Meet Zahra who joined us on our Strategy Analyst Graduate Programme. Zahra sets out what being a Strategy Analyst is all about, and why it's good to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Being a Strategy Analyst is essentially about making decisions. Figuring out what the business should do to best serve its customers and meet its own strategic objectives with the resources it has available. We do this by pulling and analysing data, then choosing the best way forward based on the insights we gain.

The decisions I make can shape the experience customers have with Capital One. So whether it's something relatively simple, like how we share information with them, or more complex, like updating the support we provide, I'm always focused on their situation and determined to do the right thing. 

It was during my Internship that I learned the importance of contextualising my work. At that point, my mentor and buddy helped me to understand the significance of everything I did – how it impacted our customers and the wider business. And that's what gave me a deeper understanding of what a full-time role would involve.

Similarly, when I look at data now, I always think about the bigger picture; try to understand why customers are producing the data they are, and how we can improve things for them to deliver different results. When you check back later and see the positive impact one small change has made, it's incredibly rewarding.