1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,960 The Better Business Analysis Institute presence. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:07,760 The Better Business Analysis Podcast with Benjamin Walsh. 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,840 Hi everybody, and welcome back to the Better Business Analysis 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,920 Podcast with Benjamin Walsh. Now we're going to take a bit of 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,120 a side road and we're going to go all the way back to my most 6 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:29,080 common question. So some of you who are already 7 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:34,880 BAS this episode, half of it will be useful for you just 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,000 being straight up and for those who aren't BAS, this is going to 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,080 be 100% useful for you. So I will try and weave in 10 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,080 aspects here that are interesting for all my audience 11 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:50,680 and there should be some top tips. 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:56,600 So if you are ABA today, I want you to check this off some of 13 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:03,200 the points I bring up today and if you get 100% then you know 14 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,520 good on you. And if you are not abai want you 15 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,360 to write down all these things and I want you to work through 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,680 this list. So what am I talking about? 17 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:18,480 I am talking about effectively your guide to becoming a 18 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,080 business analyst. I've talked about this before in 19 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:24,680 different ways and shapes and form. 20 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,480 I'm going to try and walk you through what you would do today. 21 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,800 OK, So if today you are listening to this podcast, you 22 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,440 may be a listener, A listener who frequently listens to the 23 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,160 show. You may have been one of the 24 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,440 listeners who listened to my top podcast episodes, which are 25 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,040 always about how to become ABA generally. 26 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,760 And if you are ABA, then I want you, like I said, to figure out 27 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:57,880 if you've done all these things and if you haven't done all 28 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,200 these things. This might be something that you 29 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,520 can focus on now, especially if you are out of work. 30 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,280 So if you're out of work, it is a good time to go back and go. 31 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,400 What gaps have I developed or have I never filled along my 32 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,680 career journey? And it is now the time for me to 33 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:22,080 train and to upskill and to go back and maybe refine what I 34 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:28,480 learnt and do on the fly. Learnt, you know, the the, the 35 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,720 school of Hard Knocks they call it, you know, you've just learnt 36 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,280 as you've gone. And like any sports game, if 37 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,880 you're involved in any sport, the first thing that a 38 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,640 performance coach will do is they will. 39 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,720 You will be told to unlearn what you're doing. 40 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,560 In order to get better you need to unlearn first. 41 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:49,920 Start with a blank piece of paper. 42 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:55,200 Follow some of the best techniques that exist in 2024 43 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,960 and then you know and then you and then apply your knowledge 44 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,360 that you've learned and then you excel to be even better instead 45 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,640 of just flatlining in your development. 46 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,920 So we're going to decode the Path, your guide to becoming a 47 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,800 business analyst. So I'm going to welcome you, 48 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,320 future business analyst and existing business analyst, 49 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,720 through today's episode of The Career Crossroads. 50 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,480 I I imagine that you're fascinated by the word business 51 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,560 and data and processes and problem solving. 52 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,720 Do you dream of bridging the gap between business needs and 53 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:39,640 technology solutions? Becoming ABA a business analyst 54 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,280 is probably the perfect career fit. 55 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:47,280 Have you found this podcast through the mini different ways 56 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:52,720 on Apple podcast or Spotify, your favorite podcast app? 57 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,560 Then you know then you've made the first great step because 58 00:03:57,560 --> 00:03:59,920 there aren't many BA podcasts out there. 59 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:05,280 Mainly because the PAS who do the podcast don't have anything 60 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,760 to talk about, whereas I'm trying to get you to learn with 61 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,240 me every day. So if it was just a podcast 62 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,920 about being ABA, then it wouldn't have many episodes. 63 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,120 Whereas we talk about different parts of business here on the 64 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,200 Better Business Analysis podcast and we focused on the better. 65 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,640 We focus on the fact that the world changes, that there are 66 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,040 new techniques that we need to look outside our field to bring 67 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,760 into our field. We need to define our field. 68 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,920 And so becoming ABA today is quite different to becoming ABA 69 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:42,960 10 years ago or even 25 years ago, which is the case my case 70 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,560 effectively coming out of school into their mindset. 71 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,800 There are so many pathways and business analysis. 72 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,040 We've talked about the spectrum. We've talked about the fact that 73 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,360 you know a data business analyst is quite different from an agile 74 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,200 business analyst who's different from ABA who's internal versus a 75 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:05,480 project versus a consultant and different to an enterprise BA. 76 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,440 But I've got you covered. Today we're going to explore how 77 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,040 to equip yourself with the right knowledge and skills. 78 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:16,040 No matter what your education background is. 79 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:20,440 I am going to try and talk about resources that you can get from 80 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,480 schooling you can get from university, but also just online 81 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,760 platforms, even LinkedIn. And I'll dip into ideally some 82 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:32,080 free options there, as well as some paid options. 83 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,040 And the paid options are going to limit down to you know, what 84 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,880 the average person should be able to afford if you're looking 85 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:43,440 at a career change. Any career change costs money 86 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,760 either in time either not working, searching for work. 87 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,440 But I guarantee you a return on investment for the training that 88 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,640 I recommend. When I say that, I mean that if 89 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,560 you do the training that I'm specifying, you're likely to get 90 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,240 ABA job and the BA job, if you've not been ABA before, 91 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,920 generally pays more than the average wage. 92 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,720 So you'll be able to pay back any training that you get 93 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,400 through your wages if you're successful in ABA role. 94 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,000 Now I'm going to put a big caveat here. 95 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,720 At the moment in New Zealand at least, the market has shrunk. 96 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,920 We've had a new government that they're really hot on cutting 97 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:25,800 costs, especially in the public service by 8% I think. 