Author Profile
- Name: Mashiyat Rahman
- GLOCAL Cohort: Cohort 2 (2018-2020)
- GLOCAL Track: B (Glasgow-Barcelona-Göttingen)
- Job Title and Company Name:
Senior Analyst at Foresight Factory - LinkedIn Profile
You are currently working as an analyst and consultant at Foresight Factory, how did you get there?
I started this job in November 2021. How I got here is a bit of a funny story, because I actually found this job through an Instagram follower. We were connected on LinkedIn when she posted about a vacancy where she worked, and I decided to message her and talk to her about it. Thankfully, she liked me enough to refer me, and after getting to know about the company a bit more and applying for the role, I took the hiring manager’s details from her and messaged him directly. He was a bit unsure about my background as it had nothing to do with consumer futures research or insights (and I used to work for Revolut in financial crime analysis at the time), but I was determined that I could convince him to hire me. He decided to give me a shot and interview me, and that led to a few more rounds in the hiring process. Soon after, I was hired! My first job after GLOCAL was with the fintech company Revolut in Poland (which I was referred to by a fellow GLOCAL alumnus from the first cohort), and I left that position for my current one with Foresight Factory in London.
What exactly are you doing at your current job?
In short, I work for a trends agency that specialises in consumer futures research and consultancy. We connect some of the world’s largest brands to the right trends for their business and help them decide what to do, how to do it, and when, so that they can stay ahead of consumer demand and protect their businesses against uncertainty and market disruptions. My job mostly involves analysing the data collected from our surveys, interviews, and social media listening tools and turning that into actionable insights and strategy. In very simple words: I make a lot of colour-coded Excel documents and fancy PowerPoint decks.
Did you already know that you are interested in these fields during your GLOCAL studies?
I did, and my current job is actually quite aligned with what I studied in GLOCAL. The things I learned in courses such as Managing Creativity and Innovation (Glasgow), Global History of Marketing & Mass Consumption (Goettingen), Development Economics of Innovations (Goettingen), and Companies in Emerging Sectors (Barcelona) really reinforced my interest in the field of strategy and innovations, so I knew that this was the field I wanted to work in moving forward.
What skills and experience are valued in candidates applying to work in consultancy and data analysis?
Since we often work with many different clients at once, project management and time management are two very crucial skills that are required in this sector. Alongside these, skills in problem solving, analysis, creative and strategic planning, communication, and teamwork are quite valuable. Usually, it also helps if candidates display a certain level of cultural and commercial awareness so that they can show that they are on top of the trends and news that are currently moving the market or could impact demand in the future.
Do you have any tips for current GLOCAL students for their job search after GLOCAL?
There’s a corny quote: “your network is your net worth”. When I was applying for jobs during the second year of GLOCAL (right when the pandemic started!), I was receiving rejections left, right, and centre. This was especially more so because I needed to be sponsored by my employer to work in Europe, and many companies would turn down my application as soon as they realised that. However, as soon as I started to utilise social media to build connections with hiring managers and potential referees, my luck started to turn around, and it became a lot easier to get interviews and just get my foot in the door. My current and previous jobs both came from referrals, so my biggest tip would definitely be to network with people working in the companies or fields that strike your interest. This will also help you gauge company culture and understand whether or not that company or sector is genuinely fit for you and your goals. My other tip would be to try picking up some coding and numeracy related skills if you haven’t already – learning relatively easy data analysis skills such as SQL and Tableau can carry your CV a long way. There are lots of free resources if you want to learn!
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Author: Mashiyat Rahman
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