Career has been a constant struggle

Career Compromise said:
No I don't do anything like that in my spare time. I do some data analysis around sports for my own interest, but nothing too technical and certain no fancy tools get used. Manually trawling through the sports data is part of the fun and some of it is in books.
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You will find there is a market of sports results analysis in the betting industry.

The issue I would have being so focused is that the majority of companies want a system to identify new concepts, the existing analysis they can leave to their computers without the need of a human analyst. Banks went through the same - where people once manually processed data, they now simply use computer algorithms and the humans design the frameworks (such as Quantum or ML/AI) to build the new algorithm. Coupled with the statistics that bank traders were no more successful than 50% minus the expense account, this pushed banks and industry to switch to use algorithms.
 
mid_gen said:
The main problem with Excel is that it's an auditing nightmare. Heavily regulated areas like banking simply can't use it anymore for anything meaningful.
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That's a bit vague and not necessarily true, it's pretty much ubiquitous on trading floors for example and that's a fairly meaningful business area for plenty of banks.
 
Excel is a great tool and whilst it does cause a lot of headaches around auditing and BAU maintenance, it can still be used in FS for EUC segments.

One of the ironies is, when it comes to auditing, I've often seen Excel used as the reconciliation tool itself. So even where more robust data platforms are in place, people are staring at spreadsheets to convince themselves of the validity of the numbers.
 
NickK said:
You will find there is a market of sports results analysis in the betting industry.

The issue I would have being so focused is that the majority of companies want a system to identify new concepts, the existing analysis they can leave to their computers without the need of a human analyst. Banks went through the same - where people once manually processed data, they now simply use computer algorithms and the humans design the frameworks (such as Quantum or ML/AI) to build the new algorithm. Coupled with the statistics that bank traders were no more successful than 50% minus the expense account, this pushed banks and industry to switch to use algorithms.
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I have tried betting companies before. I had an interview with one but they rejected me because I kept using the same insight in my examples which suggested I'd only ever made one useful insight (which at the time was true).

Thinking back to the early days of my career it was by no means perfect but I was generally satisfied. I'd finally landed the sort of job I'd been pursuing and found that I was good at it. I thought the sky was the limit and was optimistic about the future.

A combination of outgrowing my job without anything to really progress to in the company I was at and being rejected in all the jobs I interviewed for followed by things turning very ugly very quickly where I was at has basically made me resent it all.

The optimism that my talents as a data analyst will take me places has been replaced by fear that one day I'll be facing a lifetime of unemployment.

I'm long gone from that toxic hellhole I used to work at but I just can't let go of my anger.
 
Well, you ought to let go of it at some point as you can't change the past, address the issues with your interviews, go get another job and stop stressing over your old employer - they might have been naff but it's also your fault for staying there too.
 
dowie said:
That's a bit vague and not necessarily true, it's pretty much ubiquitous on trading floors for example and that's a fairly meaningful business area for plenty of banks.
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It's been nearly 10 years since I was last working in finance....and I was involved in the regulatory reporting side mainly which was in the process of ditching all these Excel nightmares...I'd assumed the rest of the business would have got rid of it now.

I built a rather nice VBA driven reverse-repo end of day report for Northern Rock back in the day....but it's ok, it was secure because the VBA had a password on it :D I guess things haven't really moved on....
 
mid_gen said:
It's been nearly 10 years since I was last working in finance....and I was involved in the regulatory reporting side mainly which was in the process of ditching all these Excel nightmares...I'd assumed the rest of the business would have got rid of it now.

I built a rather nice VBA driven reverse-repo end of day report for Northern Rock back in the day....but it's ok, it was secure because the VBA had a password on it :D I guess things haven't really moved on....
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You're be pleased to know that Excel is still used to knockup forms between processes and business units.. personally I think the practice should be banned!
 
mid_gen said:
It's been nearly 10 years since I was last working in finance....and I was involved in the regulatory reporting side mainly which was in the process of ditching all these Excel nightmares...I'd assumed the rest of the business would have got rid of it now.

I built a rather nice VBA driven reverse-repo end of day report for Northern Rock back in the day....but it's ok, it was secure because the VBA had a password on it :D I guess things haven't really moved on....
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Hmm 15 years ago at northern rock
"Hey can we stick 100mm on repo"
"Sure excel report says we have the cash whats the worst that can happen"

There's a fair share of my hacked together excel still circulating the financial services but I'm increasingly moving towards things such as Unqork and Appian to eliminate excel from workflow processes these days
 
mattx2 said:
Hmm 15 years ago at northern rock
"Hey can we stick 100mm on repo"
"Sure excel report says we have the cash whats the worst that can happen"
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:D

It was actually in the depths of the financial meltdown after it went **** up, I was part of the team of reprobates that did the technical work of splitting all the crap off into NRAM.
 
dowie said:
Well, you ought to let go of it at some point as you can't change the past, address the issues with your interviews, go get another job and stop stressing over your old employer - they might have been naff but it's also your fault for staying there too.
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I could have done more to try and leave. In hindsight I didn't apply for many jobs whilst working there. Most of my interviews came from companies or recruitment agencies contacting me and even then there were plenty of jobs I chose not to be put forward for which may have been adequate.
 
Career Compromise said:
I could have done more to try and leave. In hindsight I didn't apply for many jobs whilst working there. Most of my interviews came from companies or recruitment agencies contacting me and even then there were plenty of jobs I chose not to be put forward for which may have been adequate.
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That's also in the past now, just focus on being able to pass the interviews, you can clearly get the interviews and you've got the right background/job title etc.. to be very employable right now.