98 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,080 And that has meant that both government departments are 99 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,760 reducing staff numbers, but they are also looking to reduce cost. 100 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,280 And they're nervous about the new government who hasn't really 101 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:43,000 come up with kind of, sorry, allowing them to do the usual 102 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,160 program planning where they take programs to treasury and get 103 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,160 funding reviewed and approved. Instead they're going through 104 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,240 line items and projects. And so as a result, the normal 105 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,000 funding cycle that we experience in New Zealand for the public 106 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,640 sector isn't there. And what's happening is that is 107 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,680 putting strain on contractor market, meaning there's a lot of 108 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,800 people out of work, good people out of work and they're starting 109 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,880 to flood the market a bit. And it means that there are less 110 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,080 jobs in the private sector right now. 111 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,040 And So what I'm trying to say is that supply, demand is higher 112 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,880 than supply when it comes to jobs and at least in the VA 113 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,680 space and other project members. So. 114 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,560 So that's the problem we're experiencing. 115 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,840 That's the why. But what are you going to do 116 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:34,400 about? How are you going to make 117 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,440 yourself better than the other candidates? 118 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:37,840 We're going to talk about that today. 119 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,240 And it starts with training, it starts with the right language, 120 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:45,040 it, it starts with being exposed, it starts with not 121 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,280 being stale. A few years ago when I was 122 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,400 working for Careers New Zealand, which then became the Tertiary 123 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,240 Education Commission or was assumed or eaten by them, I did 124 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,800 a lot of work on the career system in New Zealand. 125 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,040 The career system strategy, I get contacted from all around 126 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,120 the world still today about it was fascinating. 127 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,600 I loved it. And one of the stats that's 128 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,840 really important to know when you talk about people that are 129 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,360 out of work, and this is if you're sitting there and you're 130 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,480 out of work, this is a really important factor that you need 131 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,600 to be aware of. There is a six month kind of. 132 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,720 You have a six month period up into a Cliff, which means the 133 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,760 first six months, months in which you're experiencing 134 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,360 unemployment, especially if you're not busy doing other 135 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:37,840 things. You have a six month window if 136 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,600 you like, before your motivation drops completely. 137 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,480 And most people who have been unemployed for longer than six 138 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,160 months experience quite a different side of the moon to 139 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,480 the rest of us. And So what that means is they 140 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,000 get into depression. They don't feel good about 141 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,720 themselves. It's a terrible place to be. 142 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,040 So really if you're out of work today, if you've been out of 143 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,440 work for a while, then this is your chance to change your focus 144 00:09:04,560 --> 00:09:08,120 to a new career path. If you if you're within that six 145 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,440 month window and get started today, I'm going to give you an 146 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,240 action at the end of this podcast, an action plan like I 147 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:20,080 said and do all these things and keep fresh, right. 148 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,880 So I want we've talked about the landscape and in New Zealand a 149 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,840 little bit, but I'm going to just talk about the BA landscape 150 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:32,200 as a whole, as a general whole. I think that one of the things 151 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,760 we can say without sorry without repeating what I've said on 152 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,040 other episodes. So we know that the role of ABA 153 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:41,120 is around analyzing business needs, identifying problems, 154 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:45,880 elicitating requirements, facilitating workshops, and and 155 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,040 ultimately coming up with solutions to these problems of 156 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:50,720 working with the team to come up with solutions. 157 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,320 And when we'll say solutions, we don't necessarily mean the end 158 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,280 product or technical solution. We mean how are we going to 159 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:01,280 solve these root causes and these problems and pain points 160 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,080 that we have identified. So an action plan, if you like. 161 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:07,720 So if you don't know what the role of the BA is, I'm going to 162 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:11,840 give you one free training course straight away, which is 163 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:16,040 happens our training course. It's a free course, very, very 164 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:17,680 simple. It is aimed at those who want to 165 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:22,840 know more about what ABA does. It is called Introduction to 166 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,320 Business. It's available on BBA dot 167 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,600 institute for free. Right now you don't pay 168 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,840 anything, you just sign up. You just do the course and you 169 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,320 are done and you'll get a certificate straight away. 170 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,800 That shows that you know at least what ABA does. 171 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,840 Or, and if you and if you if you're actually a BA and you're 172 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,440 still not sure what ABA does, this can happen. 173 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:45,240 Do the course. It's very simple. 174 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,600 So number one, that's your first action. 175 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,440 You can also Google what ABA does as well if you want. 176 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,800 I suggest that that course. The reason I created the 177 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,600 introduction is I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about 178 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:02,280 what ABA does. And so I think this is you're a 179 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:03,920 good starter. It's free, you can do that 180 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,800 straight away. There's there's no catch when I 181 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,840 say free. So that will help you understand 182 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,760 what ABA does. I'm not going to go deep into 183 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,200 that, but I I'm going to assume that you know what a BA does. 184 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:17,440 If you don't know, pause the podcast right now. 185 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:22,360 Go away. Your first action item is listen 186 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,080 more to these podcasts where I have to find what a BA does. 187 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:28,320 But go and do that 'cause right now, it won't take you very 188 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,160 long. Take you a couple hours Max. 189 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,240 Pause the podcast. Come back. 190 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:35,480 OK. So welcome back. 191 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,560 I assume you've gone and done that and now what you're doing 192 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:41,640 is now you know what ABA does, right? 193 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,400 So you know the definition. I'm not, again, I'm not going to 194 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:49,320 go into detail here. Now what we do talk about on the 195 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,320 introduction course and later in our certified business analysis 196 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,440 course, which are paid, but we'll talk about how you can get 197 00:11:55,440 --> 00:12:02,360 those for next to nothing. What we've got here is that ABA 198 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,760 also what you need to realize is that in that landscape is the 199 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:14,360 BABAS are work across a large diverse amount of industries, OK 200 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,480 and specialization. So both the verticals, industry 201 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:25,400 verticals, so from academia down to farming, you know down to 202 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,880 e-commerce, BAS actually work across all those. 