The Business Analyst who wasn’t (Part 4)

So, here I was, retrenched and ready to be a real, live business analyst. I had a few years’ experience acting unofficially in business analyst-type roles, but no official “Business Analyst” title to put in my resumé.

First things first. Fix that resumé. I was a Business Analyst, damn it, even if I’d never had the title!

And, out I went into the big wide world, graduate diploma in one hand, resumé in one hand in the other, and an immense supply of wide-eyed optimism.

Then I started reading the job ads. First, there were the ones which said, “Senior Business Analyst wanted. Must have 10 years’ experience.”. Clearly that wasn’t me. So, I shrugged and read further: “Business Analyst wanted. Must have 5 – 7 years’ experience.” Okay, maybe I should lower my expectations. I continued looking: “Junior Business Analyst wanted. Must have 4 years’ experience.” Say what? Even a JUNIOR business analyst has to have four years’ experience? But, I only had about 3 years under my belt – and that was stretching the truth a tad. 

Still, I sent application after application after application. And, I got rejection after rejection after rejection (when they bothered to reply at all...). I was close to giving up. I seriously questioned whether I had what it took to be a business analyst. Maybe I’d been deluding myself all along. Maybe there was a reason why I’d never achieved the title of “Business Analyst”.

Then, suddenly, I started getting some glimmers of interest. A phone call; an interview; an email. In one week I had four interviews! And, then, one of those interviews resulted in my getting a job with the title of “Business Analyst”. I had made it!

(Except that I still had a lot more to learn – but that’s a different blog! As is the story of how I passed that interview.)

However, I have a friend who is currently trying to attempt the same thing as me: to take his informal, unofficial, experience of analysing business processes and needs, and transform himself into a true business analyst. He’s asked me for advice. Unfortunately, I have none for him. My own transition resulted from a combination of persistence and luck.

As far as I can see (and I can’t see very far at all!), there seems to be no obvious career path for a person to become a Business Analyst. If you want to be a developer, or an accountant, or an electrician, or a doctor, there are steps to take, courses to attend, apprenticeships to serve. However, how does one set about becoming a Business Analyst?

Stepping into this profession from the outside seems to be impossible – especially when even junior roles require 4 years’ experience! It’s the old Catch-22: you can’t get a job because you don’t have the experience, but you can’t get the experience because you don’t have a job. 

So, how do people break into the Business Analysis profession? What should I recommend to my friend, or to other people in his situation? How does someone become a Business Analyst, except by accident?