Data Science & Data Analytics Careers: FAQ
Q: What is an example of something about the data science/analytics job search that you have learned through observation of your students’ experiences?
A: The networking benefit that can accrue to someone through the job search process itself.
Of course, there’s nothing innovative, novel, or surprising about the advice to “get out there and network.” Every person who has ever been in the job market for more than a minute has heard this advice. However, it’s not always clear exactly how someone should do this — where should they go? What should they avoid? And how do they go from “Hi, nice to meet you” to “Will you hire me?”
A job applicant could attend some sort of data analytics mixer event, have a perfectly wonderful time, but come home not sure what had really been “gained” in the sense of professional networking. What if, for instance, most of the conversations that he or she had struck up were with fellow job seekers, rather than companies looking to hire?
But okay, back to the answer here. Every contact that a person makes through the job search process is a form of networking. And this form of networking is super-direct — by definition, a job applicant is looking to be hired, and a recruiter/hirer is looking to fill positions.
As long as the job applicant is mature enough to understand that every rejection should not be taken personally, he can hugely leverage this to his advantage. A job applicant won’t always know the precise behind-the-scenes reason for some company’s decision — however, if he has been invited back for a 2nd round, 3rd round, and a final interview, he can quite reasonably deduce that this company was seriously assessing his candidacy. If the offer for *this* particular position doesn’t come, he already has a huge leg up on some future position at the company, which inevitably will open up, as long he stays professional, doesn’t burn any bridges, and is willing to move past this one rejection.
The networking that he has already applied during this process literally could not be more direct — he has gotten to know the people at the company who make the hiring decisions, and they have gotten to know him. When a future position opens up, and it’s the right fit, they just might “fast-track” this applicant to a late-stage round.
How do I know this?
Because I have witnessed this story, or some close variant of this story, unfold dozens of times.
This advice is useful for anyone, but it’s especially important for international students, who often start the job search without any network of contacts in the local area — do not underestimate the power of the network that you will build through the search itself.
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