Business Intelligence Analyst Resume: Examples, Template, and Resume Tips
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Apart from the business part of the title, the words “intelligence” and “analyst” mean you’re a smart person.
And that’s true.
No-one becomes a business intelligence analyst unless they themselves are intelligent.
It’s possible that this same intelligence is what led you to choose this career path. And for your information, you made the right choice.
Businesses are in dire need of intelligence. They need to make decisions which will propel them towards more profits and less costs through increased efficiency. And the management team alone cannot do it.
They may have many years of experience driving company growth and profitability. They may ensure there is an uptake in technology. All these are good but something is still missing.
That something is actually a person. And that person is you.
You are the missing link. You are what is required to turn things around and improve profitability in an age when doing business is increasingly challenging.
Customers have very high expectations, and meeting them—let alone exceeding them—is difficult.
You understand how businesses need your skills and expertise. More and more of them are creating the vacancy of a business intelligence analyst. That means that your profession is in high demand.
In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that your occupation will grow by 14% over the 2018 – 2028 decade.
Did you see that? 14%.
In case you’re wondering whether the growth is for BI analyst of management analyst jobs, don’t worry.
“Management Analysts” is the blanket term used by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics when referring to four distinct job titles. In any case, BI analyst is a position in the realms of management.
Yes, you may not be called a manager and you may not necessarily be invited to every management meeting in the company. But considering the kind of people who need your input to make decisions, then you’re part of management.
And as you look for that job, whether your first job after graduation or a better one after working elsewhere, you must consider the pay.
Salaries for BI Analysts vary greatly depending on different factors. Some of them are:
- Your work experience
- Your skill level
- Your data mining and research abilities
- Your prowess in working with Business Intelligence tools like Microsoft Power BI, Tableau Desktop and Zoho Analytics.
We got some figures to help you get an idea of what salaries to expect. From these, you’ll know how to negotiate your salary and benefits.
Knowledge is power. As long as you have some industry insights, you’re empowered.
Obviously, you know this more than anyone else. Aren’t you an analyst?
Analysts work with data.
Data from PayScale indicates that the median salary for BI Analysts is $68,000. This is without taking into account the cash bonus, commission and profit sharing arrangements which may be in place.
Also, your pay will vary depending on who your employer is. To show you this, here are salaries from some employers you may know.
Even among these companies, the figures are bound to change quickly. With the increased realization of the importance of data and companies rushing to benefit from big data, your worth will certainly increase.
But how do you get started?
Yes, the job market for BI Analysts is full of opportunities. But did you know that you’re still required to prove yourself even before you get the job?
You’ll have to write a resume which shows that you’re the best candidate for the job.
And since you’re not an expert on career and recruitment matters, this is where we come in.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ANALYST RESUME
To make things relevant to you, we’re not giving you general advice about writing resumes. We’re being specific so that you see how your individual case can be handled.
All the advice we present to you in this article is meant to help you see how you can turn your resume from a dull document to a sales pitch that lands you the job immediately it’s read.
Read this article and check out the resume samples we have at the end then follow the provided advice. If you do, you’ll be able to write a BI analyst resume which will do the job it’s meant to—get you hired.
If you’re in a hurry and just want to write your resume immediately, then pick one of your resume templates and get going. The template will help you deal with resume design and formatting issues.
Let’s get started.
Personal information
This section of your BI analyst resume does the job of introducing you to the hiring manager. This is done through your name and LinkedIn profile.
Other pieces of information contained in this section are meant to facilitate contacting you if your resume impresses.
That means that this is a pretty straightforward part of your resume. All the same, there are guidelines to follow—two simple guidelines.
The first one is about your name and the second about your email address.
You should write your official name as it is on official government records. No nicknames.
For your email address, you have to stick to professional email addresses.
If you’re using an email address which is more of a fanciful description of yourself, then you have to change it. The BI Analyst job is a professional one and you have to present yourself in a similar manner.
You can use free services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail to register for a new email address if necessary. If you have a personal blog, you can also use an email address with your blog address as the domain.
