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Most aspiring data analysts struggle with knowing what projects to build. This list of 5 projects spans beginner to advanced levels and is designed to impress recruiters and hiring managers.

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⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – From construction to Senior Financial Analyst (no applications)

03:06 – Why his non-data background actually helped

08:24 – The projects + portfolio that made recruiters reach out

10:27– How LinkedIn led to a job offer

23:03 – Biggest lessons for breaking into data

🔗 CONNECT WITH JORDAN

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtemplemba/

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

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https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Today I wanna tell you about

my friend Jordan Temple.

2

Jordan was a construction

cost estimator and a hundred

3

percent new to data analytics.

4

No experience whatsoever,

5

but somehow a few months later,

6

he landed a senior financial analyst role.

7

Without even applying for the job.

8

A recruiter actually found him on

LinkedIn, messaged him, and he had

9

a job offer shortly thereafter.

10

So in today's episode, we'll talk about

what Jordan did, where I helped him,

11

and how you can steal our strategy

to get recruiters in your inbox and

12

ultimately land your own data jobs.

13

So let's go ahead and dive in.

14

But first I wanna tell you

that this episode is sponsored

15

by me in my own newsletter.

16

Every Wednesday I send a newsletter

designed to help you land your data job.

17

It has a lesson, job listings,

and a personal note from yours.

18

Truly,

19

it's a hundred percent free, and you

can join 25,000 other aspiring data

20

professionals@datacareerjumpstart.com

21

slash newsletter.

22

Or you can just click on the

link, the description down below.

23

Now let's go ahead and hop in.

24

Avery Smith: our guest today is Jordan.

25

Jordan went through the Data

Analytics Accelerator program and

26

now is a Senior Financial Analyst

27

at a company called,

28

extentnet Systems.

29

Senior Financial Analyst.

30

Beforehand, I'll let

you kind of explain it.

31

You are a cost estimator.

32

Is that right?

33

Jordan Temple: yeah, yeah.

34

So work for a general contractor.

35

And I was in the estimating

department, but it was a lot of

36

budget and cost estimation for

ground up construction projects.

37

Avery Smith: Okay, so like, is this

like residential or more commercial?

38

Jordan Temple: It was mostly

residential multifamily apartments

39

and some single family homes.

40

Avery Smith: Gotcha.

41

So if someone's building a new home

and they want to like, maybe they

42

had like a plan, for example, from an

architect or something like that, or

43

maybe it was like a developer had a

bunch of homes they want to get built.

44

They'd come to your company and

specifically you and be like, Hey,

45

how much does this get a cost and

you'd kind of give an estimate

46

of what that project might cost.

47

Jordan Temple: Yeah, exactly.

48

They, would approach us with their

construction drawings and we would look

49

through them and essentially put together

a conceptual budget based on what we

50

saw in the drawings and go from there.

51

Avery Smith: Okay.

52

So I'm not a construction expert.

53

I haven't been really exposed to that

industry very much, but that doesn't

54

sound super data analytics y to me.

55

Would you agree with that?

56

Or,

57

Jordan Temple: Yeah.

58

No, it's it's definitely not really

the the most data thing about it is

59

looking at historical costs just to

see What has changed over the years

60

that way you can use that to forecast

what future costs are going to be.

61

Avery Smith: okay.

62

So in a matter of a few months, you're

able to go from a role that wasn't

63

necessarily very related to data analytics

to a senior financial analyst role.

64

So that seems like a pretty

big jump, especially getting

65

that senior in that title.

66

So in today's episode, I was hoping you

kind of walk me through that journey of

67

going from, you know, this cost estimator

to a senior financial analyst and what

68

exactly it took, you know, what, decisions

did you make that you're glad you make,

69

what are some things you kind of wish

you did maybe earlier in the process?

70

Does that sound good with you?

71

Jordan Temple: Yeah, that sounds great.

72

Let's get started.

73

Avery Smith: Okay, sweet.

74

So I guess maybe we'll work

a little bit backwards.

75

So you got the senior

financial analyst role.

76

What are some of the, you know,

Qualifications for this role

77

that they were looking for.

78

Jordan Temple: One of the biggest things

that they were looking for was someone

79

who had a construction background.

