Ep. 73 - With Seth Forbes (Breaking into Analytics with a Non-Traditional Background)

Speaker A: Mhm. Hey, welcome back everyone to the Data Ideas podcast. This is episode 73. Looking forward to this one. Joined, uh, tonight or you know, this morning, this afternoon, depending on where you're joining from. But, uh, joined by Seth Forbes. Seth, uh, appreciate you coming on the show. Good to speak with you.

Speaker B: Dustin, thank you so much for inviting me to speak on the podcast. I'm a huge fan. I'm excited to chat today.

Speaker A: Awesome. Ah, thanks. Yeah, this will be fun for sure. I think you've got some really good experience, uh, and perspectives and community offerings of your own to share. So I'm looking forward to learning myself about, uh, some of the stuff you have going on. I know it's a lot, but, um, first question I always kick things off with. You've probably listened to the show in the past, but how did you first get interested in data and analytics?

Speaker B: Yeah, I would say from my experience I fell into data analytics. It really wasn't something I was very familiar with. I actually grew up in this really small town in Indiana called Westport, where you're surrounded by cornfields. And my graduating class in high school was about 60 students. So really small people don't really go into corporate. Data analytics was definitely not on the horizons, but as I got older I kind of wanted to venture out, maybe pursue like an MBA program, you know, try, try different things and kind of figure out what my path is and, and so that's how I landed into it. I really wasn't familiar with the field at all until several years ago.

Speaker A: Gotcha. Very cool, very cool. And what did your path look like? Because you have, um, like many people, I would say, I think it's almost a majority of folks that are on the podcast now. Like, um, don't. Like you didn't start with, you know, setting out and saying, hey, I'm going to be a data analytics professional. You know, you had some other jobs, some other experience. Like what did your path look like in terms of breaking into analytics and maybe even into marketing analytics more. More specifically?

Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. That's such a good question. Um, Dustin, I, I do feel that my experience has been a winding one. It definitely hasn't been a linear path. It's something that I have just slowly uncovered over the years. So from the marketing perspective, many, many years ago, one of my first remote jobs was writing content for addiction recovery treatment centers. And that definitely has nothing to do with what I do today as a data analyst, but it taught me so much about how to connect with people and how to create experiences that resonate with people. And so that was one of my first, I would say, touches into marketing. And so after that experience of writing, I then worked with NGOs and I was kind of doing more project management related work. And that taught me a lot about communication and organization and putting things together, um, kind of putting a nice package deal on these different projects that we were working on. And so after I continued reflecting over the years on what I liked doing. Marketing has always kind of been this, I don't know, it's always been in the background, you know, something that's just been a baseline through a lot of my experience experiences. So once I realized I wanted to pursue data analytics, it was just kind of an obvious choice for me. It's like, I love marketing, why not apply it to marketing? And that's uh, one piece of advice I love to give to people is find what you just naturally already like to do. You know, look at your past work experiences because maybe there's a common thread there that you can then lean into with data analytics. Because I know how overwhelming it can be when you're like, ah, ah, you know, there's, it's this big field in and of itself and then you've got a million different industries.

Speaker A: Definitely. No, I like that. And also I did just want to call out too. I saw a few people joining, um, if you are joining live, um, let us know in the comments who you are, where you're joining from. It's always good to see who's joining live. Um, always like to say hello to everyone listening to the recording as well. We're going to have lots to go in the show notes for this episode because I mentioned earlier, um, when we first went live here that uh, Seth has a lot of uh, content that she's putting out and kind um, of community resources and events that she's hosting. And so we're going to link to all that in the show notes for those listening to the recording. But if you are attending live, definitely give uh, a shout out in the chat, let us know where you're coming from. Um, switching gears for a second, um, as you were, you know, making your way into marketing analytics, how did you actually develop some of those, you know, data specific skills, um, to actually be a uh, marketing data analytics professional. Like did you learn that on your own or through like degree programs or how did you pick up those skills?

