Whether you work in tech, education, the public sector, healthcare, or manufacturing (or any other sector) – your industry expertise is an important building block for your professional niche.
You may feel like you don’t have specific industry knowledge, but I’m sure you do.
This week I want you to reflect on that so you can become more confident in what you’re offering your stakeholders, your team and potential future hiring managers and companies in your role as a data professional.
What expertise do you have about your business and your industry?
Think about the work you do each day:
-
What metrics do you work with?
-
What topics do you advise your stakeholders / customer on?
-
What have you learned about the processes and products of your organisation?
-
What are the relationships with the wider ecosystem?
-
How does your organisation interact with other companies?
-
What impact do you have in this value chain?
When you consider the wider industry:
-
What interests you most about your sector?
-
Who are some experts you’re able to learn from?
-
What trends have you noticed?
-
Who are the thought leaders in your industry?
-
What are some current topics that might be in the news or the focus of conferences?
How are you applying your knowledge today?
It’s great to have knowledge about your industry and to continue building it. It’s even better if you can apply your knowledge in noticeable and practical ways through your work.
This could be by teaching others (e.g. helping onboard new colleagues) or by creating content to share internally (or externally). You could also become a speaker on topics that bring together industry themes and your data expertise.
A decade ago, I entered the Financial Services industry and a regret I have from that time is that I didn’t focus more on building industry expertise while I had access to the right people and processes and while I was surrounded by this every day. At the same time, it can feel overwhelming to dive into something when you’re new to it and it seems so complex that you don’t even know where to start.
Wherever you’re at in your own role and career, use the opportunities that are right in front of you to build that knowledge and connect with people as you refine your professional niche.
Make it uniquely YOU
To really own your niche, add your unique personality and ‘flavour’ to all of this.
Combine your knowledge and skills with your own perspectives and ways of doing things. There is no right or wrong way to go about this and it really depends on what sets YOU apart, so here are just a few examples to get you thinking:
-
If you enjoy drawing pictures, why not use this skill to create unique and engaging content in a very visual format to share what you know?
-
If you’ve written a script to automate a small but annoying manual process that many people in your industry would be battling with, put it out there and focus on your ability to automate things and save people a huge amount of time.
-
Are you great with jokes? Maybe there is a chance to weave together technical tips in a short, funny daily post on social media.
Always bring your personality into it. People will tell you not to, but I want to say: ignore them. People want to learn from people. They buy from people, not companies. They connect with other people.
Personality is important and it makes you so much more authentic.
As you build your professional niche, bring yourself into the work you put out there.
Have a great week!
Eva