Business Analyst Resume: 2023 Guide with 20+ examples and samples

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Creating a perfect business analyst resume can be a daunting task, especially if you are not updated with industry trends.

With this definitive guide coupled with recruiter-friendly business analyst resume examples, you can create one of your own!

And since studies show that the job opportunities for a business analyst job is expected to grow 14% from 2018 to 2028, now is the perfect time to send out those job applications.

Read on to get clarity on the following questions related to business analyst resume:

• What is a role of business analyst?
• What should a business analyst put on resume?
• How to add your contact information in the business analyst resume?
• What are the keywords for business analyst resume?
• How to write the professional experience section of a business analyst resume?
• How to write your education experience in the business analyst resume?
• What certification is good for business analyst and how to project in your resume?

Roles & Responsibilities of a Business Analyst

The typical responsibilities of a business analyst is to analyze data and create business models as part of facilitating data-driven decision making.

They work with the IT team to develop innovative initiatives for improving business operations, optimize cost, and are responsible for leveraging data to forecast business growth, sales, and identify business trends etc.

Here is a typical job description of a business analyst:

• Analyzing business process and identifying improvement opportunities for business growth.
• Gain in-depth knowledge in business analysis technologies as part of automating various business processes.
• Liaising with the stakeholders to present various data as part of encouraging data-driven decision making.
• Coordinating with cross-functional teams to implement various process improvement initiatives.
• Providing training to new recruits by complying with the company regulations.
• Monitoring project timeline and following up with various team members for ensuring timely completion and delivery of projects.

Also Read: Who is business analyst?

Business Analyst Salary

According to Indeed the average salary of a business analyst is $77,054 per year.

According to Glassdoor the Business analysts in the USA makes on an average $75,341 per year.

The maiden salary of a IT business analyst is approximately $69,631 per year according to PayScale.

Also Read: How much do business analysts make in 2023?

Business Analyst Resume: Bullet Points

Most job candidates struggle with creating perfect one liner bullet points for their resumes.

You need to keep the following tips in mind to create the resume bullet points:

• Create an action-result relationship in the resume bullet points
• The bullet points in your resume should start with power verbs
• Highlight important keywords and statistics in the bullet points

Here is a list of resume bullet points for business analyst profile:

• Provided detailed reports and analyses of the data to management, business partners
• Assisted the Senior Business Analyst in analyzing and reporting on the business performance of a global organization
• Maintained communication with key clients to develop and deliver new business solutions
• Ensured optimal performance of business units by analyzing and identifying opportunities for cost savings
• Defined business requirements for the development of business intelligence application
• Analyzed financial statements for the business and developed a comprehensive analysis of the company's operating results
• Conducted weekly meetings with stakeholders to review and discuss business needs

Also Read: What are some good business development resume bullet points?

Best Format for Business Analyst Resume

Your Business Analyst resume will contain the following sections:

• Name, job title, and contact details
• Summary
• Key skills
• Professional experience
• Educational qualification
• Publications (optional)
• Additional Sections (interests, hobbies, etc.)

However, your experience and job requirement will dictate which sections will be included in the business analyst resume.

Consequently, there can be 3 possible resume formats for you to choose from:

Reverse-chronological Resume

This format starts off with your current or last held profile, and travels back to your past employment, in reverse chronological order.

If you are a seasoned business analyst professional, then this format is ideal for you.

Also Read: How to draft a reverse-chronological resume?

Functional Resume

In this format, you create a separate section in which you group your achievements under various skills. You then proceed to elaborate those skills by highlighting instances from your previous work profiles.

If you have taken a long career break from your business analysis profession or looking to change your industry, then this is the best resume format for you.

However, it is not ATS-friendly, since most ATS find it difficult to parse resumes belonging in this format. An ATS first scans the work profile and then looks for points underneath that, but if the same is missing, most of them will reject the application.

Also Read: How can I ensure my details are correctly included in the functional resume format?

Combination (Hybrid) Resume Format

As the name suggests, this resume format is the combination of functional resumes and reverse-chronological resumes. They can ideally be of 2 types:

• Grouping under the professional experience section:
  Here, we follow the reverse-chronological format which involves starting off with your present or last-held profile. But within each work profile, we create sub-headings around relevant skills which you picked up in that tenure.