Speaker B: Yeah, so I am a firm believer that, I mean one thing in particular can't, it can't always solve it all. You know, I pursued an MBA and an Ms. In Digital Technology from Boston University. So that's when I uncovered this rock of data analytics. And I was in a class, we were working in jupyter notebooks. I was having just a blast doing it and I realized that I wanted to pursue a career from then. But it wasn't just that experience. I feel like that actually kind of set me off on the path because many years prior to that I got a master's in organizational Communication. I can't even tell you I did not mean to get this many degrees, it's just worked out this way. Um, but it was the communication piece that really helped me get into the field. And even though the MBA and the digital tech degree helped me a lot with business understanding and really thinking about how companies make money, um, the different kinds of business models that are available, um, the kind of context that applies to a, ah, given business problem and if you're doing like a data analysis, what um, to be thinking about as you're doing that. The communication piece helped me with working with stakeholders and thinking through how I can strategize my story from start to finish so that it's most compelling to kind of drive action. And so I would say that my, my first degree that I got many, many years ago has really done a lot of heavy lifting for me. In addition to some of the exposure that I got in my dual program because I had an advanced Excel course, I did have a SQL course, I got some exposure to Python. But I'll be honest and I know that the job landscape has changed. I have also noticed that not a lot of companies are hyper advanced with their tech tools. And from my um, experience it really hasn't been where it's necessary for me to be an expert in Python. As long as I can work an Excel sheet, I could create maybe a tableau or Power BI dashboard. Those are the initial things that I started picking up in my higher education programs. But then really tying in the business context and the communication, that's what really like lifted, you know, gave me a lift off into, into my career.

Speaker A: Very cool. Yeah, and it's, I would say that you know, an MBA and communication degree, I mean two of the big themes that we see out there on LinkedIn or you know, articles in the data industry. I mean there's a lot of content coming out about um, business acumen that's needed to be a good analyst, you know, communication skills that are needed. Like can you give an example of just in terms of giving a communications degree, like what are some of the things that you take or draw from that, that you apply in your work day to day as a marketing analyst?

Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. I would say one of the pieces that I became aware of when I first pursued the communication degree was understanding who it is you're working with, thinking about the other person and what their perspective is, what their world looks like. And it's something that sounds so simple, but it's actually kind of hard to do. You know, you really have to be proactive about putting your mindset into another person's position. So if you're working with a colleague from a different department or you're working with your manager's supervisor, you have to be thinking about what their world looks like, what their pressure points are, what challenges they're facing in their day, and then structuring your story from whatever your insight is around their world. Because that's how that kind of negotiation storytelling, that conversational piece, that's really how that develops. And so I think for a lot of people, building that initial awareness is what can set you off into a greater path. And so for me in that communication degree, building that awareness of, oh, I need to know who my stakeholders are and I need to know what kind of personality they have and what challenges they're experiencing on a day to day basis and then take that into consideration as I'm putting together my, my presentation or, you know, my main speaking points. That's really gone a long ways for, for me.

Speaker A: Very cool. And you mentioned during your, it was during your MBA that you got you started to kind of think about data as a career, is that right?

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was during my MBA program. I had no idea what data analytics was. I honestly thought that I was going to use my MBA to further build up this nonprofit that I had started a couple years ago. And so that was kind of the plan. But as I continued building this nonprofit on the side and then working in the MBA program, I kind of started to compare and contrast and that's when I had to make some tough decisions.

Speaker A: Right? Yeah. And I could relate to what you mentioned, uh, you know, really liking to work on some of the technical work in your bi. In my MBA program when I did it, there was no data analytics or data science track at the time, but there were some courses related to data analytics. There was data mining and some of the is it related courses that you could take as electives and um, graduate statistics, stuff like that. But I related because I can remember that, um, we had to do a project in a data mining class That I did. And I was the R guy. I remember sitting in the campus computer lab, you know, I can just see it now, you know, like late at night. And it was just me and a few other people in there and I've got our up and I loved it, you know. But um, and I was glad to do that, um, part of the project for the team. But um, um, that's really interesting. And it's, it's interesting how many folks, um, that did MBAs find their ways into data and data leadership. Um, I think it's, there's another, you know, interesting component to you talked about. Potentially you were going to use that to run your nonprofit. I think that, um, you know, a lot of data roles are entrepreneurial in a way and you're creating things from scratch, you know, with the projects that you're doing. And I think, I do think the MBA curriculum personally plays well into that. Curious what thoughts you may have on that.