80

They wanted someone who I guess

understood that side of the business.

81

Because first and foremost, we're

a telecommunications company.

82

We work with AT& T, Verizon, T Mobile.

83

And the big network providers and

we install fiber optic cable for

84

like outdoor and indoor facilities.

85

So they wanted someone that was

familiar with the construction

86

side of things and had dabbled

in data just a bit for the role.

87

So that's, kind of their, main asks.

88

Avery Smith: Okay.

89

And I think that's really important

to, realize is a lot of data roles.

90

I kind of said your background

wasn't very data analytics y, but

91

we see that that's actually kind

of what they wanted in this case.

92

And there's actually a lot of roles

like this, no matter what role you're

93

currently in, if you're listening to this.

94

Like you can probably use it in

data analytics one way or another.

95

We've had a lot of teachers come

through, the data analytics accelerator

96

program, and they ended up becoming,

you know, educational data analysts,

97

or they become data analysts for a

school system or some online learning

98

platform or something like that.

99

And in your case, you took

your construction background.

100

Now you're kind of like a construction

data financial analyst type.

101

Jordan Temple: Yeah, that's,

that's essentially what it is.

102

Avery Smith: Okay.

103

Which is really cool.

104

I don't think I realized that

it did telecommunication stuff.

105

One of the projects I did in my

consulting company, Snow Data Science,

106

you might find this interesting, was

I helped create an algorithm based off

107

of historic data, like you mentioned

earlier that it was for a company.

108

I don't even know what they exactly did

but they provided quotes of how much it

109

would install, how much it would cost to

install I guess like high speed internet

110

in their like residential office places.

111

So a lot of the times they had

like fiber going close to their

112

You know, business, but it didn't

actually tie into their business.

113

And so they'd want to quickly, they

want their salespeople to be quickly to

114

estimate the cost of what it might cost

that like this, company I was calling,

115

you know, how much is it going to cost to

get high speed internet in, our building?

116

Well, these salespeople

obviously didn't really know.

117

And so what we'd use is the historic

database, a bunch of different factors,

118

and try to create a predictive model

to be like, yeah, it's going to

119

cost, you know, 50, 000 or something

like that, and give these sales

120

people a quick and dirty estimate.

121

So anyway, it sounds like at least a

little bit similar in those spaces.

122

Jordan Temple: It's, , somewhat

similar to what we do.

123

Avery Smith: Okay.

124

That's, really neat.

125

So now that, you're at this company what

tools are you using on a day to day basis?

126

Jordan Temple: So the role

is really Excel heavy.

127

We do a lot of analyzing data

in Excel, you know, using pivot

128

tables and things like that.

129

Other than Excel, we use

Power BI a fair amount.

130

Not so much building reports anymore.

131

Most everything has already

been built and put together.

132

Now we just utilize those in our day

to day functions, such as validating

133

costs and things like that across

the markets that we do work in.

134

Avery Smith: Yeah, that's awesome.

135

First off, it's really cool that you

can land I just want everyone listening

136

to realize you can land a senior

data role with like just using Excel.

137

Jordan's proof of that, especially

if you're leveraging that, senior,

138

background from construction that you

have, because you do have all those

139

years of experience in construction.

140

and then also it's just awesome

that you're using, you know, Power

141

BI, not necessarily that you're

creating these Power BI reports, but

142

you're able to know how they work.

143

If they break, you could fix them, those

types of things, because you are right.

144

That like a lot of us, especially

when we want to you know, when we're

145

new to this, we're like, Oh my gosh,

I'm going to go to this company.

146

I'm going to start doing the coolest

things on planet earth, and I'm going

147

to save the world and make these cool

visualizations and dashboards and models.

148

But what it comes down to a lot

of the time is we did that a long

149

time ago and you just need to help

fix stuff if it breaks or just

150

Jordan Temple: Exactly.

151

Mainly just there to maintain

it if something messes up.

152

Or if you want to create something

on your own, you know, you would

153

think is beneficial to your

role specifically, you know.

154

Avery Smith: yeah.

155

Okay.

156

So that's a little bit

about what you do now.

157

Let's talk about how you got this role.

