freshspectrum

So keeping this series going until I run out of reflections (not very likely), or until I get bored of this topic (more likely). We’re now on step 3.

• Phase 1: Freaking out and sending a lot of messages to old friends, colleagues, and LinkedIn connections.
• Phase 2: Thinking about the modern workplace and the value I bring.
• Phase 3: Dealing with occupational identity crisis (and LinkedIn Profiles).

Why do recruiters keep ghosting me?

“Hey Chris, I was just looking at your LinkedIn profile. I think you would be a really great candidate for job ______ at ______. Let me know if you are interested and we can setup a quick call to chat.”
-Corporate Recruiter for <Insert Fortune 500 Company Here>

“Hello _____, I am certainly interested and have availability to chat, when are you available to talk?”
-Me in response.

“Just checking in again, would still love to chat.”
-Me following up a week later.

“Hello, thought I would try one last time. Would you still like to chat?”
-Me following up a couple weeks later.

If this was just one recruiter I probably wouldn’t mention it. But this has happened to me a few times recently. I know hiring is a bit of a numbers game for recruiters, and LinkedIn gives them a big opportunity to spam, but talk about discouraging from the recruit’s side.

Job hunting, the world’s largest game of telephone.

I can see the conversation right now.

“Yes, we really need someone with a lot of experience analyzing data. They should have some advanced training, ideally a master’s degree. We want someone creative who can work with customers and different managers across the company. Most of their job is going to be spent facilitating the use of data throughout the company.”
-Manager with a job to fill.

“What kind of software should they know? Any specific kind of master’s degree.”
-Recruiter to Manager

“That’s not the most important part, but they should have some experience with BI tools like Tableau or PowerBI. Probably some awareness of Python, R, and javascript. As for education, probably something like Business Analytics, Statistics, Data Science, or really any social science degree. Having some understanding of advanced research methods and an aptitude for numbers are the most important pieces.”
-Manager to Recruiter

“Okay, so they really want someone good at Tableau, Power BI, Python, R, and Javascript. They are only looking for people with higher education degrees in Analytics, Statistics, or Data Science. So to prepare, you should spend all your time developing out your Tableau portfolio. Don’t worry about all that UX/UI stuff, qualitative research skills, and graphic design experience, it doesn’t matter here.”
-Recruiter to Candidate

“Why is so hard to find someone with creative expertise for our data positions?”
-Manager with job to fill, talking to herself.

• Manager communicates job need to HR
• HR communicates job description to recruiting company
• Recruiting company tweaks job description
• Recruiting company preps candidate for application
• Candidate wonders why they are not being considered for the position when they feel really qualified based on what they heard.

Every step along the way is a possible area for confusion.

Is it possible to UX the job search?

If you’re searching for a job the traditional way, you have to…

1. Get by the search algorithm (key wording up your resume or LinkedIn profile)
2. Get by the recruiter/HR person (match the words they look for when finding candidates, super efficiently)
3. Convince the hiring manager you are worth an interview (have that special something that makes you stand out)
4. Interview well, and understand that what got you here won’t necessarily get you the position.

The big problem really is that there is a disconnect. The user in question, as a candidate, is the hiring manager. But to get to the hiring manager there are tons of gateways and hurdles.

This is why so many positions are filled with referrals and a good network can be a powerful ally in a job search. It’s not only that you get to know about jobs not currently on the open market, but you have a higher chance of hearing about them from the person with the position to fill.

It’s so much more efficient to hear about a position from the person who is looking to fill that position. Because you can ask the question, what is it that they need? And am I the person who can fill that role?

We live in an algorithm world. LinkedIn proves it.

According to LinkedIn, I don’t have the required skills in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Leadership, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Project Management, Management, Customer Service, Business Analysis.

It’s there in my resume, and anyone who has worked with me knows I have skills in all of those areas, but I never checked the skills boxes in LinkedIn or had these specific skills validated by people I know.

Should I? Does it matter?

I guess the better question is, does it hurt?

And if not, why not.

Who am I? Actually, no. Who do I want to be?

I miss when you could truly tailor resumes. Adapt them to meet the specific needs of the position you are trying to fill. The resume and cover letter were like a canvas. Your skills and experiences were your paint.

Unfortunately now, our canvas is plastered all over the web. Whether you like or not.

So begs the question, who do I want to be? If one profile becomes the anchor point for my job search, what should it reflect?

Clearly it shouldn’t be just who I am. That’s too confusing. I am a mix of user experience design, evaluation, data science, philosophy, graphic design, and cartoon illustration. The diverse range of skills and experiences are embedded in my personality and strengths.

So who do I want to be? Now that I have created a little leverage by picking up a few awesome content strategy clients, what is it that I could do better than anyone else? How do I position my wide range of skills in a way that could deliver a fulfilling full-time position.