203 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,440 It's just the amount that that industry has kind of connected 204 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,360 with business analysis. But I would say that I have seen 205 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,480 B as work in areas that I wouldn't have thought that B as 206 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:42,080 a natural like banking is where we started or IT. 207 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,920 But farming is huge. You know there's there's 208 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,720 obviously web, web development companies that have B as 209 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,000 internally. So you've got internal external 210 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,320 B as you've got consultants, you've got ones who contract. 211 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:01,680 So what's really cool about the job is being ABA and you 212 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,120 experience this more as a contractor. 213 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,520 But of course you can actually probably get ABA role within an 214 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:09,240 industry that you're a passionate about. 215 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:11,080 So you're a passionate about gaming. 216 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,880 You could probably be ABA within a gaming industry if you're 217 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,160 passionate about farming and sheep and animals. 218 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:22,480 You can probably get ABA job you know with the SPCA or or your 219 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,280 local farming Co-op or the the at least the organization that 220 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:28,840 provides technology solutions to farmers. 221 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,520 If you're interested in sport, you know that your local 222 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,480 football team. I know the Super Bowl's coming 223 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,280 up. For those who are big fans, 224 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,000 there will be B as all the way through the, you know, NFL. 225 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,840 There will be a company like that within the director, 226 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,640 organization or with organizations that support them. 227 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,440 BA opportunities. So not only can you be ABA, you 228 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:00,680 can also work on projects that might be, you know, related to 229 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:04,520 your hobby and and and areas that you're passionate about. 230 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,400 So it's not just about, you know, being ABA so you can get a 231 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,040 bit more cash. You also have the opportunity to 232 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:12,040 work in industries that you like. 233 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,760 I, for example, talked about career planning, and I'm 234 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:22,440 extremely passionate about education and the job cycle and 235 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,320 getting people who want to work into work and the right work and 236 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,920 for them to just feel better about what they do every day. 237 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,520 Because work is such a big part of what we have to do in this 238 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,560 kind of capitalist society we live in. 239 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,440 And so, you know, unfortunately, that is the equation. 240 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,440 And so you may as well spend time generating the money that 241 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,680 you have to have to live doing something that you like as 242 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:47,680 opposed to doing something you don't like. 243 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:52,040 So action #2 is if you're doing something you don't like today, 244 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,600 or you're working in an industry you don't like and you're an 245 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,680 existing BA, get out of it, OK? If you don't like the job you're 246 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,800 doing, you know, look, look at your market, look at the BA 247 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,880 roles in your area, go on LinkedIn, look at your area, see 248 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,960 if there are BA roles available and you'll see on Sikh, which is 249 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,400 a a search product in New Zealand or LinkedIn online for 250 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,200 the job market Or trade me jobs in New Zealand. 251 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,720 And there will be hundreds of others in the US and the uki. 252 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,000 Think Sikhs in the UKI can't remember the US ones off the top 253 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,800 of my head. Just do a search for business 254 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,240 analysts in your area. Just look at the jobs, search 255 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,080 your area, do that. Just have a look. 256 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,800 Search for business analysts in your area and you want it to be 257 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,960 in your area. Because I strongly believe that 258 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,800 BA role should be in person remote BA roles. 259 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,080 I question whether or not you can do that, right. 260 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,520 So I'm not saying you can't work remotely. 261 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,840 I'm just saying that after you've built relationships and 262 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,240 worked with users and people directly, customers directly, 263 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,000 you might have an opportunity to do that. 264 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,200 But the BA role is generally in person. 265 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,160 So look around an accessible area. 266 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,120 So don't look in, if you're living in LA, don't look in New 267 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,800 York. But more likely you live in, I 268 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,800 don't know, New Mexico, maybe don't look in Texas, look at New 269 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,720 Mexico. If you're in in New Mexico, then 270 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:18,720 search around that area. So have a look, see how many 271 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,280 there are listed. Just put Business analysis 272 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:25,880 analyst in there. Then if you do find jobs, have a 273 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,680 look and see if they mention the word senior or they mention the 274 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,920 word intermediate or junior. They might just say BA and they 275 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,320 might say graduate BA. These are the type of jobs that 276 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:42,440 you're looking for. So if you are sorry, I guess it 277 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,120 depends on where you're at in your journey, but the fact that 278 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,240 they have those available the whole breadth is great because 279 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,000 then you know that your area is looking for talent at different 280 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,280 levels. If there are graduate B as or 281 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:58,120 intermediate BA roles or just BA roles where they said you're 282 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:04,000 with a general gist of what ABA is and it doesn't say senior or 283 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:08,480 millions of years of experience, then and you're haven't become 284 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,880 ABA yet. The other roles that you want to 285 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,800 aim for, if you are ABA, existing BA, then have a look 286 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,960 for other industries that you're interested in. 287 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,480 List down some of the companies you want to work for. 288 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,240 I for example in New Zealand and I'll mention some companies, 289 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,319 they're New Zealand based companies so you may not know 290 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:30,600 about them in the US apart from one of these. 291 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,800 And I'll try and mention some equivalents in the US but I I 292 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,360 remember I was between jobs and it happens often when you're in 293 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,080 contracting. I was between jobs because my 294 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,440 contract had finished and I hadn't actively looked for 295 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,800 another contract. And for me that's, you know, the 296 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,560 right kind of unemployment. And I was pretty confident I 297 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,080 could get work because the market was still buzzing and I 298 00:17:55,080 --> 00:18:01,000 so I felt like I had the right attributes and I felt like I had 299 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,600 the opportunity be a little bit fussy with where I wanted to 300 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,720 work. So I listed down five companies 301 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,000 that I wanted to work for in New Zealand. 302 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,440 I'm not willing to to kind of travel overseas anymore. 