Episode 185

full
Published on:

11th Nov 2025

185: How I Would Become a Data Analyst in 2026 (if I had to start over again)

🏆 Follow this roadmap w/ The Data Analytics Accelerator (My Bootcamp): https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:19 - Step 1: Skills

02:33 - Step 2: Data Roles

06:38 - Step 3: Projects

10:22 - Step 4: Portfolio

13:20 - Step 5: Resume & LinkedIn

17:59 - Step 6: Job Hunting

21:12 - Step 7: Interviews

22:53 - The SPN Method


💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator




🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

✨ Try Julius!

This episode is brought to you by Julius – your AI data analyst companion. Connect to your database and/or business tools, pull insights in minutes–no coding required. Thanks, Julius, for sponsoring this episode. Try Julius at https://landadatajob.com/Julius-DCP

https://landadatajob.com/Julius-DCP

Transcript
:

Here's exactly how I would become a data analyst if I

2

:

had to start all over again in 2026.

3

:

Now I'm low key, pretty lazy,

and I'm also very impatient.

4

:

So I'd want to choose the fastest

roadmap with the least amount of work

5

:

required to actually land a data job.

6

:

That roadmap is called the SPN method,

but it still has a lot of work.

7

:

Step one, I'd wanna figure out

exactly what skills are required

8

:

because there's literally.

9

:

Thousands of different data

tools and skills that you

10

:

could possibly be learning.

11

:

And if you're gonna master them

all, it's gonna take you so long.

12

:

It's gonna take you decades before

you even feel close to ready.

13

:

Once again, remember, I'm very

lazy and I'm very impatient.

14

:

So I want to learn the bare minimum of

skills required to land my first data job.

15

:

So which skills and what

tools would I focus on?

16

:

Ideally, I choose the skills that

have the biggest bang for your

17

:

buck, the lowest hanging fruit.

18

:

So basically what that means are the

ones that are used the most in industry.

19

:

But also the ones that are the easiest

to learn, so I can learn them quickly.

20

:

That way I could have employable in-demand

skills really, really, really fast.

21

:

Uh, so what are those skills?

22

:

You're probably wondering, well, you

can do the research for yourself by

23

:

going through like hundreds, thousands

of different job descriptions and

24

:

keeping tallies and track of what data

tools are mentioned the most often.

25

:

But obviously that's

gonna be a lot of work.

26

:

The good news is I already did all that

research and work for you, so here you go.

27

:

The most in demand tools that are

also pretty easy to learn are Excel.

28

:

Tableau sql.

29

:

Literally, that's it in that order.

30

:

These are the top three data skills

that you should be learning when you're

31

:

just starting out in data analytics.

32

:

And if you need any help remembering

that I came up with something called

33

:

a pneumonic, I think is what it's

called to make it kind of easy.

34

:

It's every turtle swims.

35

:

E for Excel, T four

Tableau and S four sql.

36

:

And that's where I'd personally start.

37

:

If I had to start all over, I wouldn't

really study anything else until

38

:

after landing that first data job.

39

:

Now I can hear everyone

in the comments already.

40

:

Well, what about Python

and what about Power bi?

41

:

And here's the truth, I love Python.

42

:

It's literally my favorite data tool.

43

:

But honestly, there is a little

bit of a steep learning curve,

44

:

and it's only required in like.

45

:

13% of data analyst jobs.

46

:

It just takes so freaking long to learn.

47

:

And remember, I'm not trying to be

in this job hunting mode forever.

48

:

I'm trying to land a data job quickly.

49

:

So learning Python, it's gonna

take a freaking long time.

50

:

And to me, it's just not worth the

time investment at the beginning

51

:

because it's not the most in demand

skill and it's not the easiest.

52

:

So it makes sense for me to

leave it till later, and at that

53

:

point I can probably learn it.

54

:

On the job, so I'm gonna be getting

paid to learn and I'm all about

55

:

that, so sign me up for that.

56

:

In fact, I did a video in the

past about how to get paid to

57

:

learn stuff in data analytics.

58

:

You can check that out right there.

59

:

Step two, I'd wanna make sure I understand

all the different data jobs available.

60

:

Obviously there's data analyst and

that is a great place to start.

