Fastest Way to Become a Business Analyst (Business Analyst Roadmap)

Summary

This video offers a comprehensive guide to becoming a business analyst, emphasizing the importance of qualifications, relevant skills, and a compelling resume. The presenter, Moan, a data and analytics manager, highlights the need for a blend of analytical, business, and technical skills, suggesting online courses and certifications for qualification. Key skills include requirement gathering, data analysis, and stakeholder communication. The video also stresses the importance of showcasing business analysis tasks on a resume to secure interviews and job offers.

Takeaways

• 😀 Becoming a business analyst offers high salary, future-proof career, and flexible work options.
• 🎓 A relevant degree in fields like business administration, finance, or data science can be beneficial but not mandatory for qualification.
• 🏆 Gaining credibility through qualifications is essential but does not guarantee job acquisition; it's a starting point.
• 🛠️ Essential skills for a business analyst include requirements gathering, analysis, process mapping, project management, data analysis, and stakeholder communication.
• 💡 Business analysts act as a bridge between IT and business, translating business needs into actionable insights.
• 📈 Data analysis skills are crucial, with tools like Excel, SQL, Tableau, and Python being valuable assets.
• 🔍 The role of a business analyst is diverse, involving tasks from process improvement to risk management.
• 📚 Online courses and certifications can provide the necessary qualifications without the need for a formal degree.
• 💼 A great resume is key to landing interviews; it should highlight business analysis tasks and exclude irrelevant experiences.
• 🌟 Tailor your resume to emphasize business analysis skills, focusing on relevant tasks and using technical tools.

Q & A

What are the benefits of becoming a business analyst according to the video?

The video highlights that business analysts enjoy high salaries, a future-proof career, and many companies offer work-from-home or hybrid roles.

What is the role of a business analyst as described in the video?

A business analyst serves as a bridge between IT and the business, acting as the glue between technical and non-technical people, and between business needs and technology solutions.

What are the three key things needed to get a business analyst job according to the speaker?

To get a business analyst job, one needs to prove qualifications, possess the right skills such as requirements gathering, data analysis, and stakeholder management, and have a great resume.

What types of degrees are beneficial for someone looking to become a business analyst?

Degrees in business administration, finance, economics, management, information systems, computer science, information technology, data science, or data analytics are beneficial.

What alternative qualifications can one pursue if they don't have a relevant degree?

One can take online courses and get certified through programs like the Certified Business Analyst Professional program, the Business Analyst program, or the Postgraduate program in Business Analysis.

Why is a combination of great stakeholder management and communication skills important for a business analyst?

These skills are crucial because business analysts must translate business requirements into actionable insights for stakeholders and bridge the gap between technical solutions and business needs.

What are some of the technical tools a business analyst should be proficient in?

Business analysts should be proficient in tools like Excel, SQL, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python for data analysis and visualization.

How does the speaker suggest improving one's data analysis skills?

The speaker recommends joining an exclusive data community through their website for practical industry examples and guided projects to improve data analysis skills.

What is the common mistake people make when writing their resumes for business analyst roles?

The common mistake is including too much non-relevant experience and too little relevant experience on their resumes.

How should one tailor their resume when applying for a business analyst job?

One should focus on showcasing business analyst skills and relevant tasks from their past experiences, even if the role was not directly related to business analysis.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Fast-Tracking Your Business Analyst Career

In this paragraph, the speaker introduces the fastest and most efficient way to become a business analyst, regardless of prior experience. They emphasize the importance of focusing on relevant skills and avoiding unnecessary topics. The speaker highlights the benefits of a business analyst career, such as high salaries and flexible work arrangements. They introduce themselves as a data and analytics manager with six years of experience, explaining the overlap between data analysis and business analysis. The paragraph concludes with a brief overview of the three key requirements to secure a business analyst position: proving qualifications, acquiring essential skills, and crafting a strong resume.