303 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,440 I've done that. I wasn't willing to kind of move 304 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,840 cities either even within New Zealand and you that might be 305 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,040 different for you. So if you are willing to move 306 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:31,480 for a job then then open your eyes to looking around because 307 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,240 like we said, work is a big part of your life. 308 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:35,960 And if that, if you don't have any dependents, if you don't 309 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,440 have a, you know a partner, a wife a husband and kids that are 310 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,560 that are might that are like, you know have have their choices 311 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,240 about where they want to live, you're not the sole provider in 312 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,040 the family then you know look, look overseas, look, look 313 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,640 outside your area for me that that that isn't an option. 314 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:59,440 I'm quite happy in my house with my family and my cats and my 315 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:04,880 dog. Now for me that was, you know 316 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,360 that limited me to the area I live in which is Wellington in 317 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:12,040 New Zealand, the capital city. And so I looked at companies 318 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,600 that were based or the headquarters were based in 319 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,200 Wellington and I write down 5. So. 320 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,120 So I know the headquarters of these areas have actually 321 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:26,560 changed, but they had offices within Wellington, so one was 0. 322 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:28,920 So you may have heard of 0. It's an accounting software, 323 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:31,000 it's quite big. It was bankrolled by Peter 324 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,800 Thiel, who is an interesting character, good friends with 325 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,880 Elon Musk. It was bankrolled by him. 326 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:41,240 But effectively I think head office has moved to the US now 327 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,720 because I want to break in there, but it's basically a SAS 328 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:47,200 product for your accounting and it's it was developed in New 329 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,640 Zealand. That was one company that I knew 330 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,600 had a really good culture and I thought, well you know maybe I 331 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,280 could dabble in doing a role there. 332 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,600 Now they I just contacted them. I literally went on to the 333 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,600 website, they didn't have any particular role for me and I 334 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,640 contacted them and said hey, do you have any roles in this area? 335 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:10,200 And the they kind of they came back really honest and they 336 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,560 said, and sorry I didn't just say, hey, do you have any jobs I 337 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:15,240 wrote why I wanted to work for them. 338 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,840 I explained what my background was and what I thought I could 339 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:20,400 provide to them. OK. 340 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,360 So just be clear. I templated a little bit across 341 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,840 the companies I worked for, but I really was honest about why 342 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,200 their company, I was interested in their company. 343 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:33,840 Now I got a really great reply. But effectively they were 344 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,520 letting me know that the type of role I wanted would pay X amount 345 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,680 of dollars. And that X amount of dollars 346 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,720 unfortunately for me was below what I need to kind of survive 347 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,000 in my in, you know, in the expenses I've acquired and the 348 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,560 mortgage I've acquired and the and the cost that I acquired. 349 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,680 So my earning potential was more in other places, quite a lot 350 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,080 more actually. They said, look, we would love 351 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:00,760 to have you. This is kind of what we pay for 352 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:03,120 those roles, unless you would consider this kind of role. 353 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,800 And you know, they gave me some choices and I actually contacted 354 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,480 Shizzi's in New Zealand as well. I've got a similar kind of reply 355 00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,760 and a couple of other companies. So the equivalent for you might 356 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,280 be Google. You know, they might get a lot 357 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,560 of interest. Microsoft, for example, Apple, 358 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,360 there might be some bigger companies, but you might have 359 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:29,240 some small great companies in the US that are looking to hire. 360 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,760 So don't, don't, don't hold back, not just contacting them, 361 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,920 especially if you're out of work, explain the training and 362 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,120 upskilling that you've done. So I think the other thing that 363 00:21:39,120 --> 00:21:42,240 you need to do if you are not ABA today is talk about 364 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:46,720 transferable skills. I'll take some knowledge that I 365 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,640 acquired from when I did career planning and then as there are a 366 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,840 number of transferable skills, look up transferable skills if 367 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:54,680 you don't know what they are. They're things like 368 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,960 communication, critical thinking and problem solving now. 369 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,960 Communication, presentation, ability, facilitation, 370 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:08,800 workshopping, critical thinking, problem solving, documentation, 371 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:12,880 working with software, these are all skills that you could have 372 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,840 if you're managers today. You could have developed these 373 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,360 skills you know perfectly within a warehouse manager. 374 00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:25,320 Now I will transfer across to being ABA. 375 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,960 If you did presentations as a sales manager for a small 376 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,520 plumbing firm that you know, I don't know, provided custom 377 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,800 tubing and piping, but you were able to speak in front of an 378 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,640 audience and present and sell with a PowerPoint presentation 379 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,520 in a clear, concise way, that's you know, that's huge when it 380 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,880 comes to being ABA. I'm also going to go on a side 381 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:53,640 note, talk about who I hire as ABA. 382 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,720 Most of the BA hires that I've made across my career are not 383 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,920 always the ones who have the best CVS or the most amount of 384 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:07,640 years as ABA. I've hired people that have, you 385 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:10,720 know, a range from those who have come out with a degree in 386 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,160 BA, which, and there aren't many options in New Zealand, by the 387 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:18,560 way, like a master's degree, but offered by like two or three 388 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,600 providers. I've hired people that are 389 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,440 straight from grads who know nothing about it. 390 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:28,200 So they've they're graduates who have come to a summer of tech 391 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,200 program. I've hired them as junior BAS. 392 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,560 I've hired people who were nurses. 