61

:

In fact, I think it's the best

place to start, but there's actually

62

:

so many more jobs than just.

63

:

That they all have slightly different

names and slightly different

64

:

responsibilities, but a lot of the times

they're doing pretty similar stuff to

65

:

what you'd be doing as a data analyst.

66

:

So the first two I wanna talk about

are data scientists and data engineer.

67

:

If you're just getting started,

I would not try to get those jobs

68

:

because it is hard to land those roles.

69

:

It requires a lot of programming knowledge

and math knowledge land, those roles.

70

:

And I just think they're

really hard to land.

71

:

So instead, I'd focus on things like

data analyst, financial analyst,

72

:

healthcare analyst, marketing analyst.

73

:

Almost anything that has the word analyst

in it, or that might have the word

74

:

data in it, I would at least consider.

75

:

Now, there's so many different

jobs here and I can't possibly

76

:

tell you every single one, but

let's just start with the big one.

77

:

So financial analyst and business

analysts are two of the most

78

:

common analyst roles I've been

seeing on job boards quite a bit.

79

:

In fact, I run my own data job board.

80

:

We'll talk about it here in a

second, but on that job board.

81

:

Financial analyst and business

analyst roles are pretty much more

82

:

common than data analyst roles.

83

:

The financial analyst roles you're

going to be dealing with, like p and

84

:

ls, a little bit more profit and loss

statements, uh, a little bit like more

85

:

kind of data plus accounting, e uh, a

little bit about forecasting and just

86

:

like how much cash you have on hand.

87

:

A business analyst role, that's like

half business, half data analyst

88

:

kind of meet in the middle, so

their jobs can be quite varied,

89

:

um, in what they're actually doing.

90

:

But a lot of the times they're just like.

91

:

Approaching business problems

with like Excel or with Tableau or

92

:

with SQL or something like that.

93

:

The next most common one is healthcare

analyst, and it is kind of self-evident,

94

:

but basically you're doing data

analytics with healthcare data.

95

:

A lot of the times you'd think that this

is like looking at medical charts and.

96

:

Different medicines and

procedures and stuff like that.

97

:

But honestly, unfortunately, a lot of

the healthcare analyst roles are more

98

:

about the operations of healthcare,

like appointments and billing, uh,

99

:

and scheduling and stuff like that.

100

:

There's a huge demand for healthcare

analyst roles, and I don't see that

101

:

demand going away anytime soon.

102

:

So this is a great role, especially

if you have healthcare experience

103

:

in the past, if you've worked

maybe as a nurse or some sort of.

104

:

Medical tech, this could

be a great fit for you.

105

:

Marketing analyst, once again,

very self-evident in the name,

106

:

but basically you're doing data

analytics on marketing data.

107

:

If you've ever worked as a

marketer, if you know anything

108

:

about ads, if you know anything

about social media or like website

109

:

analytics, this is a great place to.

110

:

For you to start now.

111

:

There's so many more jobs I can't even

talk about right now in this video.

112

:

So here's a big list on the screen

right here, and if you're listening

113

:

to the audio version, I'll have a

link in the show notes down below.

114

:

But there's so many

different data jobs you guys.

115

:

So pause this video, take a screenshot of

this, and start looking for these jobs.

116

:

The reason you wanna start looking for

these roles instead of data analyst roles

117

:

is one less people know about these roles,

so they're going to have less applicants.

118

:

And two, a lot of the time.

119

:

Your domain experience is going to

be very valuable for these roles.

120

:

So for example, if you've been

an accountant before, a financial

121

:

analyst role is a really good

fit for you because you already

122

:

have that accounting experience.

123

:

So when you go to apply to financial

analyst jobs, they can look at

124

:

your resume and be like, oh, this

person's already been an accountant.

125

:

They're gonna understand this

data set better than most.

126

:

And that's something that

I'd have to take in as well.

127

:

So in my previous life, I was a chemical

lab technician, so I'd be probably

128

:

looking for data jobs that maybe have

to do with laboratory data or companies

129

:

that deal with some sort of chemicals.

130

:

Now there's also a bunch of like these

in-between jobs that are like half

131

:

data jobs, half domain jobs, um, and

they're a little bit more entry level.

132

:

They require less skills.

133

:

Maybe they only require

Excel, for example.

