Hello everyone. I wanted to introduce myself and pose a question or two. My name is Curtis and in my previous life I was a programmer analyst with five years of experience developing/implementing retail application software and helping to manage projects. I fell into technical recruiting but it's not where I wanted to be so I've been trying to break back in to a hands-on business, application or technical analyst role. My passion has always been analysis and I have a wealth of client facing experience.
So my question is this...I haven't been hands-on for about four years now - how difficult is it to break back in? I've applied to numerous positions and I'm not applying to just anything and everything but it's proven to be difficult. Has anyone else experienced this?
My skills are a bit rusty but I have been educating myself and trying to keep abreast of current technologies. Would it be fair to say that I should target more entry/junior level positions?
My background covers - PCLP for Lotus; xhtml, xml, js, jquery, ajax, css, sql, some java, familiar with php, utilized toad. I've worked on Windows 2000/NT/XP; Notes/Domino. I've done loads of requirements gathering and written up functional design docs.
Any words of advice out there?
Hi Curtis,
It sounds like you know what you want... Business Analysis is an exciting career if you have the skills to succeed.
Given that you have previous experience in technology and analysis is a very good thing. I'm assuming, given that you were a recruiter, that you also have solid communication and people skills. That's a great foundation for beginning a career as a business analyst.
The problem these days is that even very experienced BAs may have a hard time finding positions they desire given the current job market status and economic conditions. So - if you are still employed, stay employed untill you find a business analyst position - it may take time.
In the meantime, you should consider formalizing your analysis skills through education. There are many companies and universities providing business analysis training. Go and get youself some training as it will help you down the line. Here are some areas you can focus on: requirements elicitation workshops, process modeling, business rules managment, data modeling along with some standard "tools" such as context diagrams, uses cases, user stories, process flows, etc.
Consider buying a copy of the BABOK to give you an overview of the skills and techniques you might want to master in order to become a start business analyst.
- Adrian
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