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Data Science Interview Guide: CV Optimization, Take-Home Projects, Mock Interviews & Negotiation
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Data Science Interview Guide: CV Optimization, Take-Home Projects, Mock Interviews & Negotiation
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Episode Overview
How do you make your data science application stand out, ace take-home projects, and negotiate an offer without leaving money on the table? In this episode, Oleg Novikov — creator of NextRound and former data science manager at Uber with a background in data and software engineering — walks through a practical data science interview guide covering CV optimization, take-home projects, mock interviews, and negotiation.
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Chapter Summary
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- 1:16 - Introduction & Episode Overview
- 2:00 - Career Path: Engineer → Recommenders → Data Science Management
- 2:42 - Differentiating Application: Building a Project to Showcase Skills
- 5:19 - Product Data Science at Uber: Forecasting & LTV Work
- 6:38 - NextRound: Mock Interview Chatbot with Personalized Feedback
- 8:29 - Why Companies Provide Generic Rejection Messages
- 10:55 - Designing Interview Scenarios: Common On-the-Job Dilemmas
- 13:24 - Typical Hiring Funnel: Recruiter Screen → Take-Home → Interview Rounds
- 15:29 - Role Spectrum: Product Data Scientist vs. Machine Learning Engineer
- 17:13 - Job Description Focus: Tailoring Your Application to the Role
- 18:28 - CV Optimization: Treat Your CV as a Landing Page
- 25:51 - CV Details: Highlight Personal Contribution and Remove Noise
- 27:51 - Take-Home Projects: Time Investment and ROI Considerations
- 29:32 - Behavioral Stories: Preparing Impactful Past-Project Narratives
- 32:03 - Case Study Strategy: From Business Goals to Evaluation Metrics
- 36:38 - Technical Assessments: ML Knowledge, SQL (Window Functions), and Coding
- 39:10 - Handling Rejection: Ask for Feedback and Reapply Strategically
- 42:02 - Offer Evaluation: Components, Market Comparison, and Negotiation
- 44:38 - Personal Data on CV: Avoid Age, Photo, and Irrelevant Details
- 45:46 - PhD to Industry: Cold-Start Projects, Synthetic Data, and Blogging
- 49:10 - Replying to Rejections: Be Gracious and Preserve Relationships
- 50:17 - Negotiation Tactics When Current Salary Is Low
- 53:09 - Applying Despite Experience Gaps: When It Makes Sense to Try
- 55:17 - ATS Reality: Parsing Myths vs. Human Screening
- 58:14 - Key Lessons from Hundreds of Interviews: Avoid Bias & Iterate
- 1:04:24 - Rethinking CV Format: Historical Constraints and Modern Design