Why a People Analytics Career Advice Guide?

In a study of over a thousand people, 35% of managers and 49% of employees in non-managerial positions said that a lack of good career advice has hurt their career.^[1]

A study by Gallup and Strada taken across 43 public and private universities found that fewer than 20% of students reach out to their school’s career centers for advice, and instead students consult with friends and family about important decisions that can determine employment.^[2] And that pattern doesn’t seem to be much different outside of the school setting. When over a thousand full-time working professionals were asked, 30% said they receive their career advice from family, friends, or colleagues and 20% indicated they receive advice from an informal mentor.

It is my hope that this guide can help to fill this gap a small bit and serve as an informal mentor to help you on your journey. Think of this guide as a written version of going out to coffee with a mentor or having a call with an advisor to get ideas on how you could build your People Analytics skills and career. This guide hopes to provide you with the same kinds of insights you might seek out from a mentor, friend, advisor, or colleague. It can also serve as a sort of “informational interview” where, by seeing all the many paths, skills and variations of implementing People Analytics, you can learn about careers in people analytics, or the utilization of people analytics in other roles.