Why Facebook is hiring a lot more data scientists

Today my guest is Akhil Reddy, a Senior Data Analyst at Autodesk, formerly Data Analyst at ZipRecruiter, and Data Engineer at PayPal. Akhil shared tips on how to look for a technical job during the pandemic situation, inspires to take a closer look at data science, and also told us how to find balance between body and mind.

You can find the full interview as a podcast:

Luba: Akhil, how many interviews have you had in the last few weeks?

Akhil: I’ve been receiving a lot of inbound requests, a lot more than I typically would during ‘normal’ job search. On average I’m having one call with the recruiter every day, and it’s ongoing.

Luba: I’m really sorry you were directly impacted by COVID-19. Could you share more about your layoff experience?

Akhil: I was working from home, and we had to work from home a week prior until the company made sure everyone had a monitor setup. Then out of the blue, I received a Google invitation to the mandatory meeting, which was a webinar with the CEO. It was only two minutes long. He just expressed that our company is projected to lose revenue this year and we’re not doing so well. In order to lower our costs, they had to cut our workforce. Within seconds after that webinar, we lost our email access so I couldn’t even look out for the HR’s email. Sad but true.

Luba: Were you worried at first that you wouldn’t be able to find an opportunity right now? I’ve heard that many companies are freezing hiring and cutting costs…

Akhil: To be honest, I was a little bit worried and I had no offers, no final round interviews at the time, but at the same time I was also encouraged and motivated that I will find something better. And I did.

Luba: And as far as I remember, the role you accepted is higher level and higher pay.

Akhil: Yeah, exactly! I don’t want to go into numbers, but it’s almost double my income in comparison to my previous positions. I couldn’t be happier. I am looking forward to this next chapter in my career.

Luba: What are the tips you have for people who are looking for jobs during COVID-19?

Akhil: My first advice is to stay motivated, be confident, and use this extra time that we have at home to really work on your mind, your body, and all other things that you would not spend time with a usual normal day. Approach people, and don’t be shy because there are so many resources for free to reach out. Talking about me, I’ve made a list of all the resources that have been helpful for me and I sent them over to a couple of friends.

Never forget about online courses, especially the ones with free trials. Get the certificate for a specific program, because these achievements show that you’re using this extra time in quarantine trying to level up your profile, not whining about your complicated fate. Quarantine is a blessing in disguise so never waste a crisis to boost your knowledge and skills. This opportunity will not be presented at any time soon.

Luba: I love this advice for anyone, not only folks impacted by COVID-19. You mentioned completing a certificate, I’ve always been curious, are recruiters really paying attention to what certificates and courses you take additionally to your degree?

Akhil: It’s hard to say. I’ve never asked a recruiter what points in my resume caught their eye. I’m curious as to why I might be being reached out to for these like higher-level roles that I would not expect to be considered for: Facebook has reached out to me for several data scientist roles even though I had no relevant experience. That was surprising, so having a course in data science might have definitely helped. That’s why I think taking a class and putting it on your resume would never hurt.

Luba: How did you manage to get rid of the feeling of an imposter when applying for higher-level roles?

Akhil: — never undersell yourself. I used to be intimidated by higher-level positions until I was reached out to senior-level roles.
- every candidate brings ‘something different to the table. You need to show the recruiter what you are bringing to the table, what is your personality or your credentials. Everyone is different, and you could be a very valuable individual, with whom the company would love to work.

Luba: What makes data science a unique field to pursue?

Akhil: Data is growing every day. People should recognize that with this pandemic there’s gonna be a lot more data points to measure. This is why Facebook is hiring a lot more data scientists. They want to understand what is going on and how to be better prepared for the future if something like this occurs again. In general, a lot of people are at home, there’s going to be higher traffic volume on messengers like WhatsApp which means a lot more sheer volume of data and that’s why the demand for data scientists is going to continue to grow. I recently read an article that by 2022 there will be 50% more data science jobs than in 2019. It’s a great field to be in.

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