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4 Business Intelligence Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

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Our world is "freaking out" from data overflow.

And, you're the hero the world needs.

You are Da Vinci of Data.

Which is great…but, can you prove that on your Busintass Intelligence resume?

Because, 70% of all BI projects fail. That happens, despite organizations spending a ton on hiring top talent.

That's why hiring managers have a very high bar of expectations from your resumes.

On one end, your Business Intelligence resume should “ace visual display of information.”

And, on the flip side, it should give enough context to show that you've got:

  • The right experience
  • IT and Business skills
  • Data innovation

If you don't do your resume right, it's easy to get a rejection here.

But don't worry, that's exactly what we are going to help you avoid.

"A person in BI needs to be able to describe the data, explain his or her analysis of that data, and then offer possible solutions. This involves describing complex technical information to non-BI professionals. "

Alison Doyle, Job Search Expert at The Balance, Careers

This business intelligence resume guide will teach you:

  • 8 business intelligence resume examples that showcase your unique approach to analytics
  • How to balance technical skills with problem-solving tactics
  • How to showcase your industry knowledge relevant to the position
  • Ways to integrate specific keywords from the Business Intelligence job description
  • How to explain your education, certifications, and achievements on your BI resume
  • Get way more job interviews by writing the perfect Business Intelligence resume

Looking for more related resumes?

How to write a business intelligence resume

You are the bridge between a lot of business data and industry-specific intelligence.

Your resume shows how you’ve done this in the past.

Business intelligence jobs require technology-driven decision-making skills.

The most successful business intelligence applicants, have resumes which combine IT with a range of soft skills—more on that later.

Include technical skills that show you can handle data visualization, building reports with R and Python, and ETL/OLAP.

Showcase your soft skills both in a separate area and throughout your work experience section.

How did you communicate findings with managers and clients?

How did you approach data to use for trend prediction?

Numbers and data stand out the most on a Business Intelligence resume.

Include how your analytical findings boosted sales, how it grew client relationships, and how you saved a company time and energy.

Above all, tailor your Business Intelligence resume to the job’s industry and specifically to the job posting.

Are they looking for an Oracle specialist? Someone to guide client-end usage? Make this the focus on your resume.

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Here's what a recruiter will look for in your resume:

  • Which BI applications are you experienced or certified in?
  • Can you communicate your data findings to a
  • What is your data development background and what brought you to this field?
  • How will you specifically transform their analytical challenges?
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The most important sections of a business intelligence resume:

  • Resume header grabs BI recruiter’s attention
  • Resume summary keeps them reading
  • Resume experience
  • BI education and certifications are critical
  • Technical and soft skills — both are needed in BI resumes

Each of these Business Intelligence Developer resume sections must tell a cohesive story about why you’re the best fit for their company. Let’s walk you through this.

How to create an eye-catching business intelligence resume header

You’re applying for a large pharmaceutical company as a senior-level Business Intelligence Analyst.

Your header originally looks like this:

Mark Costanza
Business Intelligence
markcostanza@gmail.com
Boston, MA
WRONG

Sure, this is true.

But the hiring manager may wonder if you’re mass applying for general BI positions. It is always best to avoid that impression.

The hiring manager may decide to separate the strong and weak resumes just from the headers. So your resume header needs to be perfect.

Let’s tell a story with just a few words from your business intelligence header.

Mark Costanza
Pharma Business Analyst III
markcostanza@gmail.com
Boston, MA
RIGHT

Hiring managers know right off the bat that you’re a senior-level Business Analyst with pharma experience.

Do you have professional links such as a website or LinkedIn? Include it here as well!

Quantitative data is key on a business intelligence resume.

A Business Intelligence Analyst should think in data. Show this off on your resume by adding quantitative data in every section.

Numbers that can strengthen your resume include:

  • Size of past companies
  • Number of stakeholders
  • How many reports on average did you manage?
  • What were the size of these reports?
  • With how many users did you communicate your findings?
  • Did you notably increase a company’s profit margin? By how much?
  • Did you save the company time?

Weave all of these numbers throughout your professional summary and experience section.

We’ll jump into those now.

Show you can write and tell your story in your business intelligence professional summary

A Business Intelligence Analyst resume should prove that you know who you are and what you can do. Which puzzle pieces make you the best person to transform their data into tangible industry insights?

Not only can you write and articulate properly, but you can get into the weeds with quantitative data and analysis as well. This is hard to explain in one or two pages!

Lean on your quantitative data and job posting keywords to construct a powerful statement. 3 Business Intelligence Resume Samples - Summary

Here’s an example of what to avoid.