158

So what made you interested in

data analytics in the first place?

159

Jordan Temple: So, I'm a big baseball

guy, a big baseball fan, so analytics

160

got really big in baseball, I

don't know, 10, 15 years ago, so.

161

Just that's kind of how I first got

introduced to data analytics and that

162

whole train of thought and mindset.

163

And I've always kind of had it in

the back of my head that it would

164

be really cool to work in data.

165

I've got my MBA.

166

I took a few analytics

courses really enjoyed those.

167

And whenever I finished my program, I was

hopeful to get some sort of analyst job.

168

You know, that didn't work out.

169

I ended up getting into construction.

170

And worked in construction

for several years.

171

Enjoyed what I did, you know, working

in construction, but knew that I wanted

172

to get into something a little more,

you know, numbers and data driven.

173

So that's whenever I found your program

and attended one of your, and, you

174

know, informational calls and, you

know, things took off from there.

175

Avery Smith: Yeah.

176

Okay.

177

So you were kind of

like a money ball child.

178

Jordan Temple: Yeah.

179

Yeah.

180

Very similar.

181

Avery Smith: Yeah.

182

That's awesome.

183

I love the movie money ball

of the book money ball.

184

Yeah, I think, analytics and baseball and

sports in general is really fascinating.

185

And, that makes sense.

186

So you kind of done this

business stuff in the past.

187

You know, you were hoping out of the

MBA to maybe land an analyst job.

188

What do you think the main difference

between, you know, coming out of

189

your MBA versus, you know, this

last time you tried to get into

190

analytics, what was the biggest

difference that in the end for you?

191

Jordan Temple: I would say just having

the hands on experience with the projects

192

that were done in the program and having a

portfolio, you know, none of those things

193

were really covered in my MBA program.

194

It was just more or less an introduction

to different analytic systems and

195

more theory based than application.

196

Avery Smith: Yeah.

197

And there is a difference between the

theory and the application, isn't there?

198

Jordan Temple: yeah, no doubt,

199

Avery Smith: Yeah, that,

totally makes sense.

200

For me, even when I got my master's degree

at Georgia Tech in data analytics, it's

201

one thing to learn the skills, right?

202

It's another thing to apply the

skills, and then it's a whole other

203

thing to show off your skills.

204

And for me, I mean, you can

kind of in, the program, I

205

try to do all three at once.

206

But if you're not cognitively

thinking through, it's really

207

easy just to stop at step one of

learning the skills and skipping the

208

applying and skipping the showing.

209

Right?

210

Jordan Temple: Mm hmm.

211

Avery Smith: Yeah, I agree.

212

I think my program did a good job

of teaching me, but didn't do a good

213

job at helping me make it applied and

helping me , show off those skills.

214

So, okay.

215

You joined the program.

216

We're doing projects for

showing off our skills.

217

You start doing a little bit

more stuff on LinkedIn as well.

218

Correct.

219

Jordan Temple: Yeah, yeah.

220

So started posting a few times a week

utilize the articles function and

221

would post my module projects on those.

222

Reach out to different content

creators on LinkedIn and, you know,

223

leave comments and engage with,

other folks in the industry as well.

224

And that was kind of how

I got my foot in the door.

225

Avery Smith: Yeah.

226

Okay.

227

I like that.

228

Explain that a little bit more,

tell the listeners, how did

229

you get your front of the door?

230

Jordan Temple: Yeah, I mean,

just being proactive on LinkedIn.

231

I mean, anything from posting about,

you know, my, weekly goals and steps

232

within the program interacting with

other students in the program, posting

233

projects asking for feedback on things.

234

I mean, just trying to be

as proactive as possible.

235

Avery Smith: Yeah.

236

You did a great job.

237

You have a great looking profile.

238

You, commented, you know,

thoughtful, left good comments

239

and you also created good posts.

240

You know, like you mentioned, you create

some articles, you create some posts.

241

And eventually that got to a point where

someone, noticed a recruiter DMD, right?

242

Jordan Temple: Yeah, yeah, that's

how I have my current role is someone

243

DM'd me about the position asked

me if I would be interested in it.

244

They sent over the the job description.

245

I read through it and did not

feel qualified for it at all.

