I had was not ideal for me. I would go to work and not be happy with the work I was doing. The company culture they were promoting was not something I supported, and it was not a conducive environment to work in. I felt trapped in a job that would not get me to where I wanted to be in my career. Even as I worked, I focused on finding a way out, trying to find something that would put me where I needed. I needed to be growing as an engineer and data scientist, advancing my skills and learning.
Just because you get a job doesn’t mean you need to settle. If you find it is not right for you, then continue to look for what is. You need to put your health and happiness first.
Summary
- Don’t Focus on the Job Title
- Showcase Your Work
- Share the KPIs of Your Projects on Your Resume
- Know the Type of Company You Want to Work For, and Understand the Work Culture You Thrive Best In
- Don’t Settle on Your First Offer
What have you learned in your job hunt that you would share with others?
If you would like to read more, check out some of my other articles below!
Top 8 Most Common Questions I Get Asked as a Data Scientist
Effective Data Science Requires Strong Collaboration with Data Engineering