Summary
I am a Business Intelligence Analyst with over five years of experience setting KPIs for businesses so they can grow.
WRONG

This is not going to inspire confidence in a hiring manager. Here’s why it doesn't work:

  • Uses an “I” statement up front. If you use these, wait until you’ve launched with a strong title statement first.
  • Experience is not specific enough. More than five years? How many?
  • How did setting KPIs grow the company? By how much?
  • It is missing certifications and specific skills from the job posting
  • It does not mention the industry

Let’s try this again.

Summary
An experienced business intelligence analyst with a background in healthcare informatics, IT, and data engineering for over a decade. Analyzed sales trends and built reports and dashboards needed for each specific business. I have a proven success in managing data teams of 15-20 junior-level analysts.
WRONG

This is getting closer, but it’s not quite specific enough. A BI hiring manager many find it:

  • Scattered
  • Vague
  • Missing information

It meets the bare minimum of the job requirements while including vague quantitative data. What data defines “proven success,” for example?

Here’s one more example that solves all our issues:

Summary
A senior-level pharmaceutical business intelligence analyst with 12 years of experience. I am a certified Oracle data analyst with the process-oriented skills to communicate with high-level directors and international clients. Combines expertise of relational and non-relational databases included MongoDB. Increased profit margins at top pharma brand by 15% in three years.
RIGHT

Specificity shines in this summary. It’s still short and succinct, but it backs up each claim with clear numbers, actionable verbs and specific skills. No that you know how to write your resume summary, lets continie with the other resume sections.

pro tip icon
Pro tip

Directly correlate your summary and experience sections. Your summary is an introduction to what the hiring manager will read below. Did you increase profits by 15%? Include this below within a specific job section.

How should you frame your business intelligence resume experience?

Emphasize two main points when highlighting your business intelligence skills: industry background and software experience.

Awareness of the industry allows you to jump into the position feet first.

Inherent knowledge of the field guides how you construct, translate and communicate data.

You know what your boss is looking for before they even ask.

Software experience is the basis for doing business intelligence work.

Weave relevant programs into each section of your work experience section. Clarify how you used the program and for how long. Always been specific.

Soft skills are what make you a business intelligence leader. How did you deliver BI solutions while melding with the company culture?

We’ll compare a few business intelligence resume examples for what works and what falls flat in the experience section.

2 business intelligence resume experience samples

Here is your chance to list the bread and butter of your business intelligence background. If you’re stuck on how to communicate your experience, break down each past role like this:

  • What was the goal of the company when you arrived?
  • How did you use your software knowledge to optimize efficiency?
  • What were the quantitative results of your work?
  • How did you work with your teammates to achieve this goal?

It’s easy to accidentally glaze over this section and not give yourself enough credit. For example…

Experience
Business Intelligence Analyst
Capital Solutions
Boston, MA
  • Participated in delivery life cycle
  • Secured and monitored BI environment
  • Provided meaningful insights to stakeholders
  • Maintained ETL processes
WRONG

This experience section makes the employee sound passive. Without proof of how things changed during your tenure, it sounds like you kept things at the status quo.

How did your time at the company change the way they utilized their data and made business decisions?

Experience
Business Intelligence Analyst
Capital Solutions
Boston, MA
  • Partnered with the company’s leadership to transform marketing data strategies and leading solutions.
  • Presented and collaborated with cross-functional teams and leadership.
  • Implemented top industry technology trends to construct and manage reports and dashboards.
  • Overhauled a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan
  • Reduced data extraction time by 20% with a background in Oracle and Sisense
  • Developed core framework for data analysis still used today
RIGHT

This version clarifies how you made a difference at the company. You collaborated with leadership, utilized your background and left the company better than you found it.

How to describe the duties of a business intelligence analyst on a resume

Here are some sample work experience responsibilities to consider for your business intelligence resume:

  • Constructed reports, dashboards, and predictions requested by the company
  • Communicated insights in a format that allowed management to make strategic decisions
  • Conceived and executed A/B testing and other experimentation efforts
  • Analyzed vendor relationships and tracked buyer trends
  • Lead training sessions on data tools across departments
  • Identified key performance methods to track the progress of company’s initiatives

How do you strengthen a resume for entry-level business intelligence jobs? Business analysts come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Many companies will see your unique education as a strength. Capitalize on this.

If you have empty space or gaps, you can either:

  • Focus on your undergraduate education and how it lead to real-world experience or relevant certifications
  • Make connections to industries you’ve worked with in the past and the one in the job posting. How did they overlap?
  • Include mentorships and apprenticeships that connected you to business intelligence professionals with reputable names.
  • Include any related experience that acted as stepping stones, such as a data scientist, data report writer or developer.

Does your business intelligence resume need an education section?

Hiring managers look for well-rounded candidates with a life of experience. This includes their educational background.

So yes, include an training and education section on your resume.

Advanced degrees, specifically a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), are often requested for business intelligence jobs.

Work experience and certifications can make up for this, however.

