What you haven’t been told about applying for Data Science jobs

Working at a tech-based headhunting startup focused on the Fintech industry we get a lot of people asking for career advice in the industry. A lot of these questions, although worded differently, are the same and thus we have developed a few generic responses we think will be really helpful for anyone trying to get a job to do with data science within the tech industry.

As you know tech is the place to be, so if you’re one of the many looking to make the smart choice and enter into a data science job hopefully this article will help you out.

If your applications are getting lost in the crowd, no need to beat yourself up, a 2-3% interview rate can be totally normal. There are two main reasons for this.

The first is that employers use what is called an applicant tracking system, which allows them to see where their best applicants are coming from. If you apply through a service that hasn’t served them well in the past they’re less likely to spend their time on your application. Websites like Indeed are ones to watch out for with this as so many people apply through them.

To get around this use newer sites such as Work at a startup or ManaSearch. Not only will there be less poor applicants applying through them but you will also stand out as someone who is going out of their way and using initiative to find a job that suits them perfectly.

The second reason your tech-based applications may not be getting the responses you want is office politics. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true. There is often a rift between engineers and the HR staff hiring you. The HR staff quite often don’t know what to look for so try their best not to waste the engineers time and this can often lead to a lot of people being left out. That’s why you’ll find a lot of engineers hiring through networks and back-channels as a way to pick up new talent.

On the back of that, some of the best advice we can give you is to start getting involved with engineer-driven meetups in your given area of interest. That means don’t just turn up, really get involved. These people will help you with everything to do with your career and may even become some of your closest friends. Network to get work!