05:00

📚 Gaining Qualifications and Skills

This paragraph discusses the importance of obtaining qualifications to enhance job prospects as a business analyst. The speaker notes that having a relevant degree can be beneficial, but emphasizes that there are alternative pathways to qualification, such as online courses and certifications. They recommend programs from Simply Learn, which are endorsed by Forbes, highlighting the skills and tools covered in these courses. The speaker stresses that gaining credibility through qualifications is just the starting point, and that candidates must also demonstrate their skills to stand out in a competitive job market.

10:01

🛠️ Essential Skills for Business Analysts

In this paragraph, the speaker elaborates on the critical skills needed to succeed as a business analyst. They emphasize the ability to solve complex business problems by combining technical and non-technical skills. Key skills discussed include requirements gathering, analysis, communication, and data analysis. The speaker encourages learning tools such as Excel, SQL, Tableau, and Python, and mentions their data community where practical examples and guidance are provided. The paragraph also touches on project management skills and the diverse responsibilities of a business analyst, highlighting the dynamic nature of the role.

Keywords

💡Business Analyst

A business analyst is a professional who acts as a bridge between the technical and non-technical aspects of a business. They focus on understanding business needs and translating them into actionable insights that can guide decision-making. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of this role in improving processes and ensuring that technology solutions align with business goals.

💡Qualifications

Qualifications refer to the credentials or educational background that demonstrate a person's capability to perform a specific job. In the context of the video, the speaker highlights that having a relevant degree or certification can enhance a candidate's credibility when applying for business analyst positions. However, they also note that qualifications alone are not enough to secure a job.

💡Skills

Skills encompass the abilities and expertise required to perform tasks effectively. The video outlines several key skills needed for a business analyst, such as requirements gathering, data analysis, and stakeholder management. These skills are crucial for solving complex business problems and ensuring successful project outcomes.

💡Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder management involves identifying, analyzing, and engaging with individuals or groups that have an interest in a project or business outcome. The speaker stresses that effective communication and relationship-building with stakeholders are essential for a business analyst to successfully bridge the gap between technical solutions and business needs.

💡Data Analysis

Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, and modeling data to discover useful information and support decision-making. In the video, the speaker mentions that business analysts must possess strong data analysis skills to identify trends and provide insights that can drive strategic improvements.

💡Resume

A resume is a formal document that summarizes a person's work experience, education, and skills. The video advises viewers to create a concise, one-page resume that highlights relevant experiences related to business analysis. The speaker emphasizes the importance of tailoring the resume to showcase skills that align with the business analyst role.

💡Certifications

Certifications are formal recognitions that validate a person's skills and knowledge in a specific area. The video discusses various certification programs available for aspiring business analysts, such as those offered by Simply Learn. These certifications can help candidates demonstrate their expertise and commitment to the field.

💡Project Management

Project management involves planning, executing, and closing projects to achieve specific goals. The speaker notes that business analysts often engage in project management activities to ensure that solutions are delivered on time and within scope. This skill is vital for coordinating efforts among different teams and stakeholders.

💡Business Needs

Business needs refer to the requirements or problems that an organization seeks to address to improve performance or achieve objectives. The video highlights that understanding these needs is fundamental for business analysts, as they must translate them into actionable insights that inform technology solutions.

💡Online Courses

Online courses are educational programs delivered via the internet, allowing individuals to learn at their own pace. The speaker recommends various online courses and certifications as alternative pathways to gain qualifications for a business analyst role. These courses often provide practical skills and knowledge that are directly applicable to the job.

Highlights

The fastest and most efficient way to become a business analyst is presented, regardless of prior experience.

Business analysts enjoy high salaries, future-proof careers, and flexible work options.

The presenter, Moan, is a data and analytics manager with 6 years of experience in big data projects.

Data analysis and business analysis have overlapping skills, making a great data analyst also a great business analyst.

Three essential elements for a business analyst job are qualification, relevant skills, and a compelling resume.

Business analysts act as a bridge between IT and business, aligning technical solutions with business needs.

Qualifications can be obtained through relevant degrees or certifications from programs like Simply Learn's Certified Business Analyst Professional Program.

