ML Interviews: Your Effectiveness per Application
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Your Effectiveness per Application
Now, some folks have had success without any networking. In fact, my second job was a cold application, and I didn’t know anyone working at the company at the time. But from a probability standpoint, I had to send out more applications and do more interviews if I only applied to companies where I didn’t have any referrals or even know anyone.
The following is a mental equation I use to assess this:
Applications × Effectiveness per application (EPA) → Interview invites
The more applications you send out, regardless of EPA, the more you will increase your chances of getting an interview. Indiscriminately sending out a vast number of applications—that is, a “spray and pray” approach—might be able to make up for a low EPA.
On the other hand, if you want to have the same number of interviews but submit fewer applications, you’ll need to increase your EPA on average. Actions such as filtering through job postings for suitable ones or tailoring your resume can increase your EPA. You’ll need fewer applications to get the same number of interviews (most of the time).
So which type of strategy should you choose? You don’t have to get referrals or tailor your resume, but be prepared to send out more applications. Either way, it’s your choice! If you prefer the mass-application approach, feel free to skip the following sections, though I recommend reading them just to see if it’ll be worth it.
Here are some strategies to increase your EPA, which I’ll elaborate on in the following section (see Figure 2-1):
Get job referrals
Get referred for ML jobs and use networking to increase your chances of being referred.
Vet jobs before applying
If you invest the time to find and apply for jobs that your skills are more suitable for, that can increase your EPA.
Tailor your resume
In conjunction with vetting jobs, you can rearrange your resume to highlight keywords and skills that are most relevant to your target jobs.
Figure 2-1. Job applications and their effectiveness per application
DIVERSIFY YOUR INVESTMENTS, I MEAN, JOB APPLICATIONS
I have had good success with applications for jobs where I was referred, but does that mean I apply only for jobs where I have a referral? To be honest, no. I also send out some resumes to jobs that may not be the best fit and to some jobs without a tailored resume. You don’t have to maximize your EPA for every single application, but as long as you are getting some referrals, you are increasing your EPA on average. You can mix and match depending on your time commitments; sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to reach out to someone to ask for a referral or don’t feel that I know the connection at the company well enough to ask. So I just cold apply.
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