Understanding the Core Competencies to Become A Business Analyst

You have to know that business analysts play a crucial role in the efficiency and profitability of a company. If you want this path, you should have core competencies from interpersonal skills to problem-solving.

If you are looking for a business analyst job, know that the competition is fierce. With this, you have to present yourself as an eligible choice more than the others. It is critical that you know what the hiring officers need so you can start honing your skills. Here’s a list of core competencies needed for business analysts:

Communication skills

You will spend most of your time interacting with other analysts, clients, management and many more. Therefore, you have to be an effective communicator. You will be expected to voice out your ideas and facilitate other meetings. You need to actively listen to other people as well and build relationships. The truth is, the success of the project will revolve around your ability to communicate.

Problem-solving skills

You are needed to identify a problem area and develop a solution. This is an important skill that you need to foster because you will be expected to outline the constraints of the project as well as determine possible solutions to identified problems thereby increasing efficiency.

Critical thinking skills

Business analysts are leaders. They will steer the team toward a solution. But before coming up with a solution, a business analyst evaluates and assesses many choices. You have to make choices that can make or break a company. It is important that you understand the stakes and your solutions are based on critical review of available data and documentation.

Negotiation skills

Negotiation is all about building relationships and fortifying it. You will be the intermediary between the clients, management, developers and even the IT. You need to balance the solution in a way that the clients are happy and the company is amenable.

Computer skills

You will encounter different software. Knowing this, you have to be knowledgeable of Microsoft Office Suite (including Access, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Project), software design tools, Visio, SQL queries and many more.

Analytical skills

There are many analytical tools that you can utilise to effectively design and implement processes. Analytical skills mean being adept at things like data review, documentation, forecasting, project management, reporting, technical integration, visualisations and many more.

After identifying core competencies needed by a business analyst, the next step to increase your leverage is through training and business analyst courses. By joining training and courses, you are expanding your knowledge about your field. There are many training providers or schools out there but selecting the right one is quite confusing.

To narrow down your choices, you have to look closer. Look for a school or training provider that is qualified to provide the course. This is a critical matter – companies will come to rely on your in the future. Therefore, your mentors should be qualified to teach and share their knowledge. Another important thing to determine is the cost of the training or school. Remember that this is an investment and it is possible to look for schools with discounts and negotiable prices.