Data Scientist Resume Example

Data science is currently one of America’s top jobs, and data science will continue to be a highly in-demand career. To stay ahead of the competition, you need an effective data scientist resume and cover letter if you’re seeking a job in the data science field.

So, whether you’re an aspiring data scientist or a seasoned pro, follow these four tips to craft the perfect resume.

Write a clear career objective

Include a resume objective on your data scientist resume. Resume introductions are the first section that hiring managers look at when picking up your resume. A resume objective provides your relevant experience, skills, and education in a neat and easy-to-read format.

Use a three-sentence format to write a detailed career objective. Here’s what to put in each sentence:

1. State the number of years of experience you have as a data scientist and summarize your duties and tasks.
2. List your skills and your experience with different data sets.
3. Include your degree(s) and relevant licenses or certifications.

For your data scientist resume, pay special attention to your resume objective’s second point — the statement that focuses on your experience.

Showcase specific programs, processes, coding languages, data sets, sizes of data, and algorithms you’ve worked with — essentially any technical experience that will impress the hiring manager.

Here’s an example of an effective data scientist career objective:

Data Scientist with 4+ years of experience executing data-driven solutions to increase efficiency, accuracy, and utility of internal data processing. Experienced at creating data regression models, using predictive data modeling, and analyzing data mining algorithms to deliver insights and implement action-oriented solutions to complex business problems. Looking to use my Bachelor of Computer Science and Master of Science in Statistics to manage statistical machine learning and data-related solutions at your organization.

Hiring managers only take six seconds to decide whether to keep reading your resume. Including a career objective keeps them interested in your resume, making them more likely to keep reading.

Boost your professional experience section with action verbs

Begin each bullet point in the work experience section with targeted action verbs. Using strong action verbs is critical in persuading a hiring manager to read the rest of your resume and offer you an interview.

Additionally, use action verbs that are specific to your genre of work. Employers use applicant tracking software (ATS) to filter applicants based on the frequency of keyword phrases and skills on your data science resume. So, match the keywords on your resume to the keywords from the job description to ensure that employers notice your application.

Here is a list of technical action verbs that an ATS is likely scanning your data scientist resume for:

Use examples and numbers in your data scientist resume

The professional experience section of your resume is the perfect place to use technical language and draw attention to the resume accomplishments of your data scientist career.

Use the professional experience section of your resume to describe your accomplishments in previous roles.

Here’s an example of how adding hard numbers transforms the bullet points in the professional experience section of this resume:

• Conducted a data regression analysis of the relationship between company stock prices and industry trends, achieving a 15% more accurate prediction of performance than previous years
• Updated data streamlining processes, resulting in a 25% reduction in redundancy reduction

Replace any generic and non-descriptive points on your resume with descriptive resume adjectives, data, and quantifiable experiences.

By including hard numbers and specific vocabulary, your bullet points become clear evidence of your achievements that impress the hiring manager.

Include your technical knowledge and computer skills

Your data scientist resume should convince the hiring manager that you have the computer skills and software knowledge necessary for the role. Showcase your knowledge by strategically including the information they’re looking for throughout your resume.

List your technical skills in a separate additional skills section on your resume. Listing these skills separately allows you to state a number of useful skills and relevant experience using different software.

For instance, the resume skills section point below clarifies the candidate’s database capabilities:

• Experienced at managing relational and non-relational database software such as MySQL, SQLite3, Mongo DB, and JSON

However, don’t stuff too many skills into your resume skills section. Use skills and software that employers are directly looking for by studying the job posting.

Also, reference your skills and familiarity with software programs anywhere they fit naturally. For example, this work experience bullet showcases the candidate’s expertise in data security:

• Increased data security by updating companywide encryption, steganography, IP security, and secure wireless transmission practices