246

I felt like it was just way over my

head, , they were pretty insistent that

247

I would be a good fit for the role.

248

So I was like, you know

what, let's go for it.

249

I had a call with someone at

the the recruiting agency.

250

We, spoke for 30 or 45 minutes, I would

say just getting more familiar with each

251

other, my background and things like that.

252

And they were like, yeah,

everything looks good.

253

We're going to send your profile on to

the company and we'll let you know that

254

they're interested in moving forward.

255

And I would say within 30 minutes

of the conversation being over, they

256

reached out and said that the company

wanted to set up an interview with me.

257

So that was really nice.

258

Avery Smith: Yeah.

259

And, I think there's something really

important here because this was a

260

third party agency, recruiting agency

that reached out to you via DM on

261

LinkedIn said, Hey, we saw your profile.

262

We might think you're a

good fit for this role.

263

And then they presented you to

the company and we're kind of like

264

backing you like, Hey, this is our

candidate or one of our candidates.

265

We feel really strongly about Jordan.

266

And this is something I like

to call the job hunt reversal.

267

It takes a lot of factors, you

know, one of it is luck, right?

268

Because one of the reasons why

this company liked you so much

269

was, you were in the area that

they were looking for, right?

270

They weren't like, they're looking

for someone in a hybrid role.

271

We'll talk about this here in a bit.

272

So that was kind of like, the

location was a good for you.

273

You had a great background that's on you.

274

Cause you had, you know, you have done

the choices you've made have given you the

275

background and experience that you have.

276

So that was on you.

277

You had a great LinkedIn profile.

278

You know, which is something that

we've been working together on, like

279

making sure LinkedIn profile was good.

280

We were active on it so that we were

like hyping up the LinkedIn algorithm

281

to like be interested in us and, you

know, have a better chance of attracting

282

recruiters and stuff like this through

that whole process, you weren't

283

going out and applying for that job.

284

That job was almost

applying for you, right?

285

Like all of a sudden, instead of

you contacting a recruiter and

286

being like, Hey, please hire me.

287

The recruiter reached out to you and

was like, Hey, please work for us.

288

Jordan Temple: Yeah,

that's exactly how it felt.

289

I mean, it was just like you

said, almost a reversal of roles.

290

Avery Smith: How did that feel?

291

Like, was that a way better process

than what you did previously?

292

Jordan Temple: Yeah, I mean, it

definitely it was different, but I mean,

293

in a good way, you know, it definitely

felt much better than me going to

294

these different companies websites and

having to register for their applicant

295

tracking systems and, you know, mass

applying for jobs, you know, it was

296

it was pretty effortless on my end.

297

They reached out, like I said,

via LinkedIn, asked for my resume.

298

And if I was interested in having a

conversation and that was really all

299

of the paperwork that I had to do.

300

Avery Smith: Yeah.

301

And I know we'll talk about your

interviews here in a second.

302

You had a few interviews after that,

but you said they weren't too bad.

303

And I just want to emphasize to everyone,

you guys can be the same as Jordan.

304

It really comes down to having

a good LinkedIn profile and a

305

good resume to rank really well.

306

And these recruiter algorithms

that are going on on LinkedIn.

307

And then one really thing, really

neat thing about this whole process as

308

well is if you're open to potentially

working in person or hybrid work, the

309

pool of candidates is a lot smaller.

310

And so you have a chance to be,

I guess, the same size fish in a

311

different pond, a smaller pond.

312

And so that worked well for Jordan

because Jordan works hybrid.

313

And you might be thinking,

Oh, I want to work remote.

314

Well, Jordan right now, originally

it was one day at home, right?

315

Jordan.

316

Jordan Temple: Yeah, originally

it was only one day remote.

317

That's how it started.

318

Avery Smith: But now,

319

Jordan Temple: Yeah, now I work

remote two days a week Monday and

320

Friday, so I only go into the office

during the middle of the week,

321

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

322

Avery Smith: so basically if you reframe

the word hybrid as I got to work remotely

323

40 percent of the time or 40 percent

remote Or I had one thing that Jordan

324

mentioned when we were talking earlier.

