ZachOverflow

Why Would Anyone Give Me A Data Science Job Referral?

Approaching experienced data science professionals for a referral can be scary. Understand what you, even as a data newbie, bring to the table.

ZachOverflow is a recurring column in which I attempt to answer one frequently asked data science question thoroughly and honestly. No oversaturated topics. No listicles. No clickbait. Just my (mostly) unfiltered responses based on professional experience, technical exposure and, yes, the occasional unsubstantiated opinion.

June 2018–It’s been six months since two complete strangers staked their reputations and got me into one of the most competitive internships in media. Now I sat at a cramped midtown Manhattan bar, for the first time, with the guy who made it all happen, who I referred to as my intern sherpa. We’ve since lost touch, but to maintain anonymity, I’ll refer to him as C.

Sipping on a Manhattan special (that’s what I call any watered down New York drink), I asked him the question that had been nagging me ever since I got my opportunity:

“Why me?”

“Because you didn’t ask for anything. You were genuinely curious and got to know me first.”

Even though we were alumni of the same undergraduate journalism program, we were strangers who only got to know each other through email; making matters worse, he also didn’t think highly of the program and largely ignored referral requests from current students.

And if you take anything from what follows, please let it be that:

Job referrals and, by extension, job opportunities, in data science (and any other industry) are built on genuine, mutually-beneficial relationships, not out-of-the-goodness-of-your-heart altruism.

Once you accept that somewhat cold truth, you can understand the rest of the referral process.

You might be thinking: What do I have to offer someone in the field?

Well, most likely, nothing tangible. But you do offer overlooked benefits:

• Mentorship practice/experience
• Referral incentive (some employers offer this)
• “Pay it forward” karmic dividends
• Your future stock as an experienced point-of-contact in the industry

Taking the first point: Mentorship. If you catch someone early or late enough in their career, you might strike up a mentor/mentee relationship. For an early career potential mentor, developing mentorship and coaching skills provides valuable experience they can use to move up the engineering/developer ladder. And you reap the benefits. Win-win.

Depending on your prospective contact’s motivations, a referral incentive might be enough for them to take a closer look at what you could bring to their organization. Money often talks.

And, for the record, I think the last two points are really undervalued.

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Since I’ve been fortunate to get some really cool opportunities in my earlier twenties and (gasp) late twenties, I’ve always been a believer in the idea that if you’re in a position to do so, you should “pay it forward” when it comes to opportunity and experience.

I know others in this and other industries who feel the same way. For these folks (and I hope you find one of them), being able to reciprocate the generosity/chance the universe gave them is enough motivation to help pass on your resume to a hiring manager.

You can usually tell as you’re talking to someone if they’re the pay it forward kind. These individuals ooze passion and typically speak fondly of their time in their current or past role.

Even more undervalued than the “pay it forward” mentality is your future potential as an asset in your role or industry.

When I was working in media at NBC in Manhattan (again, thanks to C and some rigorous interview prep), my old boss told us that our most powerful allies in the industry and job market weren’t going to be the older folks we currently worked for. It would be our peers–fellow interns, PAs and those that came after us.

Though you might not yet be working at a FAANG company or living whatever career goal you have, your skills, background and experience could be enough for someone to think: “I should keep in touch with this person. I’ll be glad to know them 5 years from now.”

After years of being on the asking end of referral requests, I now find myself in the fortunate (and a little weird) position to be sought out as a resource and point-of-contact in our industry.

For the rest of this piece, I want to provide a bit of perspective of what the other side of this relationship looks like, with the hope that you can use this context to refine your approach to not only securing a referral but also building genuine business relationships.

So far, when people reach out to me, it’s typically for generic career advice. I’m typically happy to oblige.

However, sometimes I get requests for open roles with my employer. Since this process is largely handled by HR, I do my best to write a glowing recommendation and prepare the prospective candidate for an interview.

But, embodying my advice here, the few I’ve referred to my employer did not begin their messages with a referral ask. Instead, we’d build a rapport and then they mentioned their interest.

This is the process I take with those I don’t know personally.

With a close friend entering the field, for the first time, I’ve found myself approaching my contacts personally to advocate on their behalf.

I’ve analyzed the job posting, considered my friend’s qualifications and honestly assessed their ability to do the job requirements as written. Then I work on an informal (but still persuasive) pitch to my contact at the company posting the job.

In this scenario I’m not just endorsing someone moving through an HR portal. I’m speaking personally with a senior member of the team the position reports to.

And since we have a friendly relationship, my recommendation holds more weight than a random recruiter or a 2nd degree LinkedIn connection.

This isn’t something I’ve really done before and, to be honest, it feels a bit like I’m playing agent.

But this is the very best referral you can get. Someone who advocates for not only your present capabilities, but your future potential as a productive team member.

I benefited from this kind of “warm hand off” prior to my internship as my contact literally handed (well emailed) my resume to someone on the show I wanted to work on, bypassing two layers of automated and HR screening.

Even if you don’t get this VIPE (very important prospective employee) treatment, taking the time to try to form a personal relationship will yield career and possibly karmic dividends.

And one day, hopefully soon, you too will be able to pay it forward.

FYI, I deleted LinkedIn from my phone and only check it once a week.

If you’d like to reach me sooner you contact me via my business email address: [email protected].

I will do my best to respond to any messages I receive.

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