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Now, let me present both sides of a debate that unfolds in my mind:
One of the most common reasons cited for Freshers rejection (or people without experience in analysis) for analysis work is lack of experience. What irony for someone young who wants to enter the field! They can't get experience without a job. They can't get a job without experience!
A quick survey of some 20 newbies (que intentaban entrar en el mundo de la analyticsAnalytics refers to the process of collecting, Measure and analyze data to gain valuable insights that facilitate decision-making. In various fields, like business, Health and sport, Analytics Can Identify Patterns and Trends, Optimize processes and improve results. The use of advanced tools and statistical techniques is essential to transform data into applicable and strategic knowledge....) What did I do before writing this post?, revealed that, on average, had been rejected more than 25 sometimes due to lack of work experience, even for junior positions.
It is discouraging to see the difficulties these people face!!
Having said that, I've been on the other side of the table for more than the last 4 years. Let's see what one of my colleagues has to say:
We were expanding our internal analysis team from 2 members to 5 members. Instead of hiring an experienced professional, we believe in incorporating truly smart people (fresh out of college). After joining, We take them through a highly structured induction and training program and we even certify them from the SAS training institute (All this, at the cost of delaying important projects for entrepreneurs). We were hoping to get loyal and smart analysts, who would pay for these investments through high-quality work.
3 months after joining, the first person left to start their own company. 6 more months later, the 2 remaining people left the Organization to join other companies that offered them better salaries!
Imagine the kind of costs the team leader had to bear. Loss of business by key stakeholders, waste of time, knowledge and efforts. To make things worse, they returned to the starting point: A team of 2 members! I think he was lucky they didn't fire him.
PD While i say freshers, I mean people without experience in analysis.
Let's understand the problem:
How do we solve this problem? Let's look at the reasons employers prefer people with work experience over Freshers:
- Attitude towards work and maturity in decision making – Most employers feel that college graduates make immature decisions and need guidance on their attitude toward work. This is less of a concern with people who change careers., until and unless there is a specific reason from the past.
- Time to catch up with a new person – An analyst usually takes between 2 Y 6 months to become familiar with the subject. It can easily be a year before you see anything meaningful from an analyst.
- Short life span – Due to the demand for trained professionals in the industry, newcomers tend to leave their jobs in search of a higher salary or with the expectation of a better role / job. Leave for a better job / role as such should not be an obstacle, provided that is truly the case.
Some things that can work as strengths for newbies:
- Ability to learn – People who have just assumed their functions tend to have a greater capacity for learning. It may be due to an increased disposition or because you have just left an environment conducive to learning.
- You don't need to stop learning old habits. This is a great utility with newbies. You can shape them as you want. You want them to put a frame before touching the data; train them that way. Try to do it with someone who is in the practice of doing it backwards.
- Ability to look at everything with a new perspective. – How good can an analyst be if you don't ask questions? Experienced people find it difficult to do, since they may already have a perspective on the issue.
Then, here is the strategy, that a new must follow:
Address Employer Concerns (previously listed) and emphasize your strengths.
How do you implement this?
Good, everyone needs to make their way. But here are some tips that can help you get started.:
- Start learning analytics from scratch – There is no substitute for hard work and real knowledge. Even if it goes from 3 a 4 hours a week reading about it, or doing MOOC trainings (as an example, Coursera, eDX), obtaining certifications in the last 2 years of his university, meet more than many people in the industry (at least the theoretical part of the trip).
- Become an expert in at least one programming language. – You can select the language you want. I would choose Python or R, if i was passing out in the near future.
- Participate in contests – Now that you have the knowledge, Apply it! You can participate in coding contests, hackathons or analysis contests on platforms like Kaggle. Gives you immense learning as you compete alongside the world's best data scientists.
- Contribute to these communities – Whether it's your contributions on Github / stackoverflow o Kaggle, all of them will count immensely when scoring a point with the recruiter.
- Attend events and network with people in the industry. – See if your university is hosting any talks / lectures on the subject. Are there older people / batch mates already in the industry? Contact them.
- Get an internship – Internships are a great way to get work experience. Have 2 summer interns in our office this summer and none of them had analytics work experience before. By the way, they are doing an extraordinary job (for all those recruiters who think that work experience is mandatory)
- Try to get a job at companies that are open to hiring new workers. / inexperienced people. As an example, companies like Mu-Sigma, Fractal, WNS, Citi, etc. are open to hiring people without previous work experience.
If you even work on some of these tips, you can address the concerns mentioned in the post above. Then, emphasize your strengths and make a mature decision. Don't make a short-term decision, please!
Are you a recruiter / a newer analytical professional / experienced? What is your opinion on this debate? Who do you prefer to recruit? Why? Any advice for newbies who want to join the industry? Share them in the comments below..
author of the photo: Dear Wallis via photopin cc