134

:

You've probably never heard of

these jobs and that's totally okay.

135

:

I made a whole separate video,

so you can watch that on YouTube

136

:

right here, or we'll have a link to

it and the show notes down below.

137

:

And that will basically explain these

roles that are a little bit more entry

138

:

level than even a data analyst role.

139

:

They don't pay as well as data

analyst role, but you could probably

140

:

land them today if you know Excel.

141

:

So once again, check that out.

142

:

And honestly, if I had to start all

over again, I might go for one of

143

:

these roles first because when I

was a chemical lab technician, I was

144

:

making like $15 an hour, and these

roles are like closer to $25 an hour.

145

:

So I might wanna start with one of these

roles, get the word data on my resume,

146

:

and then start applying for data analyst

jobs after I get data on my resume.

147

:

Step three is I need to figure

out a way to convince a hiring

148

:

manager to actually hire me.

149

:

Why would anyone wanna hire me?

150

:

I'm a chemical lab technician.

151

:

I've never been a data analyst.

152

:

I don't have very many data skills,

like why on earth would someone hire me?

153

:

Um, and you've maybe felt this way before.

154

:

I call it the circle of doom.

155

:

It's basically like I can't

get data experience because I

156

:

can't get a data job because.

157

:

I can't get data experience.

158

:

And so this never ending cycle of doom

where it's like, how the heck am I ever

159

:

supposed to get a job when I don't have

experience, but I can't get experience?

160

:

'cause no one's gonna gimme a job.

161

:

And honestly, it's the absolute worst.

162

:

If you're in the circle of

doom right now, let me know in

163

:

the comments and I'm so sorry.

164

:

That is not a fun place to be.

165

:

But here's the truth, is you could

actually create your own experience

166

:

and you do that by building projects.

167

:

Now a project is basically.

168

:

A real world life example

of you analyzing data.

169

:

It's almost like you have some sort of

proof that like, hey, not only does my

170

:

resume say that I can do Excel, that I

can analyze data in sql, that I can make

171

:

a Tableau dashboard, but here's some

tangible proof via project that I can.

172

:

And it's one thing to know the skills.

173

:

It's another thing to show

that you know the skills.

174

:

And those are different things.

175

:

So think about it, if I'm

like interviewing with a

176

:

hiring manager and I'm.

177

:

Tell the hiring manager, Hey, yeah,

I know sql, I've been learning sql.

178

:

They're gonna be like, well,

can you prove it to me?

179

:

Right?

180

:

And if I can have a project where

like, I'm like, yes, I can look it.

181

:

Here's some healthcare

data that I analyzed.

182

:

You know, here's some financial

transactions that I analyzed.

183

:

Here's some manufacturing sensor data

that I actually analyzed, and I created

184

:

this dashboard for you in Tableau.

185

:

See how powerful that is.

186

:

All of a sudden, the hiring manager is

like on the defense at the beginning,

187

:

like, I don't know if this person

actually can do what we need them to do.

188

:

Two, oh my gosh, this person already

has done what I need them to do.

189

:

Here's the evidence.

190

:

I like this person.

191

:

I mean, it's hard to do, but put

yourself in the hiring manager's shoes.

192

:

Let's say that you were a hiring manager.

193

:

For like the next Fast and the

Furious movie that's coming out and

194

:

you need to hire a stunt double.

195

:

Let's say you get two applicants.

196

:

Applicant, a, you know, on their resume

it says that they can jump over a car.

197

:

Great.

198

:

Uh, applicant B'S resume also

says they can jump over a car.

199

:

Fantastic, but they also send a

video of them jumping over a car.

200

:

Who are you more likely to hire?

201

:

Uh, option A or option.

202

:

It's option B, right?

203

:

Why?

204

:

Think about it for a second, because

they gave evidence that they can

205

:

do what the job description says.

206

:

They took the risk out of it

because now that I'm on the other

207

:

side of, I hire people, right?

208

:

I'm a hiring manager now and I

hired some wrong people this year

209

:

and it has bit me in the butt.

210

:

It has cost me honestly

thousands of dollars, uh,

211

:

because I didn't hire correctly.

212

:

And so when you are, you know, trying

to convince a hiring manager that

213

:

you are the right person, if you

can lower that risk with projects.

