The Networking Strategy That Beats Job Boards!

Vicky Torres sent over 1,000 job applications in 12 months. She got four interviews—every one through referrals. Zero came from job boards.

This wasn’t about weak credentials. Torres holds a B.S. in IT and an M.S. in Data Analytics, founded a women-in-tech org, and built real projects. What changed everything: she stopped playing by the old rules.

Here's what actually got her hired: She stopped playing by the old rules entirely.

Traditional job hunting advice tells you to polish your resume, tailor applications, and apply consistently. Torres did all of this religiously. 

The result? A 0.4% callback rate.

Her applications disappeared into what she calls "the void." No feedback. No rejections. Just silence. 

This isn't unique to Torres. Her entire graduate cohort experienced the same pattern. The job market had fundamentally shifted, but the advice hadn't caught up.

Torres pivoted completely. Instead of fighting the broken system, she built around it through three strategic moves:

First, she joined structured communities. COOP, a four-month fellowship program, provided career coaching, networking events, and direct connections to hiring companies. 

Second, she approached networking authentically. Rather than transactional "please review my resume" messages, she led with genuine curiosity about people's career journeys. This created real relationships instead of superficial connections.

Third, she filled the employment gap strategically. While job hunting, she worked as a substitute teacher through Swing Education and completed the Co-op program. Her resume showed continuous growth and skill development rather than empty months.

The breakthrough came when a recruiter found her through Co-op's network. Not through an application she submitted, but through a referral system that bypassed traditional filters entirely.

Torres landed her current role as Associate Media Planner. The title doesn't include "analyst," but the work absolutely does.

She uses data analytics daily: analyzing campaign performance, building client recommendations with statistical backing, and storytelling through data visualization. 

This reveals a critical insight about modern job searching. The work you want to do exists across many role titles. Torres was initially tunnel-visioned on positions with "analyst" in the name, missing opportunities where analytical skills were essential but not explicitly labeled.

What separated Torres from others in her situation wasn't superior credentials or better luck. It was her response to failure.

When traditional applications stopped working after two months, she immediately sought alternatives. She joined communities, attended virtual networking events, and built genuine professional relationships. 

This mindset came from her background as a first-generation college student.  She actively sought mentors, career coaches, and peer networks that could fill knowledge gaps.

The result was a systematic approach to professional development that continued even during unemployment. 

Torres now helps others navigate similar journeys through LinkedIn mentoring and mock interviews. Her advice centers on three immediate actions:

Join structured networking programs

Approach networking as relationship building

Fill employment gaps with strategic activities

The job market has changed permanently. The strategies that worked five years ago no longer apply. But new pathways exist for those willing to abandon outdated approaches

Your next interview likely won't come from your next application. It will come from your next genuine

Transcript

Albert (Host):
Hello, and welcome to the Data Career Academy podcast. This is a show dedicated to closing the information gap between data job seekers and hiring authorities about the challenging data analytics job market. My name's Albert Bellamy, I'm the host of the show. And it's my goal to highlight aspiring data analysts and their abilities in order to get them hired, to spotlight recent hires and how they successfully navigated the hiring process, as well as to find out from real industry experts what the job market looks like from the hiring side and how all of that can benefit you, the listener. So let's get into today's episode.

Albert (Host):
All right, well, welcome to the show, Vicky Torres. How are you doing today?

Vicky Torres:
Thank you. I'm excited to be here with you today. How are you doing?

Albert (Host):
Doing very well, thanks. So for the people at home, I've been connected with Vicki for quite some time and followed her journey from like college graduate to intern to all sorts of other assorted job-like substances that I cannot wait to talk about because I, you know, looking back, I was privy to some of it, but looking back prepping for the interview, I was like, man, she has done a lot of stuff. And love to see that. So, Vicky, the floor is yours. If you'd like to introduce yourself to us, please tell us about yourself.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. Okay. Well, my name is Vicky Torres. I am an associate media planner at UM Worldwide for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Prior to being here, a little bit about my educational background. I got a bachelor's degree in information technology at the University of La Verne. And then I proceeded to pursue my master's degree in data analytics with a concentration in marketing.

And then after that is when I like really hopped on the journey of job hunting and, you know, unemployment and all the good things that we all experience after graduation and not really having any industry experience. And I'm sure the listeners can relate to that if you're on in the journey that I was on not that long ago. We all know that it starts off like feeling, oh, like it's going to be okay. Like it's going to probably take like a few months. We're going to, we're going to get there.

And then once you hit that six month mark, you start questioning, like, what am I doing? You start internalizing whether you're the problem or you're the reason why you're not, you know, landing any interviews. So, you know, I'm here to like, maybe hopefully walk you through like what I did and inspire you and provide you some tips that can hopefully be helpful and allow you to step into the the world of employment and like being in your dream role, hopefully.

Albert (Host):
I love the terms, the world of employment, unemployment journey. I'm sitting here like, you know, we just talked about not taking notes during a conversation. I'm like, no, I got to write this down. Awesome. Well, since I mean, since you steered it in that direction, this was not the order of the questions that I sent for the viewers at home. I do send tentative questions and then I tell the guest, hey, we're going to go sideways on this quick. I mean, you took it straight to the unemployment journey and talking about how you navigated that. Let's talk about that.

Vicky Torres:
Honestly, and I can really attest to the fact that, you know, you're not the only one in it. I remember, you know, I graduated May 2024. I didn't land my role that I'm currently on until April of 2025. So it was almost a full year of unemployment and in the role that I want it to be. And I'm, I did like side jobs in the meanwhile and in between after graduating and being in the role that I'm in today.