• Grouping of skills under a separate section: Instead of grouping relevant skills under the corresponding work profile, we create a separate section of Summary of Skills on the top.

You can go through the job description to find out important points that you need to highlight in your business analyst resume.

Also Read: How can you make most of the combination resume format?

Add Contact Details in Business Analyst Resume

Contact details hardly get any attention in a resume. It's just your contact details, right?

Well, yes. And no.

There's no point in spending weeks on your analyst resume if you end up including wrong information in the contact information section which will rob you off the job opportunity.

Here are a few things which you can keep in mind when it comes to this section:

• Keep a profesional email-ID: That means no princess_jean@gmail.com or Iamrock@gmail.com, instead make it johndoe@gmail(dot)com
• No need to include your complete address. Simply mentioning the area and its code will suffice. For example: Waco, TX
• Include your LinkedIn, Github, or Kaggle accounts if you have past projects which will bolster your chances of getting a job

Here is how you can include your contact information:

Also read: How to properly include your contact details.

Draft a Business Analyst Resume Summary

If you were stuck on deciding what to write for a business analyst resume, a business analyst summary or an objective section, here is what you should know:

• If you have a 3+ years of work experience, then write a business analyst summary,
• If you have an entry level business analyst resume with less than 3 years of experience, you can add the objective section.

Example for business analyst summary:

Aaaaand...the recruiter drifted off to the last week's episode of Game of Thrones in the middle of reading your objective statement. And who can blame the recruiter? This doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

The first one stands nowhere in comparison to this. When you have only 6-10 seconds to grab the attention of the recruiter, you can't rely on a generic profile summary and expect to get shortlisted. You need that X-factor.

Here is an example:

Also read: Tips on drafting a compelling resume summary

Business Analyst Resume: Professional Objective

You might be wondering if the second summary sounds somewhat unreal? What if you don't have that much experience? What if you're just starting out?

For an entry level business analyst resume with no experience or little experience, you can use an objective statement instead of a Business Analyst Summary.

It doesn't matter if you have an entry-level business analyst resume or are an experienced manager. The key is to identify a problem which a prospective employer is stuck with, and demonstrate how you can utilize your skills and abilities in your entry level business analyst resume to solve that problem.

Add Relevant Business Analyst Skills

Many applicants commit the mistake of stuffing their resume with keywords without bothering to substantiate those skills in their Professional Experience section.

Business analyst profiles are highly nuanced and can differ from company to company. If you were a business analyst in 3 companies, the 4th company which you are targeting might expect a completely different set of skills.

The job description is your solution here. It gives an idea of what recruiters are looking for. You can then tailor your skills along the lines of their requirements.

To clarify this through an example, here's a sample JD for a business analyst profile:

• Acquiring and maintaining data from various sources
• Carrying out regular data cleansing and standardization
• Interpreting data and analyzing results using statistical techniques
• Identifying, analyzing, and implementing trends or patterns in complex data sets
• Generating useful reports and dashboards - Regular and Adhoc
• Assisting management in strategic decision making
• Setting up and maintaining automated data processes; essential skills: problem solving/analytical skills,
• Attention to details, collaboration and teamwork; desirable Skills: communication, productivity, planning & organizing, building relationships

If you were to source a few significant skills from this JD, here's how you can go about it:

Also read: Find out more skills to add in your resume

Technical Skills

A resume for Business Analyst is incomplete without a technical skills section. You can divide your Skills section into managerial/professional skills and technical skills.

Like with all other sections, for your technical skills as well, the JD is the ideal way to proceed. But the only way this section differs from the rest is that you can go over and beyond what is mentioned in the JD when it comes to technical skills.

There can be two ways to present your Technical Skills. The first one is:

Technical Skills: MySQL, Mainframe, HTML, Microsoft Office Suite, SAS, Crystal Reports

However, if you have many technical skills, you can choose a different route.

The ideal way is to group all your Technical Skills under relevant sub-headings. This is how you can represent the skills mentioned above in an alternative way:

This makes it easy for the recruiter to scan this section for useful information. As and when you work on your technical proficiency, you can classify your technical skills under different sub-headings as well.

