How To Create The Best Business Analyst Resume
A strong resume is important no matter what role you’re going for, but it’s especially important if you’re going for a business analyst position. It’s a competitive field, and you need to stand out and show the hiring team just why you’re the best fit for the job. That starts with the resume, so let’s see how you can create an excellent resume that will grab their attention.
Tailor Your Resumes
This sounds very obvious, but when you’re sending out resumes to multiple companies, it’s so easy to let them get bland and try to cover all bases. Each time you send a resume to a potential employer, you need to be writing something that’s just focused on them.
Focus on the skills that you can bring to that particular employer. As a business analyst, you can show them how you translate the business’ data into solutions that improve the way they perform. As you’re skilled at breaking down large data into small parts, that’s perfect for creating a resume.
Format The Resume Correctly
This is something that all resume writers need to keep in mind. Your writing may show that you’re the perfect person for the job, but if you can’t format correctly, then recruiters won’t take a second look at the resume itself.
A good resume has be clean and easily readable. A recruiter will be scanning your resume, looking for the points that make you a good fit for the job. You need to make it easy for them to find them. Ensure you’re using plenty of white space, and use italics, bold and upper case where appropriate to attract the eye.
Create A Business Analyst Summary
At the very top of your resume, it’s a good idea to create a business analyst summary. This summary will give the person reading it a quick overview of who you are and what you can bring to the job. It’s the first thing they’ll read, so it has to grab them right away.
What should go in the summary? It can be a number of different things, but remember that it does need to be kept short and to the point. You can cover things like your qualifications, achievements, and experience to name a few.
To start writing the summary, look at the job posting again. This will give you several keywords which you can use in the summary to ensure your resume gets picked out. Use this and your background to create the meat of the summary.
A good summary should only be one or two sentences long, so every word will count. Ensure you write it in an active voice, to make it more compelling to the reader.
Here’s an example of how your summary could look:
Experienced business analyst with five years in improving e-commerce profitability by 60%. Seeking opportunities to use analytic skills to improve efficiency and create customer driven solutions at MarketingX.
As you can see, it’s very short and to the point. It uses quantitative data to show how the writer improved profitability at their current role. Keep this in mind when working on your summary.
Create A Resume Objective
Sometimes, an objective is better than a summary. For example, if you’re a recent graduate, are switching careers, or switching from another industry, then this will be what you’ll use on your resume.
This objective will explain where you are now, and where you hope to be in the future. Again, it only needs to be a couple of sentences long, so you’ll need to get everything you want in that small space. A resume objective can look like this:
Senior product manager with 6 years of experience looking to move to business analyst position at MarketingX. Proven track record of improving sales performance up to 60%, using big data.
Here, see that you’re still focusing on what you can bring to the company, rather than what you want yourself.
Focus On The Employer
When creating your resume, make sure that you’re focusing on the employer and their needs. Remember that they’re looking for someone that can fulfil a specific need within their company. It’s your job to show you can fit that role, and give them what they’re looking for.
As mentioned above, you’ll need to use the job posting, with the key words in it, to write your resume. Research the company too, to see who they are and what they do. Will your skills bring more to them and help them grow? Make sure they know that.
Describe Your Business Analyst Experience
You have to show the employer what experience you have, and how it relates to the position that you’re trying to fill. The best way to do this is to break it all down and turn it into something that’s easy to understand.
Don’t use jargon, as not all recruiters will be as familiar with business analyst lexicon as you are. When listing duties you’ve had in the past, make sure you show how it’s applicable to the role you’re applying for. Again, you need to focus on the employer, rather than yourself.
With these tips, you’ll be able to put together a business analyst resume that wows recruiters, and gets them to pick up the phone and call you. Use this guide to craft your resume now, and make sure that you can get the job you have your eye on.
Emily Henry is a professional writer for OX Essays and Boom Essays. She’s an expert on resumes and resume writing. She’s also a tutor with Paper Fellows.