214

:

All of a sudden you're

breaking the circle of doom.

215

:

You have experience and you're

letting the hiring manager know in a

216

:

undeniable way, Hey, I've got this.

217

:

Don't worry about me.

218

:

So I would need to

start building projects.

219

:

And if I didn't know where to go or how

to start building projects, you always

220

:

gotta start with a dataset and you

gotta find a dataset somewhere online.

221

:

So one of the best places you

can find data sets, well, there's

222

:

a bunch of different options.

223

:

I actually did a whole nother

video about it right here, you

224

:

can find in the show notes.

225

:

Um, but the short answer is Kaggle.

226

:

Kaggle is a great place to

find, uh, a data set like.

227

:

90% of the time, and usually

that's like good enough.

228

:

So that's where I'd start.

229

:

And then in terms of like what

to do in the project, first

230

:

pick, should you do it in Excel?

231

:

Should you do it in sql?

232

:

Should you do it in Tableau?

233

:

Uh, just pick whatever one you're maybe

the best at, and then start to answer some

234

:

business questions about the data set.

235

:

Think about how many, what's

the max, what's the average?

236

:

What's the relationship

between these two columns?

237

:

What happens over time?

238

:

Those are some of the questions that you

can ask at the beginning, and you can just

239

:

answer maybe two or three or four of 'em,

and all of a sudden you have a project.

240

:

You have evidence, all of a

sudden you have experience.

241

:

And I would be qualified, or at

least I would be able to talk to a

242

:

hiring manager with like some sort

of defense like, no, I am good.

243

:

You should hire me.

244

:

So I need to build projects.

245

:

Step four, I would need to create

a home for these projects, right?

246

:

Because if you do these projects.

247

:

But they're not tangible, then.

248

:

They're not tangible.

249

:

And how are you gonna convince the hiring

manager that you're the person, right?

250

:

So if your project is just in your

head, it doesn't really count.

251

:

If it's just on your desktop,

it doesn't really count.

252

:

That doesn't do you any good.

253

:

You need this to be public.

254

:

You need this to be easily shareable.

255

:

You need this to look good and look

pretty and make yourself look good, right?

256

:

This is really key to have a portfolio.

257

:

So a portfolio is basically a home.

258

:

For your projects, and you'll want to have

maybe one to, I don't know, 10 different

259

:

projects that that's a big order.

260

:

It depends on the, the

quality of your projects.

261

:

One really, really, really good

project could be better than

262

:

like seven mediocre projects.

263

:

It really just depends.

264

:

So where should you build your portfolio?

265

:

There's a couple different options.

266

:

And I teach all these different options

inside of my program, the data Analytics

267

:

accelerator, and I actually give them

templates to just do this really easily.

268

:

Probably the most common place

to have a portfolio is GitHub.

269

:

Uh, but I don't like GitHub as

a portfolio for data analysts.

270

:

Um, I can hear you guys in the comments.

271

:

Oh, GitHub's awesome for data scientists

and data engineers and programmers.

272

:

Yeah, I get it.

273

:

Okay.

274

:

But a lot of you guys at the beginning.

275

:

You're not gonna be writing code.

276

:

GitHub is literally meant for code.

277

:

Now you can kind of reverse engineer,

hack it and make it for anything, and

278

:

it, it could work as a good portfolio,

but it's really hard to navigate and it's

279

:

really hard to look good inside of GitHub.

280

:

Just trust me on this and try one

of these other things instead.

281

:

I really like to use LinkedIn.

282

:

LinkedIn.

283

:

That's a great place where

recruiters are right?

284

:

Like it's like 97% of recruiters are

actively using LinkedIn every single day.

285

:

So why not be where they are?

286

:

Right?

287

:

Because those are the people

that can change your life.

288

:

Those are the people that

can all of a sudden reach out

289

:

to you and offer you a job.

290

:

So I like using LinkedIn.

291

:

There's a featured section on there.

292

:

There's a project section on there.

293

:

We like to use LinkedIn articles

too, to make these projects go.

294

:

And that's what I suggest.

295

:

That's one of the things I

teach inside of my bootcamp.

296

:

The next thing I also do inside

the bootcamp is card dot, uh, co.

297

:

I think.