Here is how you can add business analyst skills to your resume:

Professional Experience: Business Analyst Resume

This is the sine qua non of your analyst resume. How you frame points in this section determines whether you make the cut or not.

It's essential that you maintain a balance between the jargon and overall meaning to make sure that a recruiter going through your resume will be able to extract relevant information.

A rule of thumb is to go for only those methodologies and techniques which are listed in the JD.

It's the quantifiable impact which pulls you ahead of the game. Here's how you can do it:

Cause-effect Relationship: The Princeton Formula

While you are framing points in this section, you can rely on the Princeton formula to establish a concrete cause-effect relation in each point of your business analyst resume. Simply put,

A + P + R = A (Action Verb + Project + Result = Accomplishment)

The reason for why this formula works is it creates a parallal relation between your actions and accomplishments.

The how is as important as the what.

Here's what we are talking about:

Rephrase it as:

Applying this formula in all the points, while making sure that no point exceeds one line, will ensure that you weed out all the fluff and are left with only what's relevant. Doing so will elevate your business analyst resume instantly!

Start Your Sentences With Action Words

Recruiters are tired of using dry old verbs in every resume. Nowadays, everyone is "managing" everything. But you can mix and match with several power verbs to add an oomph-factor to your resume.

To give a very brief idea of the impact which power verbs can deliver:

Also read: How to make your resume interesting with power verbs

Group & Highlight Relevant Terms

There's no point in framing immaculate points if the recruiter is still going to gloss over them.

How do you avoid that in your business analyst resume?

Let us go through an example to provide better clarity here.

• Collaborated with Developers to review testing of changes & Unix script manual run
• Conducted scoping of problems & performed root cause analysis to generate targeted business insights for clients
• Led a team of 3 Business Analysts & effectively trained ~20 members on Mainframe, SQL, Unix and other internal tools
• Coordinated with key clients and initiated measures to understand their requirements for delivering effective solutions
• Drafted & reviewed business-related documentation including mapping & validated BRDs as per client requirements
• Created Process Maps to illustrate & communicate work flows for teams and other internal/external stakeholders
• Executed Quality Analysis for mainframe jobs & collated querying results from Sybase to conduct further analysis

Now, these points more or less follow the Princeton formula, but for a recruiter scanning your business analyst resume, it only looks like a bland wall of text.

How do you transform this section into something which might actually be useful for the recruiter? Here's how:

Team Management & Business Communication

• Led a team of 3 Business Analysts & effectively trained ~20 members on Mainframe, SQL, Unix and other internal tools
• Created Process Maps to illustrate & communicate work flows for teams and other internal/external stakeholders
• Collaborated with Developers to review testing of changes & Unix script manual run

Client Relationship Management

• Conducted scoping of problems & performed root cause analysis to generate targeted business insights for clients
• Coordinated with key clients and initiated measures to understand their requirements for delivering effective solutions

Quality Assurance & Documentation

• Executed Quality Analysis for mainframe jobs & collated querying results from Sybase to conduct further analysis
• Drafted & reviewed business-related documentation including mapping & validated BRDs as per client requirements

BAM!

It's not an ugly wall of text anymore. The points remained the same - merely classifying them into relevant sub-headings made a world of difference.

To take it a notch further, bold important phrases and words within each point to make the recruiter's job even easier, and give your business analyst resume a facelift!

Here is an ideal professional experience section you will land with, after following our golden tips:

Include Your Educational Details in Business Analyst Resume

The education section is also often underrated like the personal details section we talked about earlier.

It's just the Education section, right? Jot down the degrees and you are done?

No.

Each and every section in a resume is prime real estate and it's up to you to make the most judicious use of it. You can mention only the degrees and there won't be anything wrong with it, or you can take it a step further.

BA - Economics (Hons.) | University of New York | May '17

This is pretty much how the Education section should look like in an experienced Business Analyst resume. However, there's a lot more you can do with an entry-level business analyst resume to utilize the years you spent studying.

