Business Analyst Resume Examples and Writing Tips

That means, when it comes time to look for your next work opportunity, you’re probably thinking about the most effective way to position yourself against the other applicants and stand out.

One of the best ways to rise to the top of the candidate pool is with a well-written resume.

A well-written resume, one that shares not only what you did during your previous roles but also what you’ve accomplished, will help show why you are the best possible applicant for the position you want.

Writing a good business analyst resume is not as hard as you think. You already have all of the right information — you just need to put it in the right places. And we’re going to show you how.

Summary

1. Resume Template
2. Formatting
3. Writing Your Resume Summary
4. Areas of Expertise
5. Writing Your Work Experience
6. Writing Your Education Section
7. Additional Sections
8. Resume Points to Remember
9. Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
10. Some Helpful Tools

Let’s begin with a sample business analyst resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best business analyst resume you possibly can.

One of the biggest differentiators between a good resume and not-so-good resume is the formatting.

That is because you don’t have a lot of time to make an impression on the hiring team, so how your information is arranged really matters.

Did you know that the typical hiring manager only looks at a resume for about six seconds before moving on to the next one?

If you only have six seconds, what do you want the hiring team to see first? You want them to see your most important, impressive details.

That’s why for most sections on your business analyst resume, we recommend using a style of formatting called reverse chronological order, where you list your most recent positions and work backward through your work history.

Your resume needs to be understood easily, both by human reviewers and bots (more on this topic later), so use a simple font like Times New Roman or Arial.

Be sure to include white space. Spacing and margins will help guide the eye and make your resume easier to read, so try to avoid using big blocks of text. Don’t forget to proofread! Be on the lookout for spelling errors and typos.

Your resume should only be one page in length, with very few exceptions. While you need to be informative, you also need to be specific and brief. It’s okay to be selective when deciding which work experiences to include.

Six seconds. That’s the amount of time you have to grab the hiring manager’s attention and convince them that you are a strong enough candidate for them to keep reading.

So how are you going to get their attention?

A short, informative paragraph at the start of the page, called a resume summary, is a great way to quickly show your top skills and attributes. In two or three sentences, list your “greatest hits”: your most impressive experiences or desirable skills that make you perfect for the job.

Not sure what to include? Think about the things that make you such a good business analyst. You don’t have a lot of space here, so be as specific as you can.

Here are some examples for business analysts:

What are the differences between these two business analyst resume summaries?

First off, the second example uses personal pronouns, which generally aren’t used when writing a resume. It’s also very general and doesn’t really tell us anything about you.

The first example is specific and informative, while still being brief. It inspires confidence in your abilities because it shares not only your skills but also what you accomplished.

Next up is the key accomplishments section.

This section is a little different from the resume summary. You will still highlight your most impressive skills and areas of expertise, but instead of in a paragraph, you should use a bulleted list.

A bulleted list gives a busy hiring manager a way to quickly scan your accomplishments and see if you’re qualified for the position right off the bat.

Think about the skills or experiences you’ve had that would tip the scale in your favor over the other candidates. Do you know how to use a particular kind of software, or have you had any notable leadership experiences?

PRO TIP: Be sure to carefully read the job posting for this specific position. It should list the skills the employer is looking for, so if those are attributes you have, definitely list them here.

Example:

• Microsoft Visio
• Enterprise Architect
• SQL
• Google Analytics
• Tableau
• Survey Design
• Customer Service

When working on this list, think about your attributes in terms of hard skills and soft skills. As a business analyst, you should include a mix of the two.

What is the difference?

Hard skills are the more technical skills that you would learn in school or through work experience. They can usually be taught and are quantifiable, like proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Soft skills are a little more difficult to define. You may have heard of them called “people skills” because this category includes things like communication and leadership. They usually cannot be taught and are more subjective.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested business analyst hard and soft skill ideas to inform your skills section.)

Once you’ve captured the attention of the hiring team with your engaging business analyst resume summary and shown that you are qualified with your informative list of key accomplishments, it’s time to prove that you are the best applicant for the position.

You’re going to do that with your work experience.

Your work history is the most important section, so it will make up the bulk of your resume. When listing your past positions, you’re going to use reverse chronological order, the format we talked about earlier. Start with your most recent position and work your way backward through your experiences.

For each role, use three to five bullet points to describe not only the duties you had, but also what you accomplished during your time at the company. If you have any quantifiable data, like sales figures, be sure to use them here.

Use strong language. You don’t have a lot of space, so be as specific as you can while avoiding repetitions or anything overly general. Don’t use the first person and start each bullet point off with an action word.

Except in very rare cases, your business analyst resume should only be one page long. Because of this requirement, don’t list every single job you’ve ever had — be selective and choose the positions you’ve had that are the most relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Let’s look at an example:

The first example uses action words to start off each bullet point, showing what you accomplished. Each point is unique and inspires confidence in your abilities. It also utilizes quantifiable information that is easy to understand and makes it clear that you had an impact during your time in the role.

The second example is very general and doesn’t share anything about you. It lists some of the basic duties of a business analyst, but doesn’t do anything to position you as a good candidate.

PRO TIP: Don’t be repetitive. Because these descriptions are pretty short, if you repeat words often, it will stand out to the hiring manager (and not in a good way)..