Speaker B: I think so too. I am very entrepreneurial at heart. It's something I just love to do. I feel like it works every area of my brain and it brings me so much joy, you know, to think about. Yeah, uh, communication piece, the marketing piece, the actual product itself and the technology involved with it and customer support and building community. Just every single piece. I was very heavily involved in entrepreneurship in the MBA program. It was one of the highlights of my entire education experience. And I do full heartedly believe in leaning into the things that bring you joy. Kind of like what you mentioned with leaning into some of that, that technical piece of R and just, you know, letting yourself fall into it because it brings you joy. That was me. And I remember once one project in my program that required reading HTML and css, like just spending time putting together these pieces. It was like this big web project that our professor had put together and he intentionally left missing pieces and so you had to go and finish the rest of the code. I just loved that project. And it's interesting because there's so many different paths in data analytics. I didn't work with HTML or CSS for years, but then over the past few months, uh, when I was working full time, that was really what I was looking at all the time in Google Tag Manager. And so it brought back really positive memories of that experience in school. So you just never know how things will evolve over time.

Speaker A: Yeah, totally. One, um, thing that I was curious about, I mentioned this. I know when we met, uh, before the show, but uh, I, when I looked at your LinkedIn profile profile, I saw that for your current role, um, it has remote next to it and then it has that LinkedIn, um, helped you get it. And I think the last role that you had, it said that LinkedIn and helped you get it too. Just curious, like, um, folks reach out to me all the time, like asking about how to use LinkedIn for job searching. And I'm sure they do to you as well with the community work that you do. Like, um, how do you leverage LinkedIn or how have you leveraged LinkedIn to help get some of these roles that you've had?

Speaker B: I am a huge fan of leveraging LinkedIn. I mean, for one, it's free, right? You can create your profile that's just free advertisement for you at this point. Why not leverage it if you can? And so I have worked really hard on my LinkedIn over the years to just continue tweaking it, refining it, building it up, because it's always fun. Felt really good to me to kind of have this, right, I don't know, this package, you know, this is who I am. This is the thing that I'm interested in doing. These are my experiences. And I have spent a lot of hours on my LinkedIn profile. So I would say it's not for the, what's the phrase, Stop for the week, you know, to build your LinkedIn, because it takes a lot of strategy. And I've just found that LinkedIn has opened so many doors for me that I wouldn't have had otherwise. So all of my data analytics roles and experiences that I've had to, to this date have. I haven't applied for them. You know, it's been a recruiter reaching out to me. And so that's why I say LinkedIn helped me get this job. Because I still, to this day, uh, to this day, I get LinkedIn recruiters just reaching out to me, um, based on my experience. And so I would say to anybody out there who's trying to build up their LinkedIn, first and foremost, I would look at the things that people immediately see on your profile. You know, your profile picture, your cover photo, what does your headline say? And if you're not really sure what the best kind of standard is, find people who are where you want to be, um, make sure they're not, like, I don't know, business owners or, or, um, online content creators. Because that's a different field than someone who's like, genuinely trying to be a data analyst. But I would find, you know, 10 people who are in the role that you want to be in and See what's working for them. You know, if they've got a, uh, healthy following, if they're working somewhere that you want to work at, see what it is that they're doing. Because that's, you know, success leaves a, uh, cookie trail, you know, success. So that's a good point. Yeah, that would be my advice. And I would just say I see so many people who aren't leveraging LinkedIn as much as they could be. You know, anything that you're doing, track it, document it. I'm a big fan of, um, they. They call it building in public. You know, anything you're working on, it doesn't have to be perfect. Put it out there to the universe. See what people have to say. Because even if you're not getting a ton of likes or comments or whatever, all that, all that fluff that's at the top.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: You are still building a track record for yourself.

Speaker A: Totally agreed. Completely. And I, I like the. You said, um, you said a couple things. One was that success leaves a trail. Or. What did you say?

Speaker B: Yeah,

Speaker A: okay. Leaves it. Okay. Yeah, Yeah, I like that. I think that's definitely true. And I do think that folks should take a look at your LinkedIn profile in particular. We'll definitely link to it in the show notes. We always try to link to, um, every guest LinkedIn profile, if they have one in the show notes. Um, but, um, yours in particular is. I can tell that you've invested a lot of time in, um, really tells the story very well of your experience and everything you've done outside of your professional experience as well. Um, and, uh, I'm just curious, as folks look at it, we'll put it in the show notes. You know, do you do some of the. Because, like, your banner and your picture has a background that matches the banner and things like that. And, um, I could. I just. I. I know just from some of the questions I get, like, folks would be curious about that. Do you do that design work on your own, or how did you do that?

