Build a Public Portfolio
Having a dataviz portfolio is really helpful when you’re trying to get a dataviz job. Here's how I built mine. I posted my 1st tableau public viz on Sept 21, 2021 and posted my 25th in late April 2022, when I wrote this thread (adapted below). Since then, I’ve become a co-leader of my favorite community project (Back 2 Viz Basics #B2VB), selected as a Tableau Featured Author, and hired for my first full-time data viz job with the title “Lead BI Analyst” at a Fortune 500 company.
I got a HUGE jumpstart from Chantilly Jaggernauth (@chanjagg)'s #MillenialsandData Analyst Bootcamp. It's absolutely possible to get started without doing a class but the access to knowledge and the investment built my skills FAST and kept me accountable. 8 of my first vizzes were #MAD homework assignments.
Commit to a cadence. Biweekly worked well for me - it's how often our homework was due in #MAD, and I switched right over to #B2VB when that wrapped up. You get one week to look at the data, think, and plan, then a second week build, polish and publish.
Commit to a community project! You can't do all of them, but you can do all of ONE of them. Mine is #B2VB but there are SO many good ones. #gamesnightviz, #dataplusmusic, #ironquest, #RWFD, and #datafamcon are all active projects. Post on twitter and make friends.
Have fun with it! If a data set is less inspiring to me, I find a way to incorporate another skill that I want to learn. Maybe it's a new chart type, a design element, a "fancier" way to do basic functionality.
Cut yourself some slack. Every viz doesn't have to be your best viz. Life happens and sometimes you miss a week or four. Progress is better than perfection. You can do it! #datafam will help.