Key skills for business analysts include requirement gathering, data analysis, and project management.

Technical tools like Excel, SQL, Tableau, and Python are crucial for data analysis skills.

The presenter's exclusive data community offers practical industry examples to improve data analysis skills.

Project management skills are necessary for designing and implementing business solutions.

Resumes should be tailored to highlight business analysis tasks, even from non-relevant roles.

Avoid including non-relevant experience on the resume to maintain focus on business analysis skills.

Resume building tools like resume.io, inhan, cv.com, or Canva can help create a one-page resume.

The video provides a structured approach to becoming a business analyst, from qualifications to resume writing.

Transcripts

I'm here today to show you the fastest

and most efficient way to become a

business analyst regardless of whether

or not you have any relevant experience

if you listen carefully to the

information in this video I can

guarantee that you will not waste your

time learning useless skills and cover

useless topics that are not required to

become a business analyst but first of

all why would you even want to become a

business analyst it's a job that comes

with a high salary it is a pretty

futureproof career and many companies

offer these roles as work from home

roles or at least hybrid roles where you

don't have to be in the office every day

and just quickly let me introduce myself

for those of you who are new to the

channel my name is moan and I work as a

data and analytics manager and I have 6

years of experience working on projects

with complex big data and if you're

wondering why as a data and analytics

manager I'm making a video on business

analytics it's because there are so many

overlapping areas and skills between

data analysis and business analysis I'm

a firm believer that a great data

analyst is also a great business analyst

and the other way around at its core to

get a business analyst job you'll need

three things first you need to prove

that you're qualified to gain

credibility then you'll need to have the

right skills such as requirements

Gathering and Analysis process mapping

and Improvement skills project

management skills data analysis skills

and probably most importantly

stakeholder management and communication

skills I'll go into these skills in more

detail later on in the video and finally

you'll need a great resume to land those

interviews which can then turn into

lucrative job offers before jumping into

these three areas in more detail let's

go through what a business analyst

actually does so that you can get a

better understanding of what your

day-to-day activities could look like

business analysts bridge the gap between

it and the business think of them as the

glue between the technical and

non-technical people the glue between

business needs and Technology Solutions

they help organizations improve um

processes products services or even

software the role can be really diverse

in terms of actual tasks but the primary

focus is always on translating business

requirements into practical and

actionable insights for stakeholders

which is why the combination of great

stakeholder management and communication

skills and data analysis skills can be

such a killer combination for a business

analyst now that you know what a

business analyst actually does let's see

how you can get qualified the easiest

way of course is if you already have a

degree a relevant degree where you've

gained a blend of analytical business

and technical skills so degrees like

business administration Finance

economics management Information Systems

computer science Information Technology

data science or data analytics would be

great but don't worry if you don't have

a degree as you can get qualified

through numerous other avenues say for

example you could take an online course

and get certified through that and I

know that there are so many courses and

certifications out there so to make it

simple for you let me show you some

quality programs from Simply learn who

are reviewed and recommended by Forbes

whether it's the certified business

analyst professional program the

business analyst program or the

postgraduate program in business

analysis you'll learn to tackle complex

business problems let's take the

business analyst program for example

you'll gain Proficiency in Core Business

analysis modeling and Reporting skills

through Hands-On projects case studies

and a Capstone project you'll become

industry ready with the international

Institute of business analysis

accredited courses and you'll cover

tools like Excel Tableau jro MySQL

Python and you'll also learn to leverage

the latest geni tools like chat GPT doll

E2 Gemini and mid journey and much much

more or let's take the postgraduate

program in business analysis where you

get mentored and can network with

industry experts from Amazon Microsoft

and Google and can become a certified

business analyst in 6 months simply

learns got great reviews from the

Learners so if you're looking to take

your business analysis skills to the

next level make sure to check out the

business analyst programs by simply

learn using the link in the description

below and a huge shout out to Simply

learn for sponsoring this video getting

qualified matters because if you cannot