Speaker B: Yes, 100%. I do it on my own. I just do it in Canva. You know, I spend a lot of time. Although I do recognize that it does take some, I guess, design skills. I feel like that's kind of one of my strengths is visual design and do things look appealing, do the colors look right? Um, but thankfully, tools like Canva now have ton. A ton of LinkedIn banner templates that are free. You know, at any time I work with my students, I will spend quality time reviewing their LinkedIn we'll talk through every single piece of, of their LinkedIn, um, profile and I'll give them really detailed feedback because that is the first opportunity that anybody who comes to your page gets to see. It's, it's kind of like the virtual um, you know, when you go to an interview and they say, make sure you look nice, make sure that you're doing, you're showing up early because all of those things communicate something. And your LinkedIn is, is that version, but virtually. So I take it very serious. And um, and I think it, you know, it's paid off. And I hear time and time again from other people just how powerful it is, how many um, you know, opportunities people have gotten from it. And so I think the LinkedIn visual piece is really important at first, but then also just engagement is really important. And I think for a lot of people who are trying to break into the field, that's where the nerves kick in because they're like, you know, I don't want to come across as a fraud saying I'm a data analyst when I'm not, or I don't want to post this project because I'm, I don't know that I'm proud of it or I don't know how it's going to look. Um, and I would just say engage. Even if you're not 100% confident in something, you could share it. If you're not ready to share it, you could share it with some people in your network who are in the field and could give you some feedback to make sure it looks pristine before you post. Or you could just share what you're learning about the project you're working on. You know, putting your voice out there, making that normal, um, whatever normal looks like to you. You know, it doesn't have to be seven days a week, it could be once a week. You could post something, just set a, ah, small starting goal for yourself so that you're, you're building your brand piece by piece because it's not going to just happen magically overnight.

Speaker A: That's really great advice. And um, actually there was another thing that you said too, um, in the previous segment that I wanted to go back to and that was learning in public I believe is what you said. And that one resonated with me because I was always afraid to do that myself as well. And it probably wasn't until I got closer to mid career stage or late early career stage that I actually found the courage to start doing that both within the organizations that I was in or in terms of, like, the public content or engagements that I do externally. Um, but it's been super powerful, like life changing, you know, to do that. And it can take many different forms, one of which you're obviously doing right now, um, you know, talking about your experiences live in a podcast episode, which is awesome. But, um, can you give just maybe a couple examples of maybe what that learning in public has looked like for you?

Speaker B: Yes, yes. I also have found it challenging to build in public. And so when I, when I recommend it to people, it's definitely not an easy thing to do. And I think the reason why it's not easy is because as humans, we just, a lot of us are perfectionists, you know, and once you put something out online, it exists. And to put something out online means that you believe in it enough and that you should put it out there, that other people should see it, and that's really scary to do. And something I've had to work on myself is just understanding that it's not perfect. Um, you know, I can't get, if I focus so hard on getting something perfect, the time could be too late. And I learned this through being a data analyst, actually, because one of the problems I had early in my career was that I would get a request, uh, for some business challenge, and I would spend so much time making such thorough analyses that the time would continue to pass. And I just wouldn't. I just didn't want to let it go because I felt like, well, there's always another layer deeper. There's always one other thing or consideration I could look into. And I got so perfectionistic, if that's a word, I got so perfectionistic about it that it just became almost a, uh, stumbling block for myself and for my stakeholders. And so I had to learn over time, you just got to put it out there, you know, and, and I've practiced this in so many different areas of my life. For me personally, it's been through LinkedIn, you know, the first half of this year, I had posted five to six days a week on LinkedIn, um, just getting used to putting my voice out there, even when it's felt cringe, you know, uh, getting used to saying something, and that's taken a lot of courage. But then also at work, um, in previous work experiences, speaking openly about what it is that I'm working on, um, saying, hey, I'm excited. I just got this tracking implementation set up, so now we'll be able to properly, properly document this new feature that we had just implemented. Whatever that is right. Um, being open about it and being more communicative. And I know that can be so hard if you're perfectionistic. And also for someone like me who's kind of more introverted, you know, I live internally a lot of times, so it's hard for me to express it outwardly, but it's. It's just been a practice that I think helps you to build your confidence because the confidence and the motivation come in the doing. You know, you can't wait for your confidence and motivation to appear because it will never appear. It only appears as you do things.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great perspective. And, um, definitely resonates strongly with me. And I would say that, um, you know, some of the things when I think back to internally at organizations, when I've actually put my work out there and asked, you know, for review, you know, and, um, that's when actually, uh, sometimes when you get feedback, like, I think, um, you know, you feel like you've done something wrong if folks have, you know, some feedback on your work or whatever. Right. But, like, um, I think, um, the opposite is true. Like, it actually ends up creating like, a much higher caliber of work that you end up putting out, which actually ends up, like, reflecting positively on you in the end, you know. And some of the. I think some of the best work that I've put out there internally at organizations I've worked at has gone through review, you know, and, um, I've, you know, presented it for. For feedback and kind of crowdsourced feedback on it and things like that. And then also I totally relate to the comment on, you know, you have just been consistent with publishing content and even if it feels cringe to you, you know, like, you just keep doing it. And that was how I got started as well, was I just kind of committed to doing a set number of days of posts. And it was, you know, back when I, um, hardly knew anyone in the industry outside of the community that I lived in, you know. And, um, I never thought that I'd be doing a podcast or anything like that. And I never really saw myself as much of a public speaker. And you know, now I do it pretty, pretty regularly and. But it just took, you know, um, those first few steps and there was a snowball effect from there.