That will actually strengthen your case, especially if you’ve published blog articles about business intelligence.
Email addresses to avoid
geoffreybiguru@myemail.com
Professional email address to use
geoffreyeinstein@myemail.com
Summary / Objective
Should you use a summary or a career objective? It depends.
Where are you at in your career path, just getting started or loaded with years of experience?
The answer to this question is what will determine what you should use. Other factors connected to these will also help you decide.
Use a career objective when…
- Just entering the workforce
- Making a career change
- Returning to the job market after a long break
Use a professional summary when…
- Loaded with tons of work experience in the field
- Have career-specific achievements to show off
- Moving to a different company but similar position/role
But knowing that is not the end. How you write your summary or objective is what matters.
Write like everyone else and it becomes difficult for you to be picked from the crowd. Write like a pro and you’ll be taken as such—with a call for an interview.
What do you need to do?
There is one little secret we’ll let you in on today.
You might already know that your resume will be read from the employer’s point of view. But do you know what they will be looking for?
The hiring manager will be looking at the resumes on her desk or in her computer as though they are value proposition statements. You and the other job candidates will be like service providers seeking to do business with her company.
And indeed you are a service provider seeking to do business with this company.
What is it that will make her choose you over the others? The value you promise, and how you show your ability to deliver.
You show your ability to deliver by proving you have delivered in the past. You prove this by showing the change you brought about while working. And that change is best shown using numbers.
Here is how you can do it when you have tons of work experience.
Ineffective career summary
Business Intelligence Analyst with 8 years of experience dealing with data and analyzing it for business insights. Expert in BI tools and strong in project management.
Effective career summary
BI Analyst with 8+ years experience in data warehousing and analytics. Helped reduce production costs by 45% and implemented business growth strategy to increase manufacturer profitability by 35%.
You might be getting started with your career and don’t have much BI analysis experience. Don’t worry. Even the career objective can be tweaked to tell a good story.
What you do is come up with what you have done in the past. This doesn’t have to be BI related. However, it must show change and the skills you used to bring about that change. This is what will tell the hiring manager that you can perform on the job.
Check out the below examples.
Ineffective career objective
Fresh graduate from Stanford University knowledgeable in analytics and business administration. Seeking opportunity to grow career through hands-on experience at your company.
Effective career objective
Stanford University graduate with hands-on BI analysis skills from using MS Power BI for university project. Helped improve production output at ABC Millers by 25% after identifying and fixing bottlenecks. Looking to join Keloggs to leverage BI analytics skills and help boost production and improve profitability.
Pro tip:
Whatever you write in the summary or objective section should come from the work experience section. This is because the summary and objective are highlights of the best achievements you have made. For that reason, always write your summary or objective last.
Work experience
Your work experience is your primary source of information for your BI Analyst resume. For that reason, even if you don’t have any work experience as a business intelligence analyst, this section should never be blank.
We have seen resumes which don’t include this section while others are blank. Still, others shockingly contain words like, “I am yet to have any business intelligence analysis work experience since I’m looking for my first job.”
You can be sure that such a statement will bring the reading of your resume to an immediate halt.
The first thing you need to know is that you should never lack work experience. Yes, you may not have had a job but you can work on something to give you some experience. Here are some ways of getting some valuable work experience.
- Freelance work – there are many companies looking for freelance business intelligence analysts. Check them up online and grow your skills by doing freelance work.
- Volunteer work – sacrifice the pay and help an organization build a database and mine the data for insights. You can even learn how to use some free business intelligence tools and help an organization do the same.
- Run a personal project – it’s possible to run your own small project to learn how things work. You can get random test data for the system from Coders Toolbox and use it to build a database and analyze the data.
Come up with a problem and develop a solution from the insights you get from the data. Have timelines and seek to complete the project ahead of time.
From your experience doing any of the above, show off your achievements. Make them measurable because decision makers like looking at numbers. Just show the state of affairs before and after you came in and your case will be watertight.
