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Why I Stopped Applying For Data Science Jobs

And Why You Should Consider Following Suit

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

September had come round, it’s 2020; The Covid-19 pandemic is still in full effect. Employers’ free furlough period was coming to an end. All companies were subject to contributing 20% towards 80% of all furloughed workers full salaries from October onwards – that’s if they wanted to keep them on.

I was a furloughed worker.

I remember being contacted by HR… "Unfortunately Kurtis, we have come to a conclusion that your role as a Machine Learning Engineer is going to be made redundant – ", from that point on I completely zoned out.

Damn!

I’d spent the last 18 months there and had nothing to show for it. I could point the finger since there were never any talks of plans to introduce data-driven decisions into the company’s workflow, but I’m big on taking responsibility for my bloopers. Besides, Covid-19 had hit the company badly. They had no room for luxury employees. I was a luxury employee.

Crazily enough, I had been contemplating leaving long before. I knew my days there were numbered, but I just didn’t expect it to be so soon or in this way.

I thought I could nick a few more paycheques whilst I tried to cover my own back for the decision I was about to make. If I’m honest, I reckon my line manager clocked on. During the last few days in the office, he couldn’t help but notice the transformation in my fashion sense.

"Wow, KP… Nice shoes. No more fancy trainers then?" He would say with a smirk on his face.

Either way, the decision was final. There was no way I was going to rush back into a new job. It was almost as if I just got out of a toxic relationship – I wasn’t ready to make that commitment again.

Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing were high on my ‘to learn’ list for 2020. Maybe this was a sign from the heavens to buckle down and stop putting it off – this was possibly confirmed by the fact that my LinkedIn Inbox was becoming plagued with freelance opportunities.

I followed my intuition.

Months had passed since I last had full-time work. I’d added some cool new projects to gloss up my Github portfolio, leveraging the new skills I’ve learned from taking the Deep Learning specialization and the Natural Language Processing specialization on Coursera.

I remember telling my friend "I’ve never felt more job-ready in my life than I do now". It was finally time to get back into full-time work.

That wouldn’t last long…

It only took 15 applications into my job hunt for my next adventure before it hit me…

"Maybe applying for jobs isn’t necessarily the best way to be a Data Scientist"

It sounds counterproductive, I know. Just hear me out!

To Get A Job, Get Attention

It’s no doubt that Data Science jobs are in high demand – look at the number of applications one job role gets when it’s uploaded on LinkedIn. I once spoke to a recruiter and they told me that they were receiving anywhere between 150–250 job applications per day.

Getting A Data Science Job is Harder Than Ever

It gave me a rough idea of what I was up against, but at the same time, it made me wonder how I could possibly stand out amongst all of those applicants.

Some people opt for different color schemes instead of the traditional black and white resume. Some people send out a bunch of cold emails and InMails (LinkedIn) to people they think could have a bit of influence in the hiring process – funnily enough, I’ve had a few of these. If only they knew.

In general, there are lots of ways people attempt to make their application stand out.

In my opinion, I believe getting a Data Science job is about making yourself stand out to the people hiring.

Whether you’re the right candidate for the job or not is subject to the interpretation of whoever is looking at your application – talk less of the various other factors that affect their decision-making on the day.

I don’t believe I’m alone when I say a resume could never truly reflect what a person could bring to the table. However, I am aware it would be counterproductive for companies to meet every single person that sends in an application.

How do you make yourself stand out then?

If I think back to every single freelance gig I’ve landed, I see a very interesting pattern forming…

Not once have I ever applied for any of them!

I was merely going about my business, networking with people on LinkedIn, and sharing the content and projects I was creating out of my own personal interest rather than in hope of landing a job. Before I knew it, people came knocking at my door for my services.

In the beginning, I wasn’t so deliberate with this strategy hence it resulted in lots of random job offers. When I realized people were only approaching me based on how they perceived me, and I dictate the perception people have of me online based on what I share, I created a strategy that was much more focused and tailored to the type of problems I actually want to work on.