298

:

I'll, I'll put a link, uh, right here

and in the show notes down below.

299

:

But basically it's just a website

builder, a simple website builder.

300

:

Um, I think it costs like nine to

$20 a year and it's so worth it.

301

:

You guys, your portfolio looks, looks so

good and you can build it pretty quickly.

302

:

So, uh, our students inside of

our bootcamp actually just get.

303

:

This template from us right here, that

they can literally just fill in the blanks

304

:

with their information so it doesn't

take them like the, I don't know, couple

305

:

hours that it might take you to set up.

306

:

But, uh, I really like card.

307

:

I really like LinkedIn.

308

:

You could do it on Medium, you could

do it on any sort of Squarespace

309

:

or Wix or other website builder.

310

:

Also, if you like GitHub, there is

an alternative called GitHub pages.

311

:

GitHub realize, Hey, people

are using this as a portfolio.

312

:

We're not really built to be a portfolio,

so let's build a like separate product

313

:

that makes portfolios really well,

and that's called GitHub pages.

314

:

And I really recommend that it's

just a little bit of a steep

315

:

learning curve if you're not really.

316

:

Knowing about GitHub or you don't

know about markdown, markdowns kind

317

:

of like a programming language.

318

:

It's kind of not, but uh, regardless

it's a little bit more technical, so

319

:

I'd wanna make sure I have a portfolio.

320

:

Ideally in LinkedIn or card step five,

I'd need to make sure that my resume

321

:

and LinkedIn are working for me.

322

:

And these are really the only two tools

you get when you're trying to land a

323

:

data job and you need to invest in them.

324

:

They need to be like little mini.

325

:

Employees running around working for you.

326

:

Okay.

327

:

And let me talk about what I mean by that.

328

:

Number one, when you're applying for

jobs, your resume either is going

329

:

to pass what's called the a TS, the

applicant tracking system, or it's not

330

:

every time, it does not pass the a TS.

331

:

There's kind of two scenarios.

332

:

One, your resume couldn't really

be read very well, and it's not.

333

:

A TS compliant, meaning there's some

formatting issues on it, or two, you

334

:

didn't fit what the job description

or the a TS was looking for.

335

:

Number one, you wanna just make

sure that you have a really

336

:

good a TS friendly resume.

337

:

We give our students all a bunch of

templates that they can choose from, but

338

:

the key here is basically no pictures,

one column, no tables, and make sure

339

:

it's like pretty simple, like don't

try to do too much with your resume.

340

:

Next, these ATSs, they're

honestly not very smart.

341

:

Even with ai, they're kind of dumb.

342

:

Basically what they're looking for

is they're looking at your resume

343

:

and they're looking at the job

description, and they're trying to

344

:

figure out if you're a match or not.

345

:

Now, what would make you a match?

346

:

Think about it.

347

:

Whatever's on the job description

should match your resume, and so if

348

:

you're applying for a data analyst role.

349

:

Well, I'm sorry.

350

:

You live in a world where they want

to hire someone with experience.

351

:

There is no non-zero

experience jobs anymore.

352

:

The lucky thing is we talked about

earlier how to create experience.

353

:

So if you're applying for data

analyst jobs and you don't

354

:

have the term data analyst.

355

:

On your resume anywhere, you're

probably not gonna pass the a s, so

356

:

you can kind of hack the system here.

357

:

You can put it next to your

name at the top of your resume.

358

:

You can put it in like your objective

statement at the top and or you

359

:

can put it in your experience

section and have a data analyst job.

360

:

That could be one that it's just

you making projects on your own.

361

:

You could hire yourself,

start your own company.

362

:

All of a sudden you're doing data,

freelance, data analytics, just you

363

:

need to have the word data analyst, or

whatever role you're trying to apply

364

:

for financial analysts, marketing

analysts, business intelligence engineer.

365

:

You need to have that

somewhere on your resume.

366

:

And if you don't, you're not

likely to get called back.

367

:

So I'd wanna make sure that my

resume said data analyst like

368

:

three or four different times.

369

:

Now, on a similar note, if the

job description is asking for sql,

370

:

I'll wanna make sure that I have

SQL on my resume multiple times.

371

:

So once again, I wanna put

it in my skill section.