Is Data Experience Designer a real profession?

I keep coming back to this profession. Something I call data experience designer. In essence it’s one part Data Scientist and one part UX/UI designer.

If a company cares about having a culture that makes data driven decisions, it needs more than just a snazzy data dashboard. Data is a resource, we can process and use that resource, or we can let it go to waste.

The best way I have found to get the most use out of data isn’t through visualization, or presentation, or predictive analytics. It’s by taking a holistic look at the data you have available and the individual challenges that your organization faces.

How does an organization use data? How does an organization waste data? What are the unmet data needs for individual employees? Are the current ways that data is shared adequate to meet the needs of employees? What about customers or stakeholders? How do they experience your organization’s data?

UX/UI gives me the process and Data Science gives me the software. And by combining the two, we can improve an oranization’s data experience.

I know this field exists, in practice if not in name. I’ve seen the positions that have made the connection and ask for a mix of the two skillsets. My next step is to find more of them. Stay tuned.

Searching for a job?

Any chance you would be willing to share your experiences or reflections in the comments? You might inspire a new cartoon or two.

Things are looking up. And while I retain a hefty bit of cynicism, I feel better about the future.

The following are thoughts I considered keeping inside my head. But after all the help and support I’ve received over the last few weeks, it didn’t feel right to keep them in. So, here we go, some reflections and updates after 3.5 weeks without a job.

As much notice as possible, AKA, one day.

I would love to say that I’ve faced my layoff with dignity. That I’m not holding grudges (eventually, hopefully, I won’t). But at the moment I’m still pretty angry.

Not because the company had the gall to let me go. I get that, business is business. But that they let me go with one day of notice. That’s the part I don’t get.

I thought I was joining a special company. One that cared deeply about employee culture and well-being. But then I was let go, with one day of notice.

Should you decide to leave the company’s employ, we expect you to provide and serve at least two weeks written notice. This is the minimum notice required to receive any accrued benefits available to you after the Introductory Period has been completed. Similarly, you will receive as much notice as possible in the event that your employment…is terminated for business reasons other than poor performance or violation of corporate policies.

Expectations laid out in offer letter on August 29, 2018

Please be assured that this decision is not related to your performance. It is based on financial considerations; we can no longer support your position on administrative funds, and do not have the necessary contracts that can cover your time. After reviewing our options, we have concluded that we must eliminate your position effective June 13, 2019.

Terms delivered to me in separation letter on June 12, 2019

Anyone can be replaced.

I remember advice my dad gave me early in my career.

It was at a time where I felt particularly valuable in my role at the company I was working for at the time. I talked about how much I was doing to make myself special and how I hoped it would reduce the chance that I could be replaced.

And the advice, “anyone can be replaced.”

Maybe it’s a working class ethic, my father worked most of his life in corrections as a dietary officer. And maybe it was a bit cynical, my father was certainly not the most optimistic person in the world. But as time has gone on, it has started to ring more true.

But maybe, being irreplaceable should never have been the goal.

The shifting workplace.

There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.

I never thought I would miss George W Bush…

When I left my comfortable position at Westat a few years ago, I started to work out the Frontier, a coworking space in RTP, NC. And there I stayed during the 2 and half years running my information design business. I met some awesome people and made some really good friends.

And then, when I took the last position, I went back to the same coworking space. I was a remote employee so it didn’t matter where I sat. I didn’t have to lose my coworking colleagues to do my job.

And now, after losing my job, I still go back to the same coworking space. And I sit at megatable surrounded by friendly faces of people who care about what happens next. People who take my side before knowing any part of the story.

Life is filled with everyday traumas, big and small changes and loss. And for years big companies have held our lives in their hands, because not only did they pay our salaries, they also provided us with so many of our friends, close colleagues, and mentors.

But as time goes on, and the physical place of business becomes less important and the offices get quieter, you start to wonder if having a nice office in a big corporate building is really something to desire.

Consulting away their value proposition.

It’s cheaper if companies don’t have to pay benefits.

If they can take people on as consultants and only use them when they need them. They can easily trade higher hourly rates if it means becoming more nimble. Not having to pay the salaries when the work runs out or someone is sick or on vacation.

It’s this thinking, along with the globalization of the workforce supported by the rise of the web, that has shifted so many full time permanent positions into consulting gigs.

I wonder if they know what they’re giving away.

We take the company jobs, not for big paychecks, but for the job security. But as they continue to chip away at what gives them value, all of a sudden those positions have less to offer.

And as we deal with layoffs, position reclassifications, or a not-so-steady stream of contract cycles, we start to learn again what it means to be self-reliant. What it means to be a community of people whose work is the only reason these companies can run.

