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The Data Doesn’t Lie: Secrets From The World of Data Science And Advice On How To Map Your Career

How cool is data? I just attended a panel discussion entitled, “Talk Data to Me” put on by the good folks at General Assembly.

The focus of discussion was how data drives business and product decisions across industries, but also the ups-and-downs of working as data scientist, what companies who hire data scientists look for in candidates and what it is like to be a woman in the industry. Panel members were as follows:

  • Panel Members
    • Jessica Lachs, head of business operations & analytics, DoorDash
    • Lily Jiang, data science manager, Quora
    • Laura Burkhauser, senior product manager, Le Tote
    • Ive Cojuangco, data analyst, Everlane
    • Ling Chen, data science manager, Glassdoor

I live-Tweeted the event. Below is a roundup of the most interesting insights shared by the panel members. I hope you enjoy what they had to say as much as I did!   

 

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  •  What is your favorite and least favorite part of your job?
    • Fav and least fav part of job? Fav: working with really rich #data says @lilijiang_data from @Quora | #TalkDataToMe
    • Fav and least fav part of job? Least: having to say no to people due to lack of data says @jesslachs from @DoorDash | #TalkDataToMe
    • Fav and least fav part of job? Least: Having to make decisions really fast says Laura Burkhauser from @letote | #TalkDataToMe
    • Fav & least fav part of job? Fav: the exploration that leads to new ideas & things to fix says Ling Cheng from @GlassDoor | #TalkDataToMe
    • Fav and least fav part of job? Least: when teams put a spin your data! says @poisoniveee from @Everlane
  • Where do you see the data industry going in the next five years and how do you keep current on changes?
    • Where do you see data in the next five years? “Democratization of data within companies.” from Laura Burkhauser of @letote | #TalkDataToMe
    • How do you keep current on the industry? Online courses. Very important, even though not required says @lilijiang_datafrom @Quora | #TalkDataToMe
    • It’s important to learn from the people you work with from all different backgrounds – @jesslachs from @DoorDash | #TalkDataToMe
    • How to stay current on the industry?  Meetings w/ cross-functional teams so we can learn says @poisoniveee from @Everlane | #TalkDataToMe
  • What Skills Are Companies in the Data Space Looking For When Hiring?
    • Skills you’re looking for when hiring? Someone who can solve the RIGHT problems on the roadmap says @jesslachs from @DoorDash | #TalkDataToMe
    • Skills you’re looking for when hiring? Background in #stats, #ML & cultural alignment says @lilijiang_data from @Quora | #TalkDataToMe
    • #Skills you’re looking for when hiring? Scrappiness, #efficiency & ability to communicate says @poisoniveee from @Everlane | #TalkDataToMe
  • As you move up the ladder and focus more on people management, how do you let go of the fun stuff – doing the actual work?
    • As you climb & manage more, how do you let go of fun stuff? Identifying new #data projects helps says @lilijiang_data of @Quora | #TalkDataToMe
  • Is It Important To Discuss Gender In Data Science?
    • Important to talk gender in #DataScience? I’m a data scientist. Not a woman data scientist says @lilijiang_data of @Quora | #TalkDataToMe
    • Important to talk gender in #DataScience? Yes b/c there is skepticism of female ability says Laura Burkhauser of @letote | #TalkDataToMe
    • Important to talk gender in #DataScience? My advice: find female mentors & talk issues thru says @poisoniveee of @Everlane | #TalkDataToMe
    • Important to talk gender in #DataScience? Bonding by M & F happens differently. What I’ve seen says Ling Cheng of @GlassDoor | #TalkDataToMe
  • How Do You Empower Colleagues to Empower Themselves When It Comes To Data?
    • Making #data more accessible makes it less scary to people says @jesslachs of @DoorDash | #TalkDataToMe
    • How do you empower colleagues to empower themselves/approach #data? Empower them w/ tools! says Laura Burkhauser of @letote | #TalkDataToMe
    • How do you empower colleagues to empower themselves/approach #data? Show them how it’s done! says @poisoniveee of @Everlane | #TalkDataToMe

(Note: Some of these Tweets were modified slightly from their original form for clarity.) 

Thinking About a Career Change? Here’s The Secret To Knowing If You Are Ready

Earlier this year I attended a workshop hosted by Career and Personal Branding Consultant Joseph Liu.

The presentation focused on helping participants realize what it takes to truly align your ambitions and personal values with your work to achieve happiness and fulfillment. The theme of the session was “career reinvention” and it delivered a realistic picture of what it takes to reach that goal. The session’s highlight was undoubtedly Liu’s walk-through of his patented “7 Stages of Career Change Roadmap.”