But you know, once you hit that six month mark, you truly start to like, be like, okay, like, am I the only one? Is everybody else experiencing this? Yeah. Um, and then kind of just really talking to the people around me who were in the same situation and building that community really helped me a lot. I know that a lot of the people that I graduated with who also got their masters, we were all in the same boat and kind of creating that.

I don't know, kind of understanding that you weren't really the problem and that it really is just like this job market. It really is not welcoming of people who do not have industry experience. Sometimes it makes you feel like your efforts that you put into your educational career feel futile. Like you're like, okay. well then why did I put so much work into getting a bachelor's or getting a master's if it really weighs nothing in the minds of the recruiters or people who are looking at your resume?

And yeah, a lot of the people that I graduated with literally didn't get a job until around the same time as I did. One of them got it like in April, the other person got it in June. So it was like a year plus of people kind of just like floating around on it, not really knowing what was going to happen. And if their masters was like really worth anything in like helping us land that dream role that we wanted.

So definitely kind of like fighting that imposter syndrome while at the same time wanting to be like action-driven, not really letting these thoughts get to you. Like for me, I was like, okay, I know I'm feeling hopeless and I'm feeling like everything that I'm doing is not working, but I wanted to focus on, okay, but what can I do? What am I doing that is working?

And like reaching out to people who are like, in the field, like yourself, I would reach out to a lot of people and be like, hi, like, would you mind, uh, like looking over my resume, kind of just getting different perspectives of people who are in the industry and have experience in that, um, doing a lot of like mock interviews with people. And just, I attended a lot of like social networking events for, with recruiters. And then once they start talking, they'd be like, Hey, like, would you be open to doing like a mock interview? Like I'd always be down. Let me know if you're, you have like an open spot. I'd be more than happy to do a mock interview with you.

And just like making sure you are actually investing time in building those networks, because more times than not, they're the ones who are gonna vouch for you. And if you find like an open position at their company, I know that personally for me, the only interviews that I ever got came through a referral. And they were referrals with connections that I made through social networking events.

Albert (Host):
Singing my song now.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, or people that I like reach out to through LinkedIn. um just to like learn a little bit more about themselves kind of like the way that i approach reaching out to people to network like in an online media like linkedin it's like don't kind of just dive in and be like hi uh would you be doing like would you be open to like interview me or can you look over my resume kind of build an organic relationship with people be interested in what they're doing kind of reach out and be like hi like i've noticed that you're in xyz fields i'd love to hear more about your experience i'd love to hear more about your journey.

Kind of really be interested in their story because that is what's going to start a conversation that is going to create like an organic relationship. And that will lead way to eventually being like them actually offering. Oh, like I know you're, you know, you're looking for a job. I'd be more than happy to, to, uh, interview with you. I'd be more than happy to look over your resume, such and such. So I feel like sometimes a lot of people are so eager to get to that, like end goal of getting someone to review their resume or getting someone to do a mock interview that it comes across very transactional. And like a lot of people are not interested in a transactional relationship, you know?

Albert (Host):
Yeah. Yeah. But it's, it can feel like, I mean, I love that you touched on the, like the panic and the imposter syndrome and that ticking clock. Cause it was funny when you, when you said, Hey, when you hit six months, Like you're very conscious of that. And that's so arbitrary. It's like, you know, why, why six months just because we, we associate that with a significant date. Yeah.

But it's funny that you, I mean, it wasn't funny at the time I'm sure, but you and all your classmates felt like, Hey, it's been six months since graduation. What are we doing? You know, are we failing? Is it, are we the problem? Um, so a awesome that you had a support network. know sucks that you were all still unemployed or at least the group you're talking about yeah but you know how great that you actually had a support network you could talk to and come to a consensus like hey all right we're not all terrible like clearly there's there's something going on here yeah.

But did you guys um so i'm curious about that now like did you and your peer group your mastermind if you will did you guys share like information, tips and tricks, like, hey, this is working for me, this is working for me. And do you feel like you may just made each other better?

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, I mean, I feel like beyond just like the group that I had with the people that I or the classmates that I graduated with, I was constantly trying to find communities of people who were also in the same boat as I was. So I joined co-op.

So co-op is a fellowship that is essentially an organization that helps underemployed students or underrepresented communities land a role upon graduation. So it's a free program that you basically sign up for as if it was a job. You send an application and then you get interviewed. The interview is very unique because it's a group interview. So you're getting interviewed with everybody else who applied. And it was, it was very, I really loved it because you really, through the interview, you got to see what the program was going to be like. It was very community centered.

Um, and so co-op was another way for me to kind of build my social network and kind of get in, I guess, build a community of people who were going to provide me with the resources that I needed to kind of get out of the, what I considered at the time was like my funk. I was like, I like hit a plateau where I'm sending all these applications and I'm just not getting anywhere.

Like I'm not getting called back for an interview. Like I'm, I'm just, it felt like I was just sending applications into a void that we're never going to see the light of day. And I was like, well, what am I going to do about it? Like I have to get in touch with real people. We're going to be able to provide me with tips and advice that maybe people around me can't, you know, I'm a first generation student. So, My family has no idea what it's like. They're entrepreneurs.

Albert (Host):
Supportive, but they can't give you any advice.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, they're like, well, why don't you do this? My family, we're Hispanic, so their mentality is a lot like, well, Mija, why don't you go to the companies in person and hand in your application? And I'm like, they don't accept applications like that. You need to submit it online. They would look at you a little funny. They'd be like, what are you doing? You'd be talking to a security guard.

