Hi Reader, People think a better CV will help them get their dream job.It won't. AI has ruined the recruiting industry: People tailor their CVs to match job descriptions perfectly LinkedIn makes applying easier than ever, making the job-seeking game very crowded AI filters candidates before a human even looks at them, leading to strong candidates being eliminated of roles, because others play the game better Recruiters and hiring managers tell me they get thousands of applications within 1-2...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Most data professionals are worried about AI taking their jobs.I think they're asking the wrong question. The real shift isn't that AI can do more work.It's that the people who used to tell us what work to do can increasingly do it themselves. If your value comes from: waiting for requirements building reports on request implementing tickets someone else wrote then that's a problem. The people who will thrive over the next few years are the ones who create direction, not just...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, It’s been a tough week for me. Meta announced another round of layoffs affecting thousands of people, alongside cuts at several other big tech companies. Seeing the LinkedIn badge posts from ex-colleagues and friends has been very difficult. Our industry is changing at a very rapid pace.Faster than many people are comfortable with. But whether we like it or not, we have to evolve with it. And honestly – I believe this creates enormous opportunity for data professionals. The people...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, By now, you’ve probably heard the term “Data Product Management”. But here’s the question: Do people actually understand what it means? Because from what I’m seeing, many companies either: define it incorrectly treat it like a rebrand of old practices or completely miss the point And in a world increasingly shaped by AI, that matters more than ever. So I took Nick Zervoudis, a Data Product Management expert and community builder, on a flight to the British countryside to unpack it...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Imposter syndrome in data careers is REAL. It’s the silent career killer nobody likes to talk about. Does it ever feel like: Everyone around you knows exactly what they’re doing – except you Stakeholders must know better than you because they’re “the business” You constantly need someone else to tell you what to work on You’re one mistake away from being “found out” You are not alone. A huge number of data professionals quietly go through this. And over time, it affects...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, A few months ago, I invited this community to do something a bit unusual:Come fly with me, and record an episode in my Helicopter Podcast. The response was overwhelming. I appreciate everyone who applied. This week, I published the first episode with Amit Anand.Amit had just stepped into his first Senior Data Engineer role, and asked me a simple question: “I made it to senior… now what?” It’s a deceptively hard question.Because getting to “Senior” isn’t the real challenge. The...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, I’ll be honest, freelancing is the best thing that ever happened to me.And also the hardest. On one hand, it gave me things I didn’t even know were possible: I can integrate work and life in ways I never could before I choose what I work on (and who I work with) I have full control over my time But on the other hand, it forced me to build completely new muscles: Finding work is now my responsibility Figuring out what I actually offer and how to price it took time I had to operate...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, AI makes self-service analytics look inevitable. The pitch sounds something like this: → Plug an AI agent into a clean semantic layer→ Add good metadata and context→ Let stakeholders ask questions in plain English→ Done Everyone gets answers instantly.No dependency on data teams. Sounds great. But here’s the problem: Self-service analytics has been “almost working” for over 20 years.And success rates are still… disappointing. Why? Because it quietly relies on a set of assumptions:...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Most people think "personal brand" means LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok.It doesn’t. In fact, every one of us has a personal brand. Inside your company for example, there are people who: trust you on certain topics come to you for advice see you as the “go-to” for some things That’s your brand. The real question is:→ are you shaping it intentionally, or leaving it to chance? When Miquel asked me how to build a personal brand, I broke it down into 4 simple questions: What’s your goal? Who...
2 months ago • 1 min read