393 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:39,040 I've hired people that were people from the army ex cops. 394 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:45,200 I've hired people that have, you know, from a music or arts 395 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,680 background. I've hired, you know, a whole 396 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,800 range of people who are from different walks of life. 397 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,520 Generally, if you're from a trade, I don't see a lot of 398 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:58,720 people apply. I would hire someone from a 399 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,560 trade because I think some of the abilities can be 400 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:04,880 transferable. But a lot of people in trades, 401 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,800 you know, may not like the idea of working in an office or may 402 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:10,600 think there's a huge step. I don't believe so. 403 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,560 My best friend is is a is a tradie and he has some of the 404 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,880 abilities that I would love to hire if he wanted to be ABA. 405 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,040 However, I wouldn't recommend you be stuck in an office all 406 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,160 day. And he he, you know is in a 407 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:28,120 lucky enough position in some ways that he gets to travel and 408 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:30,840 get out of it. So you know, you have to you 409 00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,680 have to appreciate the office life when you're ABA. 410 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,120 Now if you are young, if you were actually still at school, 411 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:43,280 I'm not going to assume that you're an old fart like me. 412 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:47,800 You know then and you're still at school or or you your child 413 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,040 is interested in this path at the moment. 414 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,280 Then you know things like maths, statistics, Economics and 415 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:56,400 Business management are the subjects you want to focus on. 416 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:01,520 I would say that the other thing you should do and and you can do 417 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:06,760 this at any age too, is join a club and do activities. 418 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:13,640 Toastmasters, if you're happen to be involved in some community 419 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,040 group, church group, take the opportunity to present there. 420 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:22,440 That's a small step interaction with other people faking it 421 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,880 until you make it. If you you know autistic for 422 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,320 example, and you find it hard to communicate with other people 423 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:34,000 that hold you back, or you're just naturally shy and and 424 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,280 you're in a position where you can deal with people you know, 425 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,320 an environment where there's people and activities, then then 426 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:47,520 push yourself in that direction. Fake, you know, networking but 427 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,240 join a club, because in a club you're forced to talk to each 428 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:51,840 other. That's better than just going to 429 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:53,920 a networking event and introducing yourself. 430 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,920 If you do activities you know, go on to some websites like meet 431 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,520 up, join a hobby group you like, anything like that will help. 432 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,760 And if you are involved in a group already, then ask for 433 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:10,080 opportunities to present, to do award ceremonies, to organize 434 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,960 something and to be able to communicate as much as possible. 435 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,520 If you're confident at that yet, like I said, join Toastmasters. 436 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,160 Record yourself on YouTube. You can do it. 437 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,160 I watched the documentary the other day on Mr. Beast, probably 438 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,520 the most famous YouTube out there. 439 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,560 Young guy in his 20s. You don't have Mr. Beast as then 440 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,880 Google Mr. Beast and he was talking about the fact that he 441 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,120 was very shy at school. I hated the school because he 442 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:43,800 was shy and what he could do though is record himself in 443 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:48,040 front of a video and some of the stuff early stuff was quite 444 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:53,000 cringy but he just fake fake fake recorded himself on YouTube 445 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,600 and posted it online and then he created community from there and 446 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:01,400 you know he obviously is a a multi millionaire now provides 447 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,920 entertainment but you can tell that he's someone by just 448 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,760 looking at him that he's faked it until he has made it now. 449 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,960 So so just that's a top tip just record yourself, post something 450 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,760 on YouTube, If you're passionate about cats then maybe just post 451 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:19,200 a video about you talking about your cats anything. 452 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,960 It's not even about the views or who even sees it. 453 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:26,200 The fact that you have taken the step to record yourself and put 454 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,840 yourself out there is amazing. If you feel confident about 455 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:35,560 talking about a topic, tell me, message me, message me on 456 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,320 LinkedIn and let's get you on the show and let's talk about 457 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,120 something you can do out of a passion and I'll link it back to 458 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,880 business analysis. I'm happy to help out here if 459 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,560 you feel like that that's the push you need in order to be a 460 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,920 great BA. Now if you're at higher 461 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:56,840 education, if you've if you've finished school and either you 462 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,400 are looking at changing a roles or a changer, you've been out of 463 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:05,840 work for a while or you are going to study at uni or 464 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,160 college. In the US they call it then 465 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,520 computer science, Data Analysis, project management and business 466 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,800 management are great skills or area subjects to do. 467 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,680 At higher education tertiary, we call it tertiary education 468 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,320 courses. You can go and look at some of 469 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:21,880 those. You can look at adult courses, 470 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,440 night courses to study at those areas. 471 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,040 Obviously if you are like you you're looking to go back and 472 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,560 study and get a a full degree. If you found that on those job 473 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:37,760 ads, a degree is a you know a minimum requirement which I hate 474 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,200 by the way. I'd never look at people's 475 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,600 degrees but well that's not true unless it's ABA degree and and I 476 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,320 know that that is their experience. 477 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,360 I look at it but I would not hire someone over a degree 478 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,960 versus someone who has had many years on complex projects. 479 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:55,560 You know, it doesn't matter to me that what I do like about a 480 00:28:55,560 --> 00:29:00,280 degree, and and this is true, is that you have stuck to something 481 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:04,400 outside of school in your adult life for 3-4 years. 482 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:08,040 The fact that someone has to make a commitment for three to 483 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:12,040 four years to something, that is the impressive part about the 484 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:16,000 university, OK? And I've continued to learn. 485 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,880 Now, if you've joined the army, if you've been in the army for a 486 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,640 long time, then that again, is a great skill. 487 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:26,720 You're you've got discipline. You have to communicate. 488 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:30,200 You're under pressure, so, so don't be scared about promoting 489 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,000 that when you've or you know, place, force or whatever it is 490 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:37,120 where you've been forced to do some training for a long, long 491 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:43,000 period of time. That's a great way to you know, 492 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,800 that's a way great way to talk about transferable skills and 493 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:49,680 your ability to have commitment. You do need that commitment side 494 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:54,160 you do need. The ABA is not a fly in the 495 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:58,040 night kind of career path. It is something that you need in 496 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,360 depth experience to get better and to get paid more and to 497 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:05,560 excel you and you know it's consistent learning in the BA 498 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,640 field. Just coming back to the Army 499 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:13,280 Defence Force reference, I know this happens in New Zealand, but 500 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:16,640 if you are in the army or you've got children in the army and you 501 00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,560 and they're looking at becoming ABA, then of course you have the 502 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,760 opportunity to study via the army generally as well. 503 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,400 So you know the credits you could use this might be a great 504 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,000 skill to have in addition to your kind of combat defense 505 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,120 skills that you're requiring. Whatever you're doing this this 506 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:37,880 could actually be quite a good parallel. 