So, you’re a data nerd, you’re looking for a new job, and you just reached the end of the list of jobs to apply for. What do you do next?
This is exactly the situation that I have found myself in several times in the last few months, so I thought I’d compile a list of the things that I’ve done to keep myself engaged while in a lull. Check them out here, or read on for more details:
Learn a new skill
Earn a certification
Start a Tableau public profile
#MakeoverMonday and #WorkoutWednesday
Get involved with the data community
Start a blog
Join a data project
Learn a new skill
What’s a skill you always wanted to learn but never had the time? What’s a tool that seems to be on the “preferred” list of every job application, but not your resume? In between job applications is a great time to pick up a new skill, and we’re lucky to live in a time when technology makes it incredibly easy to do it.
Two great resources for eLearning are ones you’ve probably already heard of: LinkedIn and Udemy. Both offer affordable options for courses. LinkedIn operates on a monthly subscription basis (or is included with a LinkedIn Premium membership), and Udemy is pay-as-you-go.
Both services are similar, and once you do a course or two, you’ll get the hang of it! They involve watching a lot of videos, which can be easy to tune out and sail through, if you’re the cheating type. But if you put in the effort, these types of courses can give you a good foundation for studying for a certification exam.
Both LinkedIn and Udemy give you completion certificates, which I highly recommend saving somewhere and looking through from time to time, especially if the job search is getting you down.
Earn a certification
One step up from learning a new skill is actually earning yourself a certification. Certifications aren’t for everyone though!
Personally, my guideline for whether a certification will be worth it consists of two questions:
Is it hard to tell from my resume that I’m skilled in the thing?
Is the thing something that’s frequently asked for in job descriptions?
If you answered yes to both questions, then a certification might be for you. But wait! Certifications cost time (for studying) and money (for the exam fee). It’s worth double-checking that you can’t simply enhance your resume to make your skills more obvious! But if you’re new to the thing, or if emphasizing the thing on your resume would make it unbalanced, then it’s time to forge ahead.
I recently sat for the Tableau Desktop Specialist exam. It took me weeks to decide to even take the exam, and ultimately what swung my decision is that Tableau is often asked for in the jobs I was applying for, and it’s not a tool I used in previous jobs, so it didn’t make sense on my resume. A certification was the best way for future employers to see that I know what I’m doing.
Start a Tableau Public profile
Tableau Public is a wonderful tool for showing off your data skills in a social way. It’s as simple as making a profile and starting to make visualizations. A Tableau Public account is free, and the software is free, too, so you can learn the skills hands-on, without worrying about a free trial expiring.
“What’s the catch?” I hear you say. The only catch is that you can’t save locally with Tableau Public, only in the cloud. While you can set your vizzes to be not visible on your profile, they are still always there, so vizzing with sensitive or personal information is probably not a good idea.
Grab the software, set up a profile, and start connecting with other creators. There’s even a feature where you can download other users’ workbooks to see how they did what they did. Tableau Public is both a great learning tool and a great way to network with other data nerds.
#MakeoverMonday and #WorkoutWednesday
Two great ways to keep your data skills sharp are the social events #MakeoverMonday and #WorkoutWednesday. These two events happen weekly, mostly coordinated on Twitter. So what are they?
Makeover Monday looks at an existing, published data visualization and asks “how can we improve this?” There’s a whole book that goes with it too. The data sets are small, and often full of pitfalls, but they’re still good exercises to take on. They work especially well as a timeboxed exercise to get your creative juices flowing. You don’t need to use Tableau for Makeover Monday, but most people do.
Get started with Makeover Monday
When you’re ready to dive into something deeper, then it’s time for Workout Wednesday. These challenges probe the depths of what Tableau can do. You’re asked to recreate an existing viz with some advanced features. I’m proud (?) to say I’ve never successfully completed a Workout Wednesday on my own, so I feel pretty confident in saying they will definitely stretch your skills.
Get started with Workout Wednesday
Get involved with the data community
The data community, on the whole, is incredibly collaborative and open. I highly recommend following the Twitter hashtag #datafam and looking up your nearest Tableau User Group.
It’s also worth setting up accounts on either data.world or Kaggle. Both platforms bring a social, collaborative aspect to sharing data, and both encourage users to create and maintain good data. Kaggle, in particular, walks you through how to up your data game, and even gamifies the process by introducing the idea of rankings and progression. (I’m a novice, but I strive for more!)
Start a blog
Hey, it worked for me!
Beyond just being a way to engage your brain when you’re not applying for jobs, having a blog is a great way to enhance your personal brand and give employers and/or clients a better idea of who you are.
I recommend purchasing a domain and a hosted website through Squarespace. This could cost you about $30 per month, depending on your options, but in this digital age, having a website and email address with your name is a must-have. It looks impressive on resumes, it’s easy to remember, and you can build it the way you like. There are other options out there besides Squarespace of course (Wordpress and Wix come to mind), but I prefer Squarespace for ease of use and flexibility.
As for content, ideally you should stick to a posting schedule (I aim for one post a week), periodically refresh old content, and balance between personal musings and outreach. What’s outreach? When your blog provides a service to your readers, you’ll always get better engagement, and in the long run, won’t the world be a better place if we all work with service in mind?
Join a data project
Last in this list (for now!) is the icing on the cake, and it’s effectively donating your time and expertise to a data project.
On Kaggle, you can help with small projects, or tasks. The community can set tasks based on Kaggle data sets, which you can help out with and complete. For instance, this task on a data set for species of iris, which asks users to come up with a model to predict the species based on its characteristics.
You can also join something bigger. Viz for Social Good is an organization where volunteers create data visualizations in collaboration with non-profit organizations doing good work around the world. Some of their past projects have included the African Youth Mentorship Network, Unicef, and Academics Without Borders. The partnership for September 2020 is Bridges to Prosperity, who build bridges for isolated rural communities in Rwanda and Uganda.
Volunteer with Viz for Social Good
Where will you start?
Did I miss anything? How do you keep busy during a job search lull?
Connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn, or drop me an email: info@alisonpitt.com.