Many of our readers and course participants want to know how to become a business analyst in an organized way. Here, you’ll learn where you are on the average transition path and get tips on how to deal with frequent obstacles that aspiring business analysts experience.
Before I forget, I’d like to make sure you’re aware of my free Quick Start to Success workshop, which is meant to assist you, the mid-career professional, in launching your business analysis career.
Best Business Analyst Courses & Certifications in 2021
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the 5 steps!
Step 1: Educate yourself on business analysis and confirm your career path.
Building understanding of business analysis is a vital aspect of changing careers, just as it is for any other profession. And there are a number of ways to amass sufficient knowledge to be effective. You can read the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®, but I recommend a more approachable text for people new to the profession. The BABOK is fantastic, but it’s not meant for aspiring business analysts; rather, it’s intended to serve as a reference guide for professional business analysts.
Requirements for Software Alternatives include Memory Jogger or my book, How to Start a BA Career.
Knowing what a business analyst does is only the first step. The most common blunder I observe is that many aspiring BAs spend far too much time here, ignoring the realities of the following four steps. On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of professionals over-invest in business analysis just to learn that it’s not the right vocation for them. That’s why I propose learning just enough about business analysis to see if it’s the perfect career for you.
For more information on whether or not you’ve found the correct fit, read my 42 Reasons to Start a Business Analyst Career and The First 5 Signs that Business Analysis is the Career Choice for You.
Even if these checklists affirm that you are on the correct route, you may not be completely certain. Practice some BA techniques to obtain a sense for the role as a second and more tangible litmus test. Keep reading because we’ll go through this in detail in Step 4.
Step 2: Develop Your Positioning by Identifying Your Transferable Skills and Leverage Points
You probably already qualify for a subset of BA employment as a mid-career professional. (Don’t be discouraged if you only qualify for a portion of the jobs; even the most experienced BAs don’t qualify for all BA positions.) By identifying their transferrable abilities and distinctive qualifications from their previous experiences, many of the people I work with are able to jump right past entry-level BA employment. You might also be able to get work in a segment of business analysis or in a transitional position.
Experiences applying business analysis tools in a non-BA role provide transferable abilities. And now I’ll show you three real-life instances of transferable talents.
Whether or whether you have extensive experience in business analysis, one or more aspects of your work history are likely to provide you with knowledge that you may apply to business analysis. You have a trait that potential employers are especially hiring for, whether it’s your knock-your-socks-off communication abilities or your significant knowledge in a relevant industrial domain.
If you work for a company that hires BAs, your most significant leverage point may be your understanding of the company, its business strategy, and its stakeholders.
Other aspects to consider are:
.experience in a certain industry (Read about how industry expertise can impact your job search)
.Expertise in application (Read about how system knowledge helped me qualify for my first BA position)
.Expertise in a certain process area, such as human resources or finance.
.Expertise in a diverse range of functional areas or across a diverse range of organizations
(You may believe that this step does not apply to you.) I’ve worked with a lot of mid-career professionals on their job transition strategies, and we’ve always been able to discover at least one transferrable skill and piece of experience. We’ve noticed various transferable skills and relevant experiences more often than not.
This is an excellent moment to update your business analyst resume after uncovering your transferrable talents and leverage points. Showcase how your previous experience qualifies you for employment within or near to business analysis.
Business Development: The Basics
Step 3 – Use Feelers to Get Real-Time Feedback
It’s time to acquire some genuine, practical feedback once you’ve gained confidence in your profession decision and business analysis skills. This could include discussing your career objectives with your boss and requesting more opportunity to practise BA approaches. It could also imply sending out your resume to a few recruiters or applying for a few business analyst positions.
The goal of this exercise is to get feedback on how your career goals are perceived by those who work with you or are in a position to hire you, not necessarily to find the opportunity (though if that happens right away, that’s a lucky bonus), but to get feedback on how your career goals are perceived by those who work with you or are in a position to hire you.
You might be shocked to hear that a particular expertise is highly marketable and can lead to a position as a business analyst. Alternatively, you can be provided suggestions for how to improve your standing even further. This brings us to the next stage.
Step 4: Approach your work with a BA mindset and improve your positioning.
You may have noticed some gaps as part of the analysis you completed in step 2. Include these in your professional growth plan, and look for ways to fill them through volunteer work or on-the-job business analyst training. One business analysis activity often leads to another, generating a virtuous cycle of new business opportunities and experience.
.Practicing skills like:
.enhancing a business procedure
.assisting at meetings
.putting together use cases
.Using these five questions to help you scope out projects
.information gathering
These exercises aren’t yielding the results you’d hoped for? Before you can take on new duties, your manager needs to hear three things from you.
If you’re still not convinced, check out Kimberley Heath’s success story about how she created a BA volunteer opportunity for herself and what she learned from it, or my story about how I got noticed for on-the-job opportunities by persistently getting myself invited to meetings and actively participating in any way I could.
You’ll discover that when you develop a BA attitude, business analysis will breed more business analysis. As soon as you spot your first opportunity, a slew of others appear right in front of your eyes. Is a virtuous spiral that can take you, step by step, to a full-fledged business analyst career.
Step 5 – Concentrate Your Efforts on Finding Your First BA Position
You may eventually be qualified for a business analyst position in your organization or be able to offer a business analyst post to your boss. However, not every job position offers the same opportunities. Some BAs are forced to hunt for their first BA positions outside of their company. If that’s the case, you’ll want to learn more about our job search for business analysts.
If your transferable skills evaluation came up short, you may need to look into a transitional position to help you get on the path to a BA. We’ll look at what a prospective BA can learn from a technical analyst role in this article. Here are 13 jobs that could lead to a career in business analysis.
