FinTech Start-up

I started my career as a Credit Analyst at a Fintech start-up. Within a year, I developed an interest in working with data, through my exposure to the work of our Data Scientist. I began learning SQL by watching online tutorials and reading the code written by our Data Engineer. Gradually, I was able to write more complex queries and started to volunteer on some ad-hoc requests to extract and transform data. I eventually became the go-to person on the team for data analysis requests. My role was challenging and interesting because every day was different. However, it lacked the structure and support that I needed to carve out my desired career path. I wanted to consistently build and hone my skills to reach my aspiration of becoming a specialist. After giving it some thought, I decided to leave the FinTech start-up and move to banking industry.

Career Transition: Planning

The biggest challenge I had was getting interviews. Although I had worked on a variety of projects, I didn’t know how to describe them in my resume based on the position I was applying for. I needed someone experienced with data analytics in different contexts to help me connect the dots between my previous experience and the job descriptions. Through analysis of job descriptions, I also realized I needed to level-up my technical skills in addition to SQL to improve my chances of getting interviews. This was when I found out about WeCareer. Their one-month data camp with the end goal of helping students land data jobs suited my needs to build a structured understanding of the types of data jobs that are available on the market and to introduce me to other tools that I didn’t have exposure to at work.

Career Transition: Execution

I joined the data camp in January, 2020 not long after COVID-19 hit Canada. The job openings reduced significantly, and I kept hearing news about layoffs from banks. It was a nerve-racking time. Thankfully I had two very supportive mentors who were not only experienced but also very encouraging and supportive. I first worked with Ken Ding to edit my resume. He suggested that I add a summary section at the top of the resume to highlight my skills and experience. Then we worked on the bullet points from my last job to make it relevant to my next job. I learned how to tailor the resume for different positions. After that I kept applying for jobs and brushing up my technical skills. There were a lot of rejections and cancellations of positions. Finally, in April 2020, I received an interview invitation from HR at Scotiabank. A few days after the phone screening, I was invited to the first-round interview with the hiring manager and the director of the team. I arrived with confidence as if I was the best candidate for this job. I truly believed I was because of the effort I put into preparation. I had my stories and answers prepared and ensured they demonstrated the positive traits that I could bring to this job. At the end of the interview, I was given a task to build a dashboard using Tableau during the weekend and present it in the following round of interviews. At this point, I booked some time with another mentor (Pravin Khatake) to discuss how to approach the task and what to pay attention to when processing the datasets and building out the dashboard. The hard work paid off and the hiring manager was very satisfied with the presentation. I advanced to the final round, which consisted of a panel interview with the team. About a week later, I received a job offer. It was a moment of excitement and relief.

Retrospective

Here is what made me successful, and can help make you successful too:

1. Get to know yourself and compile a list of things you can bring to the table. Traits. Skills. Projects. Jobs. If you are a recent grad, trace back to your past internships, personal interests, school events, and highlight what makes you stand out.
2. You don’t need to be an expert to start a new job. What WeCareer teaches at the data camp is enough to get an entry-level Data Analyst job. But, you absolutely need to be interview ready.
3. Find a mentor who clicks with you and can provide what you need: support, validation, technical know-how, communication tactics, and more. Your mentor plays an important role in bringing out the best in you and providing you with an objective view of your readiness for the position, as well as honest feedback on what you’ve done well and what you’ll need to improve on.
4. Don’t let rejections affect your self-confidence. Whether or not one interview is successful doesn’t define your value. Trust that when you put in enough effort to be the best you can, the right opportunity will knock on the door. There will be moments when you feel down and frustrated, they are all part of the process. Many people have come through that successful and so will you.
5. Lastly, put in the time. Nothing can replace practice. It takes five mock interviews to move the needle. Confidence comes from rehearsing, repetition and feeling good about your chances. When you feel prepared, you look confident. What’s on the inside shows on the outside.

Wishing you the best of luck!