Rennie: My Data Analyst Career Journey
Today, we're bringing you an interview with Rennie - she's a marketing data analyst working on major campaigns and brand partnerships with professional sports programs and non-profit organizations
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Today, we're bringing you an interview with Rennie - she's a marketing data analyst working on major campaigns and brand partnerships with professional sports programs and non-profit organizations
My name is Rennie Lindo, I am a marketing data analyst with 8 years of experience in the financial services, sports and entertainment, education, and non-profit industries. My background is primarily marketing with various experience in public relations, SEO, brand and product strategy, community relations and marketing analytics.
In my role I work on major campaigns and brand partnerships with professional sports programs and non-profit organizations to increase our membership growth and brand loyalty.
Throughout my early career, I've always been interested in analytics but was unsure of how to start. During the COVID-19 pandemic, my company had a skills survey which highlighted the need for employees to upskill to move to the next level. I completed the survey and was selected for a partnership with General Assembly for their Data Science program. During that 10-week bootcamp, I learned Python programming and using the tool to create data visualizations.
With my current newfound experience with SQL and Power BI, this bootcamp provided me with the necessary skillset to be successful to apply for my first data analyst role. Three years later, I still enjoy the career because I get to combine my love for marketing and analytics plus, I get to learn something new every day.
Personally, I really enjoy the variety that being a data analyst offers. No two days are the same which is exciting because I get to collaborate on various projects and initiatives to increase our membership growth. I also enjoy collaborating with other stakeholders and partners such as data science, enterprise and risk to ensure we’re providing the best products for our members.
As a marketing data analyst, my team is using AI to understand member behavior. We’re able to use member insights to identify our member’s financial journeys and how to guide them to their financial wellness goals whether that means buying a home, car, saving for retirement, establishing credit, or just ways to get started. We’re able to use these insights and AI to create personalized member journeys to show our members we know them through data and want to provide them with the best products and services to help them succeed.
I began improving my skillset by taking the skills I learned through the Data Science bootcamp and improving my SQL and Power BI skillset through creating reports and building dashboards. I believe in the principles of Kaizen, so I am continuously improving and learning every day. Recently I graduated with my MBA in business analytics and am already considering a new certificate. But I'm taking some time off to give myself a mental break before jumping into a new program.
For me, I need autonomy and variety from my career. I enjoy the freedom that my leadership trusts me to do my role without constantly worrying. Also, as you can see from my career, variety is very important to me. I enjoy working on different tasks, large datasets, having time to deep dive and research a problem but also have a career that allows me to stretch and improve processes in my department.
My best advice for anyone interested in becoming a data analyst, I’d recommend a few things:
The big thing is practice, practice, practice. 😊
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you must know everything in data analytics before you can apply to a role. I’m here to denounce that because there are hundreds of data analysts that use various tools while others don’t have any programming experience. I would recommend understanding the basics such as SQL, Excel, Power BI and having a curiosity for researching and learning. From there, you have a good foundation and curiosity to understand the ‘why’ behind a problem and identify solutions.
With the rise of AI, I am excited to see where we go with our analysis in the future. I know most organizations are adopting AI into their current infrastructure, but we must be cautious to ensure we’re adhering to risk and compliance and limiting biases as we progress. It’s an interesting tool and I’m looking forward to seeing how it transforms the industry in the future.
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rennielindo/
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