How to Crack Data Science Interviews | 7-Step Framework

Key Takeaways

recruiters go through 150 applications to find a single great hire for a data science role that's a 0.6 percent selection rate telling us how challenging it is to become a data scientist today I know candidates who have all the skills required for the job and yet they keep facing rejections in interviews do you know what the reason for this is It's the lack of a structured preparation framework and in this video I'll be giving you a seven step framework for cracking your next data science interview all right then let's get started here's step number one understand the different roles in data science the first thing you need to understand is that there are a variety of roles in data science ecosystem a typical data science project has a life cycle that's made up of several function and data science is just one amongst them here's a quick run through of the different job roles that currently exist we have data engineer we have data scientists business analysts data analysts machine learning Engineers I could really go on but you got the idea right it's important for you to research these different roles and identify the ones that are suitable for you because each of these skills require specific skill set and have different expectations for example if you aspire to become a data engineer you need to have a strong Python and software engineering background but communication skills are not that critical on the other hand for a business analyst role you need to have good Communications and problem solving skill and you may not need to know software engineering that well by the way we have done lots of informative videos on data science related topics so do let us know in the comment section which data science role you are aspiring for and will provide you with a curated playlist for your preparation all right here's step number two build your digital presence more than 80 percent of recruiters we spoke to admitted they check a candidate's LinkedIn profile before calling them for an interview and this makes sense right the recruiter want evidences of the claims you make in your resume and that is why you need to build a strong digital presence for instance you may create a GitHub account upload your projects making recruiters see your work nothing more convincing than a well-documented code right secondly you should have a LinkedIn profile we recently did a video on building a strong LinkedIn profile to get a job in 2023. do check out the link in the description part below thirdly you may start writing blogs on LinkedIn and medium that's how you build credibility and enhance your chances of getting an interview the options are endless you need to pick the medium depending on the role you want to apply for all right here's step number three prepare your resume and start applying if I had to pick the toughest step in the data science hiring process this would be it and mind you I'm putting this even ahead of in-person technical interviews every recruiter or hiring manager has their own criteria for judging candidates so designing a crisp and concise resume is the first thing you should consider make sure your resume reflects the relevant technical skills you will need for the job you might be a PowerPoint wizard but that should not be your key skill for a data engineering role right create separate resume for different roles a startup usually have very different Hands-On expectations as compared to an established corporate firm so make sure you make two separate versions of your resume emphasizing these two aspects once your resume is ready expand your job search remember job portals are not the only way to apply for data science roles in fact they are the least effective manner of searching for a job you may leverage your social network in form of job referrals or participate in hackathons data science competitions to get noticed all right here's step number four telephonic screening if you have reached this stage congratulate yourself since this is a telephonic or a virtual call setup you can prepare answers to frequently asked questions well in advance take this round as seriously as the other steps a casual Vibe is enough to throw the recruiter off additionally always minimize distraction in the room where you will take the call you can also take no notes throughout the call for your later reference here's step number five getting through the case study if the telephonic round went well there's a good chance you might be asked to do an assignment now not every company has a case study round but it's best to be prepared right you can expect to face one of the below types of assignment you could get a take home assignment where you will typically be provided with a problem statement a data set and asked to solve the challenge within a span of few days the second category could be on-site assignment this is often integrated into the in-person interview rounds you might be asked to spend anywhere between three to eight hours on this particular type of submission typically these assignments act as a filter and would usually be basic in nature to ensure you have the skills you've claimed in your resume so here's step number six in-person interactions expect multiple rounds of interactions at this stage you will likely meet your hiring manager data science project team project manager and HR person during during these rounds here you will be judged on your structured thinking analytical and logical reasoning programming and machine learning knowledge among other things writing down SQL queries or explaining your thought process be ready for all of these aspects lastly here's step number seven post interview once you are done with the in-person interviews you should follow it up with a thank you note to the recruitment team make sure you are honoring any commitment you might have made such as sharing a presentation or a piece of code you may have written you have done the hard work it's time to wrap things up and bring that dream role home and that wraps up the seven step framework for data science interviews hope this video helps you in your next interview preparation don't forget to hit the Subscribe button and stay tuned for more career tips and advice here at analytics with their Channel and as always if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comment section below happy job hunting to you bye