372

:

Maybe I put it in my statement,

my objective at the top, uh, maybe

373

:

I tried to put it in my bullet

points in my experience section.

374

:

Maybe I have a project

section now on my resume.

375

:

I'd want to put it there.

376

:

You want to add as many

keywords as you can.

377

:

If you don't have the word Excel, the

word sql, the word Tableau, power, bi,

378

:

python, whatever, whatever terms you're

trying to go for, if those aren't on your

379

:

resume, you're not gonna get interviews.

380

:

So I wanna make sure that I

put SQL, Tableau in Excel, and

381

:

in many places I possibly can.

382

:

On my resume along with

a data analyst tile.

383

:

Next, I'd wanna do the

same thing with LinkedIn.

384

:

I wanna make sure that all

of my experience section

385

:

on LinkedIn is filled out.

386

:

I wanna make sure it has bullet points.

387

:

I wanna make sure I have a

really good about section.

388

:

I have a really good headline, a

clear profile picture, a good cover

389

:

photo on LinkedIn, and make sure every

single part of my LinkedIn profile.

390

:

Has information.

391

:

Why?

392

:

Because once again, 97% of recruiters,

these are the people who hire

393

:

you, are on LinkedIn every day.

394

:

And if they're on LinkedIn every

day, I think I should probably

395

:

be on LinkedIn every day as well.

396

:

I can't tell you how many times people

go through my program and they do

397

:

our LinkedIn section, they update

their LinkedIn, and all of a sudden

398

:

they have people reaching out to

them, recruiters, Hey, would you be

399

:

interested to interview for this role?

400

:

Would you be interested to

interview for that role?

401

:

And all it does is take

some LinkedIn optimization.

402

:

Once again, you want to keyword

stuff on your LinkedIn in as

403

:

many places as you possibly can.

404

:

Add skills, add whatever's in the job

description, put that on your LinkedIn.

405

:

The other thing to kind of consider

on your resume in LinkedIn, and

406

:

this is a little controversial,

so uh, if you don't like it, I'm

407

:

sorry, but this honestly helps you.

408

:

Can you change any of

your previous titles?

409

:

Can you go through your titles and can

you make them sound more data analyst?

410

:

Can you add the word analyst anywhere?

411

:

Can you add the word data anywhere?

412

:

The more that you have data and

analyst on your resume in your

413

:

title section of your experience?

414

:

The better.

415

:

So maybe you are a program specialist.

416

:

Can we substitute the word

analyst for specialist?

417

:

Would that be the end of the world?

418

:

The term analyst is pretty broad,

so I feel like it's safe to do.

419

:

And honestly like most titles

are all over the place.

420

:

Like a title at one company

does not mean the same as what

421

:

it would be at another company.

422

:

They're all made up.

423

:

There's no such thing as like

real titles, to be honest.

424

:

So I think if you can do this.

425

:

You should, and I honestly,

I would elect to do that.

426

:

So chemical lab technician, maybe

I'd be chemical lab analyst.

427

:

That feels like a little bit of

a stretch, but here's the key.

428

:

If it feels like a stretch, just

remember you're just tricking the a TS.

429

:

You could explain it to a human.

430

:

Oh, that was actually more of

like, uh, lab like technician role.

431

:

But I did do a little bit of

Excel analysis on that job.

432

:

Humans can understand nuanced computers,

ATSs cannot, so I'd probably update

433

:

my LinkedIn and resume those ways.

434

:

Step six is I would need

to start applying for jobs.

435

:

Um, obviously this might be really

obvious, but I'm not going to land

436

:

a job if I don't apply for jobs.

437

:

And the same is true for you.

438

:

So if you're applying to only a few jobs

and you're not getting any bites and

439

:

you're like, why can't I land a job?

440

:

The answer is apply for more jobs.

441

:

Now, I hate saying that because I'm

also not a fan of just the spray and

442

:

pray method where you're literally,

you know, bombing your resume out

443

:

to hundreds of thousands of people.

444

:

Like I don't think that

is a good method either.

445

:

I think that there is kind of a

middle ground where you're applying,

446

:

probably unfortunately, in today's

economy for hundreds of roles.

447

:

But you're doing so in a targeted manner

with human-centric motion in mind.

448

:

And what I mean by that is 67% of jobs

come from being recruited or referred.