The moral of the story, share the exciting things that you’re doing and people will come to you. Additionally, it’s always good to be as deliberate as you can about the content you share.

Note: The article below delves deeper into this method. It was originally created with freelancing in mind, but I’ve also recieved a fair share of permanent offers (that I haven’t accepted since it wasn’t what I wanted) by implementing this strategy.

5 Ways To Attract Freelance Data Science Clients To You

The Rise of Freelancing

Freelance work has been around ages, but today, it’s becoming more of a common occurrence in the work world. There are many reasons why people may decide to go freelance ranging from the flexibility to create your own work hours, the power to earn some extra cash and in some cases a lot more than you could earn at a full-time gig, as well as the ability to decide the type of projects you wish to take on.

Employers are also witnessing lots of benefits in hiring freelancers instead of full-time employees. As a result, there has been a steady rise in these types of opportunities in the marketplace.

Freelancing May Be The Best Way To Do Data Science in 2021

Initially, freelancing was only supposed to be something I’d do just to get by financially for the months I was without a full-time job. I’d never applied for a freelance gig, nor did I know how to, hence why I couldn’t help but feel unsettled about what the future held for me.

"What if they terminate the contract?"

"What if I can’t do the work?"

"What if I get a bad review?"

"What about my employee benefits?"

In the beginning, I didn’t feel half as secure as I did when I was an employee – of course, now I know it was merely an illusion – but as time went on, I continued to receive more and more offers to freelance in my inbox on LinkedIn.

An example of someone that reached out to me on LinkedIn - Idententy has been blurred for confidentiality; Image by Author
An example of someone that reached out to me on LinkedIn – Idententy has been blurred for confidentiality; Image by Author

I know I am extremely fortunate to have people coming to me with work, and I am forever grateful that I am in this position. However, it goes without saying that I have done a tremendous amount of work to put myself in this position, and even now I am always thinking of ways I could better myself to attract better opportunities.

With such options, why on earth would I decide to stress myself out by applying for jobs?

Oh, I forgot to add… I earn more now as a freelancer than when I had a full-time job… I work 20 hours less.

The Backwards Law

This reason throws a bit of philosophy into the mix…

The backward law, or the law of reversed effort, was coined by philosopher Alan Watts. It conveys the idea that the more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place. For instance, if you desperately desire to be rich then you’re likely to feel more poor and unworthy despite how much you currently make.

"When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; But when you try to sink, you float" – Alan Watts

With that being said, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want to be a Data Scientist. The thought of working on exciting Data Science projects with really smart people, who share my passion for making the world a better, safer place is enough to get me pumped for a gym workout.

The backward law emphasizes that by putting too much focus on the outcome, we end up putting the outcome on a pedestal; Essentially, focusing on what you desire only reinforces to your subconscious mind that you are currently lacking that thing.

Instead, we should focus more on the actions required to achieve the goal. This builds a subconscious self-image in our minds that corresponds with a person that has achieved the goal, therefore, we would think and act like the person that we want to become – which means it’s only a matter of time before it manifests in the real world.

To put it into context…

By fixating my attention on the actions that are performed by a Data Scientist and consistently performing actions that correspond, I would be providing my subconscious mind with enough evidence to form the belief that I am already the Data Scientist that I so wish to become – the one that works on exciting projects with really smart people who wish to make the world a better, safer place – and this would influence my actions, as well as thought patterns, to act accordingly until it actually materializes in the real world.

Final Thought

I understand that my situation is different from others that may read this article. I am not implying that everyone should follow my strategy when structuring their career. At the end of the day, it all boils down to what strategy works best for you and what makes you feel most peaceful.

For some, it may be pleasant to make tons of applications to lots of job vacancies— although I’m yet to meet someone that genuinely enjoys this process. For me, this method simply does not go down very well. If you’re enjoying success doing it the way you have been doing then you may as well continue, but if not then maybe it’s time for a change.

Thank you for reading!

Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date with my posts about Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Freelancing.

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