Are you struggling to land a data science role in today’s competitive market? In this episode, we sit down with Karun Thankachan, Senior Data Scientist at Walmart and former Amazon Applied Scientist, to break down the science of job searching - including actionable strategies to optimize your job applications, referrals, and LinkedIn outreach. Oh and we covered how recommendation systems are built and what all go into them in practice.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- The metrics-driven approach to job searching: How many applications, referrals, and LinkedIn connections should you aim for?- How AI is changing hiring for both recruiters and candidates- The importance of networking and why it’s the most underrated skill in data science- A deep dive into recommender systems—how AI powers Netflix, Amazon, and Walmart recommendations- How LLMs (Large Language Models) are revolutionizing recommendation enginesIf you’re an aspiring data scientist, a mid-career professional looking for new opportunities, or just interested in how AI is reshaping hiring and recommender systems, this episode is packed with insights you don’t want to miss!

Connect with Karun, Hai, Sravya, and Shane:Karun: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karunt/Hai: https://linkedin.openinapp.co/4qi1rSravya: https://linkedin.openinapp.co/9be8cShane: https://linkedin.openinapp.co/b02fe#DataScience #JobSearch #AIHiring #RecommenderSystems #MachineLearning #NetworkingTips #CareerGrowth #AI #Walmart #Amazon #DataNeighborPodcast #TechHiring