Data Literacy

(Photo credit @anniespratt)

I try to share interesting perspectives and relevant tips to help you connect tech trends to career growth. The theme this week is Data Literacy.

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#TECHTOPIC

Data is what drives decisions in tech companies. The challenge is that for both tech and non-tech companies, the current data gathering approach seems to be to collect ALL THE DATA (and figure out later what to do with it). This blanketed approach to data collection
leaves teams overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data they need to understand, analyze and act upon -- and at the extreme, it helped lead to the recent indictments for the Chinese miliary’s role in the 2017 Equifax breach. Amassing data “for data’s sake” and without a data-driven strategy is dangerous for consumers and businesses alike.

One of the main reasons that companies take this broad-brush approach is that there is a dearth of data literacy skills among their employees. According to Gartner, “in 2020, 50% of organizations will lack sufficient AI and data literacy skills to achieve business value.”

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Managing Remote Work Effectively

(Photo credit @dtopkin1)

I suggest becoming ‘fluent’ in how to effectively manage remote teams as well as how to manage your own work when working remotely. 

1. Ensure that you are keeping some type of structure to your days, especially when working remotely. 

• 4 ways to help you break up the monotony of the week (in fact, there is an Ivy League Step Challenge going on right now)

2. Managing asynchronously is a skill that will serve you well in any tech company!

• There are studies that show that remote workers are happier and stay at jobs longer.

• And 47% of US workers work remotely for at least some part of their job, while 3% of US workers are completely remote (up from 1% in 2000).

3. Create new daily rituals

• For those of you who normally work outside of the home, you have morning & evening rituals (whether you recognize them as such, or not). Those routines are what signal your mind & body that it's time to go to work, take a break, head home, etc. You *need* to replicate & modify those rituals when working at home.

• This article does a great job explaining this (look at Item #3). I also love their idea of 'workstation popcorn'!

4. Find an accountability buddy

• I made this suggestion to a student last week, and she told me today that it worked really well for her & a friend!

• The idea is simple: find a friend you trust. Book an hour on each other's calendars. Join the virtual platform of your choice at the start of the hour. Share with each other what you both want to accomplish in the hour. Leave the virtual session open to mimic sitting next to them in 'real-life' which will help you stay focused (as long as you don't chit-chat). At the end, review what you got done & celebrate your progress.

• Don't have a friend you trust? I suggest checking out FocusMate.com to sign-up for a time slot with a stranger (and maybe it'll help you find new friends too??).

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Have you considered remote work?

(Photo credit @christinhumephoto)

I try to share interesting perspectives and relevant tips to help you connect tech trends to career growth. The theme this week is Remote Work.

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#TECHTOPIC

With the coronavirus causing companies to close offices and countries to limit travel, you might not be surprised to learn that a couple of tech companies saw a sharp rise in their stock prices earlier this week: video-conferencing company Zoom and team communications platform Slack. Both can help companies maintain productivity despite closed offices by enabling employees to work remotely. The surprising loser? The Microsoft Teams team who somehow forgot to renew a certificate and suffered a major outage for hours. Oops!

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Want personalized career guidance? Take a look at my Career Strategy Session options.