As you can see from my photo, I am older than the "typical" candidate looking to get started in a new field. I am 64 years old. I also have had three recent back surgeries that have limited me somewhat physically. I understand that both my age and my physical problems are things I will need to overcome in searching for a job. I put this information forward because I believe I have a lot to offer an employer who is considering me as a job candidate, and I want to be upfront and truthful about myself.
I left a job with the US Postal Service when I was in my late thirties to start a business with my brother in designing and administering websites. We kept that business going for many years until my physical problems made that impractical 5 years ago. As a small business owner, I had to wear many hats. Because I did this for quite a while, I had to adjust over time to provide services that were currently in demand. The last decade or so was particularly interesting, as I was helping to manage an online electronics store for a customer. My duties involved a little bit of everything: sales, customer service, managing the shipping, and fulfillment.
I also spent some time managing a wireless phone store. During that time, I had experience in supervising employees and customer service. My years running my own business provided a lot of practical experience with computers. That included a facility for training others to work on various applications. I was asked by the owner of the business to set up a new point-of-sale system and train employees in its use. My experience with that store was rewarding and valuable. Unfortunately, the Wireless phone company they were retailing, Pocket Wireless, went out of business. My employer terminated their retail operation. I elected to go back to my own business and found my way into managing the operations of an online electronics store, which I did until the owner retired and closed the business during the pandemic in 2020.
I don't have a college degree. I did take a year of college courses part-time at Gateway Community College in New Haven during my last years working for the Postal Service. I enjoyed it and did quite well, earning a 4.0 GPA and membership in Phi Theta Kappa, the Honor Society for 2-year colleges. I regret not being able to complete my degree, but the demands of running my own business just didn't allow the time for continuing.
I acknowledge I don't offer a conventional resume for procuring an entry-level job in data analytics. I'm older and lack a college degree. What I do bring to the table is a great deal of experience in running a small business, including the varied experience of having to wear many different hats while changing to take advantage of whatever opportunities presented themselves. As I have primarily worked out of a home office in recent years, I am self-motivated and comfortable working in a remote environment.
I am also able to write at an advanced level. Writing is a passion of mine that I have turned into a part-time hobby. I currently operate my own website, writing about another passion of mine, baseball. My audience is primarily fans of the New York Mets. If your company is looking for someone with exceptional writing skills, please check out my work at mikesmets.com. While I understand that a prospective employer won't be hiring me to write about baseball, I believe a random perusing of some of my work will clearly demonstrate that I am not exaggerating my abilities as a writer.
The reason that writing is a passion of mine is that I enjoy all of the aspects of writing material for that website, from identifying a topic, trying to find an angle to make my piece on the topic both entertaining and informative to a reader, and then executing a successful piece on that topic.
It's why a chose data analytics when I was offered the opportunity for employment training by the State of Connecticut. The process is very similar: you're searching through a lot of information for data that you can utilize to provide your company actionable information to fulfill a need. Once you have isolated the key information, you're tasked with how to present it. The goal is not only to communicate the information clearly but also in a manner that holds the interest of your stakeholders. While there are certainly differences in working with words and numbers, I find the challenges similar and succeeding in overcoming the challenges equally rewarding.
To sum it up, I will be able to offer a potential employer:
- A self-motivated individual who genuinely enjoys working and accomplishing tasks
- I am an independent learner and sincerely enjoy learning new skills
- I work well collaboratively in a group but also thrive on solving problems independently
- I enjoy teaching others and helping them develop their own skills
This site contains two different case studies that I completed for the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate course:
Case Study 2: How Can a Wellness Technology Company Play It Smart?
They are presented here to demonstrate my understanding of the data analytics process after successfully earning my certificate.
I would love to talk to you about how my lifetime of experience and acquired skills could benefit your company. Please call or text me at (203) 215-5783, or email me at mikesteffanos@gmail.com. Thank you for considering me.
