How To Become A Business Analyst
Business Analyst Mentor was launched in October 2008 to support business analysts in their professional development. There is a wealth of content on the website for new or relatively inexperienced business analysts that will help you on how to become a business analyst and how to become a business analyst with no experience.
The website will help you, how to become a business analyst, if:
- You have some experience of business analysis but have not had the formal title and/or had no or limited formal training;
- You have business experience and want to leverage this as a business analyst (your experience is a huge asset as a business analyst);
- You are brand new to business analysis with no or limited business experience.
Table of Contents
Why Become A Business Analyst?
This is a good question as you need to know your motivations are right before you invest time and money in becoming a successful business analyst.
Many companies have realised the value of having skilled business analysts who can help ensure that businesses invest their resources and money wisely to gain a competitive advantage.
Business analysis is a varied and demanding career which utilises many skills including problem solving and stakeholder management.
The skills you acquire as a business analyst are very useful in many other roles and will provide you with opportunities to move into different roles in the future (if you desire).
Who Can Become A Business Analyst?
Anyone can become a business analyst but you need to have certain characteristics and it is important that you check these are skills you have or can and want to develop before you commit your valuable time and money.
These are the characteristics of a good business analyst that will help you become a business analyst:
- Analytical thinker;
- Good communicator;
- Enjoys problem solving;
- Can create a rapport/relationship with different people (e.g. senior management, end user);
- Persistent and determined when tackling problems;
- Quick and enthusiastic learner; It is often necessary to understand the operations of business areas with which you have no or limited familiarity;
- High level understanding of business; this can be developed over time and/or through education;
- Experience of business in one or more industry sectors this can be developed over time and will make you more valuable in protecting the business interests;
- High level understanding of technology; this can be developed over time and will make you more valuable in the detail of IT focussed projects.
What Is A Business Analyst?
The business analyst bridges the ‘understanding gap’ between the business and technology. He/she is a trusted advisor whose job is to protect the interests of the business and ensure their objectives are met. The business analyst also helps the business communicate their needs clearly and express them in a form that is suitable for all stakeholders including the technology team.
Roadmap To Success
There are a number of milestones you need to hit to enter the career of business analyst and how to become a business analyst:
Find A Mentor Who Is An Experienced Business Analyst
A mentor doesn’t have to be one person, it could be several people who are willing to give you a little of their time and guide you.
This website is a very good starting point but you would benefit from advice from someone who’s been there to provide/advise on training, evaluate and suggest courses, suggest books and give general career advice.
Business Analyst Mentor has partnered to provide professional business analyst mentoring services
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Join A local Business Analysis Community
The international institute of business analysis (IIBA) is the governing body of business analysis and provides an opportunity for new and aspiring business analysis to join a local business analysis community via an IIBA chapter. You can browse, locate and join a local IIBA chapter.
Volunteer and offer to help with whatever needs support. If you do people favours and demonstrate you are willing to contribute you will find people are much more willing to help you. Volunteering might well present unexpected opportunities and help you first understand how to start a business analyst career
Visit Online Resources And Blogs
You can visit online resources and blogs including to help you on how to become a business analyst:
Get Training
This step isn’t obligatory but strongly recommended on how to become a business analyst. You may feel you know a lot about business analysis already but it is important for successful job hunting because:
- Knowledge gives you confidence;
- Confidence helps you perform better in interviews and makes you more credible;
- Fundamental business analysis knowledge
will help you narrow down the most suitable business analyst jobs; - Knowledge will help you when starting your job;
- Differentiate yourself from the competition with your investment in training.
However, be selective on your business analyst training and focus on how you can become a business analyst. Research training offerings and companies and make sure you don’t invest in training that is not relevant when you’re starting out.
Gain credibility and confidence in your ability to understand the work and talk like a business analyst (at a high level) by reading books and listening to business analysis podcasts or by attending courses to introduce you to business analysis
Being aware of the major business analyst certifications is important to know for both new or aspiring business analyst and those who have been in the profession for a number of years.
Some people initially seek out cheaper training from Udemy to get familiar with business analysis.
Acquire Experience
This step isn’t obligatory but highly recommended on how to become a business analyst with no experience. You will spend the rest of your career acquiring experience but it does help job hunting because (and will help with how to become a business analyst with no experience):
- You differentiate yourself from the competition with your new skills;
- It demonstrates your commitment;
- It may lead to a job;
- You can gain experience with your current employer or whilst looking for work.
If you are a business analyst who has a resume / CV with no experience, Look for opportunities to gain experience within your current organisation.
Ask around to find out if IT projects take place within your organisation and ask for names of people who are involved.
Speak to colleagues to determine what approach to getting involved is most likely to be successful in your organisation. Would you be willing to offer some of your time for free whilst continuing in your current role?
Ask for the opportunity to move across to a business analysis role. Consider volunteering to pay for your own training as an incentive.
Request to participate in a project, possibly as a subject matter expert. This is someone who knows some or all aspects of the impacted business area. When in the role, ask to help with the business analysis.
Request to shadow a business analyst on a part time basis whilst still doing your day job.
Offer to assist in planning and participating in the ‘user acceptance testing’ as this will require contact with the business analyst. This is a reasonable request for anyone who understands the user’s point of view.
Be flexible and consider how to make it a win-win for you and your employer? If you can gain BA skills whilst doing your current job, they will have a much more useful and skilled employee.
