Extract. Transform. Read.
Beware 3 Cursed Data Job Search Traps
Data science job scams that target new graduates, including 1 that could cost you 20k.
The following short read is the latest edition of my weekly newsletter, Extract. Transform. Read. sent to 2,000+ aspiring data professionals each Thursday. If you enjoy it, you can sign up and receive your free project ideation guide.
To those in the U.S.: Happy Halloween! In the spirit of the spooky season, I’d like to scare — I mean warn — you about 3 truly creepy trends that might give you goosebumps during a job search.
A Shady Recruiter “Ghost” Writing Your Resume
When in the job market, one of the first things you learn, after how to write a resume, is how to format one. I’m sure you know about headings, bullet points, etc. But have you ever thought about why we submit resumes as, say, a PDF instead of a Word doc?
One reason is because PDFs are truly a universal and (as the name suggests) portable format.
The other reason is more sinister. If a recruiter is really pushing you to submit a resume in an edit-able format, they may have dishonest intentions which could include editing your resume to inflate your experience — and misrepresent your candidacy.
Remember, as this Quora response suggests, agency-based recruiters are often in sales positions and need to meet their numbers each month. Proceed if you dare.
An AI Seance
With AI development exploding in the past 5 years, companies are scrambling to find data and beta testers to evaluate their products. This has resulted in an increasing number of AI “training” jobs.
These jobs are often marketed to a “data science professional” like you and presented as an opportunity equivalent to on-the-job experience. In reality, they require hours of unpaid training and near-impossible onboarding tasks which amount to cheap/free labor. Such postings can also be predatory and target college seniors or new graduates who might not recognize the signs of a too-good-to-be-true opportunity.
The biggest tell: An email that says “you’ve been selected” when you haven’t even applied. Read more, including participant horror stories, here.
Taking Your Candy… And Your Bag
After years of customer service work on a near-minimum wage salary, signing my initial offer letter to work for a livable wage felt good. The best part is that I didn’t work with a recruiting firm so no recruiter was going to profit off my hard work.
And if you think a recruiter leeching off your success sounds scummy then you need to be aware of a training scam that could cost you $20,000 before your first paycheck.
The elevator pitch is this: A “training firm” promises to “hire” a new graduate to train them for jobs within their “network of partner organizations.” In return, the firm gets a “finder’s fee” of x percent of the employee’s new salary and the employee/trainee is bound to work for a period of at least two years.
And, the questionable bit of this, if an employee breaks a contract early, they must pay as much as 20k.
Read how to avoid getting spooked by this scam.
Just as you’d use caution when trick or treating (or going out at night in a major city), be sure to recognize dishonest practices in the job market.
Because while razor blades in candy is a myth, companies taking advantage of inexperienced professionals is a very real fear.
Happy Halloween and thanks for ingesting,
-Zach Quinn