Speaker B: So I really, 100%, it's all in the reps. And I think there's two kinds of, I guess, support mechanisms that you can implement when you're going through this process. And one of them is your hype. Your hype Team, you know, find the people, if it's at work, find the people who see you for who you are, uh, and who appreciate what you have to offer at work. Get to know them, build mentorships, build connections and connect with those people because they're going to hype you up as you're building out your projects, as you're working on something. They're the people you want to be connecting with behind the scenes so that you have the confidence to then share it with the other group, which is the people who will really be able to give you constructive feedback. Um, so that you are refining your skill sets over time and you're leveling up in know. I think both and they could be one in the same. Um, but I think having both of those kinds of support is really important in the tech field and beyond.

Speaker A: Mhm. And you mentioned earlier, um, students that you work with and so I think this is a nice segue into a follow up question on that. Um, we've kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier in the episode, but you have a lot going on, um, in terms of resources you're putting out there, community work that you're doing. What are some of the initiatives that you have, um, going on that you're leading in the space?

Speaker B: Yeah, so I mentioned before that I had started a non profit many years ago and then I transitioned into the analytics space. But something that has always stuck with me is building a community, connecting with people, seeing and hearing about the different challenges that people have, what inspires them, what they're learning, what they're trying to grow in and just being a person to support and um, uplift people. And so over the years it's become more clear to me that I'm very passionate about data analytics. It really is just something I've enjoyed spending my weekends and my evenings sometimes learning. It's something I can get lost in, in. I feel like the field is ever growing and technology is always changing. So it, it keeps me intellectually stimulated. And so as I've just been diving into all this, I'm like, what, what else do I want to do? You know, because I like keeping, I uh, I wouldn't say keeping busy, I would say I like indulging myself in the things that fulfill me and, and bring me excitement. You know, I want to lean into it. And I mentioned this earlier, I'm very entrepreneurial and so I started um, I've started just connecting with more people who come from non traditional backgrounds. Right. Like people who don't have a stem degree because that, that was kind of my experience. I came in, I, I used to also teach art online to little kids. You know, it's, I've come from such different background experiences and made it in tech and so I wanted to connect more with those people. So it's really been a mission of mine just to continue meeting people in the space who want to break into data analytics but may not have a lot of the knowledge or um, the confidence to break into the field. And so some of the ways that I've been doing that has been hosting online events. Um, I do actually have an event this, this Saturday. It's called the Aspiring Analyst, uh, Roundtable and I hosted one of the gays months back. We've already got almost 30 people registered. I think I'm super excited for it. It's just this community feel kind of space. You know, people can talk about what they're going through. I think community is so important. You don't have to go it alone. And especially if you come from a non traditional background like I do, it already can feel so intense and sometimes lonely at times because you're already kind of working through these internal barriers of like, this isn't where I come from, you know, this isn't how I was raised. I don't have this kind of a mindset that I'm supposed to have. So um, so I've been working on creating these spaces for people to connect. Um, I did also create a course called the Analyst Edge and it's an eight week transformative program that really walks people through the entire role of a data analyst. It's very case study based so it brings in a lot of components that you would expect to see from an MBA program. And every single week we just build on your knowledge week by week. And so by the end you feel a lot more confident as a communicator and as someone who can apply business context and derive really meaningful insights for stakeholders. And so I held the very first cohort of that program earlier this year. Um, got some really great feedback and have made some minor refinements over the summer. But uh, yeah, those are a couple of the of the big ways I've been trying to connect with people and I've loved it.

Speaker A: That's cool, that's awesome. And the Roundtable, that's this Saturday. Um, how can folks register for that or is the registration still open for it or how can they find that?

