Business Analyst Resumes Business Analyst Resumes

Cover this area with a

picture related to your
A key tool for
accelerating
p y
presentation. It can
be humorous.
Make sure you look at
th N t P f
accelerating
your
business
the Notes Pages for
more information
about how to use the
template.
business
analyst
career
International Institute of Business Analysis
career
22
Introduction Introduction
Laura Brandau
IIBA Career Center Product
Manager Manager
Business Analyst Consultant /
Contractor Contractor
Business Analysis Author y
Bridging-the-Gap (blog)
How to Start a BA Career (eBook) How to Start a BA Career (eBook)
BA hiring manager (former)
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Career Center Promotion
33
Career Center Promotion
Limited Time Promotion
U th d FALL 2009 t Use the code FALL-2009 to
receive 50% off one 30-day receive 50% off one 30 day
job posting
Offer expires November 30 2009 Offer expires November 30, 2009
International Institute of Business Analysis
44
Introduction: BA Resumes Introduction: BA Resumes
Description: p
How to create a resume that reflects
your unique BA qualifications your unique BA qualifications.
Desired Outcomes:
Better sell your BA qualifications
Build multiple resumes for target Build multiple resumes for target
positions / career purposes
D l t h bit Develop career management habits
Ongoing career-management ongoing International Institute of Business Analysis
55
Vision and Mission Vision and Mission
Vi i
The world's leading associationfor
Vision
The worlds leading association for
Business Analysis professionals
Develop and maintain standards for
the practice of business analysis and Mission
for the certification of its practitioners

IIBA

is an international not-for-profit
professional association for
International Institute of Business Analysis
business analysts.
66
IIBA

Goals IIBA Goals

Strategic Goals
Create and develop
Operational Goals
Ensure the long term Create and develop
awareness and recognition
of the value and
contribution of the role of
Ensure the long term
viability of the organization
Enable sustainable growth
to support the
contribution of the role of
the Business Analysis
Professional
Define the Business
to support the
establishment of IIBA

as a
worldwide organization
Ensure financial viability to
t th i l t ti
Define the Business
Analysis Body of
Knowledge

(BABOK

)
Publicly recognize qualified
titi th h
support the implementation
and sustainment of IIBA

operational and strategic

priorities
practitioners through an
internationally
acknowledged certification
program
Consistently demonstrate
value of the organization to
IIBA