449

:

So that's why I really wanted

to update my LinkedIn earlier.

450

:

Right.

451

:

So I can get recruited, but let's

talk about referrals, referrals.

452

:

Are amazing.

453

:

This is when someone at a company will

refer you to a role at that company

454

:

and hiring managers and recruiters

love that because if your friend's at

455

:

a company and they're doing good work,

they probably like your friend and they

456

:

would probably be glad to hire more

people like your friend, and hopefully

457

:

you're just as good as your friend.

458

:

So.

459

:

Networking is really key here.

460

:

You need, you need, you

need to be networking.

461

:

If you're not networking, your job

hunt will take, I'm not even being

462

:

dramatic here, 10 times longer.

463

:

Networking is literally the key

to landing a data job quickly.

464

:

Now, how do you do that?

465

:

We talked about updating

our LinkedIn profile.

466

:

That's a great start.

467

:

I would also tell you to start

documenting your journey on

468

:

LinkedIn via posts and comments.

469

:

Um, that's what we teach our students.

470

:

I know that's scary for a lot of you.

471

:

But I've literally seen it work wonders

for so many students who had zero

472

:

job experience and they were able

to land a data job because of that.

473

:

If that sounds scary, no worries.

474

:

You can go to your neighbor, you

can go to your cousin, you can go to

475

:

your mom's friend's aunt and just be

like, Hey, what do you do for work?

476

:

Pull out your phone.

477

:

Go through every contact in your phone.

478

:

Write down what every single

person does for work and

479

:

where they work, and then ask.

480

:

Would they ever hire a data analyst?

481

:

Do they, do they have data analysts

working at their company now?

482

:

If so, send them a message.

483

:

Start with the people who in

your network already are in the

484

:

data world or in the tech world.

485

:

They can be really good resources

for you and if they're actually your

486

:

friends, if they're actually your

family, they're willing to help you.

487

:

They will be willing to help you.

488

:

You just need to ask the right way.

489

:

So a really easy way to not be intrusive,

it's just to be like, Hey, I know that

490

:

you're, you know, a program manager.

491

:

At IBM, do you enjoy it?

492

:

Just start the conversation that way.

493

:

Oh, like, yeah, it's great.

494

:

Yeah, it's awesome.

495

:

You can be like, yeah, cool.

496

:

I'm like looking to become a data analyst.

497

:

Do you know any data analyst at IBM?

498

:

Oh yeah, I know this guy.

499

:

That's very cool.

500

:

I can introduce you if you'd like.

501

:

Oh yeah, that'd be great.

502

:

See, I didn't even ask, I didn't

even ask for anything right in that

503

:

scenario, but I got what I wanted.

504

:

So if you're not networking,

it's gonna be hard.

505

:

You need to be applying for jobs.

506

:

Also I recommend varying

where you apply for jobs.

507

:

LinkedIn, great place to apply for

jobs, maybe check your local listings.

508

:

Those will don't get as many

applicants and could be really,

509

:

really easy to land interviews.

510

:

Also, try other job platforms.

511

:

I'm not gonna list them

all, but I'm biased.

512

:

You can try find a data job.com.

513

:

This is my free data job board where

I post a lot of different data jobs.

514

:

I also have another one that is premium.

515

:

It is paid.

516

:

It's called premium data jobs.com.

517

:

Those ones.

518

:

Always have a recruiter or hiring manager

that you could reach out to today.

519

:

So that's why it's a little bit special.

520

:

That's why it's paid.

521

:

Check out both those, but just make

sure you're going to different job

522

:

boards and trying different application

methods because it is a little bit of

523

:

a luck, a little bit of a numbers game.

524

:

Now, if I've done steps one through

six, I'm probably ready for steps

525

:

seven, which is start landing

and preparing for interviews and.

526

:

Interviews are how you seal the deal.

527

:

That's how you actually

get job offers, right?

528

:

But you shouldn't be stressed.

529

:

I shouldn't be stressed about interviews

until I start landing them because there's

530

:

two different separate skills here.

531

:

The skills and the process of landing

interviews, and then the process of

532

:

passing interviews, and those are

two different things, and you should

533

:

prepare for them and work on them at

different times and in different ways.