Speaker B: Yeah, it is still open right now and it is completely free, um, to attend the link. We could put it in the Show Notes and also, um, on my LinkedIn page under the events. Um, it's there as well. Cool.

Speaker A: So if you find Seth on LinkedIn, um, it's already set up out there, um, as an event on your profile, so you should be able to find it there. But, um, we'll definitely put a link in the Show Notes as well. Very cool. Then the Analyst Edge program, um, how can folks find that?

Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. Um, I also have a link that I can provide you with to, to kind of learn more about the program for the people who sign up for the round table. Um, it will also include some weekly updates from me, um, with this free newsletter that I send out every week. It's called the Analyst Dispatch. So once you sign up that way, then you get updates from me, you'll get updates on the program because that is going to be launching, ah, live here in a couple weeks, which I'm really excited about. Uh, so whether you're in a space in your life where you're ready to kind of make that change and take this program, you have that option to you, um, or if you just want to attend some of these virtual events and just connect with people and share common experiences, that's available too.

Speaker A: That's cool. I like it. And I like the name the Analyst Edge, um, because it sounds like in addition to, if I'm understanding it right, in addition to some of, you know, the technical, um, topics that they can learn about, they'll also learn about communication and some of the business and organizational acumen, which is, you know, that's your background before you got into tech. Is that right?

Speaker B: Yes. Yeah. So those are the, the kind of areas that I really thrive in. And they're the areas that I think a lot of people who are entering the tech field really don't spend that much time on. And it's a shame in my opinion, because I've gotten hired on the spot just for my communication skills and being able to apply business context. These, they call them soft skills, I call them core skills because they are what is needed in order for you to make real change at a company. And so the program that I run, the kind of work that I talk about is, is it's honestly not going to be heavy tech because I feel like you can find heavy tech tutorials anywhere. I mean, there's. So there's a lot of content. Y. Yeah, there's so many resources available online. So my, the work that I do is not a rehash of that. You can find that anywhere. You need to, but the work I do is really to genuinely give you an edge. It's, it's the thing that's going to help separate you from other people, including the people who solely focus on tech.

Speaker A: Got it. Very cool. Awesome. Um, so definitely check that out. If that sounds like something, um, that you would be interested in, I think that's really cool. Um, you also started a TikTok channel recently. Um, how is that going?

Speaker B: Yeah, that has been another one of my building in public projects. You know, it's, it's something that I wanted to do because it's new to me and I'm still learning how I like to communicate my message. I wanted to try out a different platform and I got to thinking about it and I figured, you know what, I have so many different little messages, little nuggets of insights that I want to share with people from what I've learned over the years. And just starting a TikTok channel felt right. So it's called the Quietly Ambitious Analyst. It all stemmed from this post that I had put out on LinkedIn one day that in my world it went viral because it had like two or 300 likes, but people were commenting on it and just talking about how that's pretty good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was, it was good. Um, but it just sparked something for me because the post was about being introverted as an analyst. And a lot of people commented saying that they relate to that experience and. Yeah, and it made me think about when I started in data analytics because I had this common misconception that if I'm introverted, data analytics is perfect because I won't be speaking with people ever. You know, I'll be behind the screen just doing my code or working on my projects and not really needing to have a whole lot of interaction. And what I realized once I entered the space is that communication is a very central component of being a data analyst. And for many companies, even giving presentations is a very common, uh, responsibility for a data analyst. And so I made this post on LinkedIn about that experience and just learning, oh, okay, this is what the role really entails. And uh, I just got a lot of really positive feedback from that. So I thought about, you know, why not, why don't I start up this, this TikTok channel and, and just talk about what it's like to be introverted as a data analyst and still finding success in the field, you know, because there's so much pressure to be loud, be the loudest person in the room and over talk the others like, um, all of that. And that can be really overwhelming.

Speaker A: Absolutely. And, uh, so I've got to go follow this channel. I do use Tick Tock. Um, I haven't created as much content on there recently, but I do try to. Sometimes I take a clip from the podcast episodes and put it out there. Um, but, um, this seems like a really good theme for a Tick Tock channel. So I'll definitely go and follow, um, the Quietly Ambitious Analyst. Um, my phone's charging. It's out of reach. I was gonna grab it and just say, okay, you got another follower right now, but I'll have to do it when we go off the air here. But, um, so definitely recommend checking this out. The Quietly Ambitious Analyst is the name of the channel. Right?

Speaker B: Check it out. And let me just say, you know, I am building in public, so. So it's only going to get better from here.

