Top 3 Things To Do To Get A Data Analytics Job
One of the common questions out there is how does one get their first analytics job. There are several methods and avenues you could go down to get your first analytics job. I think getting your first analytics job is probably similar to getting an entry-level job in any new industry or market. But just to put some organization around it and to give you my thoughts on what you can do if you’re, let’s say, in college and about to finish up in the next year or two or you are wanting to change jobs into a new area let’s say from one functional area into analytics. So to give a check list here are the top three things that you can do to get your first job in data analytics.
First is to build your portfolio.
This is a good suggestion I think for anyone especially someone that’s already in a data analytics position. You should always keep building your portfolio. So what do I mean by a portfolio? I’m talking about the projects you’ve completed, the dashboards that you’ve put together, the examples that you can show your new boss that you can do the job. Much like an artist compiles a portfolio you should be doing something similar with your best work. Even people already in a data analytics position should be constantly picking out their best work and grouping it together for their next job and even the job after that. I feel like what often happens is a person doesn’t think about examples that they can use in an interview or reasons for someone to hire them for their next position until they are faced with an interview. So many more people would be set up so much better if they were constantly thinking about their next position and what they can set aside as examples for their next job way before they even search or consider looking for their next job.
You may say “but I’m not yet in an analytics position so I don’t work on analytics projects” or “I’m still a student so I don’t have an opportunity to work on analytics projects”. Or you may even say “I’m too young I have no experience and I don’t think anyone will give me any analytics projects to work on to create a portfolio.” This is completely an excuse in my opinion. Especially with the data and tools that are available there are many opportunities to start an analytics project. There are many publicly available data sets that you can take and feed into a Google spreadsheet and create graphs. Even using Google studio all of which is available online and all of which is free. If you’re just starting out and looking for your very first analytical position the bar will be most likely a little bit lower for you. Employers may not expect you to have been doing data analytics for years. All they would be looking for at this point is your ability. Your potential. How you handle a key business question. They want you and they’re looking for you to demonstrate the steps that you would take to solve a problem and that they make sense for solving a business problem and analyzing data. Most likely they’re not looking for you to have the best solution or the final answer. But they are looking for you to be proactive which by compiling a portfolio even before you have an analytics job will show proactivity. They’re looking for you to have the right mindset and ask the right questions which could come across in your explanation of a project in your portfolio or you took the initiative to work on. And they’re looking for you to have some basic software skills with spreadsheets and such. You can take this a step further by using free data such as census data or other government supply data or you could even make up your own data as long as it was logical and use free tools such as Google studio which allows you to create fantastic graphs and dashboards.
You can use free visualization tools such as tableau online which gives you the essence of what tableau is and what the data visualization tool entails but publishes your dashboard and your data for everyone to see ( If you have confidential data or you’re already working in a company and you have supply to confidential data sources of course I would not recommend using the free online tools that publish your data to the web for everyone to see). But if you’re starting out with made up data or publicly available data and you use these free tools it’s a great way to show a potential employer that you know what steps to take and that you have the fundamental ability to perform data analytics. Building your portfolio and the more projects you have under your belt the better you’ll be and the better projects you’ll have to choose from when going on an interview. One thing that I also do on interviews is I create a brag book. It’s a small book printed out and I have a few copies that highlight my best analytical work including dashboards I put together, great slides that I’ve put together and that I’ve gotten really really good feedback on…things like that I take and I put in my brag book. Just in case the employer would like to see some examples of my work. Nine times out of 10 the interviewer says yes when I ask them would they like to see my brag book. I found it helps in most cases… not all but most cases… to give an interviewer who does not know you from anyone a better sense of what you can put together and the breath of your skills. It also shows that you’re proactive and go above and beyond seperating you from your average candidate because you went a step ahead and created this “product” . So there are still many many different ways that give you the opportunity to create your portfolio and show a potential employer that you should be given a chance. So make sure you start your portfolio today.
