How To Get An IT Business Analyst Job?

On of my readers needs help with finding a business analyst job, so I am posting the information I provided to him in this article.

If you have any questions about this or about your business analyst career, post it as comment at the end of this post and I would also answer or address it for you.

Here is the business analyst career question posted by my reader:

Hi – my greatest challenge is the fact that I’ve never held an IT Business Analyst position.

I’m convinced I can do the job based on my experience, but I have not had any interviews outside of my current employer.

I had a few interviews in my current company but was being sabotaged by my former boss so I never got the job.

As the economy has dived over the last few months, I am not getting any offers for interviews. I’ve given up trying to get into the IT Bus Analyst field for now.

What do I need to do to get back into the ‘hunt’? And, how do I convey to potential employers that I am the man for the job?

Here is how this business analyst can address the situation facing him:

Why Do IT Managers Hire Business Analysts?

IT Managers hire business analysts with skills, training and experience matching specific jobs.

IT Managers list a wide range of business analysts skills in job postings including UML, Use Cases, Requirements Elicitation.

IT Managers Are Looking For Hands-on Business Analysis Experience

The Key to getting a business analyst job is to find out what employers or hiring managers are looking for and then give it back to them.

This sounds quite easy and simple, but believe me, it is not that easy. There is a lot that goes into following this straightforward advice.

What are IT Managers hiring for? IT Managers are looking for hands-on skills, experience and expertise in specific knowledge areas.

You may already have some of the requisite skills and experience based on your previous or current job experience.

Some of the most frequently asked for skills are included in the business analyst course curriculum listed here …

Tailor Your Resume To Business Analyst Jobs

You may already be able to do a business analyst job based on your current experience so, why not also work on improving your current resume so that it reflects the experience or skills you already have in business analysis?

Begin by highlighting and expanding on the business analysis tasks you have performed in the past.

Put more spotlight on the skills you utilized, the business analysis roles and responsibilities you held (formally or informally) and the results you achieved.

You want to joggle your memory and bring out every relevant detail. Imagine that you are making your case in front of a skeptical judge.

Your prosecutor is the list of job candidates that would make a better presentation than you. The arguments in your favor is your resume.

Your business analyst resume has to be very convincing for you to get the job.

Improve Your Business Analyst Resume

The strongest argument that you can make will be along the lines of experience, resume and skills.

So, you want to marshal all your arguments forcefully on your resume because if you don’t, you may never get a second chance.

If your resume is not convincing, you may not get a second chance or a follow-up phone interview or a face to face interview or the job or an offer or the ability to pay your mortgage … you get the picture?

Add More hands-on business analysis experience to your resume!

The fastest way to get hired for an IT business analyst job is not your educational qualification or your business analysis certification but your hand-on business analysis experience!Are you surprised about that?

IT Managers know that certifications can sometimes be gamed!

There are horror stories about job candidates who have the perfect certifications and the perfect scores and then fail to perform on the job after they are hired!

These sorts of candidates have damaged the credibility of the certification market! But experience cannot be gamed

It either you have experience or you don’t. Because IT Managers are looking for hands-on experience, your can cut to the chase by getting a lot of hands-on business analyst experience such as that offered through the business analyst boot camp online training here:

There are other ways to gain hands-on experience and I discuss this next:

• Start again by volunteering for non-profit organizations. They are plenty of them around and in this recession they will be needing your help even more!

• Do a good job and ask the non-profit organization to provide you a reference for for the work you’ve done for them.

• Use your spare time in the evenings and weekends to rack up your experience and references.

• Then go on a job hunt. Start by sending your resume to multiple recruiters (not just one or two recruiters), telling them that you are in the market for a business analyst job. Then just sit back and wait for them to line up business analyst job interviews for you.

• That is all you need to do. Take massive action towards landing your dream business analyst job and while you are on it, forget about the economy or the recession or your manager who denied you the opportunity to move ahead.

FYI: Stephen Covey in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” mentions that proactive people do not worry or focus on factors or things over which they have little or no control … instead they focus on their “Sphere Of Influence” … those factors or circumstances over which they exercise control.

So, while you may not be able to change the past or the economy or the recession, you can dramatically improve:

• Your Business Analyst Resume

• Your Business Analyst Hands On Experience

• Your Business Analysis Job Interview Skills

If you have any question or challenge about your business analyst career, go ahead and post it as a comment at the end of this article and I will address it for you.