20 Business Analyst Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

A Business Analyst focuses on identifying business needs and providing data-driven solutions to enhance processes and systems. Highlight your experience with project management, data analysis, and stakeholder communication on your resume. Incorporate skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and proficiency in data visualization tools. Mention any successful projects you've led and quantifiable outcomes that demonstrate your impact on organizational growth.

All Resume Templates Senior Business Analyst | Data Analytics Expert abi.hall@enhancv.com San Francisco, CA Abigail Hall

Seasoned IT business analyst with over 12 years in business analytics, specializing in data visualization and BI software, including Qlikview and SAS. Demonstrated success in leading major analytics dashboard projects that enhanced reporting efficiency by 30%. Expertise extends to Agile and Scrum methodologies, JIRA, SQL, ETL, and Master Data Management. Proven ability in boosting operational efficiencies and achieving substantial cost savings through strategic data integration projects.

Experience Senior Business Analyst 01/2016 - Present South San Francisco, CA

Led the development of an advanced analytics dashboard that improved decision-making speed for senior management by 25%.

Facilitated over 40 workshops to define and refine project scopes, translating complex data into actionable insights for cross-functional teams.

Conducted in-depth data analysis to validate the feasibility of new dashboard features, which increased user engagement by 15%.

Crafted and documented comprehensive data metrics and business rules, significantly enhancing report accuracy and reliability.

Coordinated user acceptance testing, resulting in a 10% decrease in post-deployment issues.

Provided expert training and support to the operations team, boosting their productivity by 20% in managing production issues.

Business Systems Analyst 06/2012 - 12/2015 Thousand Oaks, CA

Implemented a strategic data integration solution that streamlined operations and saved the company $200K annually.

Managed a portfolio of data analytics projects, ensuring alignment with business goals and continuous delivery of value.

Developed user stories and use cases for BI solutions, improving data-driven decision-making across the organization.

Played a key role in the migration of analytics platforms to a more robust system, increasing data processing speed by 30%.

Led the documentation efforts for system requirements using JIRA, enhancing team productivity and project tracking.

Data Analyst 03/2008 - 05/2012 BioMarin Pharmaceutical San Rafael, CA

Analyzed and interpreted complex data sets to assist with strategic decision-making, influencing key business initiatives.

Optimized data collection and analysis processes, improving data quality and reducing time-to-insight by 20%.

Contributed to the development of a predictive analytics model that enhanced forecasting accuracy. Supported senior analysts in creating detailed reports and presentations for stakeholders. Master of Science in Information Systems 01/2006 - 01/2008 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Bachelor of Science in Computer Science 01/2002 - 01/2006 University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA Key Achievements Streamlined reporting processes

Developed a new reporting framework that reduced the time required for data analysis by 40%, significantly impacting operational efficiency.

Enhanced data integration

Led a critical data integration project that consolidated multiple data sources into a single, coherent framework, increasing data accessibility for all departments.

Award for innovation

Received the 'Innovator of the Year' award for developing a predictive analytics tool that decreased forecast errors by 25%.

Data Visualization Agile and Scrum Business Intelligence Certification Certified Scrum Master Certification focusing on Agile project management methodologies, provided by Scrum Alliance. Advanced Data Modeling Comprehensive course on data modeling techniques and best practices, provided by DataCamp. Analytics Dashboard Enhancement Project 2022 - 2023 San Francisco, CA

This initiative resulted in a 30% improvement in reporting efficiency, allowing for quicker and more accurate decision-making across the organization.