And at some point, they’ll start to wonder…

Where did everyone go, and why are they so expensive?

With a little bit of Python and a little bit of R, my job security improves.

I used to think that over time other fields that do evaluative work, like data science and UX research, would begin to chip away at the evaluation market.

I think I was wrong.

As time moves forward and the contracts get tighter, there comes a point when we start to think, “is evaluation the field for me?”

As a senior data analyst, web developer, data visualization expert, and designer, I’m really just a little bit of Python away from a data science position. One that will give me more freedom and pay me more money.

Am I really becoming too expensive, or is evaluation losing market share? Less market means less money to go around. The leaders who win the proposals will still command their salaries, assuming they keep winning, and someone will need to do the grunt work. So where do you cut cost? When it’s cheaper to budget in entry-level talent, what happens to the mid and senior level analysts?

I’m not alone.

More and more we are losing the middle. The next generation of bright scholars and practitioners who would normally be in line to take leadership positions and help the field of evaluation evolve.

The fields of data science and UX research are not chipping away at the evaluation market. They’re collecting the runaways. People who still want to make a mark on the world and are ready and willing to learn a bit of code or human centered design methodologies if that’s what it takes.

I think the field of evaluation needs to make a choice. Is it ready to step up and evolve to meet the changing global context brought to us by the world wide web? Or would it prefer to slowly shift towards irrelevance?

At this moment in time, I think I’m going to put my money (and career) on the latter.

My network trust fall and the now and later plan.

Words cannot express how much I appreciate the support I have been given by friends, colleagues, and those of you who have followed my career through this blog and my cartoons.

When I lost my job I freaked out, but the skies are beginning to clear.

I just relaunched a business, this time on the side. I don’t plan to close it completely again. There is too much uncertainty in the world to not have something I can control.

My new business delivers content strategy support to small businesses and organizations focused on pursuing social good. You’ll find it at socialgood.pub. Content strategy, from my perspective, is an alternative social media strategy that isn’t so money focused, but it still keeps you accountable for results. With it I get to mix web analytics, web design, social media content strategy, evaluation, and UX design to help people share their own stories and lessons.

I already have had a couple clients take me up on a content kickstart package. It’s essentially a short term 5K package designed to help launch a content strategy.

Just having a few clients will give me leverage. It means I don’t have to cancel the 3-week family trip to the UK we’ve been planning for a year. It also means I don’t have to accept the first position that will take me.

Summer is not a great time to find a job, everything just moves at a slower pace. But my goal now is to have a new job by early October. So please keep the referrals coming (and thank you for all who have given me some good leads).

For those of you who struggle.

You bring value to this world.

Dreams may shift and jobs may disappear.

But what still exists is you. A special person with your own set of values and experiences that can be channeled to help make this world better.

The digital world has a way of dehumanizing people, turning them into followers and page views. The algorithms that prescreen resumes, they do that too.

But you are a person. You have value. You can bring value to others.

And if you feel lost, struggling to find your place in this fast-changing world, just know this.

You are not alone.

How do you interact with data?

Is it through a report or brief? A place where you’ll find the data has been selected, polished, and tailored for a very specific purpose. A purpose that may or may not match your needs.

It is through a series of tables or charts? Generic visuals with row and column after row and column of numbers and words. More information than you’ll see in a report, but somehow simultaneously feeling like too much and too little.

Is it through a spreadsheet? Like a table, but harder to interpret with the naked eye. Requiring additional approaches or tools to make any sense out of it whatsoever.

Is it through a website? Maybe a little more visual, but likely just a combination of reports, briefs, tables, charts, and spreadsheets.

Dashboards are decision making tools

They exist to provide specific information to the dashboard user. Good dashboards are strategic in nature, more than a report they provide feedback that directly supports decision making.

Think of your car’s dashboard. It gives you “to the second” feedback on your speed and fuel level. Because we need that information to successfully navigate the roads without running out of gas or getting pulled over for speeding.

We don’t need constantly updating information on tire tread, oil levels, headlight brightness, or air filter conditions. All we really need is a little light to pop on when something is wrong, so we can go get it checked out by an expert.

A data user interface is different

A user interface is how a person interacts with a digital application. Generally it’s the connection between humans and machines.

The user interface (UI), in the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. 

Wikipedia

A human mind works differently than a computer processor. So we can’t just look at data the same way a computer does and expect results.

If we want to interact with data, we need an interface. And for most people that interface is in the form of reports, tables, and spreadsheets. But if we want to go deeper into the data, we need something more.

We need a data interface.

Starting with some data

So my first foray into contract research started back in the early 2000s as a data editor for a national study called the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

The study was an in-home interview of a representatively sampled population that required 5 home visits over the course of 2 years. The interviews were long, and involved collecting a lot of information on medical expenditures.

