One specific CV challenge you might encounter as a junior business analyst is effectively showcasing your analytical skills and relevant experience amidst limited professional history. Our guide provides structured insights into illustrating your potential through strategic emphasis on academic projects, internships, and transferable skills, ensuring your CV stands out to prospective employers.
- Create an attention-grabbing header that integrates keywords and includes all vital information;
- Add strong action verbs and skills in your experience section, and get inspired by real-world professionals;
- List your education and relevant certification to fill in the gaps in your career history;
- Integrate both hard and soft skills all through your CV.
Discover more industry-specific guides to help you apply for any role in the links below:
Formatting your junior business analyst CV to meet the role expectations
Staring at the blank page for hours on end, you still have no idea how you should start your professional junior business analyst CV. Should you include more colours, two columns, and which sections? What you should remember about your CV format is this - ensure it's minimalistic and doesn't go over the top with fancy fonts and many colours. Instead, focus on writing consistent content that actually answers the job requirements. But, how about the design itself :- Use the reverse chronological order to showcase your experience, starting with your most recent role;
- Include your contact details (email address, phone number, and location) - and potentially your professional photo - in the header;
- Must-have CV sections include summary or objective, experience, education, and skills: curate the ones that fit your profile;
- Your professional junior business analyst CV should be between one-to-two pages long: select the longer format if you have more experience.
A little bit more about your actual CV design, ensure you're using:
- plenty of serif or sans serif font (e.g. Montserrat, Exo 2, Volkhov) as they are Applicant Tracker System (ATS) compliant. Avoid the likes of Arial and Times New Roman because most candidates' CVs are in this typography.
When submitting your CV, are you still not sure what format it should be? Despite the myth that has been circling around, most modern ATS systems are perfectly capable of reading PDFs. This format is an excellent choice as it keeps all of your information intact.
PRO TIP
Incorporate a touch of colour in headers or section breaks, but keep it professional and ensure it doesn’t detract from readability, especially in more conservative industries.
The top sections on a junior business analyst CV
- Professional Summary showcases your career goals and enthusiasm for the business analyst role.
- Key Skills section highlights your analytical abilities and technical proficiencies.
- Work Experience details your previous roles, responsibilities, and accomplishments.
- Education and Certifications demonstrate your relevant academic background and any additional training.
- Projects and Case Studies provide concrete examples of your analytical work and successes.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight analytical projects: Detail any university or work experiences where you've conducted data analysis or problem-solving, showcasing your ability to interpret data and make recommendations based on your findings.
- Emphasise technical proficiency: Demonstrate your knowledge of business intelligence software, databases, and spreadsheets, as familiarity with tools like SQL, Microsoft Excel, and business analysis methodologies is crucial for a junior business analyst role.
- Showcase communication skills: Provide examples of reports, presentations, or projects where you've successfully communicated complex data to non-technical stakeholders, highlighting your ability to bridge the gap between IT and business functions.
- Illustrate your educational background: If you have a degree in business, economics, computer science, or a related field, ensure this is prominent on your CV, along with any relevant coursework or projects that align with business analysis.
- Include any relevant certifications: Mention certifications such as CBAP, PMI-PBA, or relevant training courses, as these can make you stand out as a committed and knowledgeable candidate in the field of business analysis.
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Making a good first impression with your junior business analyst CV header
Your typical CV header consists of contact details and a headline. Make sure to also list your professional phone number, email address, and a link to your professional portfolio (or, alternatively, your LinkedIn profile). When writing your CV headline, ensure it's:
- tailored to the job you're applying for;
- highlights your unique value as a professional;
- concise, yet matches relevant job ad keywords.
You can, for examples, list your current job title or a particular skill as part of your headline. Now, if you decide on including your photo in your CV header, ensure it's a professional one, rather than one from your graduation or night out. You may happen to have plenty more questions on how to make best the use of your CV headline. We'll help you with some real-world examples, below.