507 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,320 You know business, business administration, information 508 00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:45,800 systems and data science and specialist BA programs might be 509 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:47,760 a great thing to study if they're paying for it. 510 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,040 So if you're if you get you know study credits, I would suggest 511 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,240 that great degree options. So when you did come out of your 512 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:59,240 time serving you are in a really, really good position and 513 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,960 you know those skills will be important and will grow as we 514 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,960 grow as a more information rich society. 515 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,720 You if you're not doing that or you are in the middle of a 516 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,000 degree then you want to try and choose some subjects that have 517 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,640 strong analytical and communication components. 518 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000 So if you're doing an art degree right now, then try and look at 519 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,360 communication papers and maybe the ability to present. 520 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:33,120 You can also join internships and volunteer opportunities. 521 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,880 That's a great way. If you don't have a job today 522 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,960 and you're not getting work, or you're straight up being a grad 523 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:39,880 and no one wants to hire you because you've got no user 524 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:43,720 experience, do an internship, look for them and volunteer 525 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,000 volunteering to a charity for example. 526 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:51,000 Your skills that you've just learned as a grad is a fantastic 527 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:56,000 one of gaming experience and and potentially leapfrogging via 528 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,040 venue to other charities and then paid work. 529 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,600 So don't underestimate the volunteer side. 530 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:06,560 It could actually be your best way of doing it for six months 531 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,000 of non paid work. You know, living off, you know, 532 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,480 beans and cans and white bread and water and then that 533 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,960 experience could be enough for you to then get that internship 534 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:23,120 or that grad role. Now I talked about, you know, 535 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,280 where you're at in terms of, you know, deepening your experience 536 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:29,200 in terms of university or strong foundation. 537 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:32,400 But let's talk about online treasures here. 538 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,560 This is learning at your fingertips. 539 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,000 So everyone's doing this at the moment. 540 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,160 Younger people are better than us old farts in terms of 541 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,320 YouTube. You know, you go, I think I was 542 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:48,600 speaking the other day to a young, a younger child, and I 543 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:49,920 was saying, oh, do you know how to do that? 544 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,880 And I said, Nah, I just look on YouTube and I was thinking I'd 545 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:57,880 never do that. Like for for me, I might look at 546 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:03,040 YouTube as like a as like an additional complementary 547 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,640 learning activity. But man, I wouldn't go on 548 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,800 YouTube to learn how to, I don't know, hammer nail appropriately 549 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,000 into a piece of wood. I probably should because I've 550 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:14,800 never really been taught how to do that properly. 551 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:21,040 But I wouldn't think to do that. So YouTube is a fantastic tool 552 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:25,000 for learning if you know how to do it and you feel like that is 553 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,840 a method for you. But there's course here. 554 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,240 Course here is fantastic. I've done heaps of courses on 555 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,800 course here. I've been real cheap. 556 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:35,880 I've gone on there, done a free trial, you know, smashed down a 557 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:37,600 course. I didn't even need to pay for 558 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:39,960 the course that I did. Some of the best training was on 559 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,120 there from some of the universities actually in the US 560 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:48,160 and they were fantastic. There's obviously edx, which is 561 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,920 not so bad, but the interface of course is better. 562 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,680 Udemy and they offer some BA course and certifications. 563 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,680 I would say there's some good options to look at specialist 564 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:05,200 areas. In terms of BA specific courses, 565 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,159 you've got the IBA certifications which are a bit 566 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:11,679 dry and I will do some terrible self promotion. 567 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,360 I would suggest that the Certified Better Business 568 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,920 Analysis level one course that we offer is by far the best 569 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:24,159 level one course available that I have found or seen and if if 570 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:27,000 if that changes I'm going to make it, I'm going to make it 571 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,360 even better. It is a self-guided course. 572 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,760 There is there is learner training which is done in groups 573 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:35,679 or online. If you want to purchase that in 574 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:39,639 a group, get a bunch of buddies together or there's the 575 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:43,360 self-paced learning. Now safe pals say let me repeat 576 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,760 that self-paced learning is never the same as kind of 577 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:52,360 classroom interactive training. The I do think that a level one 578 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:56,320 course needs to be even better with the way in which you self 579 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:00,800 learn. But the the BBA Level One course 580 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,960 Certified Better Business Analysis Level One course is I 581 00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:07,360 think one of the best courses online. 582 00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:12,640 I know I'm totally blowing my own trumpet here that can give 583 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,880 you a full package day one how to be ABA. 584 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,920 Now you know we have our prices on online, but I'm going to at 585 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,720 the end of this podcast, if you keep listening, I'll send some 586 00:35:24,720 --> 00:35:28,680 links through and offer a huge discount to you learners if you 587 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,480 want to do that course. I'm less worried about the time 588 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,240 and effort that goes into our tutors to mark as long as we 589 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:37,560 cover those costs. I'm more worried about the fact 590 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:40,480 that I really want strong BAS out there. 591 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:45,680 So that course is great and if you want to flavor to the kind 592 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:50,760 of learning system we use, the Introduction to BA course, the 593 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:54,720 free one, We use the same kind of learning platform, but the 594 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,480 trust me, the Certified Better Business Analysis Level One 595 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:02,240 course is a long course and should take you around if you're 596 00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:05,680 doing it 2 to 4 hours a week, four, six weeks to complete. 