Month / December 2024

by anthonysmoak

Developing Your Personal Brand with LinkedIn

So I recently had the opportunity to speak about building your online presence during a webinar. I firmly believe that an online presence can open up doors for you, especially if you are looking to break into the data world. I consider myself lucky in that I started on my data journey many years ago before it was cool or impossibly difficult to get a starting opportunity.

If I was starting from scratch today, I would definitely use LinkedIN to raise my visibility and showcase my strengths to potential employers.

Step 1: You Need a LinkedIn Profile: Full Stop

At its core, LinkedIN is the digital equivalent of a modern résumé, but with a far broader reach. If you don’t have a profile, you’re invisible in the professional world. An optimized LinkedIN profile is a must, especially in a competitive field like data analytics. When recruiters or potential employers search for candidates with your skill set, your profile will be a key factor in whether or not they reach out to you.

Actionable Tip: Make sure your profile is complete, with a compelling headline, clear summary, and a detailed work history that includes relevant keywords (think “SQL queries,” “data modeling,” “performance tuning”) to increase discoverability. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-written “About” section; this is your opportunity to tell your professional story in a way that resonates with both humans and algorithms.

For example, if you look at my LinkedIn profile, you’ll see that my about section is full of verbiage describing my skills, education, online presence and current workplace.

Real-World Insight: I had a recruiter contact me for a previous job opportunity simply because my profile contained the right keywords and was well-organized. I can’t stress this point enough, the right visibility can lead to unexpected opportunities.

Step 2: Don’t Leave Your Profile Alone: Engage with Content

Once you’ve set up your profile, you need to stay active. It’s tempting to think that just having a polished profile is enough, but to really stand out, you must engage. Start by sharing informative articles, insights, and news relevant to your industry. Sharing curated content is valuable, but creating your own posts and/or commentary will increase your visibility.

Actionable Tip: Instead of just hitting “reshare” on a post you found useful, add your thoughts. Comment on what you found interesting about the article and how it connects to your work. Reshares without lead in commentary don’t get as much traction on LinkedIN.

Relatable Anecdote: The idea of putting yourself out there can feel daunting; especially if you’re more introverted. But think of it as sharing your knowledge and expertise with others, in a format that is helpful and informative. It doesn’t need to be an elaborate blog post; even a quick tip or a link with a few insightful lines can go a long way.

Step 3: Create Your Own Content: Yes, You Can Do It

I believe this is where you can begin to truly differentiate yourself. If you follow my LinkedIN profile, you’ll see multiple videos of me sharing knowledge on different data analytics tools. I guarantee that you will likely have knowledge that others in your field can benefit from. Remember that your experiences and expertise are unique and valuable.

We seem to take for granted that our personal knowledge is obvious or widely known by others, but believe me it is not. Even if someone is sharing about a similar topic, they can’t share information with your unique point of view!

Actionable Tip: Start small. Post a brief tip, or share an interesting challenge you faced during a recent project and how you solved it. This doesn’t have to be a huge production; just a couple of lines can spark engagement and show that you’re actively contributing to the field.

Overcoming the Introvert’s Challenge

For those of you who consider yourselves introverts, don’t worry, creating content doesn’t require you to be an extroverted social butterfly. In fact, many professionals, myself included, are introverted (yes it’s true). The key is to focus on sharing knowledge, not on putting on a performance. A great number of my YouTube videos don’t even show my face. I just have good screen capture software and a quality XLR microphone.

The Bottom Line: Don’t just have a LinkedIN profile; use it as a tool for professional growth. Start by optimizing your profile, sharing relevant content, and eventually creating your own posts to showcase your expertise.

Remember that visibility brings opportunity. Start small, stay consistent, and watch as your professional presence grows, benefiting both you and your employer in the process.

Until next time. 

I appreciate everyone who has supported this blog and my YouTube channel.

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by anthonysmoak

Boost SQL Performance: 4 Essential Optimization Tips

Performance matters!

I decided to break down some quick tips to help you write faster, more efficient SQL queries.

1. Limit Your Use of SELECT *

While SELECT * seems like a quick and easy solution, it’s a performance killer, especially when you’re dealing with large tables. By requesting all columns, the database has to load unnecessary data, which can slow down execution, especially as your dataset grows.

Tip: Be intentional about the columns you select. Only retrieve the data you need. This not only improves performance but also minimizes the load on your system.

2. Avoid DISTINCT and UNION When Unnecessary

Checking for uniqueness often comes at a cost. Both DISTINCT and UNION use sorting algorithms to remove duplicates, which is inherently time-consuming. If you don’t explicitly need unique records, avoid them.

Instead of UNION, use UNION ALL. While UNION will filter out duplicates, UNION ALL keeps all your records.  It can perform your combining of records faster since it bypasses the sorting step.

3. Use Sargable Operators in the WHERE Clause

A sargable query (short for “search argument able”) is one that allows the SQL optimizer to take advantage of indexes, leading to faster data retrieval. When you use operators that are sargable (e.g., =, >, <=, BETWEEN), the query can utilize an index to find data quickly instead of performing a full table scan, which can be slow and resource-intensive.

For example, a query like WHERE customer_id = 12345 is sargable, whereas WHERE YEAR(order_date) = 2023 is not, because the database can’t use an index efficiently for that condition.

4. Use Indexes Appropriately

Indexes are extremely useful when it comes to speeding up query execution. Without them, the database is forced to scan the entire table to retrieve the data you need.

However, it’s essential to use indexes judiciously. Too many indexes can slow down insert and update operations.

Real-World Example: Sales Data Query Optimization

Imagine you’re a data analyst working with sales data, trying to identify the top-selling products for the last quarter. A poorly optimized query might look like this:

SELECT * FROM sales_data WHERE YEAR(sale_date) = 2023;

This query retrieves all columns (SELECT *), performs a non-sargable operation on sale_date, and might even require a DISTINCT if there are duplicates. All this can be painfully slow.

Instead, a more optimized query would look like this:

SELECT product_id, SUM(sales_amount)
FROM sales_data
WHERE sale_date BETWEEN '2023-01-01' AND '2023-12-31'
GROUP BY product_id
ORDER BY SUM(sales_amount) DESC;

In this version:

  • We select only the necessary columns (product_id, sales_amount).
  • We use a sargable BETWEEN operator on sale_date.
  • We aggregate data and order it efficiently to find the top products.

The Takeaway: Stay Sharp, Stay Efficient

Writing efficient SQL queries isn’t just about speed; it’s about making your data retrieval processes more scalable and reliable.

Be intentional about your query design. Use SELECT * sparingly, avoid unnecessary operations like DISTINCT and UNION, and always keep indexing and sargable operations in mind

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