Growing my career in data analytics at TELUS Digital: Chedy

“Value data over opinions” is one of the core principles that guide TELUS Digital’s goal towards building a digital-friendly future for customers and team members. As an analyst on the Mobility team, I am responsible for leveraging data to deliver insights about Chat and Support experiences on our website. With millions of customers across the country relying on our services, it's essential for us to identify and act on their needs.

As someone who is at the beginning of their career in digital analytics, there is definitely a lot to learn. You learn about a new range of tools such as Adobe Analytics, DOMO, and BigQuery to best practices in privacy, security, and personalization. The breadth of knowledge an analyst requires in today’s market is vast. While it can be overwhelming when you’re just getting started, all you need is a passion for data analytics and a hunger to learn to get your foot in the door.

The Junior Analytics Development Experience (JADE) program focuses on equipping junior team members with the technical skills and expertise imperative to drive TELUS Digital forward. After completing JADE training this past August, I was acquainted with the ins and outs of TELUS Digital and the tools and resources I’d be using in the role. Thanks to the program, the transition into my new role as an analyst was smooth, despite being very new to the field.

Pre-JADE

Shortly before joining TELUS Digital, I was wrapping up my undergrad at the University of Waterloo. It was through the university's co-op program that I had the opportunity to gain real-world experience between academic semesters. I was first introduced to the value of analytics when I interned at a bank in 2018. As an analyst on the Media Measurement team, I reported on the performance of various marketing campaigns and made recommendations on how to optimize them for increased online sales. This experience, along with subsequent marketing internships at smaller tech companies, fueled my interest in painting pictures and crafting stories out of data to shape business strategies.

This year has been difficult for many - especially if you are trying to kick off your career. After finishing school and having some travel plans put on hold (for obvious reasons), I decided to embark on my job search a little early. It was challenging at first given the circumstances; most companies were only looking to hire highly experienced candidates. I remember stumbling upon many job postings, thinking I’d be a good fit, but quickly feeling discouraged after reading their requirements for suitable candidates.

The stars (finally) aligned when I decided to reach out to my network. Soon after, I learned about JADE and the open analyst position at TELUS Digital. Not only was I excited about the possibility of joining an innovative team at one of Canada’s most reputable companies, but I was intrigued that the listing didn’t outline having ample experience as a requirement. TELUS Digital was looking to fill the role with someone who was curious and passionate about all things data, and so I decided to give it a shot. After much preparation and a seamless interview process, I accepted an offer and was ready to contribute to the team’s digital evolution!

My JADE Journey

The JADE curriculum is designed to efficiently onboard newly hired analysts and analytics implementation primes at TELUS Digital. This year, things ran a little differently as the entire organization had to adapt to remote work. Due to the workstyles shift, JADE onboarding and training had to be completely virtual. Admittedly, I had my doubts on how effective remote learning was going to be, but to my surprise, JADE was thoroughly organized and easy to follow with recorded sessions, detailed documentation, and practice homework. Each of us were paired with two buddies to provide us with mentorship and support throughout the program.

The program began with walkthroughs of the business, from TELUS Digital’s overarching goals to the different portfolios within. The first week’s agenda involved meeting with different team members across the organization, learning about the scope of their responsibilities, and understanding how they contribute to the company’s success. These meet and greets also gave us a glimpse of TELUS Digital’s incredible culture, and enabled us to feel a sense of belonging early on.

Following the introductory week was a series of training sessions. Hosted by both consultants and team members within TELUS Digital, we were given overviews of a variety of topics, including machine learning and SEO, and tutorials on using different tools and building reports. We were able to actively follow along during the sessions as well, having been granted access to the same tools and resources we were learning about, such as Decibel and Big Query. The bulk of the analyst training focused on learning everything there is to know about Adobe Analytics: a digital analyst’s single source of truth. 

By the end of the program, I was making visualizations and building my own segments within the Adobe workspace (like a champ). Analytical jargon became part of my regular vocabulary; beacons, dataLayer events, and debugging analytics were no longer foreign concepts! I was excited to move onto the next chapter and looked forward to finally putting into practice all that I’ve learned in the four-week period. 

Post-JADE

TELUS Digital’s commitment to recruit and train junior talent through JADE has opened doors for aspiring analysts like me. I can confidently say that the program’s intensive curriculum prepared me to quickly acclimate to the fast-paced and collaborative work environment within the organization. Only two months into my role, I’ve created my own dashboards, reported on the results of several A/B tests, and even presented my work to audiences as large as 120 people. I’m proud of the progress I’ve made so far, and I owe much of it to JADE and the supportive network of colleagues and mentors I built along the way.

To learn more about the JADE program at TELUS Digital, check out our recent blog post outlining the program in depth. Interested in other opportunities at TELUS Digital? Check out our Careers page.