Being prepared for a business analyst interview and understanding the business analyst interview questions and answers that are common for refreshers, entry level business analyst and experienced business analyst will help you obtain the role that you desire.
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Common questions that business analyst ask are: what are the common business analyst interview questions and what are the tips? Alternatively they may ask what questions will be asked in a business analyst interview?
The top business analyst interview questions are:
- Why are you applying for this role?
- What’s are your biggest strengths?
- What are your greatest weaknesses?
- What will your skills and ideas bring to this company?
- What’s your preferred management style?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- How would you approach this job?
- What have you achieved elsewhere?
- What did you like / dislike about your last job?
- Tell me about a time you worked in a team?
- Can you tell me about a time when you had to gain agreement from a group of stakeholders?
However, knowing how to prepare for a business analyst interview and being clear on the business analyst selection process will help provide context on what questions will be asked in a business analyst interview.
Take the opportunity to refresh yourself with business knowledge and read business analysis books,
listen to business analysis podcasts, watch business analysis videos and undertake any business analysis training.
Refreshing your business knowledge will help you be prepared for business analyst interview questions.
How to Prepare for Business Analyst Interview
There are different types of interview formats that organisations may decide to take, and each organisation may structure them slightly differently depending upon what aspect they wish to focus on. The most popular for recruiting business analysts are:
- Initial telephone interview – this is often used to screen and shortlist candidates;
- Face-to-face interviews with scenarios or capability interviews – you are given a case study and asked how you would approach the situation; candidates may be asked to pre-prepare a presentation for an interview panel;
- Psychometric or similar tests – this could include an online-assessments prior to the interview;
- Assessment days, often consisting of a range of the approaches mentioned above; this is more of an investment for the organisation and involve a lot of planning, so assessment days are normally considered for junior or entry level business analyst candidates.
If you do get called up for a business analyst interview, it does make sense to ask the organisation what type of interview format that you will be asked to attend. You can use this information as a basis to prepare for the interview.
When you prepare for a business analyst interview you should consider what the organisation would like to know from you and what value you can bring to the organisation.
A good interviewer will probe to understand your strengths and weaknesses – so it is worth spending sometimes to understand your strengths and weaknesses.
You should research the organisation that you are being interviewed for. Research their organisation reports, website and social media presence including YouTube to get a perspective of how the organisation is doing and what type of projects that they are or may be undertaking.
Seek out networking contacts who may have worked at the organisation, using tools such as LinkedIn can help you find any contacts that you may have.
If you are worried or concerned about your interviewing technique, then you may wish to conduct a mock interview with a friend or colleague so that you can practice speaking and communicating and being able to walk through your CV / resume with an added level of confidence. Most organisations will use your CV / resume as a basis for initial and sometimes the main discussion of an interview.
So, make sure that you are comfortable with what you have written on your CV / resume and only use words and terms that you can discuss and explain whilst in the interview. Don’t make the mistake of copying or using expressions from someone else CV / resume and then having the difficulty and struggles of trying to explain them.
Business Analyst Selection Process
Organisations will typically conduct the following process to determine which candidates are suitable for them:
- Review applications – this can be done by the organisation or a recruitment agency working on the behalf of the organisation;
- Shortlist – most organisations or recruitment agencies will need a manageable number of suitable candidates that meet the assessment criteria.
- Telephone interview – this is used to help increase the confidence that a face-to-face interview will be worthwhile and is cost and time effective for the candidate;
- Formal interview and assessment for business analyst candidates – to ensure that the organisation has a good understanding of the candidate suitability including strengths and weaknesses; this also allows for a rounded in-depth discussion and allows the candidate to understand the working environment.
Some organisations will use a recruitment agency to undertake the reviewing, shortlisting and sometimes the initial telephone interview. So, if you find out that the role that your applying for is being recruited by a recruitment agency, take the opportunity to build up a good relationship with the agency and seek feedback and follow-up where possible.
What Questions Will Be Asked in A Business Analyst interview?
Business analyst interview questions typically cover all elements of the business analyst role: personal qualities, professional techniques and business knowledge.
Many organisations use competency-based interview questions that focus on real examples from the candidates past experience and relate to specific areas of skill or knowledge that are needed to be successful in the role. Value based interview questions but concentrate on the candidate’s approach and outlook and motivations to determine whether the candidate shares the same values as the organisation.
For each business analyst interview questions that is being asked it is worth considering how the question will be evaluated and provide any positive indicators of your performance. Try and ensure that you answer questions clearly. If you have been involved in more senior work, then state what was involved. Describe any significant presentations that you may have done or key papers that you may have written.