Examples of good CV headlines for junior business analyst:
- Junior Business Analyst | Data Visualisation Specialist | PRINCE2 Certified | 2 Years Experience
- Business Analytics Graduate | SQL & Excel Proficiency | Agile Methodology | 1 Year Insight Role
- Junior BA | Market Trend Analysis | Certified Scrum Master | 3+ Years in Financial Services
- Entry-Level Business Analyst | BI Tools Expert | Process Improvement | Six Sigma Yellow Belt
- Aspiring Business Analyst | Customer Insights & CRM | CIMA Part-Qualified | 18 Months Commercial Experience
- Junior BA | Risk Assessment & Management | ITIL Foundation | 2+ Years Industry Exposure
Choosing your opening statement: a junior business analyst CV summary or objective
At the top one third of your CV, you have the chance to make a more personable impression on recruiters by selecting between:
- Summary - or those three to five sentences that you use to show your greatest achievements. Use the CV summary if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience and wish to highlight your greatest successes;
- Objective - provides you with up to five sentences to state your career goals and aspirations
CV summaries for a junior business analyst job:
CV objectives for a junior business analyst job:
How to ensure your junior business analyst CV stands out when you have no experience
This part of our step-by-step guide will help you substitute your experience section by helping you spotlight your skill set. First off, your ability to land your first job will depend on the time you take to assess precisely how you match the job requirements. Whether that's via your relevant education and courses, skill set, or any potential extracurricular activities. Next:
- Systematise your CV so that it spotlights your most relevant experience (whether that's your education or volunteer work) towards the top;
- Focus recruiters' attention to your transferrable skill set and in particular how your personality would be the perfect fit for the role;
- Consider how your current background has helped you build your technological understanding - whether you've created projects in your free time or as part of your uni degree;
- Ensure you've expanded on your teamwork capabilities with any relevant internships, part-time roles, or projects you've participated in the past.
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PRO TIP
Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
The CV skills' divide: between hard and soft skills
Of course, you may have read the job requirements plenty of times now, but it's key to note that there is a difference between technical and personal skills. Both are equally relevant to your job application. When writing about your skill set, ensure you've copy-pasted the precise skill from the job requirement. This would not only help you ensure you have the correct spelling, but also pass any Applicant Tracker System (ATS) assessments.
- Hard skills show your technological capabilities. Or whether you'll be a good technical fit to the organisation. Ensure you've spotlighted your hard skills in various sections of your CV (e.g. skills section, projects, experience) by including the technology and what you've attained;
- Soft skills pinpoint your personality and people or communication skills, hinting at if you'll easily accomodate into the team or organisation. Quantify your soft skills in your CV achievements, strengths, summary/objective, and experience sections. Always support your soft skills with how they've helped you grow as a professional.
Top skills for your junior business analyst CV:
Data Analysis
Statistical Analysis
SQL
Microsoft Excel
Business Intelligence Tools
Data Visualisation
Requirements Gathering
Process Modelling
Project Management
Reporting
Analytical Thinking
Problem-Solving
Communication
Attention to Detail
Teamwork
Critical Thinking
Time Management
Adaptability
Presentation Skills
Organisational Skills
PRO TIP
Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
Education and more professional qualifications to include in your junior business analyst CV
If you want to showcase to recruiters that you're further qualified for the role, ensure you've included your relevant university diplomas. Within your education section:
- Describe your degree with your university name(-s) and start-graduation dates;
- List any awards you've received, if you deem they would be impressive or are relevant to the industry;
- Include your projects and publications, if you need to further showcase how you've used your technical know-how;
- Avoid listing your A-level marks, as your potential employers care to learn more about your university background.
Apart from your higher education, ensure that you've curated your relevant certificates or courses by listing the:
- name of the certificate or course;
- name of the institution within which you received your training;
- the date(-s) when you obtained your accreditation.
In the next section, discover some of the most relevant certificates for your junior business analyst CV:
PRO TIP
Use mini case studies or success stories in your CV to demonstrate how your skills have positively impacted previous roles or projects.
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Key takeaways
Here are five things you need to remember about writing your junior business analyst CV for success:
- Sort your experience based on the reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent career items, to showcase how you've grown your career;
- Include within your CV header your relevant contact details, a headline that could spotlight your unique value, and a photo - if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US;
- Decide to use the CV summary, if you happen to have more professional experience, and an objective, if you want to showcase your career goals;
- Within the experience section, write your bullets using action verbs, skills, and success, instead of just merely listing your on-the-job responsibilities;
- Prove your technical skills, using your education and certificates, and your soft skills, with your achievements and strengths sections.