So it's like, it's kind of also kind of being in that like circle of having people who are being i don't know empathetic to your situation but not really understanding the struggles that come with it and that was my way of trying to find a community of people who did and also people who kind of understood i was like i need a grown-up to tell me what to do and You know, I don't have anyone around me who's been through it, who has, you know, gotten their degree and are looking for a corporate role. I don't know what I'm doing.

And I feel like that has been like a constant theme throughout like my educational career and my professional career now. I literally am just like, it's trial and error. I try it out. If it doesn't work, I try something new. Because a lot of the times, just like myself, a lot of people just don't know what they're doing and they don't have the people around them to tell them like, oh, this is what you have to do and this is going to work. And it's just like trial and error. If it doesn't work, like, you know, kind of dust it off and keep it pushing. There's going to be something that's going to land and kind of keeping track of the things that are working in your favor. And then kind of building off of that.

That was like my strategy. I was like, if this is not working, let me just try something new. Okay. That seems to work. Let me build off of that. Let me add another layer to that. See if that maybe helps boost what I'm trying to do. And if it did, I kept building up on it. And if it didn't, I was like, okay, let me try something else.

So yeah, co-op was that for me, it basically is a four month program. It's a 16 week program that trains you in different industries or different careers. I believe it's data analytics, digital marketing, marketing, and finance. Okay. Um, you get to choose the field or the track that you want to be in. And it's basically just classes Monday through Thursday. You sit down from six to 9. And they're walking you through basically the most essential skills that you need to land a role in that in that career and they provide like a career coaching a lot of um they also brought about a lot of emotional support we had a lot of workshops of people just coming in and building like how to deal with imposter syndrome um how to deal with microaggressions in the workplace kind of a lot of these things that you didn't even know you needed to prepare for.

Um, but i was like so thankful that i you know got to participate in all those workshops because it validated what i was feeling internally and kind of in my head thinking, oh, like maybe it's just me, like I'm just the problem. Maybe I really just don't have what it takes to land a role in the industry that I want to be in. And then them kind of vocalizing that and being like, yeah, this is what we all feel. And then everybody in the chat being like, thank God I'm not the only one.

Albert (Host):
Yeah. Okay. So we're all feeling like super bad about ourselves right now. Yeah. I'm so glad you said the name because I was totally going to ask you about Coop. So co-op, got it. I was today years old when I learned it was called that. So you recommend that to other people. Obviously that was a big benefit to you.

Vicky Torres:
Oh my gosh. The role that I'm in right now, I got it because of co-op. I didn't apply for this role at all. It wasn't an application that I sent in. A recruiter reached out to me saying they had seen my resume and Because co-op basically has like a very big like network of companies that they kind of work with.

At the end of the program, you fill out like an interest form basically where you list out your skills and the kinds of industry and roles that you'd be interested in. And my guess is that they send those out and those are available for recruiters to look at. She like reached out to me and she's like, hey, saw your resume. I know that you're looking for data analytics roles, but I have this role as an associate media planner that I feel like you'd be a great fit for. Let me know if you're interested in hopping on a call and chatting. And I was like, of course, I'd love to. And that's like kind of what started the ball rolling for the role that I'm in right now.

Wow. Yeah. So it wasn't even like an application that I like sent out and I was like, oh, okay. So like co-op kind of, They were the reason and they're the reason why I am where I am right now.

Albert (Host):
Awesome. Cool. So, okay. So you did co-op that's what set you up with the referral. So I'm curious, and I don't know if this is painful for you to go back to, but what was your application strategy looking like? You said it, it bore no fruit, but what exactly were you doing?

Vicky Torres:
Um, I think in the beginning when I like just graduated it's like the typical standard oh i'm looking for jobs probably like on linkedin kind of using that as like a little searching tool to find the open roles and then just sending in the application that was it that was the extent to my strategy finding roles sending my application and then calling it a day.

And then i think like two months in i'm like I'm just wasting my time. Like this is not doing anything. Um, how do I even know people are actually looking at my resume? Um, and that was, so let's say I graduated. Yeah. I think by the end, by August, I was already doing co-op. So by then I was like, okay, hold on. Um, just sending applications doesn't work.

I started applying and going into like online recruiting events, kind of like anything that I saw data analytics related where they were having social networking, like helping new graduates land their dream role. I was like, I'm signing up. And that is how I like started meeting people. And honestly, that's how I started getting referrals. We start talking and tell them about my journey, like my educational journey, my goals, my aspirations for like what I wanted to do. And they'd be like, oh my gosh, send me a connection on LinkedIn.

So I always made sure to like follow up with everyone that I met. You're like, oh my gosh, it was such, like, I really loved getting to talk to you today. Blank, blank, blank event. So they know like where, like where they met me. And then being like, I would love to continue our chat. I would love to hear more about your journey, how you got to where you're at. And that's how kind of I started the conversation and would just be going back and forth and telling me about their own journey and things that they did.

And then kind of bringing up that, you know, conversation of like, would you, be okay with like reviewing my resume. I think that's when I started having people take a look at my resume. Up until that point, I didn't know kind of like you had to tailor your resume to each application that you're sending out. I was just sending out the same, the same resume to like everybody. And that's when they were like, well, are you, are you tailoring your resume? And I'm like, no, I'm not. And then they're like, okay, let me walk you through how to do that.

That's when I started tailoring it. And then when doing that didn't work, I was like, Okay. So tailoring resumes still doesn't work. So what am I going to do now? Then I started, I applied to be a member of like rewriting the code. Again, it's another way that I tried to like build a community and again, finding a place where I could be granted resources to, to like reach out to people who are recruiting and looking for actively looking for people to like fill in their roles.

