DS Unit 4 Sprint 16 - Sprint Challenge

Sprint Challenge Overview

Congratulations on reaching the Sprint Challenge for Unit 4 Sprint 16! This challenge serves as the culmination of your work on technical interview preparation and career readiness.

The Sprint Challenge consists of two main components:

  1. Technical Assessment: Complete the official General Code Assessment (GCA) on CodeSignal
  2. Career Materials: Submit your finalized LinkedIn profile and technical resume

This challenge is designed to assess your readiness for technical interviews and your ability to present yourself professionally to potential employers. The skills demonstrated in this challenge are directly applicable to your job search process.

Technical Assessment

General Code Assessment (GCA)

The GCA is a standardized assessment that measures your coding abilities across several dimensions:

  • Problem Solving: Your ability to analyze and solve algorithmic problems
  • Code Organization: How well you structure and organize your code
  • Efficiency: The time and space complexity of your solutions
  • Correctness: Whether your solutions produce the expected outputs

Assessment Format

The GCA consists of 4 coding tasks to be completed in 70 minutes:

  • The problems increase in difficulty as you progress
  • You'll be assessed on both the correctness and efficiency of your solutions
  • The assessment is proctored through the CodeSignal platform

Taking the GCA

To complete the GCA portion of the Sprint Challenge:

  1. Ensure you have a stable internet connection and a quiet environment
  2. Complete all four problems to the best of your ability
  3. Once completed, submit your GCA report
BloomTech GCA Link Access the official General Code Assessment for BloomTech students.

Career Materials

LinkedIn Profile

Submit your completed LinkedIn profile that follows the best practices covered in Module 1. Your profile should include:

  • Professional profile photo
  • Compelling headline and About section
  • Detailed Experience section including BloomTech
  • Education section
  • Skills section with relevant data science skills
  • Projects with descriptions and links
  • At least 10 connections including classmates and instructors

Technical Resume

Submit your finalized technical resume that follows the template and best practices covered in Module 4. Your resume should include:

  • Professional heading with contact information
  • Technical skills section
  • Projects section (minimum 3 projects)
  • Experience section
  • Education section

Ensure your resume is tailored for data science roles and demonstrates your technical abilities through your projects and skills.

Submission Requirements

To complete the Sprint Challenge, you must submit the following:

  1. GCA Score Report: Screenshot or share link of your completed GCA
  2. LinkedIn Profile URL: Ensure your profile is public so it can be reviewed
  3. Technical Resume: Submit as a PDF document
  4. Self-Reflection: A brief reflection (300-500 words) on:
    • Your experience taking the GCA
    • Areas of strength and improvement in your technical skills
    • How you plan to continue developing your skills and profile

Preparation Tips

For the GCA

  • Complete all LeetCode problems in Modules 1-3
  • Review algorithm patterns and data structures
  • Practice timed coding challenges

For Career Materials

  • Have peers review your LinkedIn profile and resume
  • Check for consistency between your LinkedIn profile and resume
  • Proofread carefully for grammar and spelling errors
  • Ensure all links are working properly
  • Quantify achievements whenever possible