In our rich portfolio of helping people find their dream place on Earth, we also have Clients who have stuck with us from the very beginning until the change of industry.
One of such Candidates was Kamila Rosieńka, who first underwent individual consultations with Klaudia, and then took part in our “Changing the Industry in 5 Steps” program. Individually, Kamila worked and thought about what she wanted to do in IT. It fell on the data analyst with visualizations in Power BI. In the next stage of redevelopment, she set her strategy, created a portfolio and a CV, which opened her way to IT. Read for yourself what Kamila’s path looked like.
CareerChange2It – Klaudia and Łukasz Jarych: Kamila, you are one of the people we supported during the transition to Junior Data Analyst as part of our flagship program. You have been very proactive and have planned the process perfectly. You’ve made it into the IT industry in 8 months! Heartfelt congratulations! Today, we’d like to talk about the lessons and thoughts from the transition process and your current role.
Kamila Rosieńka: Thank you very much. Your support in this process has been extremely helpful to me.
CC2IT: Before joining our transition program, you took part in individual consultations with Klaudia to determine what role in IT would be right for you. How did learning your values and talents contribute to defining a new path for your professional development?
Kamila: Thanks to meetings with Klaudia, I was able to look at what is most important to me at work. It often happens that we seem to know ourselves, but only after talking to someone and writing down the conclusions does it somehow reach us more. Knowing your “Why” was an important element of the whole process. I also noticed that mentioning the participation in the program and telling about the applications at the interview helped me to convince the recruiters.
CC2IT: Why did you decide to change your industry and the Data Analyst was the one to choose?
Kamila: I have always liked mathematics, numbers and logical tasks. In addition, in May I took part in the “Skills of Tomorrow” (“Umiejętności Jutra”) program, where I was interested in the topic of Data Analysis and the “Data Driven” approach in general. I also like specific tasks. Then, after talking to you, Łukasz, and learning about the development opportunities and tools in the direction of Analysis, I decided to try my hand in this role.
CC2IT: If you had to say what 3 things helped you the most in changing your industry, what would it be?
Kamila: The most important thing during the transition process was undoubtedly support for me. On the one hand, my husband, who firstly took over the care of our daughter, and on the other hand, he believed in the success of the whole process from the very beginning. He always told me that I could do it and who if not me. On the other hand, your support and motivation for further efforts. I always knew that I could ask you for advice and count on your help.
Another thing I would mention was the preparation of a transition plan. The analysis of offers and determining what I want to learn helped create it. When you start to get into something you don’t know, it’s easy to get lost in it all. Having a plan also helps you look at what we’ve accomplished in the past.
The last element I would mention was surrounding myself with the industry. Here I am very glad that you recommended me a course from Maven Analytics. Their courses are very interestingly prepared content, as well as the community. They often organize challenges where you can be inspired by the work of others. Recently, I have also met other people who publish interesting content about the Analysis. This helps a lot at the beginning of the journey. One such person is Dagmara Anuszczyk and her blog BIDeveloper. Recently, she created the “Data Hero” group for novice analysts, which I also joined.
CC2IT: In our “Changing the Industry in 5 Steps” program, we mention that the second step in this process is to get a mentor who will be a partner in change, inspiration for us on the one hand, and on the other hand will tell us what the specifics of working in a given industry are. Tell me, did you have a mentor and what value did he bring to the changeover process? Or maybe you completely skipped this step and acted differently?
Kamila: You have become my mentor, Łukasz. I believe that this is an extremely important element of the changeover process. Firstly, a good mentor motivates to act. Even if we are not in contact with him at the moment, we know that he is awake. Besides, probably everyone has a moment of weakness, and yet as we know that someone is “watching” our change of industry, we do not allow ourselves to be idle. In addition, a person who knows the industry is able to help us pave the way.
CC2IT: Changing profession is a process that requires regularity and appropriate scheduling. Tell us how you prepared yourself to acquire substantive knowledge
(e.g. the tools you used).
Kamila: During my studies, I did not use any special tools. I only had a training plan prepared. I just studied when I had free time without imposing exact deadlines. I finished one thing, started another. In retrospect, I must admit that it would certainly be much better if I set a daily or weekly amount of time to study and keep an eye on it. Due to the fact that my analytical path is just beginning, I am just implementing better planning into life
CC2IT: Step 4 is to put knowledge into practice to enter a new industry. How did you highlight your already gained experience and skills to convince managers that you are the right person in the right place?
Kamila: I think this is an extremely important step. Following the advice provided by you, I have prepared a portfolio of my reports made in PowerBI. At the moment, I don’t have a lot of them, but it was enough to show recruiters my skills and commitment to some extent.
CC2IT: At a certain stage of transition – already as a formality, you need a CV. This is usually a chronological resume. In the case of transition, it is more advantageous to present your experience on it. How did these resumes co-created with us work for you?
Kamila: As you advised, I have prepared a functional CV, which in a case like mine, definitely presents the values better. I mainly focused on skills, courses and completed projects. In this form of CV, the experience is located below. With my husband’s help, I refined the template to make it stand out. I have to boast that my resume was appreciated at the interview
CC2IT: Kamila, was sending your CV enough to change the industry in your case? Have you taken any additional steps?
Kamila: I tried to start with networking, but it was hard for me. I couldn’t quite break through. I decided to send my CV and in my case it turned out to be enough. I think I had a pretty good response and I got a job!
CC2IT: Kamila’s golden advice for people who are thinking about changing their industry is…
Kamila: Have a study plan prepared, both general and daily, provide yourself with the support of a mentor or a loved one, and do not give in to an internal critic. That was definitely my biggest problem.