Rewriting the code again, it's, It's for more like data analytics, like STEM centered roles, where it's helping women, like, you know, the underrepresented group of women be able to have that connection and have the resources that they need to be able to land a role in STEM. And that is kind of where I ended up having a lot of the recruiting events that I attended.

They do like a summit, I think twice a year with like a bunch of companies, like I'm talking like Amazon, Bank of America, like big companies that like partner with them and they attend these events where essentially after because it's like a whole day event like it's like nine to like three or four um where they'll again they're having like workshop moments um and then on top of that they're having like little groups of people meeting one-on-one with a recruiter and talking about themselves and then being able to build that connection.

I think just like doing all of that and seeing what worked and what didn't That is where I ended up getting a lot of my referrals, which is what ended up helping me land interviews. Literally for like the only interview that I ended up ever like going on was as a result, like a direct result of me having a referral attached to my application. All of the other ones felt like, well, they probably saw it and rejected it. Like as soon as it hit the bank, like as soon as it went into their inbox, the TSA filter probably just like filtered out my resume.

Albert (Host):
So yeah, it's like, again, you, you then end up in, in a place where you start to feel helpless. You're like, there is no feedback. Like if you've got a rejection, like that would be one thing, but yeah, it's, it's you, you're like in a vacuum. I think you said that earlier.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. Literally. Yeah.

Albert (Host):
Um, okay. So how many interviews did you wind up going?

Vicky Torres:
I think I ended up doing, and this is sad for interviews in the course of the year. that i was unemployed which i'm like okay like out of and i i tracked the amount of applications that i sent out like built out an excel sheet like as soon as i started um yeah that's awesome literally like just tracking what because i'm like i can't keep in my head knowing what i'm sending out kind of also that was kind of a way that i was tracking also what am i doing that's working because if i change my strategy like this first two weeks that I'm doing this one thing that I'm trying out, am I getting any callbacks for, for this specific strategy that I'm trying? It was kind of my way to keep my thoughts organized and seeing what worked and what didn't.

Um, I think I sent over a thousand applications and only got called back for four. And that was because I had a referral of people like in the back end being like, I vouch for her. She's, she's good. Give her, give her a chance. And so I think that just really portrays the kind of job market that all these students are facing and why it's so difficult. People are not wanting to hire people who have no industry experience. But that's a very hard thing to ask for people who are spending all their time trying to build also a degree that you want them to have.

Albert (Host):
Yeah. So that's curious. I mean, you highlighted earlier, in hindsight, did the master's degree help you?

Vicky Torres:
I feel like it helps once you're in the industry. I don't think at this point, the way that the market is right now, I don't think it helps you land a role. It helps you maybe get promoted. And I think that is as I'm like experiencing the corporate world right now and just kind of observing how things happen, seeing my master's and my educational career as a way that's going to help me get to where I want to be. But I don't think As of now, I'm like, it didn't help me land the role that I'm in right now.

Albert (Host):
Do you feel like, okay, so it wasn't a ticket in the door, obviously. Do you feel like the things that you learned are actually useful to you?

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, absolutely. Um, even in the role that I'm in right now, which has nothing to do with data analytics, um, because it's a media planning role. Um, there is a lot of data analytics that takes place in the role regardless.

Albert (Host):
Yeah, so see, I was going to circle back to that, but you hit it already. Don't say it's not a data role, just because it doesn't have data analyst in the title.

Vicky Torres:
Exactly, and that's, I think, the thing that got me, one of the things that I ended up realizing as I was applying, that I was, like, so tunnel-visioned into only applying for data and analytics roles. Was it in the title that you weren't looking at things that... contain the work that you wanted to do ways that other roles could help me build the skills that i need as a data analyst i was literally it was just a tunnel vision.

I think it's something that we kind of all like after college we're like well i i studied for this so logically i'd look for roles that are that such and such title so for me i was like i was looking for all the alternatives of like something that had analysts in it like marketing analysts data analysts like risk analyst, like anything that I'm like, okay, I'm looking at the description. I think I can do it and apply for.

Once I started opening myself up for the possibility of why don't I just look for roles that have my skillset, but aren't particularly don't have the title that I'm looking to, to have. That's when I feel like a lot more doors opened up for me. Like, I feel like that is when I started to actually get called back for interviews or even just like get a response back from like recruiters.

So i think that is one thing that i do want to like tell people i know it's really hard especially if you put in so much work into like the degree and the position that you're like in your head imagining yourself to be i think ultimately kind of having that like long-term vision long-term goal of i will eventually get there but i don't have to start off in that position.

And i know that there are plenty of people who also like graduate and then immediately like end up landing their dream role as whatever it is that they're looking for but I think sometimes opportunities present themselves to you that are going to help you be in an even better place that you never imagined you'd be and like open up opportunities for you to maybe see things that you didn't think you'd be interested in.

Like in the role that I'm in right now I never imagined I'd be in the entertainment industry but here I am learning so much and like loving every second of it. And every time I see with my coworkers and people who are in different roles in the entertainment industry, I'm like, huh, that sounds fun. That sounds interesting.

Kind of just like it's opening up my eyes to being like, it doesn't have to just be a straight up data analytics role. There are so many ways in which the analytical skill comes really in clutch with different kinds of roles. And I'm seeing it with my role that I'm in today so so much like we do so much data analytics especially because we're you know building out a plan for our client and kind of letting them be like hey so this is what we recommend and this is why we recommend it like we have to have data to back up what we're recommending and be like hey based on the on the last few campaigns we're seeing that this specific vendor is actually rendering a lot like higher ROAS for what we're trying to get.

