Ep 49 | Crafting Your Career in Data Analytics with Karen Jean-Francois, Analytics Manager at Cardlytics

In Episode 49 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom is joined by Karen Jean-Francois, Analytics Manager at Cardlytics, where they discuss how people can craft the career they want in Data & Analytics, her humbling career journey so far and how she overcame imposter syndrome, which includes;

• Moving from the Caribbean to Paris to London
• Her struggles of living away from home & her family
• The transition from performing at the European Championships into the world of Data
• Why she hosts the Women In Data Podcast
• How she was awarded the 20 in Data & Technology 2020
• Why she struggled to find her place & voice
• The importance of role models and networking on her career
• How she joined Cardlytics as the only female in the team
• Why she had a huge case of Imposter Syndrome and how she overcame it
• How she realised it was all in her own mind
• Why it prevented her from being promoted despite knowing she was doing great work
• The importance of opening up about Imposter Syndrome
• Why company culture is so important to deal with Imposter Syndrome
• How to go from diagnosis to action (to start addressing the problem)
• The journey from introvert with imposter syndrome to winning industry awards and podcast host
• The technical V commercial debate
• How she almost quit Data & Analytics to become a pastry chef
• That she realized that she had so far let others decide what my career would look like
• The importance of owning your own career and defining what you want it to be
• Her top questions for crafting your career:

1. Where are you at today?
2. Where would you like to be and why?
3. What's stopping you from getting there?
4. How are you going to overcome these blockers?