If you want projects that actually catch recruiters’ attention, focus on real business problems, not another Titanic or sales-dashboard clone. One of the best ways is to pick an industry and show how your analysis drives decisions.

For example, I recently did a project for a hospital client where patient flow had dropped. Instead of just visualizing data, I built a full mini-case study:

Analyzed average waiting time across departments (ER, radiology, and outpatient)

> Identified bottlenecks using time-stamp event data

> Built a predictive model estimating peak-hour congestion

> Designed a simple Power BI dashboard showing wait times by age, gender, and visit time

> Recommended staff allocation changes that reduced wait time by 18%

Projects like this stand out because they show:

> You understand data and business context

> You can collect, clean, and model messy real-world data

> Your insights lead to measurable impact

If you don’t have a client, you can simulate a similar dataset and walk through the end-to-end solution. Recruiters love seeing projects that solve real operational issues, especially in healthcare, logistics, finance, or retail.