Juhie Radia: Senior Global Customer Analyst
Juhie Radia
BSc Chemistry, 2019
Based in: London
First job:
Working in a lab cleaning contaminated water (sewage)
Ambitions for the future:
Empower young people in schools and internships to feel more prepared for the workforce while helping them become familiar with the professional environment and the climate sector.
Describe your current role and what attracted you to it.
I support with data pipeline management and visualisation of our customer data to understand drivers of growth and purchasing behaviour. I was attracted to this role because it gave me a chance to work with interesting data that I can relate to and in a well-connected company with employees from diverse backgrounds. I have always enjoyed helping people, and this role gives me the chance to support Ralph Lauren with their data processing while working on projects that will help improve the shopping experience of our customers.
However, alongside my career, I am also a climate advocate and mentor. I support young people in schools and internships to feel more work-ready and help familiarise them with the professional environment and climate sector. I have spoken at various ceremonies and conferences inspiring young people to take ownership of their career and encouraging business leaders to grow their youth participation and engagement. This year I was selected to represent environmental and sustainability policy in the UK at the Y7, which is the young engagement body of the G7. I was always interested in sustainability, and received support from charities when applying for jobs, so I enjoy my voluntary work as it is a chance for me to give something back and enact social change.
What’s your favourite part of the role?
What I love the most is the diversity of products I get to work on. So far I've had the opportunity to work with clients in health, fashion, and consumer electronics. Each project allows me to learn something new, whether it's about a new industry or emerging technologies.
What are the key skills you learnt at Warwick that have helped you with your career to date?
Networking and communication were probably some of my biggest takeaways in terms of soft skills. Joining the various societies at Warwick and making the most out of opportunities helped to boost my self-confidence and grow my philanthropic work. Warwick fosters an ambitious culture for go-getters and opportunists and that sparked my appetite to pursue social change work alongside my career and put myself forward for other opportunities to advance and accelerate my career.
After graduating from Warwick, I started work in a lab, identifying contaminants in dirty water and researching extraction and cleaning methods which could be used to cleanse it. When the pandemic hit, supply chains and labs shut down, so I had to pivot my career. Fortunately, I had taken part in a range of societies at Warwick which meant that I had some consulting and analyst experience that I could leverage to transition to a career in data and analytics.
Did you have a specific career path in mind when you chose to study at Warwick?
Not particularly, but the diversity of opportunities, societies, and people at Warwick inspired me and showed me that I could go after any opportunity I set my mind to. I had originally applied to study a sustainable development degree at Warwick but it was a relatively novel field at the time. I withdrew my application and reapplied to study chemistry. I then discovered Warwick Enactus and other societies which grew my commercial awareness about careers paths, sectors and avenues. Although I didn't have a career in mind, Warwick helped to give me the tools to find one (or multiple careers in my case) that suited me and broadened my career path options.
What top tips do you have for Warwick graduates who would like to work in your sector?
If you would like to work in data but are not studying a directly related course, then definitely make the most of the opportunities and societies available. Being on committees gave me the experience I used to boost my CV and transition from my lab career to a career in analytics.
To work as an advocate and freelancer, use the opportunities and events available to grow your awareness of career pathways and social issues so that you can find one that speaks to you, and you can work towards.
Lastly, use networking events. It's not about forging connections that will help you in your career and future (although that is a good bonus) but more about getting used to selling yourself so that you can more confidently hold conversations with CEOs and senior stakeholders, especially during job interviews.
What has been your greatest career challenge to date and how did your experience and skills help overcome it?
My greatest career challenge was probably transitioning and pivoting into my data and analytics career. My parents don't have any corporate experience, so I didn't have many people I could go to for support with any insights or my CV. I had to be resourceful and opportunistic whendeveloping my CV, as well as learning different tools that would help me pivot into a career in data. The skills that particularly helped me were my entrepreneurial mindset and adaptability.