7 answers
Kxth
Student
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
1
Question
Asked
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how should I prepare for data analyst or creative tech roles?
Recent Master’s graduate in Computer Science, struggling to get selected
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7 answers
Nehaba S
Project Manager
4
Answers
Lexington, South Carolina
Updated
Nehaba’s Answer
Hello, as a recent Master’s graduate aiming for data analyst or creative tech roles, here are a few tips to help strengthen your preparation:
Build a Strong Portfolio: Create projects that showcase your skills—data analysis dashboards, visualizations, or creative tech prototypes. Use platforms like GitHub or personal websites to display your work. Add links of these to your resume.
Sharpen Your Technical Skills: For data analyst roles, focus on tools like SQL, Python (pandas, numpy), and data visualization libraries (Tableau, Power BI, matplotlib). For creative tech, explore skills in interactive media, creative coding (Processing, p5.js), or relevant frameworks.
Practice Real-World Problems: Participate in Kaggle competitions or similar platforms to work on real datasets. For creative tech, consider hackathons or online challenges.
Understand Business Context: Analytical and creative roles both benefit from understanding how your technical solutions impact business goals or user experience. Try to connect your projects with real-world applications.
Network and Seek Mentorship: Engage with communities on LinkedIn, attend industry webinars, or join relevant groups to learn and get guidance.
Prepare for Interviews: Focus on common interview questions in both technical and behavioral areas. Practice explaining your projects clearly and the decisions behind your approaches. There are a lot of social media resources to help you prepare for interviews.
Keep refining your skills and showcasing your passion—companies value both technical ability and creativity. Feel free to share any specific concerns or projects you’re working on! All the very best for the upcoming interview.
Build a Strong Portfolio: Create projects that showcase your skills—data analysis dashboards, visualizations, or creative tech prototypes. Use platforms like GitHub or personal websites to display your work. Add links of these to your resume.
Sharpen Your Technical Skills: For data analyst roles, focus on tools like SQL, Python (pandas, numpy), and data visualization libraries (Tableau, Power BI, matplotlib). For creative tech, explore skills in interactive media, creative coding (Processing, p5.js), or relevant frameworks.
Practice Real-World Problems: Participate in Kaggle competitions or similar platforms to work on real datasets. For creative tech, consider hackathons or online challenges.
Understand Business Context: Analytical and creative roles both benefit from understanding how your technical solutions impact business goals or user experience. Try to connect your projects with real-world applications.
Network and Seek Mentorship: Engage with communities on LinkedIn, attend industry webinars, or join relevant groups to learn and get guidance.
Prepare for Interviews: Focus on common interview questions in both technical and behavioral areas. Practice explaining your projects clearly and the decisions behind your approaches. There are a lot of social media resources to help you prepare for interviews.
Keep refining your skills and showcasing your passion—companies value both technical ability and creativity. Feel free to share any specific concerns or projects you’re working on! All the very best for the upcoming interview.
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Kxth
Carrie Williams
Data Scientist
7
Answers
Washington, Washington
Updated
Carrie’s Answer
I agree with Nehaba S, build a portfolio. School and that portfolio will be the only experience you can show until you get work experience that can speak to your skills. When I started out as a data analyst, I made a portfolio and included the link to it on my resume and in my job application, but as time went on, I found that many employers weren't actually looking at it, instead, they asked me to explain my process and motivation for that project. That's my next advice, work on communicating your findings succinctly and clearly to any audience. You can practice public speaking by joining a Toastmasters chapter or taking a speaking class.
Thank you!
Kxth
Pahar Singh
Lead Data Engineer
3
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Pahar’s Answer
Be sure of the role that you want to target. Many resume level rejections happen because applicant's skill look too broad. Clearly position yourself as data analyst or creative technologist and accordingly tailor your resume, portfolio, and projects separately for each role. You might need multiple resumes for multiple roles. ATS optimization is critical but it should not come at the cost of showing your profile too broad.
Tell story via "problem-what you did- how it helped", kind of way (include stats wherever possible). For interviews, always focus on basics, followed by logic and edge cases. Over explanation is always welcomed in interviews.
If you face rejections (and I am sure we all faced), learn from it and move on to next opportunity
All the best !
Tell story via "problem-what you did- how it helped", kind of way (include stats wherever possible). For interviews, always focus on basics, followed by logic and edge cases. Over explanation is always welcomed in interviews.
If you face rejections (and I am sure we all faced), learn from it and move on to next opportunity
All the best !
Pahar, thank you!
Kxth
Arpit Gulati
Business Technical Consultant
2
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Arpit’s Answer
Leverage your strengths: keep raising your hand, owning ambiguous work, and learning by doing—that’s already your edge.
Double down on communication, events, and networking to pair technical skills with storytelling.
Build visible projects (data + creativity), and let your curiosity lead—you grow fastest that way.
