š§¬ Rachael Finch: She Became a Data Analyst in 100 Days
Itās no secret that in todayās economy, landing an entry-level data job is tougher than ever. But let me share a success story that proves itās totally possibleāand in less than 100 days. Hereās how one of my students made it happen š
Rachael Finch was a dedicated listener of The Data Career Podcast.
In fact, sheād tuned into nearly every episode in 2023.
But on January 1, 2024, Rachael decided it was time to take things up a notch.
She committed to two big goals: 1) sign up for a half marathon and 2) join The Data Analytics Accelerator.
95 days later, she crossed the finish line as a half marathoner and as a business intelligence analyst.
Howād she do it? The SPN MethodāSkills, Projects, Network.
š Getting Your Foot In The Data Career Door
In todayās market, just having the skills often isnāt enough to land a data jobāyou need a network. And that was the case for Rachael. Despite having the skills, she kept getting auto-rejected by the ATS. What she needed was a foot in the door.
For Rachael, that foot in the door came through a friend from church.
Actually, it wasnāt even her friend. It was a friend of a friend at church.
She found out he worked at a healthcare company that hired data analysts.
So she reached out, mentioned she was into data, taking a bootcamp, and on the lookout for opportunities.
He was more than happy to helpāhe passed her resume to the right people, completely bypassing the ATS.
Now, you might be thinking, āBut I donāt go to church!ā Well, maybe you should start!
Haha, just kidding (but also kinda serious, since thatās how I landed my data job too).
But you do have friends, right? Or colleagues? Or peers? Or family? Or neighbors?
Everyone knows someone who knows someone.
You just have to be brave enough to ask.
š Shocking Recruiters with Data Projects
Once Rachael had her foot in the door, she still had to prove she was worth hiringāespecially since she didnāt have any prior data experience.
But she leveraged the projects sheād completed in the bootcamp. Talking about showing her project to the recruiter, Rachael said: "they were shocked that someone without a background in business intelligence or Tableau had created a project like that."
Projects. Shock. Recruiters.
Remember that.
The more (and better) projects you have, the stronger your case.
š The Dream Data Job
Instead of working the night shift in a lab, Rachael now works from home in her PJs (okay, Iām not sure if she actually wears PJs, but she totally could if she wanted to).
And she made this dream switch in just 120 days.
This can be your story too.
Youāve got this, future analyst.