597 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,120 You can crank that up and do it fast if you like, but there are 598 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,000 a lot of assignments and you know the idea is that you are 599 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,920 sweaty at the end of that course, you are sweating and 600 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:21,320 your brain is full and you are ready to be a great BA. 601 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:24,800 Also, if you do complete that course and I've seen your work, 602 00:36:25,120 --> 00:36:28,080 then I'm happy or the Institute is happy. 603 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:32,280 It might not be me, but it'll be one of my staff will write you a 604 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,080 reference for a job that you're going for no problem because we 605 00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:38,840 would have seen your work and of course involves you doing some 606 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,400 projects and so you know, that's one other. 607 00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:44,680 Another thing that you can can chuckle on your LinkedIn profile 608 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:50,200 now, LinkedIn Learning, which was Lyndacom before it was 609 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,960 acquired by LinkedIn Learning. I've mentioned this before, you 610 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,800 can get free LinkedIn Learning either through the trial but 611 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:00,760 also through your local library. I don't know that everywhere in 612 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:02,880 the world, but I'm pretty damn sure it's true. 613 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,680 If you go to your local library, sign up to your local library, 614 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,040 which shouldn't cost you a cent through their website, you 615 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:11,520 should be able to actually get free LinkedIn Learning. 616 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:14,400 It's. I knew it was a bit difficult to 617 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,280 kind of keep your learning on your profile, but but try it 618 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:20,840 out. There will be Google it, but 619 00:37:20,840 --> 00:37:24,240 LinkedIn Learning has some great great courses on there I would 620 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:25,800 say. You know, I don't know if it 621 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:29,120 justifies the per month cost forever, but if you're out of 622 00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:32,480 work, you know, and you're just doing the free month or like an 623 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,240 additional free month and then you cancel, it's worth it. 624 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:38,000 Same with Corsia. So Corsia, LinkedIn Learning are 625 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,640 by far my favorite for additional learning. 626 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:45,840 I have used it for specialist areas within business analysis 627 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:50,720 or those kind of sub areas like agile or product management or 628 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:53,960 just facilitation. Really, really, really good and 629 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:58,240 it won't cost you the earth. You might find some you know, 630 00:37:58,240 --> 00:38:03,320 like I said free courses on YouTube as well and don't, don't 631 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:05,640 even though some of these courses and I feel, I do feel 632 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,560 this way. So don't don't feel like you're 633 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,680 the only one. Sometimes they feel a bit cheap, 634 00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:12,960 don't they? Don't you think you know you do 635 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:16,160 an online course and you think there's people going to think 636 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:20,400 you know that I've just done a budget course now if the it's 637 00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:23,560 really around the length of the course the depth of the course. 638 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,600 I have found that some LinkedIn learning that I've done. 639 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:30,160 You know I didn't feel overly proud of just pasting it on my 640 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,600 profile. I you don't have to post every 641 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:35,320 training you do on LinkedIn. Pretty obvious when someone's 642 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,880 out of work and they're in the training mindset and you get 643 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,120 50,000 notifications. I've completed a a training. 644 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:44,440 I would only do the ones that you feel like you. 645 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,560 You know you don't have to post those to your profile and annoy 646 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:49,760 everyone. So you don't have to do that by 647 00:38:49,760 --> 00:38:51,640 the way, you can just add it to your profile. 648 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,560 But the other thing, and so you do want to do that by the way, 649 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:57,360 Add all your courses to your profile and any presentations 650 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,520 you've done. Make it a portfolio of your 651 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:05,120 work. What I would do is safely, if 652 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,320 you've done your certified Better Business analysis level 653 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:12,000 one course or your Introduction to Business analysis or a course 654 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,560 here course where you get a certification that's verified, 655 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:16,800 those are the ones you do want to post. 656 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,320 You do want to promote it. You want to talk about why you 657 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,320 did it and not just the certificate, why you did that, 658 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:25,160 and the fact you're looking for work and you're interested in 659 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:27,640 this, that's a join those communities. 660 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,040 That's a really good way of not only promoting your learning 661 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:34,960 that are that that is in depth learning, which does show your 662 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:37,640 skills. They're really the treasure of 663 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:39,960 online, not just the online crappy course. 664 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,200 You will be able to have other people talk about it, or you can 665 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,960 recommend the course, so use that as a networking 666 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:50,240 opportunity. And as you do that, you're 667 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,280 connected with mentors, teachers, you're following some 668 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:56,960 other B as you're seeing what their journey is, you're 669 00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:58,840 connecting with other students on the course. 670 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:01,880 It's a good thing about course here, You know potential 671 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,000 employers are looking around here, or at least recruitment 672 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,600 agents. Join all the groups, the study 673 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:12,120 groups, the discussion groups. Make sure your profile is 674 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,720 showcasing those skills and the expertise. 675 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:18,360 One of the things that I do look for when looking at candidates 676 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,840 profiles on LinkedIn is how often they post. 677 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:25,200 Have they done any recent study? So if you've done recent study 678 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:27,960 for me, that's a tech. Yeah, there might be 20 techs 679 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:29,480 I'm looking for that's one of the 20. 680 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:33,720 And the fact that you've even tried to upskill, I find it even 681 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:40,640 more more attractive sometimes or more critical in the training 682 00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:43,840 process. If I've seen ABA who has 1520 683 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:46,920 years of experience has worked at two places, I kind of think 684 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,000 they might be stale. Have they done into training And 685 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:54,440 when I gone through the profile and I see that you know Brian 686 00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:58,840 has done a Six Sigma course or an introduction to BA course or 687 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:03,680 a process modeling BPMN course and posted on profile recently. 688 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,720 Then I know Brian is not you know is not stale. 689 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:10,960 Brian is is keeping up with his courses. 690 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:15,800 He he's identifying that as part of BA which is so big that you 691 00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:19,280 know he's not as strong with BP men or never done BP men. 692 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:24,040 If they have examples of their work on their LinkedIn profile, 693 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:27,480 that is awesome. Hard to do sometimes if you're 694 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:32,080 doing work for corporations, but if you're doing some volunteer 695 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:35,800 work, maybe you could even ask that organization if it's OK if 696 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,240 they process non sensitive processed documentation online. 