Not only that, the study went further, reaching out to medical providers and pharmacies for additional information to integrate with the interview responses.

And the results of that data collection, like so many other data collections in the world, ultimately end up on a website offering a collection of reports, data tables, and spreadsheets. You can find it at https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/.

Let’s narrow our scope a little and take a look at the Prescription Drugs data. Specifically the associated summary data tables, which you can find at https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepstrends/hc_pmed/. I ended up downloading the csv files for number of people who purchased each prescribed drug, and the total expenditures for each drug for the period of 1996 through 2006.

Cleaning and prepping your data

If you want to become a valuable data visualization designer you need to understand data and know how to properly clean, restructure, and prepare that data for analysis.

This can be a pain sometimes, but most data doesn’t come naturally in a really clean ready to pop into Tableau format.

I did a simple cleaning in Excel to get the data Tableau ready-ish. Then I brought the data into Tableau prep for a pivot restructure, join, and basic clean. This got me ready to bring the data into Tableau.

Exploring in Tableau

Now that we have the data in Tableau we can do a little bit of basic visual exploration. Simple one-filter dashboards and crowded line charts can provide some pretty quick insight. But more than that, I know have an interface I can use to fully explore the dataset.

Adding value to the interface

We have data on people and expenditures, one no brainer value add would be to create a calculated field that shows expenditures per capita. We just have to make sure to standardize the data first, especially since it comes to us with “people in thousands” and “expenditures in millions.”

Wow, now we’re seeing something.

You know everybody talks about the rising costs of healthcare, but it’s still amazing to see how it manifests in the data.

I wasn’t looking to find any particular story, I just wanted to create an exploratory interface for a bit data I knew a little about. But what I always find amazing, is that I don’t have to look for stories. If you restructure the data in just the right way, stories will find you.

Here are three stories I found in the prescription expenditure data.

Story 1: Insulin costs per capita are out of control

I can’t look at this data and not conclude that drug companies are likely killing our diabetics. The rise in insulin expenditures per capita is RIDICULOUS.

This isn’t just a, “well all drug prices are on the rise,” kind of thing. The insulin data when looked at through an interface is an outlier. The collective expenditure rise seems like it would be really hard to defend from a drug company point of view.

The most rapid rise came after the ACA went into effect in 2010. Here’s my guess at the drug company logic. Woohoo, more people have health insurance. These particular people need insulin to live so let us raise the prices, health insurance will have to pay. Hey look, they did, and they keep paying. Let’s keep these prices going up and up and up!!!

Next step as an analyst would be to find data on deaths among the diabetic population. I would also look for qualitative data on the rising drug prices. Here’s an article > The absurdly high cost of insulin, explained.

The person sitting next to me at my coworking space just snapped a picture of the chart because she wanted to share it with her diabetic friend who has been expressing concerns over cost.

Story 2: Allowing generics does in fact alleviate pricing spikes

Abilify (or it’s official formula name Aripiprazole) showed up as a clear outlier. The expenditures per capita consistently jumped until it was the highest priced drug in the dataset.

And what finally lead to the precipitous drop in per capita expenditures in 2016? Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and take a guess that it had something to do with this event that happened in June of 2015 > Generic Abilify Gets FDA Approval.

Story 3: Wait, how many people are getting prescribed hydrocodone?

Starting in 2004 the number of people getting prescribed Acetaminophen-Hydrocodone has gone through the roof.

Contrary to the other two stories, this one isn’t about high drug prices. The price of hydrocodone is relatively low, at least compared to comparable medications. Acetaminophen-Oxycodone (the second most popular drug in this grouping) grew to costing more than three times as much.

No, the story here is about the opioid crisis. The rise in prescriptions of these medications over the 2000s is having devastating impacts on communities across the nation.

But what event in particular happened in 2003 to spark the rise in use? Honestly, I’m still looking to find the spark.

In 2004 this combination was moved from a Schedule III to a Schedule II controlled substance. In theory, that should have had the reverse effect of what we see in the data. Any ideas?

Play with my basic data UI

Remember, this UI wasn’t designed to be pretty. It was designed to be useful. But if you want to play with the data I’ve compiled, please do. You can full-size the Tableau Public file I shared here. Or click on this link to access directly from Tableau Public.

Bonus: Making it Pretty

I could spend a bit of time trying to make my charts pretty in Tableau. But ultimately it’s far easier to do that in a graphics program like Adobe XD. Here is a version of the Insulin graphic shared above but designed for sharing on the web.

Any questions?

I’ll be relaunching diydatadesign soon (apparently me being out of a job is good news for the field as I keep doing things I’ve been wanting to do for awhile.) I’ll let you know when I have more information.