Speaker A: That's awesome. And it's funny because when I did my first. You say that, that you're building in public. I did the same thing when I started, uh, this maybe 18 or 24 months ago doing a first video on TikTok. And I actually did a post on LinkedIn just, um, kind of highlighting the experience. It was pretty funny because the first video that I did, um, uh, I recorded it in landscape mode, um, and posted it. And I was like, okay, this doesn't look like other nice Tick Tock videos that are out there. And my kids, you know, gave me a hard time about it, um, but they were proud of the fact that dad was on Tick Tock, you know, and so, and that was the last, first, last and only landscape, you know, recording that I did. And I learned quickly. And, and I did. I had some good videos, like some videos that got some good traction on there and stuff. And so it goes to show you that even if, you know, uh, building in public, you know, has its advantages, right? Because I wouldn't have produced the good ones if I wouldn't have produced the, you know, ridiculous one first.

Speaker B: So it's true. Everybody has to start somewhere. And sometimes just to make myself feel better, I'll go find a, uh, I don't know, a celebrity or someone who's, who's been really successful in any industry. And I'll just scroll on Instagram or wherever the social media is, I'll scroll to the very beginning because I just want to see. And sometimes people delete them and you can tell, okay, they removed the ones they didn't like. But even just knowing that is a good reminder, okay? They had some, some posts that they maybe weren't a big fan of, looking back at it, but, like, they needed to post them because it's how they got to where they're at.

Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. That's a good point. Um, and so what's it like? Like, creating content? I mean, like, obviously it's vid, you know, it's video. It's. It's different in terms of, you know, the transitions and text that you add over overlay and things like that. But, like, what's, what are some of the, like, biggest differences you see between, like, creating content on LinkedIn versus on TikTok?

Speaker B: Yeah, that's been an interesting learning curve for me because a lot of my content on LinkedIn has been solely text. Sometimes I, uh, will include a photo, but a lot of it has been text. And I've seen a lot of other posts perform really well with just text. So it doesn't seem to require as much as maybe something that's more visual, like TikTok or Instagram. With TikTok, because I'm speaking and because I am a bit more introverted, and because I'm a data analyst and I have given a lot of presentations, I prefer to have something in the background that I'm referring to, like, like I'm pointing to the slide. So right now that's what I've been leaning heavily into is creating, creating visuals in Canva and then just putting them as a green screen on my videos and kind of referencing those and going through the slides and talking about things, because that's what makes me feel comfortable. And I, I think that's part of it too is, you know, if in anything you do, if you're breaking into the tech field or if you're an entrepreneur, there's just always something new to learn, and so you can do it and still kind of find where you like to fit within that new realm that you're in.

Speaker A: Very cool. And do you find that creating this, uh, content, you know, in different platforms, does it make you a better presenter when it comes time to actually, like, present, you know, analytics work, like professionally, you know, outside of the social, social media space? Does it, do you feel like it helps you as a presenter?

Speaker B: I think it does. Because my mind now has kind of a bank of topics that I've recently been talking about, topics that I want to talk about soon, um, phrases that I want to use that I, that I think really make a topic clear to present or to educate or to entertain, whatever that is. So I have found it to be really helpful. And I, I think there is something to be said about having to chunk something down into a one minute segment on TikTok. I know, I know it's got 10 minute length, but just to have something that is complex and you break it down really quick, what's your one key takeaway? It's just another reinforcement of communicating strategically, communicating with clarity, being concise, thinking of the beginning, the middle and the end. It's, it all kind of weaves into the same thing.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's a really good point. And I like the comment you made about having a bank of kind of content as well. And I think I um, was thinking as you were talking like um, aside from the presentation aspect and improving presentation skills, like one thing that I found myself doing is even sometimes just in conversations and meetings I'll find myself sharing my screen just to share ah, some sort of content that I pulled together or perspective on something and maybe drop a link to it, um, in the meeting chat in the teams chat or if there was a podcast episode where there was something we talked about that was relevant to what we're talking about in the meeting, I might drop that in there. Um, just to say, hey, at minute mark 35 we talked about this very topic that we're talking about right now in the meeting or something like that. Um, I think it does, it's helpful um, to have that con, that bank of content to reference to. Um, you know, and also I think like there is a element of it that helps like with one's own like kind of personal value propositions like oh, like I wonder what other content this person has. Like maybe they could help me with something else that they've done. So um, I like it in terms of helping one's um, just value prop as a professional too.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a communication concept where they say, what is it? Primate primacy and recency. It's like people remember the first thing you said and also the latest thing that you've said. And I think it really does just tie into that when it comes to content. And I think it could, it can be used even if you're not creating content. You know, if you're trying to break into the space and you're working on your projects, just keep a little notepad of, of what your quick insight was, what your learning was. All of that'll easily just come to mind as you're doing your interviews or you're meeting with recruiters, you're speaking with colleagues in the field as you Just continue to, um, immerse yourself. It's all kind of top of mind, you know, it's. It's easier to recall that way.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's a good point. Definitely. Um, so as we wind down here, I did want to actually, I know Zach asked a question earlier, and so I did want to bring, um, it up just because I think this was in reference to, um, some of the design work you had done on your LinkedIn profile. And again, um, if you're just, uh, tuning in or missed it earlier in the, in the episode, we were talking about, um, Seth's LinkedIn profile and just she was talking about how much effort she's put into it, and we talked about some of the design, um, tools that you use for it. I think Zach was asking about, um, Canva while you were talking about, you used it to create your LinkedIn banner, um, and maybe, uh, the background and your profile picture, I think. So Zach is asking, can this be done with the free Canva or do you have to have the paid version?

