Extract. Transform. Read.
The Worst Type Of Data Engineer? Gatekeeper
The easy ways established data engineers can help the next generation get their industry break.
The following short read is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter, Extract. Transform. Read. sent to 2,500+ aspiring data professionals. If you enjoy this snippet, you can sign up and receive your free project ideation guide.
Browsing through files recently, I found 100+ old resumes I used to apply for data jobs in 2021. While data science is sold as a “good career”, the truth is it’s always been tough to break in.
Those looking for jobs need to do more than ever to distinguish themselves. For anyone looking for a job, you may have been taught to network with recruiters and hiring managers.
But there is a type of connection who might help you even more than a job poster: An early career data (ideally between years 1–3) professional.
Folks like me, who have a few years of industry experience but no hiring authority, often get bombarded with “recruiter spam”, broad messages sent to hundreds of candidates with the hope that a handful will respond. While it’s tempting to delete these messages, you’d be missing a crucial line: “Forward this to anyone you know who might be looking for a role.”
As an added incentive, many of these cold messages include referral bonuses.
When forwarding a connection to recruiters or when asking for a referral, remember:
- Concisely summarize your peer’s qualifications (1–2 sentences)
- Tailor your referral to the role sent, not just a general “this person might be good”
- Emphasize your peer’s domain experience and don’t dwell too much on common technical skills
If you’re interested in going deeper, I cover this kind of referral advocacy more in-depth here.
Just because you were lucky to break in doesn’t mean you should be a gatekeeper.
If anything, you should be the first one to answer the door.