534

:

So I would not be stressed about an

interview until I've landed an interview.

535

:

Once I landed an interview, I will cram.

536

:

Uh, and there's lots of different things

you have to think about in an interview,

537

:

but basically most data interviews

have two main parts, the behavioral

538

:

part and then the technical part.

539

:

The behavioral part.

540

:

They're gonna be asking questions

that usually start with, tell me about

541

:

a time, tell me about a time you.

542

:

Had to be a leader.

543

:

You had an issue with a coworker, and

these questions are basically like, let's

544

:

look in their behavior in the past to

predict what they might do in the future.

545

:

It's like, once again, the recruiter and

hiring manager here are trying to figure

546

:

out how risky you are and hopefully

not how risky you are once you've.

547

:

You've shown that, hey,

I'm a normal human being.

548

:

I can work.

549

:

They might ask more technical

questions, and a lot of the times

550

:

this will be maybe Excel specific

questions or SQL specific questions.

551

:

It kind of just depends on

the role and the company.

552

:

There's so many platforms you

can try to prepare for these,

553

:

these technical interviews.

554

:

Just to list a few analyst builders,

strato, scratch, uh, data lemur.

555

:

There's like so many different data

analyst prep, interview prep courses

556

:

and classes and online things that I

don't wanna talk about it right now

557

:

and you shouldn't worry about it.

558

:

I'm not worrying about it until I

land interviews, but once you do.

559

:

Those are right there for you to practice.

560

:

So that's how I would hopefully land

my first data job if I was starting

561

:

from absolute scratch this year.

562

:

And if you joined this method,

we call it the SPN method.

563

:

And what it means is it is not

just learning skills, that's

564

:

the s part of the SPN method.

565

:

If you're just learning skills.

566

:

You're not gonna land interviews, you're

not gonna land jobs 'cause you're missing

567

:

out on the other two thirds of the

equation for landing your first data job.

568

:

The P in the N, the P stands

for projects in a portfolio.

569

:

So that's what we talked about earlier.

570

:

You need to have projects,

you need to have that proof

571

:

and have it in a portfolio.

572

:

And the last part is the N, which

is the networking, which is if, like

573

:

I said, if you're not networking,

you're not gonna land a job.

574

:

So if you like this roadmap and

you actually wanna follow it,

575

:

please watch this video over and

over again until you can finally

576

:

figure out exactly what I said.

577

:

If you'd like a hand by hand guide.

578

:

Walking you through all the

steps, literally giving you

579

:

step-by-step instructions on this

is how you network, this is what

580

:

your LinkedIn should look like.

581

:

Here's a bunch of

projects that you can do.

582

:

Here's a template for the

resume and for the portfolio.

583

:

Then consider joining the

data analytics accelerator.

584

:

This is my all-inclusive data

analytics bootcamp, where I'll

585

:

take you from zero to data analyst.

586

:

Literally, this has worked for so

many different people in my program

587

:

from so many different backgrounds.

588

:

We've helped teachers, truck drivers, Uber

drivers, warehouse workers, accountants,

589

:

therapists, music therapists, like

whatever your current role is, we can

590

:

probably help you transition into a data

analyst if you wanna check that out.

591

:

I have a link in the

show notes down below.

592

:

It's called the Data

Analytics Accelerator.

593

:

I'll be your coach and my team will

help you land that First Data job.

594

:

We're super excited to help you.

Listen for free

Show artwork for Data Career Podcast: Helping You Land a Data Analyst Job FAST

About the Podcast

Data Career Podcast: Helping You Land a Data Analyst Job FAST
The Data Career Podcast: helping you break into data analytics, build your data career, and develop a personal brand

About your host

Profile picture for Avery Smith

Avery Smith

Avery Smith is the host of The Data Career Podcast & founder of Data Career Jumpstart, an online platform dedicated to helping individuals transition into and advance within the data analytics field. After studying chemical engineering in college, Avery pivoted his career into data, and later earned a Masters in Data Analytics from Georgia Tech. He’s worked as a data analyst, data engineer, and data scientist for companies like Vaporsens, ExxonMobil, Harley Davidson, MIT, and the Utah Jazz. Avery lives in the mountains of Utah where he enjoys running, skiing, & hiking with his wife, dog, and new born baby.