After coaching and speaking with hundreds of professionals navigating career change, Liu began to recognize certain patterns emerging among those who had successfully reinvented their careers. For those seeking reinvention, the roadmap provides clarity when sorting out the confusing emotions associated with unfulfillment and longing for change. Coincidentally, it also bears a striking resemblance to Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief. I’ve summarized it below:

  • (0) Status Quo – Individuals at this stage enjoy their jobs just enough. Their gigs don’t inspire true happiness, but it pays the bills and is tolerable.
  •  (1) Doubt – At this stage, lingering doubt begins. You often find yourself sitting in meetings and zoning out. You begin to wonder if this job is right for you. You conclude that you don’t actually like your job.
  • (2) Dismay – Here is where doubt leads to dismay. You realize you don’t enjoy your career at all — even if you were to switch to another position within your organization or perform the same role at another company.
  • (3) Mitigation – According to Liu, this is where people tend to get stuck. They tell themselves, “I am going to try and fix this,” because mustering the strength to enact true change in their lives is not easy. Another way this might manifest is by trying to do what you love on nights and on weekends. (Also, LOL.) This strategy rarely leads to success because you can only fool yourself for so long.
  • (4) Exhaustion – At this stage, you feel stuck. You have run out of energy trying to make your mitigation plan work. Most of your weekend is spent recuperating from the week prior. You are not living your best life.
  • (5) Departure – The exhaustion gets so bad, you finally leave your job. You resign, even if another job isn’t lined up. You take a break. You need time for yourself to get away from it all.
  • (6) Reflection – You have left your job. You take some time off or take a lower intensity gig. The reason being, you need some time and space to think about what your next step is. This time is important because it gives you the clarity to figure out what your next move is.
  • (7) Relaunch – This is your moment. As Liu says, this is where you say, “I’m going to give this thing a shot.” You’re determined to make a change and fully realize you owe it to yourself.

Mind-blowing stuff, right? I’m sure many folks reading this can pinpoint exactly where they currently fall on the roadmap in about two seconds flat.

Identifying where you are on the roadmap is only the beginning. According to Liu, the next step is to make a move in the direction you know you want to take your career. It could be taking a class, attending a networking event or talking with someone who works in an industry that interests you. And, taking even the smallest step is better than standing completely still.

So, what do you think? Where do you fall on the roadmap?

3 Hacks for Building a Successful Content Marketing Program

The old saying goes that you are entitled to your opinions, but not your own facts. Well, the facts are in and one thing is abundantly clear modern B2B marketing budgets are allocating more and more time and resources toward content marketing efforts. For these organizations, content marketing is an effective, economically viable path to achieving sales goals. Why? Because content marketing is marketing.

The most obvious element of developing a content marketing program is creating great content. But often overshadowed by the importance of developing great content is successfully laying out the following three foundational elements of a content marketing program  1) developing an editorial calendar, 2) defining your editorial voice and 3) setting and tracking clearly defined/achievable goals.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock”

Developing A Content Marketing Editorial Calendar
A content marketing editorial calendar serves as a day-by-day roadmap that ensures your efforts are organized, optimized and ready to reach the right stakeholders. Beyond the topic of the content itself, here is what a good calendar should contain. (H/T to Andy Raskin for insight on this topic):

  • Persona – Which buyer persona are you targeting with your content?
  • Stage – In what stage is the development of the content?
  • Content Type – Is it a blog? A podcast? A video?
  • Distribution Channel – Via which channel will you be distributing it? (company blog, Youtube, Medium, etc.)
  • Publication Date – When is each piece of content scheduled to go live?
  • Desired Impact – What is the desired impact of the content?
  • Industry Target – What sector are you trying to reach with your content? (Key when marketing a B2B product/service.)
  • Impact Metric – How will the effectiveness of the content be measured? (More on this later in the post…)  

Defining Your Editorial Voice
An inconsistent editorial voice is a major faux pas for any organization. In my experience, this issue tends to impact SMEs and large enterprises as opposed to startups and SMBs, which often benefit from less fragmented communication across internal teams. Your number one goal in defining your editorial voice is to achieve stylistic cohesion across all of your content marketing efforts. Getting to this point requires lots of listening, internal research and consensus/approval from the brass. Below are several questions to help get you get started on defining your editorial voice:

  • Can the style of your editorial voice be summed up in 3-5 words?
  • Who are your editorial voice “heroes?” What organizations would you like to model your efforts after?
  • What are you sure you do not want your editorial voice to sound like?
  • What is your goal/reasoning for adopting the voice you eventually settle upon?  

Setting Your Metrics and Goals
Establishing goals for your program is an absolute necessity. Key to reaching these objectives, however, is matching the right metrics to be tracked for each established goal in an effort to ensure success. Below is a quick guide to get you thinking:

  • Your Goal: Brand Awareness & Engagement
    • Metrics to Measure:
      • Direct Views
      • Social Shares
      • Subscribers and Followers
      • Click-throughs
      • Comments
  • Your Goal: Lead Generation
    • Metrics to Measure:
      • Click-throughs (which lead directly to landing pages, sign-up pages, form downloads, etc.)
      • Conversion Rates
  • Your Goal: Sales Enablement
    • Metrics to Measure:
      • Conversion Rates
      • Length of Sales Cycle
      • Size of Contract

With an arsenal of relevant and compelling content and the aforementioned foundational elements in place, your content marketing program will be primed for success. Your company’s bottom line? If it were human, I’m sure it would thank you. You might just have to settle, though, for a show of appreciation from your CMO. ?