Two months after my graduation from Douglas College with a diploma in Computer and Information Systems in May 2021, I landed a job as a Data Analyst without any experience in the field.
Since then, I have had multiple encounters with students, and recent grads who are on the same journey that I went on. I remembered after one of the meetings with a student, as I finished the Zoom call and stood up, a thought brushed my mind:
I would hate to break it to her, but the truth was that she also needed luck, and a whole lot of it.
This new LinkedIn connection had a lot in common with me. She was pivoting her career, doing some new courses, and getting lost. I saw myself in all the questions that she asked. In the middle of the chat, I almost got a pen and a notebook to start writing down one of my projects for her. I wish she could see part of her future self in me, which I hope would give her some kind of reassurance. I wanted to give her a glimpse of hope, a roadmap to her seeming destination, by withholding my own take on my journey: that was a lucky one. I understand I am tremendously privileged, and so has my job-hunting process. I applied at the right time, competed with the right people, and got in in the most miraculous, but also almost undeserving way.
That moment, however, sparked doubt in me. I stopped for a second and repeated the narrative. I just spent the whole night talking to a stranger about how I was grinding, researching, planning, reviewing, reading, practicing, and doing everything and anything to get what I wanted. Sure, some of the stuff was never seen by any recruiters, but my effort to constantly push myself to try harder, try something different, and try to jump into the unknown, definitely laid out some groundwork for luck. I was not entirely lucky, I was prepared enough to be lucky.
Chance favors the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur
As I am wrapping up some last days at my first job, I had the chance to reflect on my journey last year. I believe having a good structure to follow is one of the ways I kept myself consistent and oriented while patiently waiting for the job. Therefore, I want to share an overview of the steps I took in a systematic way, which I call 4Ds. I had to do an infographic because why not!
It's obvious that I am not inventing anything new; nor there is any tricks, secrets, or shortcuts. My intention here is simply to compile a list of whats, hows, and whys that make sense to me and give me some sense of progress along the way.
If you are starting out without so many experiences, I hope you can find something helpful here that you can start implementing. Above all, I wish you a lot of luck, and don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want a little encouragement!
Comments