The Data Warehouse Portfolio

You've spent weeks in data warehousing classes, days in training sessions, hours reading books on the subject, and perhaps years warehousing data for other organizations.  However, right now you want to work for this one.  You know that you have the experience as well as the ambition.  You have a list of ideas to take to this new potential employer that you know will provide immense value. So, what's the next step?  All of that is placed onto a very professionally-looking resume and submitted.  The only problem is that everybody else has done that same thing.  You are not known as "Bob, who will add huge value to the business intelligence team," you are known as applicant 27...just another resume in the stack.

Perhaps you are on the other end of the spectrum.  You are a novice looking for your first data warehousing position with no prior experience outside of class.  You need a way to actually show that despite your lack of work experience you can do this...and do it well.

Do you need a fresh approach to marketing your skillset in hopes of standing out in the crowd?  It is interesting that those in the event industry are expected to provide samples of their work for potential clients.  Cake decorators, wedding photographers, and other similar vendors would probably be passed over if they only provided a resume that explained what they had done before or what their education claims that they are capable of doing.

What if you placed a sample of your data warehousing skillset onto the web specifically for a potential employer to browse?  In other words, you would have a resume to provide the details of your experience and education and a portfolio to provide an example of what you can actually do.  The Data Warehouse Portfolio is a book that suggests a way to accomplish this.  More information is available at www.brianciampa.com.  You may also want to revisit this prior blog post for a bit more information as well.

Your job is to turn data into valuable data.  However, showing the value in yourself is the first step in getting that job.