IU #018: How to Land Your Dream Job in Data

A Different Way to Get Exactly What You Want

Author

Michael Dillon
October 13, 2023

For the past 3 years, I’ve helped data professionals to land their dream job.

Looking back, my 60 coaching calls all started the same way. Every client say, ‘I’ve applied for endless jobs, but I don't hear anything back. I don’t know where I’m going wrong.’

It’s normal to find this stressful.

When life feels out of our control, you feel annoyed. When you get no feedback, you feel confused. When you grind through this process a hundred times, you feel exhausted.

Here’s how I’ve started thinking about it.

Job-hunting is Like a Video Game

I’m sure you remember playing a video game for the first time. No one is an expert at first.

First, you learn the buttons, explore the maps and eventually you learn to stop falling over.

You play your way through the levels one at a time. Once you grind through one level, you get battered by the next. Eventually, you learn from your mistakes and complete that one too.

The reason most people struggle to find a job is this. They are playing the game the same way as everybody else. And they’re playing it alone.

They find a few jobs they want, learn the required skills, update their resume and fire off a thousand applications.

But if you are up against hundreds of people, how do you stand out? It’s just one faceless resume against another.

Now, imagine you had a few friends who were experts at this video game. You would improve a lot faster, right?

Here's a Different Approach

The job market is SO competitive, so I coach my clients to do things differently.

Instead of applying for hundreds of jobs, we focus on the power of online networking.

I help them turn their LinkedIn profile into a magnet and let opportunities come to them.

Here’s the Strategy

Here is a mini-guide to help you understand the game you’re playing.

I hope it helps you understand where you are going wrong and helps you get to the next level.

At the end of this newsletter, I have a list of resources that will help you fly from one level to the next.

Let’s dive in to the strategy.

1) Build a LinkedIn Profile & Post About Your Journey:

Regardless of where you are in your journey, I would start online networking.

Most people who struggle are doing it all alone. It doesn’t have to be that way. Other people can be your greatest strength.

The first step is to set up a LinkedIn profile.

  • Tell us who you are

  • Tell us your skills & experience

  • Tell us why your favourite industry excites you

  • Post your goals, learnings & setbacks

  • Show your personality

  • This is as important as being professional.

  • People hire people. Not certificates or resumes.

If you want hiring managers and recruiters to come to you, start creating LinkedIn posts. I’ve created a content strategy with 30 templates to get you started.

If you grab this guide, LinkedIn for Jobseekers, I’ll add you to an exclusive LinkedIn group with the other people who grabbed a copy.

In this group, we discuss how to post LinkedIn content and we all help each other land a job as a team.

(I’ll drop the links to everything at bottom of the page).

2) Reach Out to Data Professionals:

It’s great to know you want to work with data, but which role?

Do you want to be a data engineer, data scientist or a data analyst? There are many more options. It’s tough to know which is best for you.

Again, that’s why I advise you to network early and often. Meet people in the jobs you want. Ask them questions.

Key Struggle: Most people are applying for too many roles at once

Many students came to me saying they applied for 10 different roles but aren’t hearing back. I asked them that if they threw a dart at a dart board, where would they aim?

They said they were playing it safe and aiming to hit the board.

I told them that doesn’t work. It's much easier to hit the board if you aim for a more specific target. Find out what your bullseye is and aim for that. Next time you throw a dart, you may not hit the bullseye exactly, but you’ll hit the board every time.

So, how do we figure out which role is best for you?

The answer is to network with people:

- Two years ahead of you:

  • Ask them questions

  • Learn how their business makes money

  • Learn how YOU can add value

Your networking shouldn’t stop there. I also advise people to network with people:

- At the same level as you:

  • Work together on job-hunting

  • Work together on resumes

  • Work together on interviews

- And two years behind you:

  • Post your journey to help them

  • Become seen as a subject matter expert

  • Find friends you can rely on

We are stronger together.

By the way, I have an e-book where I spoke to 64 data professionals. It’s a mix of data analysts, data engineers and data scientists.

I asked them how they landed their job and what they do in that job. It’s the perfect resource if you are still unsure about which job you want.

It has a mix of junior and senior people working in some of the biggest companies in the world. It also comes with a guide that explains all the different data roles, the skills required and what you’ll be doing with data.

3) Connect with local recruiters

  • Comment on their posts.

  • Introduce yourself.

  • Build long-term relationships.

  • Share what you want

  • Don't just reach out when you need something.

  • Keep in touch

My e-book, Infinite Upside, explains everything you need to know about talking to recruiters.

4) Use ChatGPT to Help Create:

  • Your resume

  • Your cover letter

  • Predict interview questions

  • Generate interview answers

I have a free e-book, ‘Transform Your Career with ChatGPT’. It will guide you through every step of this.

I can review your resume via email or 45 minute video call. I’ll share how you can do that below.

5) Improve Your Data Skills

  • Do online data courses

  • Download a dataset

  • Manipulate the data (SQL or Python)

  • Visualize the data (Tableau or PowerBI)

  • Analyse results

  • Develop insights

  • Tell stories with the data

  • Explain how a business would benefit from this

My friend Kedeisha has set up an incredible platform to help you improve your data skills. She will give you a practice exercise each week. There is even a forum to discuss the answers with her community directly. It’s a great way to learn.

It’s called Data in Motion. It will help you practice SQL, Python and data analysis.

6) Share Your Work

  • Share your project on GitHub

  • Post what you learned on LinkedIn

  • Explain WHY you chose each metric

  • Your business insights are most important.

By sharing your journey with your network, you’re not claiming to be an expert. You’re bringing a network of friends along with you for the ride. You’ll learn from each other.

My LinkedIn for Jobseekers guide has a content strategy and 30 templates designed to help you do this effectively. As a special launch price, it’s 50% off for the next 48 hours.

7) Reach Out to Companies

  • Build a spreadsheet of jobs you want

  • Connect with the staff

  • Send them a DM

  • Jump on a call and introduce yourself

  • Learn everything about the business

  • Learn how they use data

  • Share your resume & relevant projects

  • Pitch how YOU can add value for them

  • Stay patient. Keep in touch.

Again, my free e-book, Infinite Upside will explain every step of the way.

Summary

  1. Build a LinkedIn profile & post about your journey

  2. Reach out to people.

  3. Connect with recruiters

  4. Create your resume

  5. Improve your data skills

  6. Share your work

  7. Reach out to companies

I hoped that helped you see the full strategy.

Here’s the links to the resources to help you jump to the next level of your journey:

  1. LinkedIn Posts for Job-seekers (A Proven Content Strategy & 30 Days of Templates)

  2. Infinite Upside: How to Land a Job Through Online Networking (e-book)

  3. How to Find a Job in Data Analytics (e-book)

  4. How to Transform Your Career with ChatGPT (e-book)

  5. Data Glossary (e-book)

We can jump on a 15 minute call and discuss your goals. After that, we can jump on a 45 minute call and make them happen together.

There is also an option to email me your resume or ask me anything.

I love this platform. You can practice real data examples and you have a community to help you learn together.

I hope this was useful. If you have any thought or questions, hit reply and we can chat.

See you next week,

Michael