Competing on Supply

Seeking jobs without any proper guidance could be a long and stressful process, especially when it comes to changing your career direction. A more technical field like Data Analytics and Data Science can be quite difficult to enter if one does not possess the necessary skillset required by employers.

I have a MSc degree specializing in Applied Mathematics. With numerous exposures to STEM subjects and mathematical background, I was under the impression that seeking a Data Analyst job should not be too hard. Though I did not know much about Python or SQL, I have the knowledge of mathematics and statistics, which were essential to a Data Analyst or Data Scientist. But as it turns out, without knowing what the market wants from you, you spend twice the effort to get half the result.

That’s exactly what happened to me, so I changed my strategy. Instead of trying to convince the employers that I am capable of learning on the job, I took a step back and registered for a bootcamp to acquire the employable skills, including but not limited to Python, SQL, Excel, Data visualization and business analytics.

Having the right skillset is one huge step forward, but the bigger challenge would be to face, yet again, dreadful application processes. Before entering the mentorship program, I applied to at least 500 jobs and only got 5 interviews without much success to speak of. It was likely that, of all the jobs that I had applied for, most of my resumes were flushed out by ATS without being looked at by a human recruiter. The thought of me fighting a bot processing my resumes to no avail was depressing. It made sense to change the course of action and rework my resume, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I really needed another pair of eyes to provide some insider perspectives.

Winning on Demand

This was when I met Rafat Anwar, who was once a mentee at WeCareer, now an experienced mentor passing on his own skills and experience. Here is the first recommendation I have for anyone that seeks mentorship: Ask yourself what you really want at the end of the day. It may sound like a simple question to many people. They will likely answer, “I want to be a Data Analyst or Data Scientist.” You should ask yourself more specific questions, like, “Do you really want to write Python scripts and build machine learning models most of time at work as a Data Scientist?” Understanding what your dream job is and what skills are required is the first step to writing up a good resume and preparing for interviews.

With the help of my mentor, I set a goal to apply for at least 10 jobs a day. It may sound like an easy task, but it could be difficult to keep up as there may not be many active postings available, given the search criteria you set for yourself. Even with an updated resume, I seemed to receive no reply from employers for most of my applications. That is normal. The demand for Data Analysts and Data Scientists has been increasing every year, and so has the supply. This is when you really need a mentor who understands the situation and gives you feedback and support. Otherwise, the job search depression can be hard to overcome. I’d like to thank my mentor Rafat, who kept me calm and steady during the unsuccessful period. We touched base regularly to strategize on how to get more interviews, followed up on any progress, designed tactics for interview questions, and conducted mock interviews. Finally, I seized an interview opportunity that was presented to me and delivered my best performance. Now here I am, in my current position working as a Software Consultant, which is a client facing role dedicated in software configuration projects and solving data issues for large clients. This is a great starting position in my career and will serve as an anchor point going forward.

To me, the mentorship isn’t for the mentor to spoon feed the mentee, but rather for the mentor to give the mentee the guidance, point them in the right direction, and most importantly pass on their own experience to avoid miss-steps. From enrolling in my mentorship to finally landing a new job, it only took me two and a half months. I am sure it would have taken me much longer without my mentor’s support. Getting a mentor can absolutely help you find a better job faster. Rafat was my first mentor. I am sure that I will seek help from more mentors to advance my career. I wish that one day, when I am in a senior position, I will also pass on my experience and passion to help those in need.