A Hiring Manager Who Went Through 120 Resumes for a Junior Data Scientist Role
Originally published here
You want a job, and you send your resume to all of the companies in your area. But what if no one calls you back? Get ready for some tips from a hiring manager who went through 120 resumes for a Junior Data Scientist Role. This is an eye-opening account of how bad resumes and cover letters can get ignored by employers, so make sure that yours stands out!
Background: I was looking to hire a junior data scientist to join my data science team. I was told that there’s a great skill shortage, especially in the IT and data fields. Perhaps due to Covid border closures (I am in Australia where we still closed our borders for most non-Australians) or “The Great Resignation” that is happening everywhere, I wasn’t sure the level of talent that I would get. Because of the uncertainty, I left the job description very general. I was looking for some SQL knowledge with python coding experience.
1. Hiring managers spend about 6 seconds looking at a resume before deciding whether or not to keep reading
As much as I want to tell you that I reviewed every resume thoroughly, I simply couldn’t. I only had time to glance at each resume for about six seconds before deciding on whether or not it was worth my time reading. And if I didn’t think so, I went straight to the next one. Believe it or not, the vast majority of the resumes looked like one of the MS office templates with little, if any customization.
Even though I don’t have any problem with resume templates that are easy to use, I still wanted to see something customized in some way. Don’t get me wrong, I was not expecting them to put a unique spin on their resume template. But at least make it look like you did something with the template! It’s simple enough for someone (like myself) who spends less than six seconds looking at each resume before assessing the amount of effort you have put in.
Consider your resume as your marketing pamphlet. You are selling yourself, and your resume is your ticket to getting that interview. You want your resume to stand out in some way, not blend in with the rest of them!
2. People who included a cover letter had better chances of getting an interview than those without one
Purposefully, in the job ad, I didn’t ask for a cover letter. I wanted to see if the applicants cared enough to do a cover letter to tell me why they think they would make a good fit. I also wanted to potentially rule out those resume submitting services that I heard about too. So it was easy to rule out those applicants without a cover letter. I still reviewed some of the resumes without a cover letter, but not all.
A few things that I noticed:
- Remember to address the hiring manager. Try to avoid “hiring committee” or “to whom it may concern.”
- The first paragraph should address why you are applying for the role. Make your sales pitch.
- Examples of the previous projects should be written very concisely. Hit the major points. Make sure you say what you did, not only what the project was about.
You should also better use the keywords relevant to your skill set, industry, or experience in previous positions you’ve held. Using these key terms will help HR match you with appropriate opportunities more quickly than they would otherwise.
3. Before applying, research the company and make sure you’re qualified for the position
When you start looking for a new role, you often apply for as many as possible. Trust me, I did the same thing a few years ago. However, if you’re not familiar with the company and don’t know what they do or why you want to work there, it’s unlikely that your resume will get a second look. Remember that it’s pretty easy to spot cover letters and resumes prepared without doing any research about the company.
Make sure you’ve done your homework on both the firm and the role before applying for any position. It does not need to be lengthy. Simply reading through their website and news stories is enough. One more tip: schedule a quick call with the hiring manager to ask a few questions. It’s one way to stand out.
4. Most people used the same words to describe themselves, such as “expert”, “hard worker”, and “creative thinker”
It was a junior role, yet I saw many resumes with “expert” level skills in all technical areas, e.g., Python, SQL, machine learning, agile methodology, NLP, etc. Really? It was a bit of BS, or they were aiming really low. I assumed the former. All I wanted to see was that they had some experience.
When using common terms like “I am a hard worker” or “a creative thinker,” you have to showcase that you are a hard worker or a creative thinker. If not, I will assume the opposite; it led to a lot of eye-rolling.
You might be thinking, “but what is wrong with saying these words?”. The issue is when you use the same language over and over throughout your resume & cover letter.
I suggest the following:
- Only use one or two words like “hard worker” in your cover letter if you can adequately explain what you mean by a hard worker, e.g., working for xx hour weeks and still having energy leftover or wanting to work on weekends/evenings because of your passion for the field.
- If you say things like “I am a hard worker” or “a creative thinker,” show examples of this. Do not just describe it and assume I will know what that means.
Don’t be generic; go into detail! It shows me your experience and also makes my job easier to see if you fit our company’s culture.
5. Remember that your willingness to learn is more important than your experience, especially for a junior role.
It’s reasonable to assume that a junior data scientist wouldn’t be expected to know precisely how to build solutions for challenging data projects. A hiring manager is looking for someone who will do the job if given the proper training and guidance. Not only that, but it’s most likely that you are just starting your career. That means we are interested in how willing you are to learn new things and what motivates you at work. If you say you know how to do everything, but you don’t want to learn anything new, you are not the right fit for pretty much any role.
Managers are thinking about how easy it would be to work with you, the existing team, and manage you. Key ingredients are one’s willingness to listen, learn, adapt, and be humble. Thus, say in your cover letter that you did not know how to do something, but you worked with others and learned new skills to solve problems. That would be music to most managers’ ears.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope that it gave you some helpful insight into making your resume stand out among other candidates and get noticed by hiring managers. If you liked what you read, please leave a comment below with any questions or thoughts! Have a good day 🙂
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