Beyond the Technical: Standing Out in Data & Analytics Careers
People often ask me for advice on how to stand out in job applications or what to consider when trying to advance their career in data and analytics. My answer usually leans heavily into one core idea: leverage the technical to do something meaningful.
It’s not just about writing clever code or building slick dashboards. It’s about how your work helps someone make a decision they couldn’t have made before. That’s the real differentiator.
Think Beyond the Code
On the technical side, it’s worth asking yourself:
Can someone understand this quickly at 4am during a support call?
Can they recover from an issue without making the whole platform wait?
Does this solution help the business in the future, not just today?
These questions shift your mindset from “does it work?” to “does it work well for others?”
Take Matillion jobs, for example. If you want to build something that lasts and supports others:
Add notes to explain each component — don’t assume future you (or someone else) will remember why you did what you did.
Include a change history note I’ve written more about this here.
Make sure orchestrations are included and have robust error handling: resilience matters.
Differentiating Yourself
If you’re looking to stand out, especially in interviews or project showcases, go beyond the technical delivery:
Define the business problem you’re solving. What’s the context?
Articulate the value your solution adds. Is it saving time, reducing risk, improving decisions?
Compare approaches why did you choose this one? For example, did you chose an ELT or ETL approach? What are the procs and cons? How did your choice help the client vs another approach?
Surface knowledge what does someone learn from your output?
Enable action what can someone do now that they couldn’t before?
These are the kinds of things that make your work memorable and impactful. They show that you’re not just a technician — you’re a problem solver, a communicator, and a partner to the business.
