Looking for a new business analyst job or a new business analyst career is not particularly exciting. It's even less exciting when you are transitioning from a university or a different career into a field like Business Analysis. However, the flip side of this is that when you do land that new business analyst job, you'll be on your way to an exciting new career, more personal growth and fulfillment and hopefully a lot more income too. Whether you are a seasoned business analyst looking for a new and exciting position, or you have a newly minted business analyst education, you will need a lot of focus and preparation to get yourself the job and salary you want. The key is to give the right impression, shine the spotlight on your business analyst skills and convince the recruiters and that you're the right person for the job.
Your Cover Letter Is Key To Landing The Next Business Analyst Job
The cover letter you include with your resume is the first thing about you that will be read, noticed and analyzed by potential recruiters, employers and hiring managers.
Some job seekers assume that their job search starts with their resume or the business analyst job interview. Boy, are they so wrong! The process of actively soliciting a business analyst job actually starts with the cover letter and here is why:
Before you are scheduled for an interview or have your resume read by a hiring manager, the cover letter attached to your resume has to be read first. Whether you send in your resume by email, fax or snail mail, you have to include a cover letter with your job solicitation or application.
Now human resource departments receive a good number of resumes for any business analyst job position that they post and because of it, they will review your cover letter and only proceed to read the rest of your resume if your cover letter draws them in. This is exactly the reason why you must prepare a really good cover letter for your next business analyst job search.
The way hiring managers or staffing firms handle business analyst job seekers is similar to the way you search for information on the internet.
Typically when you search for information on the internet, you end your information search as soon as you find a high quality site that provides all the answers you are looking for. You will probably quickly narrow your focus to a few websites out of the several websites listed on the search results page. Now, picture a potential employer sifting through a pile of resumes in their inbox or mail folder. They will quickly also select few resumes out of the pile of resumes available based on the cover letter attached to the resume.
So, do not make the mistake of neglecting your cover letter or focusing all of your attention on your resume, give it the attention it deserves!
Use a Cover Letter to Overcome Hiring Objections
Using a cover letter presents you with an opportunity to set yourself apart from the other candidates who may have similar business analyst training and education. If you have no previous experience, your cover letter is your chance to give the manager the rationale to consider you for the job anyway. In your cover letter you can focus on your most attractive qualities that would otherwise have gotten lost in the many points on your resume. Your cover letter is your chance to maximize that favorable first impression. Now that you know just how important your cover letter is to landing your next business analyst job, you also know that the days of writing one cover letter and reusing it for every business you apply are gone.
Tips for Creating a Unique Business Analyst Cover Letter
The first tip to creating a unique cover letter is to thoroughly review the business analyst job description for the company you want to work for. Make notes on the job requirements and the responsibilities of the position. Then see if you’re previous work related experience and training measures up to what is required. Everything that is a match to your skill set should be addressed in your cover letter. Even if you spent the last four years working with websites, don’t highlight it unless the business analyst job description calls for it as a requirement. You don’t want to distract the hiring manager’s attention with unrelated information. Talk about your knowledge or experience with UML, gathering requirements, use cases, and requirements analysis.
Make Your Cover Letter Introduction Grab Their Attention
Make your introduction an attention-grabbing story to draw the reader into reading the entire letter. Talk about how you became attracted to the field of business analysis, interesting experiences you've had in business analysis or requirements gathering, any areas in which you have extensive background and your excitement for the role and responsibilities of a business analyst. Also include your track record of getting results in your projects. Your other paragraphs should detail all the skills that make you perfect for the job. However, do not just regurgitate your entire resume in the letter. What you should do is describe how your best skills and experience relate to the job position. Then emphasize how those skills will help the company achieve its goals for successful project completion.
How To Format A Business Analyst Job Search Cover Letter
When writing your business analyst job search cover letter stay close to the straight and narrow path in formatting the letter.
Use normal business conventions in the opening paragraph, when addressing the business analyst job position, and in the closing paragraph of your cover letter. This will apply to cover letters that you send to business analyst job postings by email, fax, snail mail or business analyst jobs posted on job boards like Monster.com, Dice.com, etc.
Be courteous and business-like. Formality will not take away from you if you have something interesting to say, so keep the cover letter short by being focused and getting straight to the point. The entire cover letter should not be more than four paragraphs. Avoid starting out with “to whom it may concern.”, that is old school If possible, you should use the name of the recruiting manager mentioned in the business analyst job posting. Do not use slang, cute phrases, emoticons or graphics.
Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct. Use a spell-checker and if possible, get a friend or mentor to proof-read the cover letter before you send it out.
Finally, remember that your cover letter presents you with an opportunity to get your ideal business analyst job. It is your opportunity to connect with and capture the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s attention, tell your professional story and stand out from the crowd. It may take hard work to create great business analyst cover letter, but it is worth the effort, when you land that great business analyst job while others wonder why they are not as lucky as you.
I wish you success with your business analyst job search.
To Your Career,
IT Career Coach
Kingsley Tagbo recommends "The Business Analyst Hand Book" at: http://www.businessanalystbook.com/ . It will help you learn Business Analysis Roles and Responsibilities, prepare Business Analyst resumes, ace your Business Analyst job interviews or gain the type of experience that gets your business analyst career moving forward. You may also get more information about business analyst training at: http://businessanalystbootcamp.com/