Advice for a mature student looking to start Business Analysis career

Ditzy_Mitzy

MPS92 said:

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

MPS92 said:

JReacher1 said:

Without seeing your cv and jobs you’ve applied for it’s hard to know why you aren’t getting interviews. I would continue to apply as there are many BA jobs out there. 

How mature are you? Nobody should discriminate because of age but if you’ve not got much of an employment history and you’re reasonably mature then that might ring some alarm bells. 

Another option to look at is junior product manager as that’s not too dissimilar a role to BA. This could be something easier to get into which then allows you to move into business analysis if you wished. 

Hi, thanks for your response. I'm 34 and my previous roles have been in hospitality (with responsibility), so I know there are strikes against me, so to speak. In my CV I've included MS Suite experience and the following opening statement and information about my studies:

I am a recent graduate of The Open University with experience analysing business strategies and producing reports. I am seeking an opportunity to leverage my data analysis and business understanding skills as an analyst. I am eager to complete deliverables, streamline processes, maximise efficiency, and foster professional relationships within organisations. I have a commitment to learning, a willingness to seek information, and possess strong interpersonal and teamwork skills.

2017-2021 – The Open University – Distance Learning

BA (Honours) Business Management (upper 2:1)

• Specialisms: financial accounting, communication in business management and financial analysis & decision making.

• Developed strong critical evaluation, research and data-gathering skills to produce internal and external analyses of companies, industries, and macroeconomic context.

• Final-year dissertation included developing a report on strategic issues within a UK company and making corresponding strategic recommendations to management and identifying risks.

Would love to hear your thoughts on these key elements of my CV!

Also, I'll look into the junior product manager roles and see what comes up.

Thanks again!

That CV is, to put no finer point on it, excruciatingly dull.  Nobody is eager to 'complete deliverables', suggesting that you are sounds almost flippant.  Some people, however, are keen to do a good job and to help.  Some people really do enjoy the cut and thrust of business.  Do you?  You ought to, if minded to pursue a career in business analysis.  

'I have previously held roles in hospitality, including being responsible for X, and through the course of that work realised that the 'how' and the 'why' of business interest me as much as what the company does.  Processes, how things are done and why, fascinate me; I have a questioning mind and a desire to analyse, to streamline and, to put no finer point on it, to get the most from every pound.  I realised that business analysis was a field that allowed me to develop and refine those interests in the academic sense and I would now like to put them into practice professionally.  My aim, ultimately, is to become someone who can help businesses do business better.'  

Or similar.  I'm not commercially minded...

Thanks for this response too! These are really valuable insights -- if that's how the CV comes across then I might tweak it to sound more personable. My original intro/bio para was more like that until my project manager brother helped tweak the entire CV. Perhaps we went too far in the other direction and I need to find more of a middle ground.

I like what you've put so might 'borrow' some of those sentence templates, if that's OK. It actually reminds me what I enjoyed in my studies, which was the resource-based view of organisations and the considerations for company performance, which BA plays a large part in, so it actually feels right (rather than just saying what they want to hear).

Thanks again!

It's fine!  Thank you.

Doshwaster

Also bear in mind that many job roles require Business Analysis skills but may not have Business Analysis in the job title/spec. Some companies may call them Operations Analysts, Solutions Architects or Systems Analysts. 

MPS92

Doshwaster said:

Also bear in mind that many job roles require Business Analysis skills but may not have Business Analysis in the job title/spec. Some companies may call them Operations Analysts, Solutions Architects or Systems Analysts. 

Cheers for the heads-up.

I think my approach going forward is going to have to be: look for internships and/or admin-type roles.

I have actually looked for both in the past, as solutions to the impenetrable 'BA wall', but found them similarly so (admin roles all want experience too, even the entry-level ones, and I applied for a dozen or so hoping they'd be short-staffed and willing to overlook the lacked skills/knowledge). Does anyone have any advice for getting internships? 

Thanks!

Doshwaster

MPS92 said:

Doshwaster said:

Also bear in mind that many job roles require Business Analysis skills but may not have Business Analysis in the job title/spec. Some companies may call them Operations Analysts, Solutions Architects or Systems Analysts. 

Cheers for the heads-up.

I think my approach going forward is going to have to be: look for internships and/or admin-type roles.

I have actually looked for both in the past, as solutions to the impenetrable 'BA wall', but found them similarly so (admin roles all want experience too, even the entry-level ones, and I applied for a dozen or so hoping they'd be short-staffed and willing to overlook the lacked skills/knowledge). Does anyone have any advice for getting internships? 

Thanks!

Try here: https://www.ratemyplacement.co.uk/

However, I imagine it will be tough right now. What with COVID and working from home many businesses (including where I am) have dropped their summer intern programme.

Best advice would be to get your foot in the door however you can then find situations where you can demonstrate what you learnt on your course. Many companies don't even know that they need a BA.

Savvy_Sue

MPS92 said:
Does anyone have any advice for getting internships? 

In a traditional university, I'd say speak to the careers service, so I put this out there for the benefit of others, recognising that it may not help you. Although I expect the OU has a careers service ... 

One of our local universities has an excellent intern scheme, where they reimburse our expenses for employing someone on NMW for a fixed period - I think it's six months. It's a major incentive for us, and we usually offer continuing employment on slightly better terms afterwards. 

"The Careers Service runs two internship schemes that enable you to gain quality, paid work experience from small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, including charities, social enterprises, and start-ups." (the other scheme is for employment within the Uni.)