697 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,240 The other area I would say is when you're actively networking, 698 00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:49,000 you're attending network events. That's a great way of finding an 699 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,160 area of interest that you're that you like. 700 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,040 I talked about like farming, maybe it's not even BA. 701 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:56,080 So you go into a farming event and then when people go, what do 702 00:41:56,080 --> 00:41:57,960 you do? You go, well I'm, I'm a I'm ABA 703 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,200 or I've just learnt got my degree in BA or I've just done 704 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:03,960 my certified Better Business analysis course. 705 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:07,200 So you know, I really want to be a role and then I go, oh that's 706 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:09,760 interesting, we're just, we just learn about BAS and we want one 707 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:13,640 down at our development company. So connect with those, connect 708 00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:20,360 with experienced BA, Follow me on LinkedIn if you're not and 709 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,520 stay up to date with industry trends and software used by BAS 710 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:28,040 that changes often with AI. I'm still looking for the best 711 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:32,320 online process, a generation tool. 712 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,000 So basically if I just write my notes out, will it draw a 713 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,680 process diagram for a startup for 10:00? 714 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,080 I've got tools that do that, but then I need to export them and 715 00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:43,960 then you know they're not integrated with tools like draw 716 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,000 dot IO or Vizio. I'm sure Microsoft hopefully 717 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,400 will add that into Copilot, but I'm still looking for that. 718 00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:52,400 That's great tools that will save me time. 719 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,040 I love whiteboarding tools and what they can provide. 720 00:42:57,360 --> 00:43:01,440 And I think that you need to remember that becoming ABA is 721 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:05,960 kind of a unique path to you. But what I do want you to do is 722 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:09,640 write down, right? If you're not ABA today, I want 723 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:12,280 you to write down 10 things. If you're ABA today, write down 724 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:14,440 three things. So if you're not ABA today, I 725 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,480 want to write down 10 things you're going to do in order to 726 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:20,080 get you to be a being ABA. I've mentioned some on this 727 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:23,360 podcast. Go back and listen 10 things 728 00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:25,760 you're going to do to promote yourself so you can feel proud 729 00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:29,080 to say I am ABA. And if you're not, if you're an 730 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:32,320 existing BA and you feel like some skills are rusty, write 731 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:36,160 down three areas that you feel like you're weak in and go and 732 00:43:36,160 --> 00:43:37,760 get training for that. OK? 733 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:41,600 And that should include updating your LinkedIn profile to make 734 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,720 sure it's the best It has a photo and showcase some of your 735 00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,040 work. Now, some of you will be 736 00:43:48,040 --> 00:43:52,040 listening to this and it will be like I'm telling you how to suck 737 00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:54,560 eggs here. But there's always something 738 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,240 that you can learn to be better. So if you think you're the bee's 739 00:43:57,240 --> 00:43:59,440 knees, if you've covered off, you have the best LinkedIn 740 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,800 profile, you're networking, you're doing all the courses, 741 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:06,480 you've got your C back. You know, you've looked at the 742 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:08,720 certified Better Business analysis, label one course and 743 00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:10,480 said, oh, I know everything in there. 744 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,400 I won't get any value from doing it. 745 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:17,680 Then what I suggest you do is go and look at some specialist 746 00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:21,720 areas, OK. How does AI relate to business 747 00:44:21,720 --> 00:44:23,720 analysis? What is the latest sensation in 748 00:44:23,720 --> 00:44:26,360 data analysis? How is customer experience 749 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:27,880 changing? With some of the tools we've got 750 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,520 now into the collecting customer insights. 751 00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:34,680 What is product management? How does AI relate to the tools 752 00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:37,280 I use? What are the latest features of 753 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:41,560 some of the BA tools in JIRA and Muro that I can utilize on my 754 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:46,080 next engagement? Are my tools and templates in my 755 00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:50,360 BA kit that I carry around old? Do I need to update them? 756 00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:55,040 Do I need to look at the word of design thinking and integrate 757 00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:59,680 some of the, you know, some of the tools that I've design and 758 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:03,000 design thinking and replace some of my old tools in terms of the 759 00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:07,000 five whys or problem analysis? Do I need to introduce introduce 760 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:10,560 dialing canvas or a business model canvas into my toolkit? 761 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:16,280 You know, will I get benefit going and study business 762 00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:18,760 analysis specialization courses on Corsia? 763 00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:23,320 Do I need to do my CBAP? Do I want to do that for my IBA? 764 00:45:26,800 --> 00:45:29,320 Think about some of those aspects. 765 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:32,920 If you're an existing BA and you feel like you've got everything 766 00:45:32,920 --> 00:45:40,960 you need and I'm going to finish here now on this course, I hope 767 00:45:40,960 --> 00:45:44,240 I've covered really the career crossroads. 768 00:45:44,760 --> 00:45:48,400 I've decode helped you to decode the path which is sometimes 769 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:52,640 murky in terms of your guide of becoming ABA or a better BA. 770 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:57,240 So that's me today and I'm just going to finish with a word 771 00:45:57,240 --> 00:46:00,320 around the certified Better Business Analysis level one 772 00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,800 course, our Certified Better Business Analysis course, which 773 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:07,680 is available at BBA dot Institute today. 774 00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:12,480 We we provided in different methods as I said, but there is 775 00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:15,600 the online training course. OK. 776 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:18,640 Now the online training course is the most cost effective 777 00:46:18,640 --> 00:46:26,680 option for you to become ABA. Now you can do that by going to 778 00:46:26,680 --> 00:46:31,040 our website and looking up the certified bit of business 779 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:34,760 analysis, the one course under the BA training link. 780 00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:42,680 Usually this is done in class over 2 days or the online 781 00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:47,600 training is done over a six week, six week, six week period. 782 00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:53,120 Sorry about that. Now the cost is 899 New Zealand 783 00:46:53,120 --> 00:46:56,600 dollars, not U.S. dollars. So that's, I don't know what the 784 00:46:56,600 --> 00:46:59,640 conversion rate and U.S. dollars, but I think it's around 785 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:04,480 600 US, not that much. If you contact me on LinkedIn 786 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:07,040 and tell me of course you're doing and we, I want to know the 787 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:10,240 story about you, why you're doing this course where you are 788 00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:13,680 in your journey. Then I will provide you with a 789 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:18,680 voucher for 25% off, OK, 25% off there. 790 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:22,920 So if if you're in New Zealand, it's $900, then you know, you 791 00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:30,360 can smack, let me do some math around $225 off there or $50 off 792 00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:33,960 there. And in the US, you know it will 793 00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:36,800 be the same, it will be the same percentage, 25% off. 794 00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:39,520 I'll give you a voucher you can use to start the course today. 795 00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:44,560 Then I'll give you 80 plus lessons, 16 assignments and 796 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:47,680 there will be a practice exam and a final exam as well as the 797 00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:51,160 Certified Data Business Analyst Level 1 certification and 798 00:47:51,160 --> 00:47:55,120 verification where you can share that on LinkedIn. 799 00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:57,960 OK, team. Thanks for listening and I'll 800 00:47:57,960 --> 00:47:58,680 see you next time.