7 Questions for a Data Insights Analyst
Alex Neale | Data Insights Analyst at Purplebricks
This week, Alex Neale sits down to tackle the 7 Questions to dive into all things data, taking us behind the curtain and sharing what it’s really like to source, interpret and share insights successfully.
1. It’s Monday morning, what’s the first thing you do?
Pop the kettle on, get the big mug out and make a vat of black tea to wake up for the week. Monday’s are usually the time to look at how we did last week, so I start the day off with updating and sharing any reports that need distributing, and making sure everything that should have been refreshed, has been. But only once the tea is consumed.
2. Your role is a varied one. What would you say is the one thing you do most frequently?
Writing these three things: “Select”, “*”, “From”. Most of my life is spent looking at SQL, so it’s the foundation of most of what I do. More than likely, before I can get to writing a really useful query, this is where it will start. I guess for a developer, it would be my equivalent to “Hello World”.
3. If you could dispel the most common misconception about your role, what would it be?
Because I’m an analyst, by default I’m an amazing mathematician. Absolutely not… that’s what a calculator was made for! I even double check basic multiplications in excel before I commit them to paper. But on those off chances when I do some serious mental arithmetic and it’s right, you better believe I do a mini fist pump.
4. What do you think the biggest challenge is of your role?
Presenting findings and managing expectations. People might think that a change will always move something in the right direction. Data doesn’t lie, and from experience it’s usually a bearer of bad news. For me, I think the art of it is building the story of the journey; what did we have, what did we do to get to where we are now, and really set the scene. Figures without context are no help to anyone, so if your audience can understand the result, it usually means the data will be much better received.
5. Describe data insights analysis to my Grandma
“You know when you go on ‘the Google’ and search for knitting needles, then you get bombarded with adverts for wool? Well someone like me has seen you like knitting and we predict that because you’ve bought stuff once, you might buy stuff again”.
6. It’s Friday evening, what’s the last thing you do?
Write the best view of a to-do list for the coming week. Nine times out of ten it changes as soon as Monday rolls around, but it’s always nice to at least have a game-plan for the coming week.
7. And finally, your favourite food?
Can you beat a good steak and chunky chips? Medium Rare rib eye with peppercorn sauce. Too much time on a ranch in the states tainted me to just be an absolute carnivore. The bigger the steak, the better.