The Dreaded Networking Suggestion
Another thing you should do to get an analytics job is to network. I know what you’re thinking. Please No! I hate networking! From my experience many technical and analytical people are introverts. Myself included most definitely. When you say the word network to me I cringe. I think about sleazy sales people schmoozing with each other and being nice to each other just to get something in return. But over the years I have seen networking in a different light. Instead of thinking about awkward cocktail parties where you are forced to make small talk with strangers, think about how many other examples you know of where networking has been tremendously helpful. Especially networking among other like-minded people when it comes to data analytics. I have gotten so many good suggestions and seen so many great projects that have sparked awesome ideas when I have networked. So make sure you give networking it’s credit. I know it’s cliché to say it’s not what you know its who you know but I have seen it and seen it proven time and time again. I have seen people that I know were extremely qualified analytically and technically for positions but yet the job went to someone not even half as technical and half as analytical because that person knew the employer or the person conducting the interview. This topic gets into the art of selling which usually technical/analytical people are not very good at myself included again. But when you are interviewing for a position the person interviewing you is “buying” your services. Of course when you’re going for a corporate job your service is a little more formal and longer-term but what you’re doing in the interview in essence is selling the person giving the interview on the fact that you are the right person for this position. You will give the most value to the company in this position. That takes selling yourself. Someone interviewing someone else is only going to go with them if they feel like they understand the person. The interviewer and the hiring manager are only going to choose you if they can trust you. Your resume, your portfolio which we mentioned before and the selling of your skills all help the hiring manager to get to know you better and hopefully, depending on your interaction with them, trust you better. When you network you are meeting people that you don’t know and those people may be able to help you later down the line. This is a great thing for everyone to do on a regular basis. A person that doesn’t need a job as of right now that attends a networking event is very hesitant to meet people that need a job. As though in that case the person that needs the job is only there for one thing….that’s to get a job. Your networking will benefit you 100 times more if you start networking when you don’t need a job. So make sure you constantly network. Like I said before, networking has always helped me spark new ideas and get answers to questions or overcome difficulties that I’ve had when working on projects. The other side of that coin is to provide value . I would not have gotten even a half out of my networking experiences if I had not contributed to other peoples hurdles and sparked other peoples ideas. Zig Ziglar had said “you can get what you want only after you help enough other people get what they want”. That is so true. If you approach a networking event as an opportunity to be completely self less and unselfish, the people that you meet in any way possible weather it be donating your time or walking through problems with them that they may have been trying to come up with a solution. The needs that you have will take care of themselves. I promise. So make sure you network whenever possible and don’t just do it when you need a job.
Donate Your Time.
The third thing to do when trying to obtain your next job is something I touched on a little bit in the previous suggestion. Donate your time. Give of yourself. You’ll find many opportunities if you do. In my job we call it stretch assignments. These are assignments and projects that are outside of your normal responsibilities. Let’s say a market research team has a ton of things they need to do at the request of the marketing team. The problem is that the market research team does not have enough people on their team to conduct the market research and compile all of the results to present back to the marketing team. Let’s say you’re on another team separate from the market research team. Yet maybe two years or three years down the line you would like to be on the market research team. You should then talk to the market research team. Network with them and offer your time for one of their market research projects. I’m sure they will be more than happy to partner with you and give you some of the work that they need done in compiling these market research projects and readouts. This helps you get the market research experience and this helps them with work that needs to be done with a limited amount of people. Now of course here I use market research in this example but you can use data analytics to replace market research. Usually there are teams that are under resourced and overworked and would love any kind of helping hand they can get especially if it’s free. Now you may say “Yes I can donate my time but I don’t know how to do the analytics”. And that’s fine if that’s the case. I am in constant need of someone to help me format slides or pull together presentations. This work would give exposure to someone new to analytics. I would also be able to get a sense of the person helping me. I would be able to see how they work. How they think about solving problems. It’s a win-win for all in this case.
I hope these suggestions helped you if you are thinking about getting into data analytics. If you have any other suggestions please leave a comment here on my blog. Thanks for reading!