Speaker B: I have just used the, the free version. Um, so you won't need to. You won't need to pay for the paid version. And also, I don't have a paid LinkedIn either, so all of it has just been free for me to use. Yeah.

Speaker A: Cool. Yeah, that's a great perspective. Um, and that's. Sometimes folks have. I had. I do. I don't have the paid version of Canva either. I do. I use LinkedIn Premium. Um, I think I just kind of got in a habit of having it, you know, like a subscription service that just, you know, didn't go away. But, um, folks have asked me, you know, hey, do I. Are you able to do this or that because you have LinkedIn Premium? And sometimes the answer is yes, but, like, more often than not, it's no. Like, that doesn't. What they're asking about doesn't have anything to do with LinkedIn Premium. There's a lot.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: That can be done without it.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think so. I've seen a lot of different perspectives lately on using LinkedIn Premium versus the free version. I guess you really have to dig into what the benefits are, are for Premium. Um, I just, I haven't really needed it, honestly. Even with. Even with recruiters reaching out to me over the years for analytics roles. I mean, that's more of you framing your profile to bring them to you rather than you reaching out, which is also another valuable strategy. But, yeah, I haven't, I just haven't needed the paid version. I think maybe I did a free trial of it a couple of years ago, but, um, it's not been a part of my tool stack.

Speaker A: Got it. Cool. Um, and so what's the best way for folks to follow you? Obviously, LinkedIn and some of the other resources we talked about, we'll put those in the show notes. But anything else you wanted to mention in terms of how folks can follow your content?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think what we had talked about previously is perfect. If you're following me on LinkedIn, there is a link at the very top in my bio that links up out to my weekly newsletter so you can get involved that way. Like, um, I said I'm posting more free events for people to get involved in just to build a sense of community. So if you go to my LinkedIn page and check out my events, you can easily find the analyst roundtable there. Um, and yeah, if you end up finding your way to my TikTok, you can enjoy the learning and growing process with me. Um, those are, are. Those are the main ways right now. I mean, I have a website as well, but that all will kind of tie in through the newsletter, so.

Speaker A: Okay, cool. Awesome. So, Seth, really appreciate you joining. I'm gonna go and follow the quietly ambitious analyst on Tick Tock. I think everyone else should as well. Um, also check out the free roundtable that's taking place on Saturday. You can find that on Seth's, um, profile. We'll also put the link in the show notes, but, um, um, and then the analyst edge, uh, information on that is available. Uh, well, we'll put the link in the show notes, but, um, I think you can find that on your LinkedIn profile too. Right?

Speaker B: Yeah, definitely.

Speaker A: Cool. Awesome. Well, definitely appreciate you taking this time to, uh, chat, uh, this evening or like I said, morning or afternoon, depending on where folks are listening from. But thanks for joining.

Speaker B: Thanks so much for inviting me. Dustin, this was so great talking with you. You're fantastic at what you do. I feel so honored to be on your show. You thank. So thanks again.

Speaker A: That's really nice of you to say. I appreciate it. Um, but, uh, definitely just appreciate, uh, everyone that's willing to come and share their knowledge. And, uh, this was a really insightful episode. So thanks for coming on, Seth, and, uh, we'll be in touch.

Speaker B: Thanks everyone.