And kind of everything that I learned in my master's kind of understanding the scope of your project and then gathering the data and really analyzing the data to correlate with what specifically it is that you're looking for and building out that storytelling which is like primarily what we do as planners as well like we're storytelling to our client like this is what we're doing and this is how we're going to render the results that we really want to get.

I don't think i would have these skills if it wasn't for my career like my educational career at all and it is feedback that i've received from Like my managers and my boss, like, hey, we love this. Like, keep going at it. Like, you know, you have a master's in data analytics and it shows in your work ethic. And honestly, it sets you apart from, you know, the other associates that we've had in the past. Because we're able to see that you're really leveraging your data analytical skills in this role. And it's really helping set your work apart.

Albert (Host):
A couple of things that I wanted to highlight just from, you know, the stories that you've told so far is, I mean, I love the kind of grind culture kind of gets a, gets a bad rap now, but you know, I'm not talking about like people coming to work on Saturday and, you know, posting about how hard they're working on LinkedIn. But like you talking about like you didn't just like headbutt the front door over and over again for six months doing nothing.

You immediately like you did it for a little while. You did it for long enough to sit there and take stock and say that this is not working. Yeah. And then from there you said, OK, well, what what other approach can I take? And you started looking for other avenues. So you found co-op, you found rewriting the code, you found all of these different ways that you could spend your time and energy other than just reinforcing failure and continuing to spin on the hamster wheel.

Where does that... That's obviously something that's just genetic to you because I'll be honest with you, I don't see the majority of the people in your position doing things like that, where does that come from? Like, what is that just ingrained in you?

Vicky Torres:
Like, I mean, it has a lot to do with my upbringing as well. You know, again, I'm a first gen I'm from the Latino community and we grind. Like if something doesn't work, we grow up with the action driven mentality.

You know, I get it. I truly, as someone who was in the same position as you were, being in that position of feeling hopeless and kind of being like there's nothing there's nothing that I'm doing that's working and what's the point of me trying so hard if it feels like nothing it's worth nothing like I'm working so hard it feels like you're in a hamster wheel running and it's like it doesn't matter how hard I run I'm in the same place so why am I working so hard.

And there were moments for sure where I was like whatever like I'm not gonna do anything I'm just I'm just gonna whatever, I'm going to stop. But then it was my mentality of like, okay, I understand it's not working, but why is it not working? What can I do differently to make it work? You have to have that action driven mentality because if you're just stuck in wishful thinking, that's all it's going to be. Like what you're hoping your goal is only going to be a vision. It's only going to be something that you wish you had. not something that you're actively working towards.

So like for me i was just building out like a plan i'm like okay this is where i want to be what can i do to get myself there right now i'm in stage one of trying to get myself to like my five-year goal to my one-year goal what can i do to get myself there and if something is not working then let me try something new if like the stairs are not working let me take the elevator Elevator is not working. Let me call a helicopter. I gotta do something to get myself there.

So it's just kind of having that mentality of like, if it doesn't work, even though it's hard, maybe reach out to the people who might have an idea of what you can do differently, you know? And again, then that always comes back to that community. You have to build a community of people who kind of have that foundational understanding of what can you do?

Co-op provided me with career coaches. as an alumni, you have access to these career coaches. And honestly, that is who I always ended up going back to when I had an interview or anything, even, even during my job searching process. Once I was like, I don't think it's working. I reached out to, to my career and I love him. His name is Jonathan.

Um, he, I was like, Hey, Jonathan, like, I don't see anything working. Can we, can we have like a quick meeting so we can run through maybe things that I can do differently to find roles, to apply for roles. And he was like, absolutely. Let's let's meet. Every time I got out of my call with Jonathan, I felt so much lighter. I was like, okay, like I got this, i'm figuring, I'm figuring it out. I'm walking towards something, but I feel like sometimes you lose, lose track of what it is that you're working so hard for. And sometimes you need someone to ground you and be like, you're doing okay. You're doing what you're supposed to be doing.

Albert (Host):
So he's giving you half pep talk, half strategy session.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, he's like, let's figure it out. You're okay. I know it feels like you're drowning, but you're gonna be okay. We're gonna figure something out. And really, again, having that person or someone who can calm you down and ground you to be like, okay, I understand it feels like you're not going anywhere, but as long as you keep working, you're working towards something, you know?

Albert (Host):
Yeah. Well, I love the fact that, so earlier you touched upon Got it. The job market is not, it's not the same as it used to be. It's not just a get degree, apply, get job. There's much more to it now. The thing that I see people doing is I see people using that as an excuse. And I don't think they know they're doing it. They're not sitting there immediately going, woe is me and kind of bunkering down, but eventually they get there.

And you talked about having some sort of instincts towards wanting to quit, wanting to kind of mail it in. But from there, you immediately, what I take from your journey is you immediately went towards radical accountability and you said, I can do something about this. Yeah. And so, you know, that grind is not just, you know, do the same thing harder because, you know, 10 times zero is still zero and you were getting nothing out of the process. So you realized, hey, work harder. Sure. Maybe that's required, but work differently. And you went and figured out what that different thing looked like or different things.

That's where the kind of special sauce is. And that's the thing that I find is probably an example for people out there is like, hey, you can take accountability for this. Yeah.

Vicky Torres:
Like the job market doesn't decide your fate. You can make a change. Yeah. And kind of just for me also, I think it's just like how I am. I'm, I'm a very optimistic person. So I just, I'm like, I have to find the silver lining in all of it. So as I was unemployed, I wasn't just, I was like, what can I do with my time to make it productive? And I don't want to just be sitting in front of a screen, sending in applications.

