The Data Soft Skill You Didn't Know Mattered

A “2024 data analyst trend” that’s gonna keep rising is the importance of building your soft skills.

“Tech skills land you the job. Soft skills grow your career.”

Everyone’s hopping on that train now.

So you’ll hear a lot of people saying that the following are great soft skills to build:

- Communication skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Learning skills

There’s no shortage of them. You’ll even hear me talk about it from time to time. But there’s one soft skill no one associates with being a great data analyst.

ENTHUSIASM.

When I landed my data analyst job in September, I had high expectations. I thought I’d improve productivity or increase revenue from week one.

However, landing a new data job is like getting a new boyfriend or girlfriend. You go through a “honeymoon phase” where life’s perfect and you can’t imagine yourself in any other job.

Then, a few weeks or months into the new role, you see the “not-so-fun” parts of being a data analyst.

Suddenly, you’re no longer as excited as you were during weeks one and two. But that’s okay.

Every job has its highs and lows.

Some tasks will suck.
Some days will suck.
Some weeks will suck.

When I realized that the data analyst job wasn’t as glamorous as it first seemed, I didn’t allow that to let me down.

Instead, I put on my “enthusiasm cap” and showed up every day, knowing that I would learn something new or experience something new no matter what.

And now, the job is more fun than I imagined. All thanks to shifting my mindset.

Believe it or not.
That’s up to you.

However, enthusiasm is something we can control. It’s something that can make or break the fulfillment we receive from being a data analyst.

It’s a secret data soft skill you probably didn’t know about.