What About Bots

Earlier, in the formatting section, we talked about why you should use a simple font and formatting to make it so your business analyst resume is easy to understand by the hiring team. But there’s a chance that more than just human reviewers are taking a look at your completed resume — a robot may read it, too.

What?

Because employers will sometimes get so many applications for a single job posting, they can’t always look at every single resume. That’s why they use software programs called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

An ATS will be programmed with certain keywords, usually from the job description, and will search through an applicant’s materials, setting aside the resumes that use those keywords. Those are the resumes that the hiring team will actually look at and consider for interviews.

So how can you impress an ATS program?

It all comes down to keywords. You can be completely qualified for the position, but if you don’t use keywords from the job posting, you won’t get through the ATS, and you won’t be considered for the role.

PRO TIP: Be sure you’re using the keywords exactly how they appear in the job description. If you use synonyms, the ATS might not flag your materials.

To get around a potential ATS, some candidates will choose to write the descriptions of their previous roles in paragraph format, instead of the bullet point format used above.

Let’s compare the two formats.

Bullet list:

Bluebird Finance| San Francisco, CA | Senior Business Analyst | May 2017–Present

• Designed custom databases for clients in targeted market sectors
• Supported senior decision-making via quarterly forecasting reports
• Reduced expenses by 25% via historical analysis + new strategies

Paragraph format:

Bluebird Finance | San Francisco, CA | Senior Business Analyst | May 2017–Present
Designed and maintained custom databases for clients in targeted market sectors. Supported senior officers in long-term decision-making by producing quarterly forecasting reports based on market research. Analyzed profit-and-loss reports from previous years and implemented strategies that reduced expenses by 25%.

As you can see, the two examples use the same number of keywords.

The biggest difference here is the second example creates a big block of text. While both examples are keyword-rich and have an equal chance of getting through an ATS, only the first example is written with a human reviewer in mind.

For this reason, Big Interview recommends using the bulleted list format.

With the bulk of your resume completed, next up is your education section.

The formatting of this section is very similar to the previous one. Using reverse chronological order, start with your highest, most impressive degree and work backward. For example, a master’s degree would be listed before a bachelor’s degree.

Be sure to list where you attended, the year you graduated, and your field of study.

If you graduated recently, feel free to list your GPA, as it is still relevant. It will become less important to your resume the longer you are working, however, so be sure to reevaluate as time goes on.

Example:

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Class of 2012

Here is also where you can list any relevant online coursework, certifications, or special trainings.

Example:

• “Microsoft Office Suite: Advanced,” Weekend Course, Dover, DE
• Leadership and Project Management Seminar, University of Delaware Online

Optional Sections

If you have some extra space, or have other areas of interest that are still relevant but don’t necessarily fit in with the other categories, you may add more sections.

Alternative sections you could include are:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

What if You Have No Experience?

It may feel like in order to get a job you want, you need to have experience in that industry. But in order to gain experience, you need to get a job in the industry!

It’s actually very possible to apply for a position when you think you have no experience. If you graduated recently or are just making a career shift, you can position the experience you do have in a way that shows you are a good candidate.

You may actually be more qualified than you realize, even if your experiences are not in the form of paid work.

Still start off with a strong business analyst resume summary and areas of expertise, but instead of following it with your work history, move up your education section. It is more relevant to you right now.

When it comes to your work experience, think about anything you have done that shows your knowledge of the industry. Online coursework, workshops, or internships could all count here. Don’t forget about summer jobs or even volunteer work!

PRO TIP: Remember your soft skills. A good business analyst utilizes both hard skills and soft skills, so think about if you’ve had any significant leadership experience or any experiences that demonstrate you are a good communicator or work well in a team.

Phone a friend

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. A friend with fresh eyes might catch typos or spelling errors that you may have missed while proofreading!

Keep it to one page

With very few exceptions, your resume should only be one page. Be selective and choose the positions from your work history that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Be specific

Don’t be overly general. Strong language and action words will inspire confidence in your abilities. Avoid repeating yourself and be sure to use quantifiable information if it’s available to you.

Don’t use the first person

It may seem strange, but words like “I” and “me” don’t belong in resume writing even though you’re talking about yourself. No personal pronouns.

Don’t forget your contact info

This may seem obvious, but don’t forget to list how the employer can contact you. When you’re focused on the more complicated parts of resume writing, it can be easy to forget to include your phone number or LinkedIn profile.

Don’t forget the job description

And read it carefully! The job posting will be chock-full of information you need, including not only the keywords you should be using to get through an ATS, but also the details about all the materials you need to submit to actually apply for the role.

(Below you’ll find a handy table of power words for executives to use for inspiration.)

Analyst Power Words

• Designed
• Assisted
• Supported
• Established
• Analyzed
• Created
• Evaluated
• Formulated
• Improved
• Managed
• Initiated
• Updated
• Generated
• Implemented
• Developed
• Ensured

Skills List

We have many great resources available to you 100% free on the Big Interview blog. Read the articles below for more information on resumes and cover letters.

The Art of Writing a Great Resume Summary Statement

How Long Should a Resume Be?

Creating Really Good Resumes

How to Get the Applicant Tracking System to Pick Your Resume

8 Design Ideas to Make Your Resume Pop

6 Tricks to Makeover Your Resume…Fast

How to Write a Cover Letter