“I want to become a business Analyst, what do I need to do for that?”, now days most of the professional are struggling with this question as they want to become a Business Analyst. Some professionals are experienced one who want to move their career as a BA, some freshers want to start their career as BA whereas some professionals & some freshers with non-technical background wants to enter in IT industry as BA and some professionals with some experience gap want to re-enter in the industry & start their career as a BA.
It is very true that the demand for business analyst role is in high demand & in future also it is going to be growing role at an incredible rate, and the earning potential is promising. This is the main reason why does everyone want to become a BA, apart from this this role will offer you:
- Highly Paid Job
- Job Security
- High Level Exposure
- Star of any project team
- Faster Career Growth
Most of the organizations have been realized that to stand in today’s competitive and rapidly changing tech market it is essential to adapt & go along with the new technologies. BA is a role which blends business, management and computer skills together to help businesses reach their full technological potential hence this role is getting more popular for project and business success.
Most of the times as a mentor I received calls / messages / emails from the freshers, experienced professionals who are seeking to move their career to BA to share some tips to become a business analyst.
Considering this as a most commonly asked question which I received from professionals & freshers, sharing FIVE important tips to become a business analyst which I have shortlisted based on my personal experience and with some research.
- Understand the role of a Business Analyst
- Enhance the skills
- Build Your Experience
- Revamp your resume
- Prepare for the job interview & start applying for the BA role
Understanding The Role Of A Business Analyst
Before entering in BA role, make sure that you have clear understanding of the role & responsibilities of a BA.
It might be easy to switch your career or to move into the BA career but the most challenging job of the BA career is to sustain the role with the expected responsibilities.
If you have bit technical knowledge and a problem solver personality with a good grasping and learning capability you can easily enter and survive in the BA career.
The responsibilities of BA may vary depending on the organization / projects need but the main responsibility of any BA is to communicate, coordinate with stakeholders for elicitation of the requirements.
As BA you will communicate all the cross functional teams, managers & the customers. You will be the single point of contact (SPOC) who will serve as the coordinator or focal point of information concerning an activity / program / project. So, if you are comfortable to communicate with the different people this role is for you.
BA will spend the maximum time in requirement elicitation, researching and asking the questions. BA role is very solution focused and helps to find out the solution for the problem which other cannot.
Depending on the need BA also need to help the organizations to refined their process.
Enhance The Skills
Once you understand the role & responsibilities and if you are comfortable with it, then make a checklist of your skill sets. Check the skills set in which you need to work and the skill set in which you are good.
You can enhance your skill either by self-learning or find a good mentor who can help you to enhance your skillset.
Without enhancing your skill set it will be very difficult to survive in the industry.
After enhancing your skillset, you are ready to get in for the BA role.
Build Your Experience
You can build your experience as BA either working as a freelancer BA, getting involved in analysis job/task in your current company, assisting your senior BA or enrolling for BA training program where you will get a chance to work on case studies and assignments.
Revamp Your Resume
Whenever you are applying for any BA role, first read out all the given expected responsibilities, check the required skillset, go through the company profile.
If you are eligible for the expected responsibilities as a BA and you have required skill set, restricted your resume as per the requirements. Try to highlight the skills set which employer are looking for.
Your resume should the specific job you are applying for. Sending the same resume off to every job you apply for will be detriment.
Make sure you use the appropriate keywords to get you resume shortlisted.
Make sure your resume should be short, brief and should engaged the reader.
Prepare For The Job Interview & Start Applying For The BA Role
Update your resume on job portals, try to search a job/s with some keywords instead of designation because most of the times the designation may vary company to company but the expected responsibilities will be of a Business Analyst.
Try to login to job portal every day for specific time, keep applying for the roles, don’t get frustrated if you are not getting the revert, Keep working on self-improvement and keep enhancing your skill sets.
If you know any companies who can offer you the BA role, create a list of companies and visit their websites often.