Reporting: connectors, calculated fields, filters, parameters, sharing, BigQuery.
Before starting, we run a 1-minute tech check — microphone, ambient noise, connection. If your setup isn't good enough, the test is fully refunded.
Prove your Looker Studio skills in 15 minutes: connectors, calculated fields, BigQuery integration, and interactive reports that go way beyond a basic template.
The Plume Looker Studio badge validates your real-world ability to design, optimize, and deliver professional reporting with Google Looker Studio. In a 15-minute AI-driven oral exam, you'll be asked about the full stack: connecting data sources (GA4, Google Ads, BigQuery, Sheets, third-party connectors), modeling data with calculated fields (CASE, REGEXP_EXTRACT, date functions), building interactive experiences with parameters and advanced filter controls, diagnosing performance bottlenecks, and managing access governance in a multi-team environment.
Unlike a multiple-choice certification or a self-declared LinkedIn skill, the Plume badge is based on a live conversation: the AI asks you to walk through real projects, justify your visualization choices (scorecards, time series, pivot tables, geo maps), explain how you control BigQuery costs, and articulate when you'd recommend a different BI tool instead. A second AI reads the full transcript and produces a 0-100 score with a certified level, making the result objective and impossible to fake.
This badge is built for data analysts, digital marketing consultants, freelance BI specialists, data project managers, and growth marketers who use Looker Studio in production and want to back up their expertise with something a recruiter or client can actually verify. It's also a strong fit for professionals who've transitioned from Data Studio to Looker Studio Pro and want to confirm their skills reflect the platform's latest capabilities.
Here are the concrete dimensions the AI examines during the 15-minute oral.
Connecting GA4, Google Ads, Search Console, BigQuery, Sheets, and partner connectors. Managing credentials, data freshness, and scheduled data extracts to keep reports fast and reliable.
Writing CASE WHEN logic, REGEXP_EXTRACT, COALESCE, DATE_DIFF, TODATE, and composing metrics at both the data source and chart level to answer questions the raw data can't answer directly.
Choosing the right chart type (scorecard, time series, pivot table, bar chart, geo map, bullet chart) for each business question and audience, and structuring report pages for clear, guided reading.
Building advanced filter controls, user-facing parameters, and dynamic date ranges to turn a static report into a self-service exploration tool that non-technical stakeholders can actually use.
Diagnosing slow reports: knowing when to use direct connections vs. scheduled extracts vs. BigQuery views or materialized tables, and leveraging BI Engine to cut query latency at scale.
Configuring view and edit permissions, sharing via link or iframe embed, and managing shared credentials vs. viewer-owned credentials across complex multi-team reporting setups.
Structuring the data flow with SQL views, materialized tables, BI Engine, and scheduled extracts. Controlling query costs and organizing GCP project-level access rights for reporting workloads.
Knowing when to recommend Looker Studio and when to point a client toward Looker, Power BI, Tableau, or Metabase based on data maturity, volume, governance needs, and budget.
Final scoring is performed by Claude (Anthropic), which reads back the full transcript and applies this weighted criteria grid.
Accuracy and depth on calculated fields, connectors, data extracts, parameters, and BigQuery integration. We're looking for genuine expertise, not just surface-level familiarity with the UI.
Ability to reference actual projects with specific details: sources connected, intended audience, metrics surfaced, constraints overcome. Vague or generic answers are scored down across this dimension.
Justification of visualization choices, data architecture decisions, and report structure. Strong candidates show they start from the business question, not the chart type.
Knowledge of performance levers (extracts, BI Engine, query optimization) and ability to diagnose slow reports or inconsistent data in a production environment.
Ability to position Looker Studio within the broader BI landscape, identify where it falls short, and recommend the right alternative tool for a given client context.
A Plume session takes about 20 minutes, from tech check to badge delivery.
The AI confirms your microphone is working and the audio connection is stable. No screen sharing or special setup required — just a browser and a mic.
The AI asks you to introduce yourself briefly and describe the most complex or recent Looker Studio report you've built. This sets the context for everything that follows.