If you still struggle with interviews now then get some feedback from a third party, even consider paying for this from some sort of career coach (say an ex HR person or recruiter etc..) as the money you leave on the table here makes the fees for this sort of thing trivial in comparison.
 
dowie said:
That's also in the past now, just focus on being able to pass the interviews, you can clearly get the interviews and you've got the right background/job title etc.. to be very employable right now.

If you still struggle with interviews now then get some feedback from a third party, even consider paying for this from some sort of career coach (say an ex HR person or recruiter etc..) as the money you leave on the table here makes the fees for this sort of thing trivial in comparison.
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I had a job coach when I was unemployed. Basically the whole being unhappy and feeling stuck at my old place took its toll on my mental health and there was a service those with mental health issues and out of work could use.

From the beginning he felt I was close to getting a job. He said the fact I was getting so many interviews meant I was getting everything else right. I kept sending him the feedback I was getting but he kept saying there's lots of positives to take and to keep plugging away. I also had a mock interview with him and he said some bits could be fine tuned but overall he couldn't see much wrong.

That's the ultimate frustration because the quantity of interviews I've had with no offers implies something is wrong but it's like there's something everyone knows except me and nobody is willing to tell me what it is. Don't get me wrong I've come out of some interviews knowing full well I haven't got the job, some of which I've decided myself there's no way I'm working for that idiot who just interviewed me. There's been far too many that have been along the lines of we thought you were wonderful but we're not giving you a job though.
 
Career Compromise said:
I had a job coach when I was unemployed. Basically the whole being unhappy and feeling stuck at my old place took its toll on my mental health and there was a service those with mental health issues and out of work could use.
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So that sounds unlikely to be what I suggested then...

What was this person's background? Was he a mental health professional or was he a former recruiter or HR person?

You clearly are having issues with interviews, someone like that could probably give you the feedback you need.

(I mean you could perhaps even record an interview, technically people might say "muh ethics etc.." - easy to do if it's an online one or just with a small voice recorded in a live one and have a third party/friend give you feedback)

Ultimately that's the crucial thing here it seems, you apparently have the skills, you can get interviews so the CV sounds like it's fine but you keep screwing up at that stage.
 
Have you considered that whilst you're talking to the job spec, you're not selling yourself?

Here's an actual example from my life; I left a secure role and moved internally because the US organisation I worked for at the time was selling the site and I wanted to remain employed by them (not TUPE'd to a tiny UK org).

What I say in an interview if asked: I left that role because the business recognised my achievements and did not want to let me go. I had delivered xyz results which led to them offering me a senior position in another business within the organisation. I accepted as I felt that it was the right fit and offered a new challenge that excited me etc etc.

Basically, I'm telling them why I am the **** and why that business was lucky to keep me. In reality, I was always going to leave and I was lucky to stay within the large organisation ;)
 
dowie said:
So that sounds unlikely to be what I suggested then...

What was this person's background? Was he a mental health professional or was he a former recruiter or HR person?

You clearly are having issues with interviews, someone like that could probably give you the feedback you need.

(I mean you could perhaps even record an interview, technically people might say "muh ethics etc.." - easy to do if it's an online one or just with a small voice recorded in a live one and have a third party/friend give you feedback)

Ultimately that's the crucial thing here it seems, you apparently have the skills, you can get interviews so the CV sounds like it's fine but you keep screwing up at that stage.
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He wasn't a mental health professional, it was a company who's focus is getting people into work. I'm not sure what the difference between that and what you suggested is.

I've not had an interview since the one for my current job and haven't applied for any jobs yet.

EVH said:
Have you considered that whilst you're talking to the job spec, you're not selling yourself?

Here's an actual example from my life; I left a secure role and moved internally because the US organisation I worked for at the time was selling the site and I wanted to remain employed by them (not TUPE'd to a tiny UK org).

What I say in an interview if asked: I left that role because the business recognised my achievements and did not want to let me go. I had delivered xyz results which led to them offering me a senior position in another business within the organisation. I accepted as I felt that it was the right fit and offered a new challenge that excited me etc etc.

Basically, I'm telling them why I am the **** and why that business was lucky to keep me. In reality, I was always going to leave and I was lucky to stay within the large organisation ;)
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Possibly. In the beginning I thought I was super talented and just needed the opportunity. At some point I started to question what exactly my talent is. I've honestly never found my job particularly difficult and feel like anyone could do it.
 
Career Compromise said:
He wasn't a mental health professional, it was a company who's focus is getting people into work. I'm not sure what the difference between that and what you suggested is.
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Well, perhaps you could elaborate then.

Was this person a former recruiter or HR professional?

I can only guess here but my suggestion was to pay for someone like that who is set up as a career coach. I don't know that that is necessarily what you're talking about if you're referring to say some government-funded service to get unemployed people/people suffering from mental health issues back into work?

The bottom line is that there is clearly an issue here with you and your ability to interview so you should probably get third-party feedback on that.

Have you tried toastmasters?
 
dowie said:
Well, perhaps you could elaborate then.

Was this person a former recruiter or HR professional?

I can only guess here but my suggestion was to pay for someone like that who is set up as a career coach. I don't know that that is necessarily what you're talking about if you're referring to say some government-funded service to get unemployed people/people suffering from mental health issues back into work?

The bottom line is that there is clearly an issue here with you and your ability to interview so you should probably get third-party feedback on that.

Have you tried toastmasters?
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All I know is that he was a job coach. We had group sessions that covered all aspects of applying for jobs and then individual sessions which was more focused on interviews because that was where the problem was.

What would a career coach do differently?

I've not tried toastmasters but just googled it. Looks like it's American.
 
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