www.enhancv.com

All resume examples in this guide

Entry Level Business Analyst

Junior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst

Agile Business Analyst

Banking Business Analyst

Business Analyst Accounting

Business Analyst Retail

Finance Business Analyst

Financial Business Analyst

Healthcare Business Analyst

IT Business Analyst

RPA Business Analyst

Salesforce Business Analyst

SAP Business Analyst

Servicenow Business Analyst

Software Business Analyst

Supply Chain Business Analyst

Tableau Business Analyst

Business Systems Analyst

Entry Level Business Analyst

Junior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst

Agile Business Analyst

Banking Business Analyst

Business Analyst Accounting

Business Analyst Retail

Finance Business Analyst

Financial Business Analyst

Healthcare Business Analyst

IT Business Analyst

RPA Business Analyst

Salesforce Business Analyst

SAP Business Analyst

Servicenow Business Analyst

Software Business Analyst

Supply Chain Business Analyst

Tableau Business Analyst

Business Systems Analyst

Entry Level Business Analyst

Junior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst

Agile Business Analyst

Banking Business Analyst

Business Analyst Accounting

Business Analyst Retail

Finance Business Analyst

Financial Business Analyst

Healthcare Business Analyst

IT Business Analyst

RPA Business Analyst

Salesforce Business Analyst

SAP Business Analyst

Servicenow Business Analyst

Software Business Analyst

Supply Chain Business Analyst

Tableau Business Analyst

Business Systems Analyst

Entry Level Business Analyst

Junior Business Analyst

Senior Business Analyst

Agile Business Analyst

Banking Business Analyst

Business Analyst Accounting

Business Analyst Retail

Finance Business Analyst

Financial Business Analyst

Healthcare Business Analyst

IT Business Analyst

RPA Business Analyst

Salesforce Business Analyst

SAP Business Analyst

Servicenow Business Analyst

Software Business Analyst

Supply Chain Business Analyst

Tableau Business Analyst

Business Systems Analyst

Pub : 11/28/2019 • Upd : 9/3/2024 8 min read

Resume Guide

Resume format
Resume experience
Resume skills
Education & certifications
Resume summary/objective
Additional sections
Key takeaways

By Experience

Entry Level Business Analyst
Junior Business Analyst
Senior Business Analyst

By Role

Agile Business Analyst
Banking Business Analyst
Business Analyst Accounting
Business Analyst Retail
Finance Business Analyst
Financial Business Analyst
Healthcare Business Analyst
IT Business Analyst
RPA Business Analyst
Salesforce Business Analyst
SAP Business Analyst
Servicenow Business Analyst
Software Business Analyst
Supply Chain Business Analyst
Tableau Business Analyst
Business Systems Analyst

Business Analyst resume example

As a business analyst (BA), you understand the importance of quality assurance and requirement gathering. You know how to manage and analyze data, but SQL and basic programming skills alone won’t help you when looking for your next job in business analysis.

In a LinkedIn post, professor of business analytics Yulia Kosarenko emphasizes the importance of communication for business analysts. Your ultimate goal is to ensure a shared understanding among all stakeholders to address business problems effectively. You’re the vital link in promoting effective information flow within an organization.

So, if you’re used to bridging the gaps between technical solutions and business needs, your resume should reflect just that. After reading our extensive guide, you’ll be able to write your business analyst resume as if you wrote the BABOK.

Here’s what else we’ll cover:

Which resume format to choose to best describe your previous experience.
How to pick the right combination of technical and soft skills relevant to your role and how to list them.
What to do when your target business analyst job is in a different industry.
How to optimize your resume just like you do the business you’re working for and meet specific recruiters’ requirements.
How to craft a business analyst resume summary that speaks volumes about your achievements and career goals.

Before we continue, look at some more related resume guides if you’re looking for something more specific.

Business Data Analyst Resume
Business Development Resume
Business Intelligence Resume
Statistical Data Analyst
Sales Analyst Resume
Operations Analyst Resume
Financial Business Analyst Resume
Healthcare Business Analyst Resume
Business Analyst Cover Letter

How to format a business analyst resume

For business analysts, the best resume format typically emphasizes their technical skills and ability to manage and communicate effectively within a business context.

The most suitable formats generally are:

Reverse-chronological resume: This is the most traditional and widely accepted format. It lists your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job at the top. This format is particularly effective if you have a solid work history without significant gaps and if your recent roles are relevant to the business analysis positions you are applying for.
Functional resume: This format focuses on your skills and experience, rather than your chronological work history. It's useful if you are changing careers, have gaps in employment, or want to highlight specific skills that are directly applicable to the job you're applying for. For a business analyst, this could mean emphasizing competencies in areas like requirements gathering, stakeholder engagement, data analysis, and project management.
Combination (hybrid) resume: This format blends the reverse-chronological and functional formats. It allows you to showcase your relevant skills at the top of the resume while also providing a detailed work history in reverse chronological order. This can be particularly beneficial for a business analyst role as it highlights pertinent skills upfront while also detailing your professional experience and achievements.

PRO TIP

High-complexity roles such as financial analyst, data analyst, and business intelligence analyst require advanced skills, so the combination resume format is often the best choice. It allows you to highlight both your deep analytical skills and your extensive experience in managing complex business processes.

Resume design tips

Here’s a tailored guide for business analysts to optimize their resumes for applicant tracking systems (ATS) and recruiter preferences:

