How to read a data job post: must-have, nice-to-have, and the actual task

A data job post is a wish list written by a busy manager before they met anyone. Reading it as a rule book means never applying. Reading it as a wish list means knowing which three lines to answer. This page covers must-have against nice-to-have, the tools list, where the actual task hides, and what to put in the application. The print-ready A4 PDF is at the bottom.

The post

• "3 years experience": a wish list line, not a gate.
• Must-have: the first three bullets. Read those.
• Nice-to-have: the rest. Matching one or two is enough.
• Twelve tools listed: the job uses three. Find them.

The task

• The actual task: the sentence after "you will". That is the job.
• Who you report to: the team tells you the real role, whatever the title says.

A real post, decoded

Four lines that appear in most data job posts, and what each one is actually telling you.

• "3+ years as a data analyst." The number the manager would like. Posts asking for 3 get people with 1 and with 6. Apply if you can show the task.
• "SQL, Python, Tableau, dbt, Airflow, Snowflake, Excel, Looker." Someone listed the whole stack. Find the three in the must-have bullets; the rest is where the team already is.
• "You will build the weekly sales report and own its numbers." This is the job. One sentence, one verb. Everything you send should answer it.
• "Reports to the Head of Marketing." Not an engineering team: a data analyst job with business questions, whatever the title says. (The which data role sheet has the four Tuesdays.)

The application

• The three must-haves: one line of proof for each.
• The task: one project where you did it, linked.

A line of proof is specific. Not "strong SQL skills" but "weekly revenue report for 12 countries, SQL on BigQuery, one query, link". If the must-have is dbt and you have never used it, say what you used instead and that you have read how dbt does it; do not list it.

The trap: answering the wrong line

Three applications that read the post and still answer the wrong thing.

• The full tools list. Claiming all twelve reads as none. Three with proof reads as a hire.
• Years, restated. The post asked for 3, you wrote "2.5 years": the number is now the subject. Show the task instead.
• No link. A line that says "built dashboards" is a claim. A link to one is proof. The second one gets read.

Three lines of proof for the must-haves, one link for the task, and nothing about the nice-to-haves you do not have.

When the post really is a gate

Some lines are real filters: a work permit, a language, on-site days, a security clearance. They are usually phrased as conditions rather than wishes ("must be eligible to work in", "fluent French required"). Those are worth taking at their word. The rest of the post is a description of a Tuesday, and the question is whether you can show you have had that Tuesday, or one close enough.

The full page is a free print-ready A4 PDF: must-have, nice-to-have, the task, the three lines.