Preparing for the Future

How I learned Tableau to create an interactive resume to continue my professional growth- even at home.

Link above to resume.

I spend a considerable amount of time looking through LinkedIn, seeing what other people are doing during this time of crisis. It is heartbreaking to see how many people are suffering from this pandemic, and I want to do my part by staying at home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Though, being at home, it took me a while to figure out a routine in my new environment after William and Mary converted to remote learning. Many of the activities I did outside of classes were cancelled or became less of a time commitment. I had way too much free time on my hands outside of classwork and I had no idea how to pass the time and do something meaningful. 

After some self-reflection, I realized I wanted to continue growing and developing my skills. I can see that the job market is already being affected by this pandemic in a negative way; it may become very competitive to find a job due to the current mass unemployment. Therefore, I wanted to spend my time wisely so that when I applied for a job after college, my passion and hard-work would be shown through my continuous effort to learn.  I saw lots of posts on LinkedIn about Tableau and it piqued my interest. I have heard about this awesome platform to helps to emphasize and visualize content, though I never had the time to learn.

I decided at that moment, instead of pushing it off, I would spend my free time creating on Tableau. I was motivated to develop an understanding of Tableau through building a unique interactive resume. The reason I choose to create a resume is because I wanted to be able to not only grow my Tableau skills, but also develop a unique way to present my professional accomplishments. This way, I had a resume that would attract others and show my dedication to professional growth. Though the resume I created is a basic outline, I am excited to have this foundation that will help guide the way to success. 

I began with exploring a variety of online resources. I slowly started teaching myself the basic tools needed to implement interactive visuals for a resume. I used YouTube channels- practicing different charts and graphics. I analyzed discussion boards and blog posts, seeking out bits and pieces of helpful information. The Tableau site itself had resources that provided examples to practice and samples to view. 

Here is insight I can give if you are interested in learning Tableau:

• Take your time! Explore and practice creating different charts and designing dashboards before you start a longer project.
• Think thoroughly about what you are going to do and the content you are going to place in your project. I definitely spent much of my time arranging and rearranging items since I had not thought out the bigger picture.
• Don’t be afraid to mess up! I accidentally erased a whole worksheet I had been working on for hours. Though, after having to redo it, I was able to strengthen my knowledge. I even changed it up and added other elements that in the end made my visual look much better.
• Have fun and be creative! Creating my resume took a long time it did not feel like it. I enjoyed building and interacting with Tableau so much that time went by fast.

 During this experience, I felt privileged to be able to have access to these online resources that aided in my growth. I want to continue gaining more skills and tools to help propel my professional career. My next steps on Tableau are to continue innovating my resume and creating a new dashboard that highlights the Roanoke community’s efforts in spreading positivity and giving a helpful hand to those in need during this crisis.

Stay tuned for more visuals to come!

#WMIRL