ATS scans: Many recruiters use ATS to scan resumes for keywords from the job description, filtering out candidates who don’t match. To ensure your resume passes these scans, include relevant keywords related to business analysis, such as "data analysis" or "project management." This increases your chances of making it through the initial automated screening.
Resume margins: The ideal margin size for a resume is between 0.5 and 1 inch on all sides. Adjusting your margins can help frame your content neatly, making it more readable.
Resume font: Use fonts that are easy to read and ATS-friendly. Recommended fonts for business analysts include Arial, Lato, or even the more traditional Times New Roman in size 10-12 pt. These fonts help maintain the visual hierarchy and keep the recruiter’s attention focused on your qualifications.
Resume templates: To save time from building your resume from scratch, use one of Enhancv’s ready-made professional templates. You can choose from any of the single- and double-column layouts that can accommodate complex business analysis projects or technical skills clearly.
Resume length: Aim for a one-page resume, especially if you have less than 10 years of experience. This length is usually enough to briefly communicate your qualifications and achievements.
Resume header: Include your name, job title (e.g., Functional Analyst), email address, LinkedIn profile link, and a US phone number. The resume header is also a great place to highlight your area of expertise (finance, IT, healthcare, SAP, e-commerce) or an important certification you hold.
Resume photo: It is generally advised not to include a photo on your resume as photos can interfere with ATS processing. Plus, they’re frowned upon in most US states.
File formatting and naming convention:Save your resume as a PDF to preserve the layout across different viewing platforms. Name the file clearly with your full name, title, and the word 'resume', such as 'JohnDoe_BusinessDataAnalyst_Resume.pdf'. This helps hiring managers easily find and recognize your resume among many others.

Is your resume good enough?

Drop your resume here or choose a file. PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.

Privacy guaranteed

No matter which resume format you choose, make sure you include the 5 sections below.

The top sections on a business analyst's resume

Professional summary: Captures your core competencies quickly.
Technical skills: Highlights specific analytical tools and software.
Relevant experience: Showcases your role-specific achievements.
Key projects: Details impact and scope of major initiatives.
Education and certifications: Establishes your formal qualifications.

These sections belong there for a reason. Hiring managers will gather key insights from the way you build your resume and the information you put there.

What recruiters want to see on your BA resume

Proficiency in data analysis tools: Crucial for understanding and interpreting business data effectively.
Experience with requirements gathering: Key to developing solutions that meet business needs.
Demonstrated problem-solving skills: Essential for identifying and addressing business challenges.
Ability to manage stakeholders: Important for ensuring alignment and facilitating effective communication.
Project management experience: Valued for leading projects from conception to successful implementation.

Now, let’s move on to the longest and arguably most important part of your resume—the experience section.

How to write your BA resume experience section

No matter how you list your work experience, it needs to convey two things: relevance and measurable achievements. You might be a top performer at work, but as we mentioned earlier, you need to be able to sell yourself to recruiters by crafting the right narrative.

Follow our tips for creating relevant and quantifiable entries on your business analyst resume.

Find the right balance between jargon and layman's terms

In big companies, a recruiter might do a paper screening to pre-qualify applicants first. But for startups or small businesses, a manager or a senior business analyst will be the one reviewing your application.

How will this affect your resume?

There’s a chance one person reading it may only have a vague understanding of your role. Some recruiters are only given a list of skills or keywords to look for when pre-qualifying applicants. Worse still, they may not even understand the jargon at all.

Where do you stand then?

I don’t recommend including jargon in your resume for the sake of familiarity. Context and results are much more important as they help employers understand your work better.

Austin Belcak, Job Search and Founder of Cultivated Culture

Examine the job ad to hone in on the skills, tools, and projects the employer wants to see. This way, you don’t have to worry about a recruiter who’s just basing their decisions on a keyword checklist. You’ll also pass the scrutiny of a potential manager who understands the minutiae of your work.

PRO TIP

Aim to use the industry-accepted terms on your business analyst resume. For example, your previous employer might’ve conducted "beta tests" to get feedback before launching a software or service. Beta test might’ve been the popular jargon within your company, but other companies refer to this process as "data testing," or "end-user testing." It’s also generally known as "user acceptance testing."

Show results

Companies hire you to improve their performance so you have easy access to whether your work helped or not. There’s no excuse not to share the tangible outcome of your efforts.

If you’re having trouble pinpointing the outcome of your work, ask yourself "So what?" What happened because of the market research study you did? What happened as a result of the sales forecast you wrote?

Keep asking yourself "So what" until you get to the bottom of the situation.

Now that you know what to do, it’s time to see what those changes look like in an actual resume.

Experience Business Analyst 02/2020 - 11/2021 Seattle, WA Improved warehouse stocking process for products of Amazon FBA sellers. Fixed process for defective items stocked. Analyzed shipping and stocking trends for different products. Analyze product listing data of FBA sellers. WRONG

What’s wrong with the example above? Anyone who reads it will ask, "So what. "

So what if they poured through thousands of product listings on Amazon? What came out of that? Did it benefit the sellers or buyers in any way? Did it benefit Amazon?

Context is important. It shows why your task was crucial and how it impacted stakeholders. Otherwise, you might as well be a theoretical number cruncher.

Belcak analyzed hundreds of resumes from his audience and students. From this, he found that the most effective bullets consist of:

45% industry terms
15% action words
15% measurable results
25% common words

Here’s what the business analyst resume sample above looks like if rewritten based on this formula:

Experience Warehouse Business Analyst 02/2020 - 11/2021 Seattle, Wa

Overhauled warehouse product stocking process for Amazon FBA sellers, minimizing cataloging errors by 10% and improving fulfillment speed by 15%.

