How I Evaluate Independent Data Science Projects

Screening entry level Data Scientists can be time consuming and many of us rely on the candidate's independent project work. Here is my screening criteria.

I hire Data Scientists without experience, either recent graduates or people transitioning into the field, and much of my initial assessment is based on their independent project work. My process for evaluating their projects has gotten faster and more effective over the last 3 years. This is a primer for people working to break into the field and those hiring people for their first Data Science role.

What am I looking for?

Problem Statement: There is upfront work for every Data Science project to define the problem space and clarify objectives. A feasibility assessment is useful too. The more work I see put in here, the more mature the candidate.

No problem statement or at least work to define the project scope and objectives will make me pass on a candidate.