Business Analyst Interview Questions
The following business analyst interview questions are applicable for freshers, entry level business analyst and also experienced business analysts. Each question below also contains business analyst interview questions with answers and tips.
Why Are You Applying for This Role?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- What can you do, that we need you to do?
- Do you even know, what we need you to do?
Tip:
- Reflect on the role job specification in every line of your answer;
- Talk about their organisational needs before you mention your own.
The only thing the interviewer really wants to hear is this:
“I’m applying because my skills, experience and motivation are the best fit for the job”
That in more detail, might look like this…
“When I read the job ad, I could see straight away the fit between what you’re looking for and what I’ve done in my career to date. That’s also what I want to do much more of in the future too.”
“I’ve really enjoyed my time at X, but with my experience I know I can make a bigger contribution at Z. Also, I like the way you do things here – example.”
“It’s also well known that X is a good employer and you have great scheme, but mainly I’m applying because I think I can do this job well and have fun doing it”
This answer provides:
- Long term satisfaction on both sides;
- Shows values and what they care about, aligns with the organisation.
What’s Are Your Biggest Strengths?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- Do you really know yourself?
- Do you know what our problem is here?
Other questions that are asking the same question:
- Why are you a good fit for this company?
- Why should we hire you?
Tip:
- Answer with the job description uppermost in your mind. Go easy on adjectives and heavy on hard data / evidence;
- You need to think hard about the job’s requirements and map them against your best achievements to date;
- You are there to solve their problem, not to tell them you’re a hard worker and easy to work with. It’s not about listing adjectives “hardworking”, “trustworthy” – these can’t help with solving the employer’s problem;
- You need to provide examples with dates and numbers.
How to answer it
- Think of 3 key strengths with evidence;
- Start with an adjective to describe your strength, sure, but then explain the context in which that strength was used, starting with your most recent role, describe the impact of your strength, and give some basic dramatic element i.e. the result;
- Also, give an example where your strength was acknowledged by others – so the interviewer knows it’s not all in your head.
Example answer
“Market trends! I’ve always been good at reading market trends and staying in step with them. It’s something that comes naturally to me, something that other people recognise I’m good at – and something I pride myself on too.”
What Are Your Greatest Weaknesses?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- Am I right in thinking X about you?
- Are you going to give me the same answer that everybody else did?
Tip:
- If you’ve been invited for interview, chances are that they’re seeking affirmation of predicted weaknesses, not information about new ones;
- Look at the job description and think about where you have skills / knowledge gaps; the interviewer will notice these and expect you to bring them up. Talking about gaps in your CV is a lot less risky than mentioning what you really think is a weakness. Don’t bother talking about your character, stick to the job description, your skills and career history;
- So, show that you’ve considered your CV against the job description;
- Speak confidently about it like you know it’s not a deal breaker;
- Cite evidence to show that you’re working on the weaknesses;
- A life-long learner is better suited to today’s rapidly changing workplace;
- There is no single, right answer;
- End your answer by asking a question in order to get the conversation back to what you can do.
Never mention the following:
- I’m a perfectionist;
- I work too hard / care too much;
- I get frustrated when people don’t pull their weight.
Example answer
“I’d say that my greatest weakness is that I’ve been out of the workforce for a couple of years in order to raise my family. I didn’t drop out of the industry altogether during that time. My contacts book is up to date and I’ve kept up to date with industry trends. For example, I enrolled for online professional development courses.”
“Was there anything on my CV that especially concerned you?”
“I think everyone has things they need to improve.”
What Will Your Skills and Ideas Bring To This Company?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- What will we be buying from you?
Tip:
- You can appear generous, or miserly;
- The key is show that you think of the company in terms of having problems and opportunities that could benefit from your help;
- You should present your ideas in terms of previous work experience, and how you executed ideas successfully.
What’s Your Preferred Management Style?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- Are you and I going to get on?
- Very often the person interviewing you will be your future boss, so they may ask this;
- Bosses want to see someone who can work under their own steam;
- They want to brief you on a job without spelling it out.
Example Answer:
“Good question, I think that half the trick of managing people is not being scared to ask them what they think – like you’ve just asked me.”
It’s good to mention key moments in your experience with a manager too, most notably involving conflict, success, goal setting, and performance.
Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- Are you after this job, or just any job?
- How soon will you need a new challenge?
- Do you have a realistic sense of what we can offer you?
Tip:
- Use the opportunity to detail your achievements to date, before saying you’d hope to be equally successful at this company;
- Nice to remind them what drew you to the company in first place.
