190: How I Went From Ignored to In-Demand as a Data Analyst

[: 00:00:00

So here's exactly what changed and how you can shortcut everything. I learned the hard way.

If you're anything like me, you've been applying to dozens of data jobs, maybe even hundreds of data jobs, and you're being completely ignored. You're not hearing back, the recruiter's not even saying anything, and it just feels like your resume's getting sucked up into an application black hole.

It's debilitating. It's depressing, and honestly you feel invisible and powerless. And if by some miracle you do somehow hear back, it's the, Hey, I'm sorry, we're going with other candidates email. And that just makes you wanna cry. So you're wondering what's wrong with you? You're wondering, should I go change different fields?

And you're just getting depressed as you see another person posting the, I got a data job post on LinkedIn,

to a mentor and he basically [: 00:01:00

And he said, try these three things for one month and I promise you they're gonna get interviews. And he was right.

I did get multiple interviews and that ultimately led to multiple offers, including a six figure data offer.

So what are the three mistakes that I was making that was keeping me ignored? And what are the three fixes that I made that you can make to actually become an in-demand candidate?

Let's go ahead and get into it.

Number one, I doubled down on my domain experience. At the time. I was literally applying to any and every data job I could possibly find. It didn't matter the company, it didn't matter the state, it didn't matter the industry, I literally didn't care. I just wanted a data job. It didn't matter which data job that I got.

But let's be honest, in today's economy, every recruiter and every hiring manager wants someone with prior experience. There is no such thing as like an entry level data job. Now it feels like.

I was a chemical engineering [: 00:02:00

Hey, how does chemistry and data mix? And I literally talked to so many people. I was like, Hey, do you know about how chemistry and data mix, Hey, do you know about chemical engineering and data? I read books, watched videos, read blog articles until like I actually understood, oh,

there's this whole thing called trics where it's like chemistry plus data, and you can become a chemo nutrition, which is like a data scientist that only focuses on chemistry data, and there's like all these elemental parts of chemistry that you can actually do data analysis with.

hat I could possibly find, I [: 00:03:00

And that meant I could only apply to maybe a 10th or like the 20th of the jobs that were posted online, maybe even less. But that also meant that I was like a lot better fit than most people applying for those jobs because I actually did have chemistry understanding.

I knew what an element was. I knew what an atom was. I knew like what sulfur does and is that a good thing or a bad thing? I actually had domain knowledge that was valuable to these companies.

And I was actually recently at dinner with a hiring manager and I was talking to him about the last person he hired for data analyst role and how he decided who he ended up hiring. Uh, this was like kind of an entry level role, a little bit more intermediate. And he actually confirmed this exact strategy when he was telling me about it because he was looking to hire someone in the chemistry field and he kind of narrowed down a bunch of candidates.

person that already knew the [: 00:04:00

So that was the turnaround for me is all of a sudden I'm only applying to jobs where I have relevant experience. I actually know what's going on in the industry and the domain and my resume's tailored for that. And all of a sudden I started to get the emails back, Hey, we'd like to interview you. Hey, we'd like to interview you.

Hey, would you be interested in working us? We'd like to give you an offer. And that literally changed everything.

Now this story with the dinner and the hiring manager I actually shared a couple months ago on my newsletter, and if you want more insider stories just like this in your inbox, then you should join 25,000 other data professionals and sign up for my free newsletter. I send something out every Wednesday that will help you land your next data job.

So sign up for free at data crew jumper.com/newsletter or go to the show notes down below and you'll find a link.

de of their domain. Like you [: 00:05:00

It's definitely possible to switch industries. I think it's easier to stay within the industry, but you don't have to. And there's actually two more things that you can do that will help you get outside of your industry and your sector, and we'll talk about those later in the video.

The second mistake I was making is I was using this job strategy called Spray and Pray. And basically what that means is, as I told you earlier, I was literally applying to as many jobs as I possibly could, and it did not matter where. It did not matter when I was applying for the job. And the spray and pray method basically means you're spraying your resume all over the earth, all over the internet, all over these job applications, and you're basically praying for the best thing to happen.

Now, personally, I am a Christian. I do believe in prayer, but I also believe in hard work, and I think we should try to help ourselves. So I don't believe in the spray and pray method in of itself now. And once my mentor was like, Hey, maybe you should actually focus on quality over quantity, I was like, oh.

ad of just like applying and [: 00:06:00

So after, or even before applying to a job, I would try to network with at least two people from that company. Now that networking comes in different ways and it dependent on the company and dependent on my mood and what I was doing, but like there's lots of things you can be doing. One of the easiest things is just sending a cold message on LinkedIn or a cold email, introducing yourself to someone at the company, whether it's the hiring manager or recruiter, or maybe even another data analyst at the company.

