Top 5 Questions Answered Related to Business Analyst Role

As we get deeper into understanding the role of a business analyst, you’ll see that there is a lot of scope to grow in this field.

A study shows that the job market for business analysts is showing an upward trend and will grow at a rate of 14.3% by 2026.

This means that there are a lot of opportunities waiting for you.

But before you take the plunge, you'll have some questions.

In this article, I have answered the top 5 questions related to the business analyst role that I get from candidates who are looking to join this field.

Let's get started!

1. How to crack business analyst interviews if you have zero experience?

If you look at the majority of job descriptions a minimum requirement is 2 to 3 years for a business analyst role. 

In this case, internships are your best bet to gain work experience and boost your resume. 

You can look for internships on platforms like Internshala, Indeed, etc. 

Now, internship designations can be under a different name as well such as Data Analyst.

Look for internships asking for SQL, Excel and Power BI skills.

Parallelly, keep building and updating your LinkedIn profile that highlights your skillsets and achievements. 

Add the internship experience to your LinkedIn profile and mention clearly what you did there, your roles and responsibilities. 

This will also help with your online brand presence.

And, finally practise your problem-solving skills. As a business analyst, you’ll need to look at the problems from different viewpoints.

Study and read about different case studies and understand the whys and hows of the problems and their solutions.

2. What are the companies that you can target for a fresher Business Analyst role?

If you are a fresher, look for opportunities at startups or service-based companies. 

Make a list of 50 to 100 companies in an excel sheet and then move ahead with applying to those companies. 

Don't try to target all the companies and different domains at once. 

If you are an experienced professional looking to switch your job role to a Business Analyst, consider looking in your existing domain to leverage your previous experience. 

For example, if you worked in the banking sector previously, you can look for business analyst roles and consulting firms that specialise in banking. 

In this way, you won’t have to start from scratch.

3. What are the qualifications and top skills to learn as a fresher for a Business Analyst role?

For an entry level role, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree.

If you are aiming for a management position, having a master’s degree such as an MBA is the requirement.

However, in today's scenario skillsets have become a lot more important than degrees.

If we talk about skills, focus on data visualisation, data analysis and communication. 

SQL and Excel skills are mandatory for a business analyst role.

Business analysts are storytellers and 80 to 90% of the stories are communicated through fundamental charts.

Learn where and what types of charts such as line charts or column charts are used to showcase different business scenarios. 

If you want to get started with Power BI and Tableau, understand how to perform ETL operations, extraction, transformation and loading operations using them.

Don't forget about power queries as they can help to perform ETL operations on large data sets. 

4. How to answer guesstimate questions?

A lot of product companies such as Uber and Paytm are evaluating candidates by asking guesstimate questions during interview rounds. 

In guesstimate questions, you’ll be asked to provide an estimated solution that is based on guesswork and mental calculation.

The recruiters are not looking for the answers but more at the thought process that led to the answer.

You’ll have limited information so you’ll have to think on your feet.

The best way to approach guesstimate questions is to break them down into small manageable parts and use logic.

Let me give you an example,

Let's say you are asked to predict the population of Asia by 2030.

How will you approach this question?

You can consider 2 factors that affect population growth for your answer - birth rate and death rate. 

The current birth rate is 4% and the death rate is 1.5%. Hence, the yearly net increment is 2.5%. 

Now you can calculate the compounded annual growth rate till 2030 using the net increment of 2.5% and this would be the population estimate for 2030.

These tricky-estimation based questions showcase your problem solving skills, logical thinking and presence of mind.

5. How to understand which domain is correct to join as a Business Analyst?

This is completely dependent on personal preference.

But it's always a good idea to research about sectors that interest you.

Get to know the domains that’ll have a lot of scope and potential growth in the coming future.

For example, in India, the banking, insurance and automotive sectors are still not tapped fully so if these fields interest you, learn about them.

Read the market scenario and constantly learn and upgrade your industry knowledge.

Don’t restrict yourself and explore to find your ideal domain.

Also, I would highly recommend checking out this A to Z Guide on Cracking Business Analyst Interviews. 

I have covered a lot of important points such as how to develop business analyst skills, how to apply via Linkedin (with sample templates), the interview process, how to prepare for the interviews and more.

If you still have doubts, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.

I’ll try my best to answer all your questions.

We can also connect on a free 1:1 call to discuss your pain points and find solutions together.