Check out the below examples both for an experienced BI Analyst and one applying for his first job.
Ineffective work experience for an experienced BI Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst
ClearView Business Consultants
2017 – Current
- Helped clients improve operations
- Worked with team members to develop business strategies
- Handled more clients than predecessor
Effective work experience for an experienced BI Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst
ClearView Business Consultants
2017 – Current
- Performed gap analysis and recommended use of SAP HANA which operations by 60%
- Performed analysis for business optimization and implemented business growth strategy which increased revenues by 30%
- Improved customer satisfaction to 90% and earned company 5 new clients through referrals
Can you see the difference the measurable achievements make?
If you are an entry-level business intelligence analyst, you can use the same tactics on the work experience you have. Here’s how to do it.
Ineffective work experience for an entry-level BI Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst (Intern)
Intec Business Solutions
Jan 2020 – Current
- Gaining experience on how to use business intelligence tools
- Assisted in performing data analysis of state agency
- Prepared business processes analysis report for presentation
Effective work experience for an entry-level BI Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst (Intern)
Intec Business Solutions
Jan 2020 – Current
- Used MS Power BI Pro to analyze business data and propose process optimization to reduce manufacturing lead time by 20%
- Worked in team which analyzed state agency data and implemented system to help boost tax collections by 17%
- Analyzed business processes and generated report for presentation to senior management
Education
After your work experience comes your education. There isn’t much to write about in this section though there are some interesting things you might want to consider.
If you have no work experience as a BI Analyst, then write about your education before your work experience. This is to enable the hiring manager focus on your strengths—knowledge and skills.
But you won’t just list the degree and the university you got it from.
Pick BI Analyst keywords from the job description of the job post and list the coursework you did which is related to the keywords.
This will have double benefits. First, it will make your resume sail through the ATS. Secondly, it will help the recruitment team see that you have the knowledge to solve their problem.
Here is how to write your education background if you don’t have much work experience.
Wrong way of writing your education
BS in Computer and Information Systems
Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
2013 – 2017
Right way of writing your education
BS in Computer and Information Systems
Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona
2013 – 2017
Relevant coursework
- Database design and administration
- Data structures and analytics
- SQL queries and data reporting
Also, you can start with the name of the university you graduated from if it’s a respected university. This will help your resume attract more attention and make an impression.
This is how that comes out.
Writing your education starting with the university name
Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, Colorado
BS in Computer and Information Systems
2013 – 2017
Skills
And now to the last section of your resume.
As a BI Analyst, there are certain skills which you must have. And before you get the opportunity to talk about them in the interview, you need to communicate them in your resume.
Since you want to stand out from the crowd, try avoiding the normal skills candidates tend to write.
Skills like critical thinking and communication are great but everyone writes those. Get some unique skills and use them to show that you’re different.
Here are some you can consider.
- Risk analysis and management
- As-is analysis
- Gap analysis
- Benchmarking
- Logical and analytical thinking
- SWOT analysis
- Database Management (MS SQL Server, SAP HANA, Oracle, MySQL)
- Research
- Project management
- Requirements Gathering & Analysis
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
- Problem solving
- Powerpoint
- Leadership
- Time management
Extra sections
There are some extra sections you could add to your resume though they’re not a must. These include professional certifications, hobbies, interests, languages etc.
If you believe that these will add value to your BI Analyst resume, and you have the space, add them. Keep in mind that the preferred resume length is one page unless you’re applying for an executive position.
BUSINESS ANALYST SAMPLE RESUME
As promised, we have two BI analyst resume samples for you to check out. These clearly show how your resume will look like if you apply the advice provided in this article.
The first resume is for you if you’re looking for your first BI analyst job. But if you’ve worked in the past and want to move to a different company, then the second resume is for you.
Here they are.
Entry-level BI analyst resume

Experienced BI analyst resume

CONCLUSION
There are the BI Analyst resume samples. What do you think of them?
Grab one of our resume templates and write your own business intelligence resume. Remember to tailor the resume to the keywords in the job description of the job ad.

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