Doing that gets your name in front of people, gets your resume in front of people. It creates connections and you don't have to be like, Hey, give me a job. Because one of the key things to remember is if you ask for a job, you get advice. But if you ask for advice, you get a job. And so it can be as simple as, Hey, do you enjoy working here?

We went to the same school, we got the same degree. Do you like being a data analyst at this company? Or you could be like, Hey, how did you actually end up becoming a data analyst at this company? I'd love to know. If you're feeling adventurous, you can ask for 10 to 15 minutes of their time for a quick call.

ep it over email and keep it [: 00:07:00

It's important to realize that a lot of these conversations aren't going to end up in a job offer maybe ever, but you're planting seeds that can potentially have fruit later. Another good thing that I did networking wise was I attended industry events, like career fairs or like some sort of a company public event.

And I, uh, went to a lot of these and I can't tell you how annoying it was because I'm an introvert. I don't like talking to strangers. I don't like driving in my car. I don't like traveling. I like staying at home. But these events were worth it. And actually, ultimately that's how I ended up landing my jobs, was going to these types of events.

Now, I know not every company's going to have these events and not everyone's gonna be eligible for like a career fair or something like that, but if there's any sort of career or like industry something go, you guys talk to the people there because I promise you'll make connections that may lead to something one day.

applications and instead of [: 00:08:00

Try something, like, I'm gonna apply to three jobs, but I'm also gonna send three cold messages. One of the students in my program someday, I hope to be able to interview her. She actually was a stay at home mom and she wanted to become a data analyst.

She had a teacher background and I was like, okay, this is gonna be kind of hard, be prepared. Industry is a little tough, like it's a tough economy right now. And she went through my program. Had a portfolio, had a good resume, had a good LinkedIn, and she started applying for jobs. And actually she started to apply for a job.

She actually applied for one job, did the interview, got the offer, and she's been there for two plus years now. And actually just got a promotion just recently to like a senior data analyst role now. That was very lucky. . And many of you guys listening are gonna be like, well, she got lucky. And the truth is she did get lucky. But what you don't see is the hard work that she put in behind the scenes. One, she focused on her domain. She had been a teacher, and so she only was really focusing on like education data analyst positions, at least up first. Art

or this job, she sent a cold [: 00:09:00

I would sure a hundred percent of us would give up at that point, but not this student. She sent a six cold message and the person who received it said, oh, I kinda like your resume. Lemme talk to the hiring manager about this. They got back to her and said, Hey, I talked to the hiring manager and actually this position that's posted on LinkedIn that's had hundreds of people apply to it.

Isn't supposed to be posted. It's actually only an internal position, and we're not even looking at external candidates. But we really liked your resume and we'd like to interview you, and the rest is history. So literally you guys, it's pointless until it's not. You need to be networking, and that was the fix I did with number two.

was a good data analyst. Why [: 00:10:00

They're going to spend time training you. They're gonna spend time onboarding you and they want you to do good work. And they're kind of nervous that you're not going to know what to do or you're just not gonna be a good fit for the company. So you are a risk, and you need to prove to the recruiter and the hiring manager that you're not a risk and you're gonna need something that's gonna set you apart in this market.

And for me, that was a portfolio.

A portfolio is basically some sort of showcase of work that you've done previously. Usually it has a bunch of projects in it, and a project is basically like a work sample or some sort of case study you've done where you're like, Hey, this is some thing I've actually analyzed before. This is the data.

tching the video, is a brown [: 00:11:00

Those types of things. Anything that I did that I could show is inside of this binder, and I literally had physical evidence you guys, to hiring managers and recruiters that I was like, Hey, look, I can analyze data. I'm good at analyzing data. Here's literally the proof and you guys need to trust me.

And when I showed 'em that I immediately became less of a risk, I became more of a sure bet. 'cause they're like, oh well yeah, this is some evidence. And the other people didn't provide any evidence. So Avery is a little bit risky. Maybe he will be a good data analyst down the road. And it also made me really memorable because not anyone else was bringing these brown binders to industry events or to interviews, even online interviews.

are probably the way to go, [: 00:12:00

So if you're currently feeling invisible and you're not making any traction in a data journey, number one, double down on your domain. Number two, stop spraying and praying and try to actually network. And number three, create a portfolio. And if you do those things, I think you will go from ignored to hired.

I wish you all the luck on this data journey, and if you want help with your next step, please watch this episode next.