Double down on communication, events, and networking to pair technical skills with storytelling.
Build visible projects (data + creativity), and let your curiosity lead—you grow fastest that way.
Thank you for the advice.
Kxth
Joseph Aseo
Freeelance Technical Writer
36
Answers
San Ramon, California
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
Getting a master's degree in Computer Science can still lead to exciting roles, but the landscape is changing. By 2026, recruiters are looking for skills like "GenAI Fluency" and being "Production-Ready." It's important to go beyond just knowing Python. Graduates should learn about LLM orchestration tools like LangChain and LlamaIndex. Many data analyst roles now focus on "prompt engineering" and "data curation," which are in high demand at the enterprise level.
Graduates should aim to become experts in a specific area, like "Privacy-Preserving AI," instead of being general software engineers. Writing on platforms like Medium or Dev.to about their thesis or technical challenges can help. Building a strong "Technical Personal Brand" can often help you stand out and get noticed by employers.
Graduates should aim to become experts in a specific area, like "Privacy-Preserving AI," instead of being general software engineers. Writing on platforms like Medium or Dev.to about their thesis or technical challenges can help. Building a strong "Technical Personal Brand" can often help you stand out and get noticed by employers.
Thank you for the advice.
Kxth
Emma Anderson
Human Resources
5
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Emma’s Answer
For new graduates, the most important changes come from two things: clarity and storytelling.
Many people apply for jobs without a clear focus, considering roles like data analyst, creative tech, or software. This lack of direction can cause your application to be overlooked. So, decide on a clear path for your job search. This focus will make your resume, projects, and conversations much stronger.
Next, think about how you talk about your work. Hiring managers want to know why you made certain choices and what the results were. If you can explain your work in a simple way, problem, what you did, and the impact, you'll stand out, even compared to those with more technical skills.
Don't forget the power of visibility. Share what you're working on, ask for feedback, and connect with people in the roles you want. Learn how they think. This mix of clarity, communication, and consistently showing your work is more effective than just taking more courses or learning more tools.
Rejections will happen, but they don't mean you're not good enough. They're often just mismatches. Keep improving, keep talking to people, and keep working on things that interest you. This approach builds momentum over time.
Many people apply for jobs without a clear focus, considering roles like data analyst, creative tech, or software. This lack of direction can cause your application to be overlooked. So, decide on a clear path for your job search. This focus will make your resume, projects, and conversations much stronger.
Next, think about how you talk about your work. Hiring managers want to know why you made certain choices and what the results were. If you can explain your work in a simple way, problem, what you did, and the impact, you'll stand out, even compared to those with more technical skills.
Don't forget the power of visibility. Share what you're working on, ask for feedback, and connect with people in the roles you want. Learn how they think. This mix of clarity, communication, and consistently showing your work is more effective than just taking more courses or learning more tools.
Rejections will happen, but they don't mean you're not good enough. They're often just mismatches. Keep improving, keep talking to people, and keep working on things that interest you. This approach builds momentum over time.
Thank you!
Kxth
Patrick Boyle
Human Resources Operations
1
Answer
Tampa, Florida
Updated
Patrick’s Answer
I agree with others here, building a small portfolio and being able to clearly talk through your work will take you a long way, especially as a new grad.
Another approach that helps is to reverse-engineer your job search: pull up 10–15 data analyst (or creative tech) postings you’d genuinely apply to, and note the common themes—tools (SQL, Excel, Python/R, Tableau/Power BI), types of work (dashboards, experiments, ETL, storytelling), and “nice-to-haves.” That becomes your roadmap.
Then, make sure your resume and LinkedIn reflect those skills where you truly have experience (even from class projects, internships, research, or personal projects). If you see a tool that keeps showing up and you haven’t used it yet, that’s a great signal for what to learn next. Pick one and build a small project around it so you can confidently discuss it in interviews.
For each portfolio project, write a short summary: the question, the data/source, what you did, the tools used, and the insight/impact. That makes it much easier to “tell the story” in interviews.
Good luck!
Another approach that helps is to reverse-engineer your job search: pull up 10–15 data analyst (or creative tech) postings you’d genuinely apply to, and note the common themes—tools (SQL, Excel, Python/R, Tableau/Power BI), types of work (dashboards, experiments, ETL, storytelling), and “nice-to-haves.” That becomes your roadmap.
Then, make sure your resume and LinkedIn reflect those skills where you truly have experience (even from class projects, internships, research, or personal projects). If you see a tool that keeps showing up and you haven’t used it yet, that’s a great signal for what to learn next. Pick one and build a small project around it so you can confidently discuss it in interviews.
For each portfolio project, write a short summary: the question, the data/source, what you did, the tools used, and the insight/impact. That makes it much easier to “tell the story” in interviews.
Good luck!
Thank you for the advice.
Kxth