325

I mean, Jordan, you're working on Monday

and Friday, but it's almost as if you

326

have an extended weekend in those cases,

of course, you're still working, we're

327

not dogging it at work, but like, if

you want to go somewhere, for example,

328

maybe, you want to go, I don't know,

visit some family member in, you know,

329

one state over or go to some event.

330

So maybe like an NFL football

game or an MLB baseball game.

331

You could leave Thursday

night after work, right?

332

Work remotely on Friday and then you

have the rest of the weekend where

333

you're already in your location.

334

You know, maybe you, leave Monday

night and you get back to work on

335

Tuesday or something like that.

336

Like it just really opens up a

lot of flexibility in my mind.

337

Jordan Temple: Yeah, it definitely

does, and that's one of my

338

favorite things about the role.

339

Avery Smith: Yeah.

340

That's, awesome.

341

So I think those are the things,

I mean, you obviously had the

342

great construction experience.

343

You had the data projects

displayed on your LinkedIn

344

and displayed on your resume.

345

Like you are a qualified candidate,

but you're also, we're prepping

346

your prime in the pump, the LinkedIn

algorithm to make sure that like,

347

okay, my profile is optimized.

348

I'm putting stuff out there.

349

And opening up chances, did,

did the recruiting company

350

ever say how they found you?

351

Or is it just like, they just found

you via LinkedIn, open to work.

352

Jordan Temple: hmm.

353

They didn't really go into specifics,

but with the company being located

354

in the city that I work in, they,

just relocated from Chicago to

355

North Texas, and we're looking to...

356

I guess backfill some roles of people

that they had let go that didn't

357

want to relocate and , that's kind

of how they stumbled across my name.

358

Avery Smith: Perfect.

359

That's such a cool story.

360

Yeah.

361

I'm sure that was the LinkedIn algorithm.

362

So all that work you're putting

in ended up being worth it.

363

so you have this recruiter who

DMs you, you talk to the recruiter

364

on the phone for like 45 minutes.

365

They're talking about, I guess, experience

mostly, like what type of experience you

366

have in construction, what experience you

have in data analytics, is that right?

367

Jordan Temple: Yeah, pretty much.

368

They just, you know, wanted me to go

through my education background, my

369

construction experience kind of discuss

my my portfolio projects that I had

370

done, tools that I had worked with, and

what I was looking for in my next role.

371

Avery Smith: So they

had seen your portfolio.

372

Jordan Temple: Yeah, they saw it

and they were, I mean, they thought

373

that it looked really nice, had a

had a good mix of projects using

374

different, you know, analytic tools,

Excel, SQL, Tableau, I think I had

375

some Power BI in there, or Python.

376

So, I mean, it was well rounded.

377

Avery Smith: So yeah, they were

more asking about like the, whole

378

portfolio or did they like dive into

one specific project, one or two

379

Jordan Temple: I don't think they

looked at all of the specific projects.

380

They looked at the Power BI one that

I had on there and they looked at

381

The projects that I used dealing

with Excel because the role is,

382

you know, Power BI and Excel heavy.

383

Avery Smith: Yeah.

384

Yeah.

385

That makes sense because they

were hiring for someone who, who

386

needed Excel and Power BI skills.

387

So yeah, that's, I mean, that's one of

the reasons why we do at least one project

388

with each one of the technical skills that

a data analyst should know is so you at

389

least have one project for every skill,

no matter, what they're asking for,

390

you at least have something, hopefully.

391

So.

392

Okay.

393

That's awesome.

394

And then they submit your

information to the company.

395

The company responds back within like an

hour that they're interested in with you.

396

And then do you have

interviews from there?

397

Jordan Temple: Yeah.

398

I had an interview the next day with

the gentleman who's my now boss.

399

It was only supposed to be about a 30

minute interview, but it turned into

400

a 55 minute or an hour discussion.

401

We hit it off great.

402

I mean, it went really well.

403

So after I finished that interview,

I reached out to the recruiter,

404

told them how it went on my

end after I spoke with them.

405

I guess they got with the guy that

I interviewed with and just kind of

406

debriefed and called me right back and

they were like, yeah, I mean, they loved

407

you, you know, they want to have you do

another interview, but with one of someone

408

who would be one of your teammates.