Network with current contacts and IIBA for opportunities.
Ask for advice or opportunities online; through the IIBA; and through your contacts.
Identify charities, not for profit organisations or companies with good internship / apprenticeship culture.
Consider small, medium or large companies. Larger companies are likely to undertake projects in house but bureaucracy and process may make it harder to gain access to decision makers or make decisions based on free resources.
Smaller companies undertake less projects in house but will be much more flexible and keen to accept cheap/free help. They will still need business analysis skills (as well as project management) to work with an external supplier.
Draw up a short list of companies to target that you would be happy to work for and any contacts in those organisations.
Decide which ways of gaining experience would work for you:
- Offering time for free working as a business analyst (part or full time);
- Applying for internships / apprenticeships;
- Applying for junior BA positions;
- Request to shadow a business analyst (part or full time);
- Applying for normal BA positions.
Speak to the contact in each organisation and agree the best approach:
- Contact speaks to decision makers in organisation on your behalf;
- Contact sets up meeting on your behalf;
- You send speculative letter to decision maker;
- You apply for existing programme (internship, volunteering etc).
Prepare For Job Hunting And Interviews
If you are currently in work, look for opportunities within your current organisation.
If you are currently looking for work, look for opportunities with the organisation through which you are acquiring experience.
Network with current contacts and IIBA for opportunities.
Ask for advice or opportunities online, through the IIBA and through your contacts.
Identify companies with good internship/apprenticeship culture.
Draw up a short list of companies to target that you would be happy to work for and any contacts in those organisations.
Decide which ways of getting a job would work for you:
- Applying for internships / apprenticeships;
- Applying for junior business analyst positions;
- Applying for normal business analyst positions;
- Applying for normal business analyst positions where you know the industry well; this a great selling point, make the most of it.
- Applying for normal business analyst position as a consultant; this is high risk – you need to be confident of your strengths and have good support.
Speak to the contact in each organisation and agree the best approach:
- Contact speaks to decision makers in organisation on your behalf;
- Contact sets up meeting on your behalf;
- You send speculative letter to decision maker;
- You apply for existing programme (internship, volunteering etc);
- You apply for job in response to job ad.
Check the job advertisements. Make sure the role that is advertised as business analyst is a business analyst role. Not all employers understand what a business analyst does. Some will expect a hybrid who also does some coding or also does project management.
Your first job will be challenging enough without explaining your role to your employer! Some job ads will request this type of experience and you can filter these out unless you want to do some coding or project management! Also, if they request technical experience which you don’t have, don’t apply for the role. There should be plenty of roles which don’t expect technical knowledge.
If needed you can seek out professional business analysis interview preparation and resume / CV guidance and advice on the common business analyst interview questions.
Demonstrate Your Credibility
Consider how to structure your resume / CV and what will be relevant for a business analysis role:
- IIBA membership – shows your commitment to the role;
- Demonstrate familiarity with BABOK (Business Analysis Book Of Knowledge – free to IIBA members) – this is mainly for the interview. Not every employer will be familiar with IIBA or BABOK but the tasks and activities described are still part of the business analysis role whether the employer as heard of it or not;
- Demonstrate familiarity with business analysis fundamentals – your resume should show specific examples of when you have undertaken BA tasks and your level of success. You should consider all your experience even if it was unpaid work; tasks undertaken without having the business analyst ‘title’; or not part of a job;
- This should include all of the following where you have relevant experience:
- Interviewing experience;
- Listening skills, especially active listening; facilitation experience (e.g. brainstorming, walk throughs, focus groups);
- Data gathering – surveys, questionnaires;
- Team work skills – collaboration, flexibility, helping others and knowing how to ask for help;
- Relationship building (e.g. senior and junior colleagues);
- Negotiation – achieving consensus over prioritising requirements, resolving conflicts;
- Communication skills, written and verbal – ability to express yourself simply and concisely to different audiences using words and models (any type of model)
- Demonstrate familiarity with the industry – you may or may not be familiar with the industry sector in which you are applying for a job. Regardless, you should attempt to demonstrate how your past experience is relevant to the industry sector in which you will be working;
- Detail any training or assessments you have taken;
- Tailor your resume / CV to fit each job application or your chances of success will be reduced;
- Attend interviews; you should be able to confidently discuss experiences from your past where you applied business analysis skills. Be honest about the gaps in your knowledge but don’t draw attention to them;
- Make it clear that you are committed to your professional development through participation in IIBA, ongoing ad hoc training and mentoring.
One of the common questions that is often asked for junior or aspiring business analyst is: how I should write my business analyst CV / resume when I only have a few years’ experience or experience gathered from a different role.
Being prepared for a business analyst interview and understanding the business analysis interview questions that are common for refreshers, entry level and experienced business analyst will help you obtain the role that you desire.
If you follow the steps in this article it will help you on your journey on how to become a successful business analyst with no experience.
Get Your First Position
Well done, you’ve made it but it doesn’t end here. Your professional development has just started. Continue to use the resources (including this website) you have identified to acquire your first job and become a certified business analyst.
Recommended Reading
We have a compiled a list of recommended business analysis books which will help on how to become a business analyst.
Conclusion – How To Become A business Analyst
This article has provided guidance on how to become a business analyst and helped aspiring and new business analyst enter the profession and start their business analysis careers.
The article helps you how to become a business analyst with no experience and provide guidance on how to get a junior business analyst job.