constituents
Provide a forum for
knowledge sharing
International Institute of Business Analysis
Words of caution
77
Words of caution
Resume writing is more art than g
science
Youll need to determine howthese Youll need to determine how these
suggestions apply to you.
No absolutesit depends.
Avoid tips, techniques, and tactics. Avoid tips, techniques, and tactics.
International Institute of Business Analysis
88
International Institute of Business Analysis
Why create a resume?
99
Why create a resume?
Resumes fit into your career y
processes:
Preparing to make a career change Preparing to make a career change
Applying for a specific job
Ongoing career management
International Institute of Business Analysis
Preparing to make a change
10 10
Preparing to make a change
Define short- &
long-term
career goals
Define target Begin job Define target
positions
Begin job
search
Create resume
for each target for each target
position
International Institute of Business Analysis
Applying for a specific job
11 11
Applying for a specific job
Find job
posting in
Prepare
and Interview Consider posting in
a target
position
and
submit
resume
Interview
for job
Consider
offer
International Institute of Business Analysis
Define your target position(s)
12 12
Define your target position(s)
Responsibilities
Eli it ti
Company
Si Elicitation
Analysis
Pl i
Size
Industry
St Planning
Requirements
Management
Stage
Software
Development Management
Process
Development
Development
Process
Development
UAT
Etc
Think of a Target Position like a
scoping document for your next
Etc.
International Institute of Business Analysis
career move.
Types of Resumes
13 13
Types of Resumes
BA/PM blend
BA/PM at
XYZ Corp.
Emphasizing proactive
Business
Process
focus
communication, roll out
planning
BA/PM at
focus
ABC Corp.
Emphasizing scope
control and expectation
setting
Enterprise
Implementations
T il d f
Candidate
International Institute of Business Analysis
A resume for each
Target Position
Tailored for
each Job
Application
Your main
Resume
Consider your reader
14 14
Your resume reader may You can
Consider your reader
Your resume reader may.. You can
Receive 100s of resumes, most of
which do not represent qualified
candidates
Make your resume easy to read and
support quick decisions in your favor
candidates
Have preconceived notions about what
a resume should be
Conformto standard expectations
regarding resumes g g
Not fully understand the job (under-
qualified HR rep or recruiter)
Use keywords from the job posting to
show your qualified
International Institute of Business Analysis
Prepare your resume
15 15
Prepare your resume
Focus on
Professional experiences that qualify
you for your target position you for your target position
Accomplishments and achievements
Minimize Minimize
Irrelevant responsibilities
Making the reviewer guess
International Institute of Business Analysis
Parts of a Resume
16 16
Parts of a Resume
Objective Objective
Summaryy
Key Accomplishments / Skills
Career History
Professional Associations
Ed ti
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Education
Summary
17 17
Summary
Think of this as your elevator
h speech.
2-3 sentence profile of your unique p y q
qualifications and experience.
Talk about YOU in terms of the value Talk about YOU in terms of the value
you bring to an employer.
A id l i i h t t Avoid explaining what you want.
International Institute of Business Analysis
Sample Summaries
18 18
Sample Summaries
Business analyst position in a growing company that
supports employee career growth work life balance and supports employee career growth, work-life balance, and
will provide CBAP support.
Business analyst position in a company that will benefit
from my hands-on experience with 4 different accounting
systems and managing two accounting system migrations.
Experienced business analyst with a track record of helping stakeholders Experienced business analyst with a track record of helping stakeholders
conceptualize solutions and creating alignment about project outcomes. Deep
experience in content-rich web applications and blending the perspectives of the
customer service, marketing, and operations teams while working around the
t i t d b l t constraints posed by legacy systems.
High-energy business professional looking for a dynamic company to
benefit from my extensive technical and client support experience,
International Institute of Business Analysis
preferably in business analysis, project coordination, or similar role.
Key accomplishments / skills
19 19
Key accomplishments / skills
What is it? When to use it? What is it?
Bullet point list of key skills,
accomplishments, or
When to use it?
Tie together a spotty or sporadic
career.
qualifications.
Accomplishments
Focus on specific job
List key technical skills required
for a position.
Call out relevant project work
qualifications.
Focus on key
accomplishments (not just job
responsibilities)
p j
that might otherwise be buried.
Especially valuable for those with
long career histories or short
career histories
responsibilities)
Skills
Call out technical skills from a
job description
career histories.
j p
Articulate depth of experience
International Institute of Business Analysis
Sell your experiences
20 20
Sell your experiences
What you did AND what impact it had AND why it makes you special.
Responsibility Possible achievements
Elicited requirements Aligned X stakeholders across multiple functional
departments departments.
Conceptualizedthe integration of 3 legacy systems.
Defined data mapping
specifications
Defined and implemented data sharing protocols among 5
development teams creating operational efficiencies specifications development teams, creating operational efficiencies.
Led integration efforts with key partners, enabling our
content to be available on the leading job sites.
Managed project Implemented new portfolio management practices g p j
portfolio
p p g p
including ROI analysis, enabling the executive team to
make informed decisions about a $5M budget spend.
Managedproduct Helped a RUP team transition to agile by defining
backlog requirements in user stories, designing a useful product
backlog, and defining a strategy for system
documentation.
International Institute of Business Analysis
Career Management Practices
21 21
Career Management Practices
Record all the positive feedback you
i receive.
Emails to your manager. y g
Nice things said by colleagues.
Keep a professional project list Keep a professional project list.
What you did.
What impact you had.
What you learned. y
Maintain samples of your work.
International Institute of Business Analysis
Career History
22 22
Career History
Support your qualifications and the
t t ll i story you tell in your summary.
Focus on experiences related to your p y
target position.
Use keywords fromthe job Use keywords from the job
description.
Dont overpower the
International Institute of Business Analysis
main dish with spice.
Choose your words carefully
23 23
Choose your words carefully
Keyword Alternate
U F ti l d i ti Use cases Functional descriptions
Work-flows
Software requirements document Requirements
Scope Scope
Functional specification
Elicit requirements Gathered requirements from
stakeholders sta e ode s
Model requirements
Elicit business needs
Business Architecture Current capabilities assessment
Reverse engineer requirements
Assessed operational capabilities
Business Case Enterprise Analysis
R t I t t Return on Investment
Project Portfolio
Business Needs
International Institute of Business Analysis
Job titles
24 24
Job titles
The situation
You did BA work but did not have
the title the title.
Examples from my resume:
Enterprise Solutions Director
Possible solutions
List role / title
Enterprise Solutions Director
Business Architect
S stems Anal st
List role / title
Tweak your title
Systems Analyst
Business Systems Analyst
Use your role as your title
International Institute of Business Analysis
Career Management Habits
25 25
Career Management Habits
Look at job postings weekly.
What skills are required? What skills are required?
What terms are used?
Review BA LinkedIn profiles.
Whats the competition doing?
What newpositions are people What new positions are people
starting?
International Institute of Business Analysis
Wrap-Up
26 26
Wrap-Up
Your resume is a marketing tool g
Focus on how employers perceive
you as a potential employee you as a potential employee.
Highlight your experience and
qualifications qualifications.
Stay up-to-date with trends in your y p y
local area.
International Institute of Business Analysis
Thank You
27 27
Thank You
J ake Calabrese, CBAP (Vimstreet)
Selling yourself as a BA (Denver
chapter meeting) chapter meeting)
Steven Gara, CBAP (SGbizservices)
Interview on Resume Writing
Lori Lister Lori Lister
Interview on resumes for transitional
roles
International Institute of Business Analysis
28 28
Laura Brandau (Brandenburg)
www.theiiba.org | blog.theiiba.org | info@theiiba.org
Laura Brandau (Brandenburg)
laura@clearspringanalysis.com @ p g y
http://www.bridging-the-gap.com
http://wwwtwitter com/ClearSpringBA http://www.twitter.com/ClearSpringBA
International Institute of Business Analysis
Next Webinar Next Webinar
The Strategic Business Analyst - Using Strategy
to Guide Project Decisions to Guide Project Decisions
When: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EDT (Toronto,
Ontario, Canada)
Wh K t J M D ld P M Who: Kent J McDonald, Program Manager
Discussion points:
Learn howto make an organization's strategyaccessible to project Learn how to make an organizations strategy accessible to project
teams.
Learn how to use this accessible strategy to guide project decisions.
Learn howto assess requirements based on their contribution to a Learn how to assess requirements based on their contribution to a
projects delivered value.
Register now at www.theiiba.org g g