Business Analyst Skills
These are the key hard and soft skills required for a job as a business analyst in 2024 based on our database of over 10 million real job listings.
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Business analysts play a key role in enabling businesses to succeed. They look beyond figures and statistics to draw valuable insights, pinpoint areas for improvement, and come up with tailor-fit solutions.A job like this needs someone who has an in-depth understanding of business operations, critical thinking skills, and the ability to make quick decisions. It also requires the ability to work well under pressure, interpret data, and think outside of the box.
Needless to say, it’s not a job for everyone. This is why recruiters look for specific skill sets when trying to fill the role.
If you think you’re the right fit, your resume needs to be able to show that for you. Knowing the top business analyst skills required to excel in the role–and including those in your resume–is key to making sure you get noticed.
How we got the data
The data in this report was pulled from Jobscan’s database of more than 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes.
We analyzed the job descriptions to find the skills that employers want the most. Then we analyzed the resumes to see which skills appeared most frequently.
Armed with this knowledge, job seekers can easily tailor their resumes and cover letters to highlight the most relevant skills for each job they apply to.
top 10 business analyst Hard Skills
top 10 business analyst Soft Skills
top 10 business analyst Skills on Resumes with High Match Rate
- Management
- Analytics
- Communication
- Data
- Professional
- Agile
- Business Analysis
- Microsoft
- Testing
- Project Management
Top 10 business analyst skills
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Analyzed the campaign’s metrics and KPIs against industry data and created an enhanced marketing strategy that improved conversion rates by 46%.
- Evaluated the team’s performance and created a performance improvement plan that increased team productivity by 30%.
- Conducted market research and analysis, which aided in the creation of a strategic marketing plan that expanded our organic reach by 15%.
- Assessed existing business operations to identify areas for improvement, resulting in 10% higher efficiency rates.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Five years of experience in project management using software tools like Trello and Asana.
- Proficient in using SQL for managing databases to generate reports, forecasts, and business analyses.
- Advanced knowledge of programming for analyzing large data sets to draw valuable observations and insights.
- Expert at using Microsoft Office tools for preparing reports and creating presentations that break down complex information into understandable insights.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Facilitated regular meetings with key team members to gather insights on business processes and share insights on business projections based on existing data.
- Created a business analysis that showed areas for improvement as well as potential solutions, which helped the company reach 10% more than its monthly sales targets.
- Prepared financial forecasting reports, which helped us reduce costs by 12% and increase profits by 20%.
- Established rapport with stakeholders and clients by maintaining email and phone call etiquette, which helped nurture long-term partnerships and fostered collaboration.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Conducted a market analysis to determine the company’s profitability, which was crucial in the formation of a successful marketing campaign and meeting sales targets.
- Analyzed workforce data to determine the cause of high turnover rates and address the problem with long-term solutions, resulting in 50% fewer resignations.
- Evaluated campaign performance metrics to draw accurate forecasts and identify areas for improvement, resulting in a 40% wider reach and 15% higher conversion rates.
- Conducted product testing and market research to determine key challenges for product acceptance, which resulted in a more streamlined product ideation and creation process.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Conducted a study on our target audience to identify key trends that affected product acceptance, resulting in a better understanding of our brand positioning and relevance.
- Used design thinking strategies to identify pain points that our competitors had not addressed, which supported the creation of a product that provided better solutions and greater functionality.
- Assessed competitor and market data to formulate alternative solutions to existing problems, resulting in 30% more user-centric outcomes and prototypes.
- Conducted market surveys and interviews, which helped our team provide solutions to previously unidentified problems.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Drew conclusions on the company’s sales performance by analyzing data on actual performance versus metrics, which supported the sales team in building strategies that generated 10% better results.
- Regularly presented business forecasts during executive meetings, which supported the team’s business strategies.
- Collated and analyzed reports on business metrics and performance to meet the department’s documentary requirements.
- Designed the company’s financial reports to help justify budget allocations and determine project profitability.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Created and maintained a database that allowed me to spot issues when they arose and created timely recommendations to address them.
- Promptly accommodated the need for changes to product models and designs based on user tests and actual feedback.
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills by developing quick solutions to software glitches seen through testing and user reports.
- Evaluated software development stages to identify areas where performance slowed down, resulting in 40% fewer bottlenecks.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Regularly ran user acceptance tests to determine whether our products met user requirements, resulting in a 30% more efficient product creation process.