Some example answers:
“It’s common knowledge that your company has the highest performing standards and the best software engineers in the industry. So, if that’s still the case in five years, I hope I will be working here.”
Mention that you’d like still to be with the company making a valuable contribution.
How Would You Approach This Job?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- How well do you know us?
- What’s your take on what we need?
- What’s your preferred style of working?
You can answer by referring to previous success in current role and describe ways of working.
Say you’d like to replicate those successes if offered the role
Also, use this question to show your ability to adapt to the company
Acknowledge that all companies are different, so you’d use your first few weeks on the job to learn systems, processes, get to know colleagues and what they do, before creating your plan
This shows the interviewer that you are planning for success in the role, but don’t have a rigid idea of how things should be done.
Can mention that all companies do business analysis in their own way, but the great thing about business analysis is that the key principles stay the same no matter which industry, country, or company you work in.
What Have You Achieved Elsewhere?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- What’s the very best we can expect from you?
- Is it what we need?
Tip:
- Keep it recent, work related and well-rehearsed;
- Sound confident – they want you to be;
- This is your chance to blow your trumpet;
- Too many people suck at articulating what makes them different to other candidates, let alone better; most people are too modest!
- Remember, they want you to boast and hear about the best version of you;
- Think about your achievements as a plotline rather than a list of numbers or promotions;
- Don’t be afraid to include dramatic effects like conflict, growth, transformation.
What Did You Like / Dislike About Your Last Job?
The real business analyst interview questions:
- What do you want from us that the last lot couldn’t give you?
- Can we give it to you?
Tip:
- Start with a list of what makes you happy, then let them know that you don’t expect perfection in a job;
- Remember, they are inviting you to say something negative here. No job is perfect;
- So, don’t dodge the question – its ok to talk about things you don’t enjoy.
Just make sure your answer demonstrates grit and a strong work ethic, on that can power you through difficulties.
Example answer:
“There was a lot about the job I enjoyed at my last company. I loved being out of the office, working on site, which put me in close contact with our customers and my colleagues. I felt like I got a lot more than I would just sitting in the office. But there were some drawbacks, being on site all the time meant leaving home before breakfast and getting in after dark, so my family life suffered.
I had to do it, of course in order to keep our promise of next day service. I became so focused on the job that in the end if stopped thinking about the time of day and that’s not really how I want to live. I know the job I’m applying for will occasionally mean working unsocial hours, but I’m happy to accept that, since it’s not something will be doing day in, day out.”
Make a list of your likes / dislikes for this question, think about the following, does your job offer them?
Some examples are below:
- Meet interesting people;
- Work in the field;
- Opportunity to progress;
- Work independently;
- Atmosphere of trust;
- Travel;
- Friendly / supportive culture;
- Varied work;
- Constant learning;
- Rewards creativity;
- Likeable colleagues;
- Customer interaction;
- Close to management;
- Development opportunities;
- Positive impact on community;
- Forefront of modern technology.
Tell Me About A Time You Worked In A Team?
The real business analyst interview question:
- No one achieves anything on their own – you know that, right?
Tip:
- Find a recent, real example where you worked successfully with others;
- Your answer must focus on your actions;
- It should also end with a definite, positive outcome;
- Assigns credit where credit is due. Make sure you don’t sound like the type of person who steals the spotlight or undervalues other contributors.
Can you tell me about a time when you had to gain agreement from a group of stakeholders?
Tip:
- Outline how you approached the situation;
- Clearly describe the role that you played;
- Describe the significance of the agreement;
- Describe any collaborative approaches that you took.
Seeking Further Assistance – Business Analysis Job Interview Preparation Program
If you are seeking further assistance you can undertake a short business analysis job interview preparation program that is designed to help all experience level business analysts be successful with finding their next business analysis role and help with understanding business analyst job interview questions.
It includes a business analysis example resume and cover letter with important things to know when preparing your resume for recruiters. It also includes training material in how to answer each interview question effectively and it includes 40 multiple choice business analysis standard and behavioural interview questions.
Concluding Guidance on Business Analyst Interview Questions
There is a lot of competition for business analyst jobs and opportunities; and if you are seeking a change of direction or new industry to apply your business analyst skills it pays to prepare and know your business analyst strengths and weaknesses.
Hopefully, this article has provided you with some business analyst interview tips and guidance on how to prepare for a business analyst interview. Hopefully, the article has made you clear on the business analyst selection process and helped you to understand the types of business analyst interview questions that you might be asked.