409

I was like, okay, well,

yeah, that sounds great.

410

They wanted me to do the interview

the following week, but I was going

411

out of town on a family vacation.

412

So I told them that.

413

they gave the company a heads up

and the the company was more than

414

willing to, you know, wait for

me to get back from vacation to

415

continue the interview process.

416

So that felt really nice.

417

Avery Smith: Yeah.

418

That's, awesome.

419

And do you remember what they

asked you in those interviews?

420

What, were those

interviews focused around?

421

Jordan Temple: So the first interview was

really just getting to know me just as a

422

person just asking about my background.

423

I'm from Louisiana.

424

My boss is also from Louisiana.

425

We're from different parts of the

state, but we really just kind of

426

talked about that for a little while.

427

Just we, you know, we had that in common

and Really played into that and just

428

got to know each other really well.

429

And then was just asking mainly

about my analytics experience.

430

You know, he asked about my MBA

program, asked about the bootcamp,

431

what type of stuff we did.

432

And, you know, I was just

transparent about all of that.

433

And we had a really good conversation.

434

Avery Smith: Yeah.

435

So no, like hard questions.

436

You felt like, like they

437

Jordan Temple: No, not really.

438

Avery Smith: No technical questions.

439

It even sounds like,

440

Jordan Temple: no, no, I mean, I didn't

have any technical questions in any of the

441

interviews that I did with the company.

442

Avery Smith: yeah.

443

And I think, first off, I think

that's a factor of this company.

444

It sounds like, like a good company

that, you know, they want to take care

445

of their, people, but also I think it's

a factor of just the broad experience

446

you already had in construction and

also the portfolio stuff you have there.

447

Cause I mean, it really

depends on the company.

448

Like for instance, Facebook, no

matter what you really do, they're

449

going to give you a technical

interview, like no matter what.

450

Right.

451

So some companies have their certain

things, but really what these

452

companies are testing for is can

you actually do data analytics?

453

They're looking for some sort of proof

that you can actually do something.

454

And if you provide that proof

in advance, you know, a lot

455

of the time that's helpful.

456

If you say, Hey, here's my portfolio.

457

They're like, all right, this guy

seems like he knows what he's doing.

458

So like, we don't have to

stress test them too much.

459

Jordan Temple: Yeah, and I

think that was the case with me.

460

You know, I mean, they, saw

my experience on my resume.

461

They saw the portfolio, the few

questions that I was asked about

462

data analytics and things like that.

463

You know, I mean, I nailed those.

464

So I think the, biggest thing

was making sure that I was going

465

to be a good, I guess, cultural

fit, you know, for the company.

466

Am I easy to get along with, you

know, I mean, how, am I going to fit

467

with everyone else from a cultural

aspect, you know, because the company's

468

really big on culture and they've

got several different organizations

469

within the company and that's their

emphasis, you know, is making sure that

470

employees are happy and comfortable

and like coming to work every day.

471

So that's really big.

472

Avery Smith: Yeah.

473

Okay.

474

That, makes sense.

475

Then you got the job offer

and perks about the job offer.

476

what were some of the

biggest perks for you?

477

Like what, made you

excited about this job?

478

Jordan Temple: So one of the

biggest things, like I said, was

479

the being able to work remotely.

480

You know, it started out as one

day and his girl and said, you

481

know, working two days remote.

482

So that's nice.

483

Five weeks of PTO starting out.

484

That's pretty awesome.

485

and, you know, It's, I mean, in my

experience is unheard of the places

486

that I've been, you know, typically

starting out, you don't, get that much.

487

So that both of those were, you know,

really, really nice selling points.

488

Avery Smith: Yeah, that's, super nice.

489

So yeah, better PTO, more flexible, like

those, are awesome, perks for sure.

490

Jordan Temple: And I forgot about

this one proximity to my home.

491

It's like 12 or 13 minutes from,

where I live to my work, to my office.

492

So that's really nice as well.

493

Avery Smith: That's, so awesome.

494

And I know one of the things we talked

about with like the hybrid or, or remote

495

work Previously is like, obviously

it's great that like we talked about

496

like the, I don't know, maybe you

can go see an LSU baseball game on

497

the weekend or something like that.