Minimized defective items stocked by 18% after implementing a stricter quality control and shipment acceptance process.

Conducted an exploratory analysis of 5-year product trends for 10K SKUs to detect potential trends and in-demand FMCG to boost revenue by 715M a month.

Improved product ranking factors and listing requirements to minimize returns by 26%. RIGHT

All bullets above show results, not just in money earned or saved but in other aspects of the business, too.

Belcak’s finding suggests allocating 45% of words to industry terms. This isn’t limited to jargon. Product stocking and quality control are both used in the retail industry and yet you don’t have to work in that industry to know what it means.

Below are some more tips on finding the answer to your “so what’s” when building your resume.

How to quantify impact on a business analyst resume

Include the percentage increase in efficiency due to your workflow optimizations, demonstrating your ability to streamline operations.
Detail the dollar amount saved through cost-reduction strategies you implemented, showcasing your impact on profitability.
Specify the growth in user adoption rates after you improved a system, illustrating your effectiveness in user engagement.
Quantify the reduction in processing time by implementing new software solutions, highlighting your contributions to operational speed.
Report the increase in customer satisfaction scores following enhancements you made, showing your focus on customer experience.
Mention the size of the data sets you analyzed, emphasizing your capability to handle complex data analysis.
State the decrease in error rates after your quality assurance measures, proving your attention to detail and accuracy.
Provide the annual growth rate of revenue streams that you developed or enhanced, underscoring your strategic impact on business growth.

The same quantifiable achievements can be applied to entry-level analyst resumes as well. Follow our tips below for creating a resume with little prior experience.

How do I write a business analyst resume with no direct experience

Here’s a little secret. Those job ads that require one to two years of professional experience are testing you.

Recruiters receive up to 250 applications for one job posting. So if you don’t apply because you don’t have all their "requirements," there’s less work for them. Job ads that "require" one to 2 years for fresh graduates are flexible. The work experience requested here isn’t limited to corporate settings.

The key to nailing your first experience section is to feature coursework, extra-curricular activities, volunteer work, and side projects that are relevant to the target position. Here’s an example.

Business analysts often have a degree in Business Administration. Their coursework usually covers the gamut of business communications, financing, operations, and policies.

Find out which of the job requirements are similar to your coursework and college projects, then write about that.

For instance, if you see phrases like "develop performance benchmarks" or "improve operational workflow," then write about your coursework in business policy or business process improvement. That’s relevant experience right there.

Don’t underplay non-analyst roles or side projects, either. If while waitressing, you tested different phrases you can say to increase your tip and shared it with other waitstaff, that’s another relevant accomplishment.

Just choose the right words when describing it. For example:

"Increased customer satisfaction by X% after testing and iterating several customer-centric spiels."

Where an increased percentage of customer satisfaction refers to an increase in tips, the customer-centric spiels are the friendly or complimenting stuff you said.

According to dataquest.io, business analyst career prospects are excellent. The job offers the potential for higher pay through the development of area-specific expertise. Areas with high-earning opportunities include quantitative analysis, information security analysis, test analysis, and network analysis.

Looking to build an intern resume for a business analyst position? Follow the steps in our article 5 Intern Resume Examples and Guide for 2024.

How to list your hard and soft skills on your resume

Some business analysts work in finance, technology, or healthcare. Some business analysts are only expected to analyze numbers. Other business analysts also oversee the implementation of their proposed solutions.

Don’t let this discourage you from applying to roles not related to your current work. Think of it as having a bigger market for your diverse skill set. For instance, if your IT Business Analyst resume explains how your skills are transferable in finance or warehouse operations, it shouldn’t be a problem.

If you have the skills, your resume can be tailored to fit a particular specialization.

The key is to start with the job ad. Prioritize the skills mentioned there by listing them at the top of your skills section. You can even divide them up by business function, or simply by soft and hard skills.

First, start by listing your technical skills—the specific set of hard skills needed for business analysis in most work settings. Make sure you list them in a separate section so recruiters can easily spot them.

The best hard skills for your business analyst resume

SQL
Python
Tableau
Microsoft Excel
R
SAS
Power BI
SPSS
Salesforce
SAP
Microsoft Access
VBA
JIRA
Oracle BI
Google Analytics
Microsoft Dynamics
QlikView
Hadoop
MATLAB
Scrum methodologies

To save space, consider listing the skills you honed directly after each job entry or even within it.

This should be the way to go with your soft skills, too. A recruiter won’t believe you’re a good collaborator simply because it’s listed as a soft skill on your resume.

You have to prove it. Describe a situation where you used those skills at work. Either do it in the experience section or put them in a strengths section, like so: