Data Science and Cover Letters — What to write when you don’t have any DS experience?

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Writing cover letters was always the task I dreaded the most when applying for jobs. The idea of “selling myself” felt uncomfortable, and I never knew what to write about. Since I had no prior experience in data science, advice such as “outline how the company benefited from your model” wasn’t applicable. Additionally, the traditional cover letter format, which involves introducing yourself, highlighting your experience, and explaining why you’re the best fit for the role, seemed rigid and inauthentic. In this article, I’ll share my approach to writing cover letters when I applied for my first data science job.

When to write cover letters?

Before we go into detail, let’s talk about when you should write cover letters. The process of submitting job applications is often a numbers game, and writing a unique cover letter for each one can be incredibly time-consuming. Many people applying for their first data science job are also working full-time and have other responsibilities, so their time is limited. I took a targeted approach and created a generic resume and cover letter for the job offers I wasn’t that interested in. I wouldn’t usually send a cover letter unless I was really interested in the offer, but they were mandatory for some applications. For the…