BA - Economics (Hons.) | University of Syracuse | '14 - '17 | GPA 3.9/4.0

• Excelled in modules on Analytics and Financial Management
• Established the EcoSoc Quiz Club & organized its first ever State-level Quiz Contest which saw the participation of 80+ colleges and 300+ teams
• Organized a Symposium on 'Socio-economic Challenges of the 21st Century' for the Economics Society of UoS
• Won the 1st Prize in the Inter-college Debate Competition on 'Government Bailouts - Boon or Bane?' out of 70+ participants.

Here is what the education section of an experienced professional looks like:

Additionally, if there's a certain overlap in some modules/coursework which you studied in college and the profile which you are targeting, include that as well.

Add Projects in Your Business Analyst Resume

A project section should not include generic project description in the business analyst resume. Instead it should include specific details of your contribution along with statics in the project section.

Here are some tips to write Project section in the resume:

• Create a new section in the resume and name it as "Key Projects" or "Academic Projects"
• Enter your projects by number such as Project 1, Project 2, etc.
• For each project, write tech stacks & date of project completion
• Write your contribution & accomplishments with suitable numbers in single line bullet points.

Business Analyst Resume Project Example:

Project 1: Predicting the Success of an Upcoming Movie | Tech Stack: Oracle, JavaScript, PHP
Objective: Developed a business analysis model to predict success of an upcoming movie by analyzing historical data of the success rate of production house, actors, and directors

Business Analyst Resume: Certifications

Acquiring business analysis certifications are the best way if you want to get ahead in your career.

When mentioning the certifications on your resume always make sure that:

• The certification is valid in the country you are applying for the job.
• Make sure that the certificate will not expire at the time of interviewing for the job

Here are some common certification course for Business Analysts:

• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
• IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
• IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
• IIBA Certification in Business Data Analytics (CBDA)
• IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
• PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PBA)

Here is the format to write the business analyst resume certification:

Certification | Certifying Authority | Date

Here is how a certification section looks like in a business analyst resume:

Also read: How many certifications should you add to your resume?

Extracurricular Activities: Business Analyst Resume

Many people shy away from listing their high-school/college achievements. Sure, you don't have to reserve a separate page for those long-gone achievements in your business analyst resume.

However, it can be a great testament to your soft skills in an entry level business analyst resume.

For people with 10+ years of professional experience, there's very little meaning in listing out your achievements at under-graduate levels, unless they were plain awe-inspiring or something which still resonates with you.

For an entry level business analyst resume, you can mention a few significant extra-curricular achievements which you think might be relevant w.r.t the job that you are targeting.

For other non-relevant extra-curricular achievements, a bit of research and smart work can go a long way.

For example, you are targeting a particular MNC and on its website, you find that the company has a separate tennis team and they regularly play against other companies.

If you have experience in playing tennis in your college or universities you can add it to your resume.

Example:

EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCE:

• Team Captain | Tennis Team | University of Virginia | Jan '19 - Feb '20
• Won 5 tournaments & trained new recruits

Business Analyst Resume Sample 1

A typical business analyst would love to stuff their resume with all the technical jargons they can muster.

And why wouldn't they? The profile is a seamless integration of business and technology.

Here is one of our business analyst resume examples:

Business Analyst Resume Sample 2

Based on all the above tips around Business Analyst resumes, here's another one of the business analyst resume examples which you can refer to:

This business analyst resume sample will help you aggregate everything you have read in this guide on business analyst resumes so you can go ahead and make a killer resume for business.

Key Takeaways

To recap what we just talked about:

• In most cases, a reverse-chronological resume format will triumph over all others. But just to avoid confusion, have a look at your own trajectory and see if a functional or combination resume format might serve your purpose better.
• If you are an entry-level business analyst, you can go for an objective section on your resume. For all other cases, it's better if you have a professional summary section instead.
• Have a separate section for technical skills under your key skills section, while keeping both the subsets strictly in accordance with the job description.
• Showcase you accomplishments and the impact which you were able to deliver. Additionally, highlighting and assigning sub-headings to each section will work wonders for your business analyst resume work experience section.

Go to Hiration resume builder and create a professional resume for yourself. Additionally, reach out to us at support@hiration.com and you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.