Ask Me Anything: Helen Craven

liammccaffrey
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Live on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 12:00 BST 

 

Ask Me Anything with Helen Craven, graduate data scientist at Peak. joins us for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. 

 

Introducing our guest: Helen Craven

 

You’ve qualified, motivated and ready to be a data scientist. But how do you land your first role? Helen Craven is here to help.

Helen joined Peak as a graduate data scientist just over two months ago and she’s been doing great things with data ever since. She’s the perfect person to put your early career data science questions to.

How do you find entry-level roles? What does a great data science CV look like? 

Whatever your question, join Helen at 12:00 BST on Tuesday 21 June 2022 to ask her anything.

 

Submit your questions

 

Whatever your question, you can submit your questions now below and then join us on Tuesday 21 June 2022 to be a part of the discussion.

liammccaffrey 1 month ago

Are education subscriptions like Coursera, LinkedIn helpful? Do you think employers will consider candidates who only have certifications from those sorts of resources?

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HelenCraven
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Is it better to start of in data analysis and move into data science? Is it easier?

Hey Dave, thanks for your question. 

In my opinion, data analysis isn’t really a stepping stone into data science! They have different focuses and different ways of making meaningful impact. 

Maybe think more about what you are enthusiastic about - is it deep diving into data and providing insight to stakeholders (maybe data analysis is more your vibe) or is more the problem solving & solution focused work, which I think data scientists focus on more. 

Hope this helps!

liammccaffrey
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I’m afraid our time is up.

Thanks so much for everyone who submitted questions and a special thanks to @HelenCraven and giving such great responses. 

Next up​ for AMA, we’ve got the incredible Katie King, AI ethics advisor and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (APPG AI). Look out for details on the Community homepage .

Have a great day everyone 🙂​​​​​​.

HelenCraven
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Hi Helen, 

Just curious were there any transferrable languages or technical skills/tools that helped you 'tick the boxes' for the role?

And similar to Niko's question - any general tips & tricks during DS application processes? :)

 

Hey! Thanks for your question. 

I had a fairly good understanding of Python & R which was useful in my application processes for sure. More specifically though, I think having used these in a data science context on real world data was a big ‘box ticker’. 

General tips & tricks: 

  • Apply to places you want to work
  • Do your research into the company beforehand, you can usually get a vibe for what is important to them from the website and be prepared to demonstrate why you would be a good fit there! 
  • As above, try and have an example of a project thats on real-world data rather than “toy-box” problems. Think about and be prepared to answers Qs on how and why you tackled the problem!
  • In your interview - you don’t have to know all the answers! Think out loud & show that you are interested about learning more. A graduate scheme is set up for your learning and development, so it’s just as important to show that you are excited and ready for this, than having all the knowledge already.

Good luck for any upcoming applications!!

 

 

HelenCraven
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Hi Helen, how should one looking for jobs in Data Science Industry prepare for the interviews? Also, should one be proficient in Data Structures and Algorithms? Thank you.

Hi hi! Thanks for your Q @revyarly 

For an interview my prep would look something like: 

  • Read back through my application/CV that I had submitted. 
  • Do a bit of further research into recent additions to the company website (articles/blogs/careers pages etc)
  • Have done a project on real world, messy data that I am prepared to answer how/why Qs about how I tackled it! (Full transparency: this was always the same one, I would just refresh my memory about what I had done recently on it!)

Bonus: remember that it should be just as much about you figuring out if the company is a good fit for you also! Think about what you want else you need to understand about the role to know if it would be a place you could thrive, and bring any Qs with you to the interview!

Good luck for any interviews you’ve got coming up, sure you will smash them 🔥 

HelenCraven
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Hi Helen,

What was your experience of interviewing with Peak like? I have MS in applicable maths and currently doing MS in AI ML from LJMU. What am I supposed to do to be a part of Peak’s amazing team of data scientists? :)

 

Hey Fazil, thanks for your question!!

My experience of interviewing with Peak was by far the best application process I went through. As you may have picked up from my answers already, I’m a big believer that an application should be a two-way street, where you figure out if the company is the right fit for you also…

For the graduate scheme, I sent in some application questions (fairly lengthly but none of them unfair) and a tailored CV. Then we had an assessment day & final interview. You can read more about the graduate scheme application process in our grad diaries here: https://peak.ai/hub/blog/why-i-joined-peak-as-a-data-science-graduate/

As for coming to join us, I’d have a look at some of our open roles and see if any fit your skill set and whether our values seem like a good fit for you! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!! & good luck for the rest of your MS 🍀 

HelenCraven
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Hi Helen, how should one looking for jobs in Data Science Industry prepare for the interviews? Also, should one be proficient in Data Structures and Algorithms? Thank you.

Just realised I missed the second part of your Q.

‘Proficient in Data Structures and Algorithms’ sounds like a big undertaking and not one I hunted down myself…

I’d say better to pick a project, and learn about the structures/algorithms/techniques that are relevant along the way. I’d say DS is just as much practical as theory, so you need to understand how and why to use something rather than just the theory behind it.

 

HelenCraven
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I’m afraid our time is up.

Thanks so much for everyone who submitted questions and a special thanks to @HelenCraven and giving such great responses. 

Next up​ for AMA, we’ve got the incredible Katie King, AI ethics advisor and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (APPG AI). Look out for details on the Community homepage .

Have a great day everyone 🙂​​​​​​.

 

Thanks for joining all

Feel free to reach out if there is anything extra I can help with! Have a great Tuesday 🌞 

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