This is the 2nd article of a 3-part series. At the end of the 3-part series, we would have answered 3 potential questions a junior data analyst might have.
In the previous article, we explored why it is important for a junior data analyst to focus on learning transferable data analytics skills. After acquiring these skills, a junior data analyst might wonder how to improve his/her employability (beyond having a nice resume and LinkedIn!).
It is fast becoming a norm for data practitioners to showcase their skills and knowledge on the public web. This provides prospective employers with greater clarity and confidence of the type of tools that have been mastered. To the technical hiring manager, it demonstrates technical competencies. To the “soft skills” manager, it demonstrates problem solving approach and reasoning. Another added benefit of using the public web is that it provides a visual understanding of the applicant’s portfolio compared to an overly lengthy and wordy resume.
Let’s explore 3 platforms used by data practitioners on the public web:
- GitHub
- Kaggle
- Tableau Public
GitHub
GitHub is a free code hosting platform for version control and collaboration. This is a good platform to showcase code implementations to an analytics project. It can be used to share your source codes with others and allow publicly shared codes to be downloaded. Being a version control repository, it allows developers to track and control changes to their codes. Why does GitHub aid in improving employability?
Firstly, a technical recruiter could download the codes and analyse them for structure, proper documentation and good coding logic. Secondly, GitHub allows the recruiter to get an idea of the problem-solving approach. Lastly, GitHub showcases the specific analytics areas a junior data analyst is interested in. When these aspects align with the job requirements, employability increases!
Kaggle
Kaggle is an online community of data enthusiasts (think of it as LinkedIn for data professionals!). One unique aspect of Kaggle is the ability to obtain free, meaningful and often realistic datasets for analysis. These datasets can be used for participating in data-related competitions. Thereafter, the top winners would contribute and share their problem-solving approaches and code snippets to the rest of the community.
By participating in these competitions, in-demand data analyst’s skills could be demonstrated to others in the same field. On top of that, prospective employers would be able to observe soft skills such as teamwork and communication. In fact, Facebook has even hosted a recruitment competition on Kaggle! By utilizing Kaggle, one can express both hard and soft skills to future employers, increasing the chances of being hired.
Tableau Public
Tableau Public is a free platform which is used to publicly share data visualisations online. It allows others to view, interact and download visualisations created using Tableau.
When using Tableau Public, a data analyst can showcase domain specific data visualisation skills.
Rather than creating generic visualisations, one can focus on a particular business problem or interest area to work on. If one is interested in applying for a data analyst role in the healthcare industry, creating visualisations using healthcare data and customizing them would be a great booster to the portfolio! By working on an interest area, one would be more committed to perfecting it.
Top data analytics course in Singapore
At VI, we utilize Tableau Public for our Data Analytics Bootcamp classes for practice. This allows our students to kickstart building their individual public portfolio, immediately enhancing their employability as a data analyst.
If you are interested in picking up data analytics skills, get started now! Sign up for our Data Analytics Bootcamp at one of our available slots! Our data analytics course is taught directly by expert data scientists in Singapore.
*Singaporeans and PRs can receive up to 70% IBF Subsidy off their data science course fees with Vertical Institute. The remaining fees can be claimable with SkillsFuture Credits or NTUC UTAP.