498

Right.

499

When you're on your four

day ish hybrid weekend.

500

But like the, good news is when you're

in the office, you're in the office,

501

which means you can get training

from like your supervisor or, or the

502

person above you, you know, you get

more face to face time with bosses,

503

which is really good for promotions.

504

I know when during the pandemic and I was

working at ExxonMobil, I kind of stopped

505

going to the office and I think it really

hurt my progression in my career there.

506

So that's something I think

that's really beneficial.

507

And also it's just like, it

scratches your social itch, right?

508

Like you get to get out of the house.

509

Jordan, do you have kids?

510

I can't remember.

511

Jordan Temple: No kids.

512

Avery Smith: Well, I have a kid.

513

I know sometimes I love to

get out of the house now.

514

It's just like, all right,

I got to go to work.

515

I got to go to work.

516

So but like it gets you out of the

house, get you with some people, right?

517

Do you enjoy those things?

518

Jordan Temple: Oh yeah.

519

I mean, it's, it's really

the best of both worlds.

520

I mean, I enjoy it.

521

I mean, you know, during COVID

whenever I was working fully remote.

522

I mean, it was nice, don't get me

wrong, but I started to go stir

523

crazy being at home all the time.

524

So, the hybrid work

models is perfect for me.

525

You know, there's Monday and Friday,

whenever there's things that I

526

need to get done, I can do that.

527

I can You know, plan to do those

things at home where I'm not

528

going to have any distractions.

529

And middle of the week, whenever I'm

in the office, if there are things

530

that I'm working on that I have

questions on or need to collaborate

531

with my team on, you know, I mean,

that's what those days are for.

532

So, I mean, it works out perfectly for me.

533

Avery Smith: Yeah, that, makes sense.

534

Now I want to ask you a question.

535

If you can go back, I'm pulling

up your LinkedIn profile here.

536

If you can go back and you can go

talk to Jordan, you know, Jordan, just

537

after he finished his MBA you know,

trying to hope to land an analyst job.

538

What would be some things you'd give him?

539

What would be some advice

you'd tell him to do?

540

Jordan Temple: Try to find a program

similar to the one that I did and

541

work on applying the concepts that I

learned in my MBA program, you know,

542

put together a portfolio, you know, use

Excel at an advanced level SQL, some

543

sort of data visualization tool, be it

Tableau or Power BI, get more familiar

544

with those and how to apply those.

545

Don't just understand how they work,

but apply those tools and be able

546

to I guess be able to back that up.

547

Avery Smith: I love it.

548

So basically do projects

and build a portfolio.

549

Jordan Temple: Yeah.

550

I mean that's really what it is.

551

I mean, , that's what it's all about.

552

I mean, you need to be able to provide

proof that you understand how to use these

553

tools and be able to show that you can,

and that I feel like that's the best way.

554

If you don't have like a work portfolio,

you know, you can have something

555

like this where you've got projects

that you've done on your own time.

556

Avery Smith: Yeah I

give this analogy a lot.

557

So sorry, Jordan, if you've heard it or

if someone else on the call has heard it,

558

but it's like, if I think the Fast and

the Furious 10 movies literally coming out

559

sooner rather than later, although with

the strikes now, you never know, like all

560

these movie dates have been pushed back.

561

But regardless, like if you're

hiring, if you're hiring a stunt For

562

the fast and the furious 10 movie,

which is an action movie with cars.

563

I've never seen any of

the fast and furious.

564

I've actually never seen

any of the fast and furious.

565

But like, if you're hiring a stunt

double that has to jump over a car, who

566

are you going to hire the person that

sends in a resume and says, yep, I can

567

jump over a car or the person B that

like sends in a resume that says, yeah,

568

I could jump over a car and then like

sends in some sort of like, maybe some

569

sort of video of them jumping over a car

in a movie or jumping over the car on

570

their own time or something like that.

571

It's like, you're going to go with person

B because hiring, this is something

572

that you and I, you know, people who

are employed don't think about a lot.

573

But like hiring is expensive.

574

Hiring is terribly expensive because

it takes a lot of the people's times.

575

One.