You know, I applied, I applied to be a sub. So that's when I started working with swing. Okay. Um, I started working with swing, I believe August. So around the same time that I started co-op is when I – I'm telling you, like July and June and August were like – That was a creative time for you. I see that.

No, it was when I was like, I'm done. I'm done sitting around. I'm done waiting to get – I'm done just feeling bad about myself and feeling bad about the fact that I'm not getting anywhere. I'm going to start doing something about it.

So i'm like, i'm going to start working. Even if it's not in the field that I want to be in, I want to make money and it's not because I needed it because I live with my parents and my parents are like the best parents in the world. And they were like, you do what you got to do. We got you, you know?

And so it wasn't for me, it wasn't because I needed, you know, financial stability, which like, I thank God for that because not everyone is in the same position as I am. And that it was something that I like it retrospectively. I understood that from the very beginning because of, the people that i graduated with so i knew a lot of them were international students so they had a very short window after graduating to be able to get like sponsored to stay in the country so i was like i as bad as i feel right now i still have to be thankful for what i have and i have to look at the silver lining right now i don't have to work but i want to work because i also don't want my resume to have like empty spots of like okay well what were you doing between this time and that.

Yeah, absolutely. That is why I looked into co-op as well because I was like, I need to, my resume needs to show how action-driven I am and how I'm not just sitting around like sending in applications because very early on, I realized it wasn't going to be easy to land a role. And I was like, if it's going to take me six months or a year to land a role, I want to at least be able to show that gap between finishing school and landing my first role to be productive.

So someone who's looking at my resume is going to be like, oh, well, she graduated in May. August, she started co-op and co-op is literally just, it's a, literally it's like a program where you, it's a bootcamp that you're doing to help you build your careers, career development. So I was like, I need to also have a career seat. I'm not just sitting around waiting for the job to like land in my lap. I'm not just working toward that one thing. Like I'm really diversifying my resume, if you may.

Yeah. And that's also why I applied to Swing. It gave me that like freedom to be able to work from eight to three Like the normal elementary school hours. And then from three to like six, I had to kind of work on sending in applications and on co-op materials that I needed to work on from 6 PM to 9 PM. I worked on co-op and then I went to bed and I woke up the next day and started all over again. It was just doing something to make sure that I was being productive with my time and making sure that my efforts were kind of leading me somewhere.

Albert (Host):
Well, and I guarantee that first of all, that extra effort was, was noticeable. I know having reviewed your resume, which, you know, there was, that was another thing you volunteered as soon as we were doing a show and it's like, Hey, we're, we're doing some resume thing. I think it was when I was still doing that project with Maven and, and you were one of the first to be like, yep, I'm in.

Yeah. And so you were out there volunteering. And that's just, I mean, you're just creating energy around you as far as I'll do this and I'll do this and I'll do that. And you never know which thing is going to open up an opportunity for you. And it may not even be that thing. It may be the thing like, you know, I pull Vicki Torres's resume up on my show and there may be someone else watching that who says, Hey, that looks like a skillset I can use. Like maybe I'll call her, uh, to, to come in for an interview.

So it's just, sometimes it's just the action of putting yourself out there and saying me, I'll go like, I'll do it. Yes. That then opens you up to the opportunity that, that eventually becomes yours and becomes your full-time employment.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. And I feel like this, the journey that the unemployment journey really, that was the one thing that I like the constant theme that I can't, that kept seeing, which was like getting out of your comfort zone. Um, even just my education and career. I started building onto that. I was a very shy, quiet, in the back of the classroom, never raised my hand kind of girl. And I mean, it also came as a result of me, like I was born in Ecuador. So I moved into the States when I was 10.

So, you know, I had to learn the language and grow accustomed to the culture. And that kind of just led for me to be more shy and more kind of conservative. I don't want to talk to anybody. Like they're going to judge me, make fun of me, even though I never really cared. Cause like, The second anyone made fun of me, I'd be like, principal, someone's saying something about me.

You know, it was never that. I think it was just like this self-conscious thing of like, there kind of not, there never been a space for me to speak up, you know, and kind of be like, oh, like, would anyone really care what I have to say? will they think that I'm like just ignorant about it or like not know about it because I don't know the language that well. And it kind of just, I internalized into like high school where I was just like very quiet.

Once I started college, I was like, no girl, we gotta do something different. So we gotta, we gotta change, especially being in like the STEM field. I was in information technology. So like very early on, I was like, oh my gosh, there's a classroom of like 20 people and I'm like the only girl in it. How intimidating.

And to me, Again, because of the way that I was raised, it wasn't something that intimidated me. It pushed me to work harder. But I was very cognizant of the fact that it could be an environment that could make people or women in my position be like, I don't really want to pursue this career.

And I reached out to the chairwoman of my department. And I was like, hey. Like, do you know like what the dropout rate is for like women in the computer science department? And she was like, yeah, like it's very high. It's significantly higher than the guys. And I was like, okay, well, let's do something about that.

And I built my women in technology organization because I wanted to create an environment, a safe space for women to be, to understand that they're not the only ones pursuing a career in this industry. And I wanted them to feel supported to pursue a career that we're passionate about. This is like the fact that maybe they, we're the only person or the only woman in the classroom.

