The Myth of Analytic Talent Shortage

I tested the job market in the last two weeks, both as an applicant, and as a hiring manager. I share my experience here. It is radically different from what you read in the news, or from what most people say. Data scientists and machine learning engineers looking for a new job are out there. Make some little efforts to find them.

Recruiters Miss Many Applicants

It seems as if recruiters are watching the night sky with the naked eye, and conclude that there are only a few dozen stars (the talent) in the universe. It has to do in part with the use of archaic keyword-based tracking systems (an example of AI technology that should be substantially upgraded), and an old-fashioned mentality on how to look at resumes. Most resumes never make it to an actual person reading it.

I decided, after 20 years surviving (very well) without any resume, to create one and submit it to highly targeted job vacancies. I went through the tedious process of filling numerous forms on Apple, Amazon and other company websites. I included all the links that were optional (LinkedIn profile, work sample, GitHub repository and so on). Out of 15 applications, I received three answers “sorry, we moved with a different candidate”, one asking for a zoom interview, and that’s it.

Insights from my Test Application

Given the abysmal performance, I decided to share my experience on Facebook, on the local Redmond group. Redmond in Washington state is a bit like Menlo Park in California: a town filled with tech people, and also the headquarters of Microsoft. I live 5 miles away from it. Below is the most interesting reply to my post. It is from a principal software engineer (hiring manager) at Microsoft. […]

Read full article, here. It includes a section about how my job ad — this time acting as an hiring manager — performed. From my experience, we are in a market favoring employers, not employees, despite claims to the contrary.