576

Usually you have to promote it on some

job platform, or in this case, for

577

instance, they're using a third party

recruiter that costs money, right?

578

That costs, you know,

thousands of dollars.

579

And then you have to like pay, have

people fly out and interview for the job.

580

There's all the time that you're

spent doing the interviews.

581

And then more importantly,

It's like the training that's

582

going into this new person.

583

You just don't want to hire a dud and

then train them three months later.

584

Oh crap.

585

This person's a dud, you know, have

to let them go or, something, or

586

like they make some terrible mistake.

587

Like hiring is really expensive for

these companies and they want to make

588

sure that they're doing a good job,

you know, and so they want low risk and

589

the, the less risk you can make yourself

appear, you don't even, it doesn't

590

even have to be that you're less risky.

591

It's the fact that you have to

make yourself look less risky.

592

Like that can make all the

difference in the world.

593

Jordan Temple: agree.

594

I agree totally.

595

Avery Smith: And I'm glad that you ended

up, you know, talking to these recruiters

596

and being like, even though you didn't

feel like you were a fit, I'm super

597

glad that you ended up, you know, going

through with it because hopefully for

598

people listening, that's a source of

inspiration that like, yeah, I might not

599

feel like I'm a good fit for this role.

600

So I'm not going to apply.

601

They don't apply, but there's a chance

they could have landed that role.

602

Jordan Temple: Yeah, I mean, absolutely.

603

I mean, If someone reaches out to you and

they feel like you're a good fit for a

604

role, you know, don't sell yourself short.

605

I mean, there's a reason

that they reached out to you.

606

I mean, they obviously think

that you would be a good fit.

607

Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent

you a message, DM'd you, and you

608

know, kept you in mind for the role.

609

Avery Smith: Yeah.

610

And, and even this is an example one

time Facebook messaged me, actually they

611

sent me an email and out of nowhere, like

a cold email, like, Hey, we'd like, we

612

think you'd be a great fit for this job.

613

And I looked at the job description and

I was not a good fit for the job at all.

614

Not a good fit.

615

And I was like, all right, sounds good.

616

Let's do an interview.

617

Right.

618

Let's go.

619

It was like a pretty high

level job, to be honest.

620

I was like, I don't think I'm a good fit.

621

So I get on the call with this,

like, honestly, it was like this

622

director of like this team and she

was really nice and we're talking and

623

I kind of explain everything and, and

she's like, yeah, you're not really

624

that good of a fit for this role.

625

And I was like, yeah, I totally agree.

626

I'm not.

627

And she's like, but I think

you'd be a good fit for Facebook.

628

So let me like, let me refer you to

someone else inside of our company.

629

You know, and so like, I could have just

said, no, I'm, I'm not a good fit for this

630

role, or I think you got the wrong guy,

but even going into that interview and to

631

be honest, kind of bombing the interview,

because like, I just did not, I just

632

did not have any experience with what,

it wasn't even really like a data role.

633

It was like a more data engineering role.

634

And at the time I was far less

experienced data engineer than I am now.

635

Although I'm still not that great of

a data engineer, but like, I just was

636

not a good fit for the role, but that

gave me an opportunity to interview

637

somewhere else inside the company.

638

Right.

639

And so it's just like, I put this

post out on LinkedIn the other

640

day, but the hiring manager who

rejects you the most is yourself.

641

And that's, hard to take in sometimes.

642

Jordan Temple: Yeah, I mean, it really is.

643

I mean, and that's obviously what

I was doing whenever they first

644

reached out about this role.

645

I mean, I was disqualifying myself from it

without knowing anything about it, really.

646

Avery Smith: Yep.

647

So guys be like Jordan, get over

that fear, you know, go from the cost

648

estimator to the senior financial

analyst, have a strong LinkedIn profile,

649

have a strong portfolio and with

time, some stuff's going to happen.

650

I have faith in that.

651

Jordan, anything else to add?

652

Jordan Temple: Yeah, I mean, if you're in

Avery's program, I mean, listen to him.

653

Just skills, networking, portfolio.

654

I mean, focus on those three

things and, you know, you'll

655

get to where you want to go.

656

Avery Smith: Appreciate you, Jordan.

657

Thank you so much for

coming on the podcast.