- Organized system tests to ensure that all areas were functioning smoothly prior to product launch.
- Executed thorough business process tests to ensure that all departments understood the system and address problems prior to official implementation.
- Collaborated with stakeholders in conducting software testing to spot glitches and errors and provide timely solutions to address issues.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Excel in organizing data and making accurate calculations.
- Utilized Microsoft Excel to summarize large amounts of data to generate reports in a timely manner.
- Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel’s functions, such as pivot tables, in data analysis.
- Five years of experience in using Microsoft Excel to interpret large data sets, draw valuable insights, and create robust financial reports.
How to write this skill on your resume:
- Conducted research on business opportunities and created a proposal based on the project’s scope, budget, and existing strategies.
- Consistently provided documentary requirements and reports according to the project’s timeline and direction.
- Developed timely business forecasts to support the team’s quarterly and yearly targets.
- Collaborated with other team members and stakeholders to draft proposals for potential business and marketing ventures.
Tips for using business analyst skills on a resume
Create a bulleted resume skills section
Use a simple, clean format that highlights your skills and experiences. Focus on readability by using bullet points and short phrases to present your skills. Properly organize your resume into education, experience, and skills sections.
“Adding a skills section to your resume is a great way to draw the recruiter’s attention to your most relevant strengths and competencies.”
– Ashley Watkins, NCRW, NCOPE, Job Search Coach
For example, a business analyst’s bullet points might look like this:
- Analytical. Analyzed the campaign’s metrics and KPIs against industry data and created an enhanced marketing strategy that improved conversion rates by 46%.
- Business analysis. Evaluated the campaign’s performance metrics to draw accurate forecasts and identify areas for improvement, resulting in a 40% wider reach and 15% higher conversion rates.
- Design. Conducted a study on our target audience to identify key trends that affected product acceptance, resulting in a better understanding of our brand positioning and relevance.
- Technical. Proficient in using SQL for managing databases to generate reports, forecasts, and business analyses.
- Communication. Facilitated regular meetings with key team members to gather insights on business processes and share insights on business projections based on existing data.
- Project management. Consistently provided documentary requirements and reports according to the project’s timeline and direction, resulting in a 10% increase in new business.
- Reporting. Collated and analyzed reports on business metrics and performance to meet the department’s documentary requirements.
Hitting all the top job requirements with your skills list will help you rank highly for a keyword search within an applicant tracking system. But don’t stop there. Add context for every skill elsewhere in your work experience. If a recruiter is excited by “business analysis” in your skills section, the first thing they’ll do is skim your work experience to figure out when, how, and how much you used that skill.
Highlight skills and accomplishments in your work experience section
As you list your responsibilities, it’s also important to highlight your major accomplishments wherever you can.
“For soft skills, it’s often more effective to demonstrate them in the context of your past work experience. Instead of merely stating “excellent team player”, you are better off saying “collaborated with a cross-functional team of 6 on a new product launch that boosted sales by 30% in one year”. Examples of specific accomplishments or business outcomes speak louder than buzzwords.”
– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor
For example, if you significantly increased the team’s productivity, be sure to mention this accomplishment.
Instead of saying,
“Evaluated campaign performance metrics.”
You could say,
“Evaluated the campaign’s performance metrics to draw accurate forecasts and identify areas for improvement, resulting in a 40% wider reach and 15% higher conversion rates.”
This demonstrates your level of expertise with the skills you listed. It gives the recruiter more reason to be interested in you as a result.
Break resume skills sections into categories
If you’re applying for a role requiring a broad skillset, categorize your skills.
“If you opt to include a designated skills section on your resume, include up to 10 of your core competencies. Excessive skills lists are overwhelming and sometimes confusing to the reader.”
– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter
For example, someone applying for a role as a business analyst might benefit from segmenting their skill lists as follows:
- Database management
- SQL
- Cloud
- Software development
- Agile
- Atom
- Jira
- Project management
- Trello
- Asana
- ClickUp
Quantify your achievements
Use numbers to quantify your achievements wherever possible. This helps potential employers understand your abilities and the impact you can have on their organization.
“Recruiters and hiring managers are looking for relevancy of how and when you applied those skills, so provide examples of this in your experience section. Bonus tip: Don’t just insert the skill like a task–include results.”
– Kelli Hrivnak, Marketing and Tech Recruiter
Instead of saying,
“Assessed competitor and market data.”