Because you do do microaggressions in a classroom when you're the only girl. The assumptions that you like, when you're asking for help, the assumption is that you want the answer, not that you want like the logic behind the answer. And so whenever you'd be like, oh, Hey, like I'm stuck on this line of code. Like, can you help me? Can you walk me through like how you got your answers? Like, here's, here's the whole code sheet. And you're like, that's not really what I asked for though.

Albert (Host):
Yeah. I want to learn this.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. Like I want to understand why, why, how we're getting there. Um, like, and then kind of just building that community and helping the other female students understand like, Hey, we're in this together. And then providing them with a lot of career resources. Like I, I hosted a lot of workshops, a lot of mock interviews, kind of providing them with the resources they needed to be successful outside of the classroom and kind of just building that.

So for me, it was like, if you don't see it happening, something that you want for me, it was like that space where anyone can feel comfortable speaking about what makes them uncomfortable. Anyone can, can just bring up their concerns. Their aspirations, their dreams. Yeah. I wanted that. And I was like, it doesn't exist, but just because it doesn't exist doesn't mean we can't make it happen. You know? So again, is that like that actually driven mentality of let's make it happen and let's see what comes out of it, you know?

Albert (Host):
Yeah. It feels like we could do a whole nother podcast episode. Just like, I, I kind of, I remember looking at your profile and seeing like, okay, yeah. Women founder and president. Okay, cool. Um, and I was, I was so focused on the, the employment and the education, because that's what I know about you. Yeah. That yeah. When you talk about that, it's like, man, that's impressive. Like we could do a whole nother podcast on that. Maybe we'll do a return engagement.

Vicky Torres:
It's a passion thing that I like love.

Albert (Host):
And are you still working on that?

Vicky Torres:
It's I. after i graduated i was still in contact with i you know trained after leaving the torch i was like i didn't pass on the torch to someone who was equally as passionate about the purpose and the mission of the club and i'm constantly in contact with my chairwoman of the department and we're constantly just talking about how much it's grown since i started like now i think we're like at a hundred members and because we it's not just the women the technology women and at the university.

It's like all women, you know, like anyone could still win a cup. We have people from the biology department, from the sociology department, from the political science department. It's just, it's become like a community of really just, we're all building each other up for success, basically. Like no one's competition. We're all, we're all in it together. And your, your win is my win, you know?

Albert (Host):
Yeah. That sounds fantastic. I'm glad we, yeah, I'm glad we brought it around to that. So speaking of whole other episodes, we do need to land this plane at some point. And I was going to kind of be like, hey, time to pay it forward. But you clearly are already doing that.

Real quick, what recommendations do you have? Couple of minutes. If you've got a couple of nuggets to pass on to people following behind you, be they any person, women, Hispanics, You know, whatever. What are your recommendations for people that are out there and maybe they're coming up on the six month mark and they're hitting the panic button and they're like, hey, this is not working for me.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah, I would say, again, there are like a few things that I came across that really just helped me. Again, you have to go out, even if it's not like going in person. There are a lot of online events, a lot of online social networking opportunities that you can sign up for.

And not only is it going to make you feel better coming out of it, because you're really going to see that you're not the only one in this position. You're going to come out of it with a lot of connections with people that are going to, hopefully, if you build the relationship organically and kind of continue to reach out, like it truly is not just about like, oh, I met them and they'll remember me and they'll reach out to me.

No, like you have to take that first step forward. Like every single thing that you do, a lot of the times in this process, you have be the one who takes that first step. Um, and so reaching out to people after you've attended recruiting events and tell them like, hi, thank you so much for talking to me. Like, I really enjoyed our conversation. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me. I'd love to continue the chat. I'd love to talk to you about your journey, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And kind of leading into that segue of, you know, let's talk about my resume. Let's talk about maybe potential opportunities at their company that they might be having. I know after conversing with a lot of these recruiters or even just people who were working at certain companies, they'd be like, hey, actually, I saw that company's hiring for XYZ role. Let me know if you'd like to apply. I'd love to give you a referral.

And that is something that I'm doing now that I get to go to panels and people reach out to me. And kind of being on the other side, on the other end of it, I'm like, oh my gosh, yes, you're working so hard. I'd love to be able to be that step that can hopefully get you a tiny bit closer to whatever it is that you're hoping to get out of it.

So again, attend a lot of recruiting events, not even just recruiting, but just social networking events in general. You never know who you'll meet. Like Oliver said, there's so many people that you end up meeting and you never know who might be like the key to that door that you're trying to get opened.

Really tailoring your resume, kind of taking an outside look of your resume and being like, if I didn't know anything about myself, If I didn't know myself the way that I do, what are the key storytelling things that you want to make sure that stands out to recruiters?

Albert (Host):
Yeah. And then value speaking their language.

Vicky Torres:
Absolutely. Yes. Like really just like getting into their headspace. And because again, they're only looking at your resume for like a minute max and So you really want to make sure that what they're looking at is really make your make. You want to make sure that what they're looking at is what you want them to remember about you. You know, I want them to know that I did this, this, this and that. So make sure that that's at the top of the page, you know, and it stands out to them.

Because the way that I'm looking at it, we're hiring at my company right now and it's a quick process. You know, sometimes it's you're involved.

Albert (Host):
No, I'm not involved.

Vicky Torres:
Oh, okay. But I'm seeing, literally was announced like maybe a couple weeks ago, oh, we're going to like add on to the team. And starting last week, even that same week, we were already having interviews. So it's a very fast process where they're trying to get people in and really vetting everybody out. And I'm like, oh my gosh, that's how quickly everything goes down.

Like a position opens and two weeks later, they're already like onboarding. So it's really you hopping out to the opportunity as soon as it comes up.

