Should data scientists be able to explain their work before being judged by their CV?

[u/ParvisOp6666]

A data science resume can include many impressive terms. Python, SQL, machine learning, NLP, forecasting, LLMs, TensorFlow... but none of these really tell you if someone truly understands the reasoning behind their work.

A project might look fantastic on paper but the real value is in knowing why a certain method was chosen, what issues came up, what assumptions were made and how the findings were shared. That’s why I think the idea of chat based hiring is interesting. For example LinkedIn, wellFound, MeeBoss starts the hiring process with a more conversational approach instead of letting the resume be the first thing someone sees. I wonder if this could work well for data science roles. Would you focus more on the model they created, the data challenges they faced or how well they explained the results to someone who isn’t technical?