The AI probes your connector choices, calculated field formulas, parameter setup, BigQuery integration, and the trade-offs you make when Looker Studio hits its limits. Every answer can open a follow-up question.
A concrete scenario is thrown at you: a report that's grinding to a halt in production, a stakeholder asking for dynamic what-if analysis, or a client whose needs clearly exceed what Looker Studio can deliver. How do you respond?
Claude Opus analyzes the full transcript, generates a 0-100 score and a certified level (Novice to Expert). You get your digital badge, a detailed feedback report, and a shareable URL to add to your profile.
Your score out of 100 translates into a level a recruiter can grasp at a glance.
You've explored Looker Studio recently. You can build a basic report from Google Sheets or GA4, use standard chart types, and share a view-only link. Calculated fields, parameters, and BigQuery are still unfamiliar territory.
You regularly deliver dashboards to business teams. You work with multiple connectors, write basic calculated fields (CASE, DATE_DIFF), and configure filter controls and date range selectors. You're starting to think about performance but haven't tackled BigQuery or advanced parameters yet.
You design complex multi-source reports with sophisticated calculated fields, dynamic parameters, and structured BigQuery integration (views, scheduled extracts). You troubleshoot performance issues and manage access governance on multi-team projects.
You know Looker Studio inside out. You choose between direct connections, BI Engine, and materialized tables based on cost and latency constraints. You advise clients on their BI stack architecture, leverage Looker Studio Pro features, and know exactly when to recommend a different tool.
No degree or years of experience required to take the badge. Here are the profiles it makes the most sense for.
You produce Looker Studio reports for marketing, product, or executive teams and want an objective signal of your level to back up a promotion request or negotiate a higher salary.
Clients often ask you to prove your Looker Studio skills before handing over a project. The Plume badge replaces a lengthy portfolio walkthrough with a verifiable, score-backed credential.
You connect GA4, Google Ads, and Search Console in Looker Studio to run campaign reporting. The badge shows you go far beyond default templates and can build a real measurement infrastructure.
You've learned Looker Studio through courses or personal projects and need a credible way to demonstrate your skills to a recruiter without years of formal experience to point to.
You oversee BI projects and want to confirm your Looker Studio understanding is solid enough to scope requirements accurately, challenge data analyst assumptions, and avoid costly design mistakes.
Where and how your Looker Studio badge will help you day to day.
A data agency needs to demonstrate Looker Studio expertise to win a paid search reporting contract. Consultants take the badge and include their score URLs in the proposal, replacing hard-to-verify client references.
A candidate applying for a data analyst role at a fast-growing startup shares their Advanced-level Looker Studio badge with a score of 78/100. The hiring manager skips the internal technical test and moves straight to the culture fit round.
A BI freelancer wants to move from $85 to $120 per hour. They present their Expert Plume badge to justify the rate with a new client, without having to share confidential project details or track down past client references.
A data team lead wants to map the Looker Studio skill level of 10 analysts before a BigQuery migration project. Each team member takes the badge, giving leadership an objective skill map without running manual assessments.
A data bootcamp includes the Looker Studio badge as a capstone for its reporting module. Graduates add the badge to their LinkedIn profiles, giving the program a verifiable, skill-specific credential that employers trust.
A professional upgrading from the free tier to Looker Studio Pro wants to confirm their skills cover the new features: scheduled email delivery, report alerts, and team management. The oral exam validates that the upgrade is actually being leveraged.
A few minutes to check you have everything you need.
At the end of your session you don't just get a score — here's everything that awaits you.
You get a precise score and a certified level (Novice to Expert) based on Claude Opus's full analysis of your oral exam, covering calculated fields, connectors, BigQuery integration, and design reasoning.
A structured report breaks down your performance across each evaluation dimension (technical depth, real-world examples, optimization, tool positioning) so you know exactly what to work on next.
Your exam recording stays private and under your control. No one can access it without your explicit permission, in line with the platform's privacy policy.
A unique public URL lets you display your Looker Studio badge on LinkedIn, in your portfolio, or in a client proposal, with your score and level visible at a glance.
Discover related skills you can validate with Plume.
A 15-min oral exam with an AI, a shareable badge for your recruiters.
Choose this badge · €19.99