You could say,
“Assessed competitor and market data to formulate alternative solutions to existing problems, resulting in 30% more user-centric outcomes and prototypes.”
By using numbers, you give hiring managers a better sense of your value.
Tailor your resume to the job description
Read the description carefully and emphasize the relevant skills and experiences. Highlight the skills that the employer seeks and provide examples of how you’ve used those skills in your previous roles. Doing so can demonstrate that you’re a strong fit for the position and increase your chances of being invited to an interview.
“The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach doesn’t work when it comes to your resume. For every job application, tailor your skill set to match the job description. Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter candidates based on keywords and skills listed in the job description. So, research the role you’re applying for and distill the skills required.”
– Ana Lokotkova, Career Coach and Advisor
In order to do this, “you must first understand what skills are most important for the target role,” says Ashley Watkins.
Here’s an example of how to tailor a business analyst resume to a job description:
Job Title: Business Analyst for an IT Company
Requirements: Experience in software development and database management.
Tailored Resume Description:
- Over five years of experience in database management tools, such as MySQL, Oracle, and DevOps.
- Proficient in software development tools, such as Jira and Agile.
- Working understanding of coding and programming language.
“Focus on the sought-after and in demand skills. A great way to figure out what is currently in demand is by researching current job openings from your preferred companies and reading through the posting. Pay close attention to the preferred requirements section and build your skills section based on this list.”
– Chelsea Jay, Career & Leadership Development Coach – Seasoned and Growing
Bonus Tip: Use action verbs
Start each bullet point with an action verb. An action verb expresses an action, such as “create,” “build,” “manage,” “lead,” or “implement.”
Action verbs grab the reader’s attention and paint a vivid picture of what you accomplished at work.
Action verbs make your resume more interesting to read. They also show the kind of can-do attitude that employers are looking for.
FAQs
The top 10 skills needed for a business analyst are the following:
- Analytical. This involves the ability to employ critical thinking when analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and creating solutions.
- Technical. The ability to use tools for data analysis, programming, and project management tools is a huge plus for business analyst candidates.
- Communication. An effective business analyst is able to convey their ideas through excellent verbal and written communication.
- Business analysis. This is the ability to analyze data to spot problems and provide solutions, predict business trajectories, and improve business processes.
- Design. This entails creating solutions through user-centric ideation processes.
- Reporting. Reporting is the ability to present ideas in a way that audiences are able to understand and appreciate.
- Agile. Business analysts typically work in a fast-paced environment. They need to see issues as they arise and create timely solutions.
- Testing. This is all about ensuring that systems, products, and processes work as intended.
- Excel. Microsoft Excel is a necessary tool for gathering, organizing, and analyzing data.
- Project management. Business analysts need to demonstrate the ability to work well with a team and within the usual constraints of time and budget, among others.
Some business analyst technical skills that you should include in your resume are the following:
- Data analysis
- Project management
- Acceptance testing
- Software testing
- Software development methods
- Research
Here are the top skills that recruiters look for when hiring a business analyst:
- Analytical
- Technical
- Communication
- Business analysis
- Design
- Reporting
- Agile
- Testing
- Excel
- Project management
To become a business analyst, you will need the following technical skills:
- Database types and functions. This includes SQL, cloud, and real-time databases.
- Research. Research skills involve knowing the right questions to ask, active listening, and writing reports.
- Programming language. While knowledge of coding is not required, an understanding of programming languages, such as Java and PHP, is a must to excel as a business analyst.
- Software development. You don’t need to know all the ins and outs of software development, but you do need a working knowledge of software development methods, such as agile development.
- Microsoft Office software. Software tools like Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more, are essential to a business analyst’s daily tasks.
- Project management tools. Project management tools, such as Asana, ClickUp, and Trello, are useful for tracking progress, meeting deadlines, and ensuring positive collaborations even when working remotely with other team members.
Here are the most important business analyst skills to put on your resume:
- Analytical
- Technical
- Business analysis
- Design
- Reporting
- Agile
- Testing
- Excel
- Project management
- Acceptance testing
While the above hard skills matter a great deal when recruiters screen applications, they also look for soft skills necessary for performing well within a team setting.
The top soft skills that recruiters look for are the following:
- Communication
- Leadership
- Collaborative
- Driven
- Influence
- Innovative
- Interpersonal
- Creative
- Motivated
Unlike hard skills, however, it can be tricky to figure out how to highlight soft skills on a resume. Here’s a guide on how you can effectively do so.