If you’re low on experience in the field, elaborate on your education. Show your dedication to ongoing learning by listing certification and programs currently underway.

Which skills do employers look for in business intelligence resume?

Technical proficiency in the top BI programs is the basis of business intelligence, and they should be presant in your resume skill section. You should be familiar with programs in data warehousing, dashboards, ad hoc reporting, language and popular frameworks. Those are usually listed as technical skills, and you can find a list of the most common ones.

Soft skills set you apart from other data analysts.

You use technologies to build queries, extract data and communicate your findings with a large team. Combined with industry knowledge and critical thinking, you are the guru for understanding data.

"BI is a varied and expansive field, with many different areas to focus on or specialize in. This variety affords a great deal of career flexibility without the need to completely shift your areas of expertise or skill set."

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8 soft skills to include on a business intelligence resume

Remember, you can’t just list off skills and leave it at that. You need to demonstrate how you’ve displayed those soft skills in a professional setting.

Take a sentence for each skill and describe how you exhibited this skill in your previous work duties.

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22 technical skills to include on a business intelligence resume

  • Data architecture
  • Coding
  • HIVE
  • Excel
  • Script Languages
  • Data control
  • C+/C++
  • Data development and management
  • SQL Server
  • Statistics
  • ETL
  • Microsoft Power BI
  • NOSQL
  • Sisense
  • Microsoft Strategy Analytics Express
  • Oracle Analytics
  • Tableau
  • Domo
  • Qlik
  • SAP Business Objects
  • Dundas
  • IBM Cognos

How to include your certifications on your bi resume

Certifications reassure the hiring manager that you’ve been formerly trained in necessary programs. There are many ways to use major BI programs, but certification implies you are adaptable.

Always list the certifications mentioned or required in a business intelligence job description first. Then, include other certifications you possess.

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Top 20 Business Intelligence Certifications Worth Including in Your Resume

  • Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP)
  • QlikView Business Analyst
  • QlikView Data Architect
  • MCSA: BI Reporting
  • IBM Certified Designer: IBM Cognos Analytics Author V11
  • MCSE: Data Management and Analytics
  • Apache Spark
  • Tableau Server Certified Professional
  • Tableau Desktop Certified Professional
  • Essential Design Principles for Tableau
  • Fundamentals of Visualization with Tableau
  • Configuring SharePoint for Business Intelligence (PluralSight)
  • CCNA Cloud
  • CCNP Collaboration certification
  • NoSQL and NewSQL
  • Machine learning and data mining
  • Python
  • Java
  • MongoDB
  • Google Professional Cloud Architect

What are the tricks for the best business intelligence resume?

  • Showcase your unique background for succeeding at the position
  • Back up each section with quantitative data
  • Balance education, skills, and experience depending on your seniority
  • Include keywords and technology from the job posting upfront in your summary
  • Tie together each section to create a clear picture of your career trajectory

Business Intelligence resume examples

Explore additional business intelligence resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.

By Experience

Senior Business Intelligence Analyst

The Senior Business Intelligence Analyst role often requires extensive experience in data analysis and business operations. Therefore, acknowledging the following points could boost your job application success:

  • Highlight your proficiency with BI tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker. Don't just mention the tools, demonstrate how you used them to influence business decisions and streamline processes. Your resume should reflect your ability to leverage these tools for positive business outcomes.
  • Demonstrate your soft skills. Your role involves interpreting and presenting data to stakeholders, hence, showcasing your communication skills can also give you an edge. Similarly, strategic thinking is paramount in this role, show how you strategically used data to enhance business performance.

By Role

Business Intelligence Analyst

The Business Intelligence Analyst role primarily revolves around data and how to turn them into insightful information. Here are tips to help improve your success rate in job applications:

  • Concrete data management skills are crucial. Demonstrate your proficiency using data management systems, and more importantly, show how these skills contributed to business success.
  • Emphasize your analytical skills and ways you have used them to drive business growth.
  • Just like the senior position, having great communication skills is an asset since you have to present your analysis to various stakeholders. Make sure to feature relevant examples in your resume.
View Business Intelligence Analyst Resume

Business Intelligence Director

A Business Intelligence Director's role is more strategic and focuses mainly on decision-making and team management. When applying, consider the following points:

  • Showcase your leadership skills. In your resume, emphasize situations where you led a team to success or navigated a project through challenging circumstances.
  • Your ability to formulate business strategies using data is vital. Highlight concrete scenarios where you utilized data to influence major business decisions.
  • Experience with advanced BI tools and technologies is a must. However, do not just list them down, illustrate how you utilized these tools to achieve significant business outcomes.
  • Strategic planning and performance management are other critical skills - find a way to demonstrate them in your resume.
View Business Intelligence Director Resume
business intelligence resume example

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