What was the other thing that I was, oh my gosh, there was one thing. It was not resume related.

Albert (Host):
You'll think about it once we're done.

Vicky Torres:
I'll remember it when it comes to me, but it was.

Albert (Host):
Sorry, we'll include like a supplemental note or something.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. I'm like, what was it? Cause I'm like, I know that it really. I think we got a bunch. I mean, you, you, you fired off like four or five magic bullets right there. Those are great.

Albert (Host):
Yeah, I felt like I was writing some of those.

Vicky Torres:
Well, I'm glad I'm, I'm hoping that's, I think the one thing that I like always hope to provide for people when I do these kinds of things, whether it be like panels or just like a podcast.

Albert (Host):
Oh yeah. Cause we've all listened to panels.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. Exactly. Hoping that like someone got out of it and being like that one thing she said, I'm going to do that. And, You know, hopefully that helps you out and really allows you to like, what's the word, like steer near wherever it is you want to get.

So yeah, just attend a lot of social networking events, really like take a personalized look into your resume. A lot of, oh my gosh, this is a thing. practice interviewing. Honestly, you have to practice interviewing. We have to do like a whole other practice.

Albert (Host):
Don't wing it. Just go in and be yourself is the worst advice ever.

Vicky Torres:
Definitely go in and be yourself. Rehearse your answers. But be prepared. We have to do another thing strictly going into interviewing techniques because the way I went into everything interviewing related, that's a whole other thing that we have to talk about because There's a lot that you need to think about when it comes to interviews.

And co-op taught us a lot of strategies and a lot of techniques to keep in mind when you're interviewing. I had my sister be like, okay, girl, like, here are questions. Let's run to it. you have to have someone who like is comfortable giving it to you raw because she was like, no, you're talking too much.

Albert (Host):
And not be worried about your feelings.

Vicky Torres:
Yeah. Cause I was like, just, just do it. And your feelings will get hurt. Like I was not offended, but it helps. Better to get it hurt in rehearsal than hurt in the interview. Or just nobody says anything to you and you just don't get the job. Especially because when you're interviewing for jobs, you don't get feedback. You just say, Oh, sorry. Like we've decided to move on with other candidates. And that's it.

They don't tell you, you could have done this differently. You could have done that. So it's basically just you psychoanalyzing yourself and being like, what could I have done? What could have I done differently? Where can I improve my interviewing skills?

So reaching out to people that will help you do mock interviews. I do that all the time. Like anyone who reaches out and they're like, Hey, let's hop on a call. I'd love to do mock interviews with you because I've been there and all the feedback that I got with having mock interviews with not just industry professionals but even just people who are close to you who will tell it to you straight helped me significantly with my interviewing skills because I know when I spoke with the people who ended up hiring me and like my teammates and they're like yeah like your interviewing skills were like so great like it was very polished like you spoke very well and you never like just like yeah it was always purposeful like what you were saying led somewhere which like ended up hooking us in so.

Yeah, we definitely have to do another podcast just strictly about like—

Albert (Host):
Absolutely. Interviews because interviews is a whole beast besides just like sending in applications that very important. I have all these questions about interviews that we didn't even get to. So yeah, we definitely need to do a 2.0.

Vicky Torres:
Yes, I'd love to. It's a lot, you guys. It's a lot. It is. It's a difficult journey, but it's going to be worth it. When I tell you the amount of times that I cried- Going back and being like, I'm not going anywhere. I'm literally just going to end up working for whatever gives me money because I'm not going to be in a role that's going to make me fulfilled.

And now I am where I am. I'm like, okay, everything that I did led me somewhere. And it truly is where I am right now. It was a direct merit of having done the things that I did. Going into co-op, even just working for Swing Education. I built so many skills, like transactional skills that I was able to use in this position. Oh my gosh, I love my students.

It was like just doing all that, being in a structure that allowed for me to build the skills that I'm now able to use at my current role. Everything works toward building your character and building who you want to be. So putting yourself in those situations and in those positions and even if you feel like you're going out of your comfort zone, that is building your character and it's going to build the character that's going to make you stand out as a candidate when you start interviewing. So it's all working towards something and you're not alone.

Albert (Host):
Yep. It's all for your good. Okay. Well, Vicky Torres, how can people find you? Where do you hang out on the interwebs?

Vicky Torres:
I hang out in LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. That is literally where a lot of people reach out to me. And that is where I love how it's easier. Like, you know, kind of what you're going to be talking about in LinkedIn. And yeah, I'm just working on building my LinkedIn to help people like really just help whoever wants my help and in the job searching journey, even just again, in anything that you're applying for, like reach out. I'd love to do mock interviews. I'd love to review a resume. That is just what we're here for. It's a community.

I feel like that's why I love LinkedIn. It truly is a community of people helping people. And that is where you can find me.

Albert (Host):
Yeah. Awesome. Well, we know you're definitely invested in helping your community, and I appreciate that. Well, Vicki, that is all the time we have for this episode. We'll definitely work on getting you back on the show. It's been a pleasure having you on.

Vicky Torres:
Oh, my gosh. Thank you for having me. I love the conversations.

Albert (Host):
Absolutely. With that, folks, Semper Fidelis. We'll talk to you later.

Albert (Host) – Outro:
All Friends, thanks for joining me for a great show. If you'd like to hear more, I'll have the guest's contact info in the show notes below. If you'd like to get involved with Data Career Academy and find out more about what we do, please visit my website, themajordata.com. Or you can join my LinkedIn group for exclusive free content and first looks at what I'm working on. With that, Semper Fidelis, and I'll talk to you later.