show to recruiters and companies that

you can do what you say you can do then

no matter how skilled you may be it

won't matter will it now the only thing

I would like to emphasize here is that

you will highly likely not get a job

just by getting qualified there are many

others out there who are also qualified

so think of gaining credibility as the

bare minimum that puts you in a good

position to apply to jobs not a position

to land all the jobs with qualifications

out of the way let me move on to the

skills you'll need as a business analyst

to me the most important thing is that

you know how to solve complex business

problems through combining your

Technical and non-technical skills I

understand that all of us are different

and there are many ways to solve the

same problem so instead of listing the

exact skills I think you should learn

I'll give you an idea of the wide range

of business analyst skills that you can

learn in general you need to be good at

requirements Gathering and Analysis this

means that you need to work with

stakeholders to identify and clearly

document business needs analyze

processes and workflows identify areas

for improvements you need to be able to

translate the requirements into

actionable insights you also need to

have great communication skills as

business analysts are the bridge between

technical Solutions and business needs

so you'll have to bridge the gap between

Technical and non-technical stakeholders

as a business analyst you also need to

have data analysis skills so that you

can actually analyze business data

identify Trends and provide insights and

reports to support strategy and

operational improvements Excel SQL

Tableau powerbi J python these are just

some of the technical tools that you

need to be good at at the very least I

would urge you to learn Excel SQL and a

visualization tool like Tableau or

powerbi I talk about these data analysis

skills and give you practical industry

examples day in day out in my exclusive

data community that you can join for

absolutely free through my website at

mochan doino so please have a look if

you're determined to improve your data

analysis skills faster like much faster

oh and whilst you're on the website and

this is only for the really committed

ones you should also check out my data

analysis bundle that contains everything

you need to land an analyst job think of

a stunning data portfolio a complete

data road map and practical guided

projects so that you're not just

learning aimlessly you'll also certainly

have to do some project management to

help design and Implement business

Solutions work with various it teams

Business Leaders and other project

managers to ensure all Technical

Solutions get delivered on time you

might also have to identify and mitigate

risks in business processes and projects

and suggest Solutions or come up with

contingency plans to minimize risks and

disruption to the business as you can

see the role can be super varied and you

for sure will not be bored as the

business analyst roles and

responsibilities covers such a diverse

range of tasks now that I covered how

you can get qualified and gain the

necessary skills needed to become a

business analyst let me move on to the

final bit to how you can construct a

resume that will land you the interviews

which in turn would land you the job

offers the number one mistake I see

people make when it comes to writing

their resumés is this they include too

much non-relevant experience and too

little relevant experience keep your

resume to a one-pager format and make it

live and breathe business analysis if

you have a completely non-relevant

experience don't include it on your

resume if you have an experience that's

not directly linked to a business

analyst role but you carried out many

business analysis tasks and activities

within this role include those specific

tasks on your resume let me give you a

simple example here here let's say I'm

the owner of a little coffee cart if I'm

applying for business analyst jobs I

would not put it on my resume that I

make fantastic americanos lattes

cappuccinos and flat whites though great

skills in the burst of world not too

useful in the business analytics world I

would however put on my resume that I

used Excel to track my costs and

expenses and created automated

visualizations and dashboards to

identify Trends and understand my coffee

business better you see what I did there

right I put a business analyst hat on

and picked out the activities that I

carried out as a coffee cart owner that

involved business analysis tasks such as

producing insights and reports using a

technical tool such as Excel please make

sure you write a resume that showcases

your business analyst skills not skills

in general you only have one page so

about five to 600 words to convince the

recruiter or hiring manager to give you

a shot at an interview make every word

count there are so many free ré Builders

out there that you could use you could

build your rum with resume.io inhan

cv.com or canva for example and I'm

afraid this is the end of this video I'm

certain if you implement the steps ID

detail today you will shorten your path

to a business analyst job

if you enjoy content like this make sure

to check out some of my other videos

right here thanks so much for taking

just a little time out of your day to

watch this and I shall see you in the

next one