Breaking into the data science industry is not an easy thing to do. Assuming you can get eyes on your resume, you need to pass interview after interview before landing your first offer. What can you do to improve your chances of landing a data science job with little to no experience? Specifically, which platforms and techniques are the best for breaking into the data science industry right now?

TL;DR - AngelList and direct reach outs on LinkedIn

        When I started applying to entry-level data jobs in September of 2020 I ran into an incredibly frustrating problem: I could not land an interview. I disciplined myself to apply to somewhere around 15 jobs and directly reach out to 10 people on LinkedIn every day. I ended up applying to literally hundreds of different jobs whose job title included “data”, was located anywhere inside or outside of the United States, and would look at anyone with 0-2 years of experience. Since I had a feeling that I wasn’t the only college grad feeling the pinch of a brutal job market, I kept close track of each of my applications for future analysis. Now, I am the future me and this is that analysis.

        I sent in job applications using a variety of different platforms including AngelList, Indeed, Monster, LinkedIn, and direct applications to company websites. Since applications on platforms like Indeed and Monster showed no improvement of interview rates despite their higher application effort, they were quickly abandoned. At most I submitted ~50 applications this way.

        Below we can see the overall hiring funnels I experienced with AngelList, LinkedIn applications, and direct reach outs over LinkedIn (which I call the “SharpestMinds” technique, because that is the company I learned it from). This data was collected by parsing application confirmation emails (ex. f“re: Your application to {company_name} was successfully submitted”), reviewing site application overview pages, and good old-fashioned hand-collecting data.  Please pay close attention to the scale of each platform.

        Note that an “interview” for a SharpestMinds application meant that someone from LinkedIn agreed to speak with me about the position. While this wasn’t a formal job interview, it is the type of chat that actually led to my first full-time data science job (Shout-out to all the people who took time out of their day to talk with me about their jobs!). 

        As we can see, LinkedIn’s application process was clearly not helping me land any jobs. Furthermore it involved entering a lot of repetitive information, which does a really good job of killing the soul. The second best method of searching for jobs was through AngelList (the platform that landed me my current job). With AngelList all I needed to do was set up a nice-looking profile and applications were quite literally the click of a button. Furthermore, AngelList employers were actually calling me back! That is a huge psychological win that cannot be understated. AngelList, I am available for sponsorships!

        Speaking of psychological wins, hands down the best tried-and-true method for job-hunting is the SharpestMinds technique. Using this technique, you craft a concise and polite message to a person who works at the company that is hiring. Specifically, you’re looking for someone who works in the same city where the job will be with a job title similar to the position you are looking for. Also for some reason people are more likely to hear you out when they say “we’re hiring!” in their profile’s LinkedIn headline.  Below is the exact message I sent that ended up getting me to work at Booz Allen:

Hi BOOZ ALLEN EMPLOYEE,

I noticed you're currently working at Booz Allen Hamilton and I am considering applying for the Junior Data Scientist role there. Would you be able to spare a few minutes of your valuable time for a quick chat about your experience there?

Thanks very much,

William

        I ended up hopping on a call with the employee and sending him my resume (a topic for another blog post). About 10 days later, the employee put in three different referrals for me to Booz Allen Hamilton. Like my SharpestMinds mentor Andrew Mao said: a referral is a golden ticket. These referrals led to an interview, which led to an offer, which led to negotiations, which led to my very first full-time job in data science. J

        Below we can see the final results of interview rates (number of interviews / number of applications) for each job search technique. I needed to send 10 applications to land a call with someone by using the SharpestMinds technique and over 100 applications to speak with someone using LinkedIn. I would also note that the reduced level of effort required to send in AngelList applications makes AngelList a close contendor with the SharpestMinds technique.

       My hiring funnel for all of these platforms looked like an exponential decay curve, but yours doesn't have to! I have taken the liberty to simulate a few different scenarios that you may encounter on your job search. The way to achieve any of these hiring funnels will be an exercise left to the reader.

        While it might be intimidating to send direct messages and set up phone/zoom interviews, it beats the monotony and apathy of online applications by a longshot. The reward of being able to talk to actual human beings about a job opening makes the leap entirely worth it. At the very least you get to increase your number of connections on LinkedIn and maybe even learn something about the DS industry.