Interview tips for business analyst : Business Analysts and System Analysts FAQ

Much as you might hate to hear this – First impression IS the best impression. The best thing to do is some research about the dress code of the company through friends or online resources. General rule of the thumb is to dress in proper formal attire. Interviewers might view the first meeting as a way you would present yourself in a client meeting. Dressing in casuals like jeans is not advisable. Your attire should be one step nicer than the rest of the group. As much as you want the job, getting tensed before the interview could worsen your chances of cracking it. The key is to relax. Maintaining your calm gives you clarity of thought and will help you in answering the questions to the point. It also brings out the true personality in you. By getting tensed, you fail to show your true personality, which might go down as a negative point.

The next thing is its not wrong not to know about something. The interviewer doesn’t expect you to know everything. So it is perfectly fine if you admit it. But the last thing one would want is a person who pretends to know everything and tries to beat around the bush. You will be caught in a web of subsequent questions, which will finally end up in you accepting the truth of not knowing the answer in the first place. This will show you in a bad light. Hence be honest about what you know and bold enough to accept the things you don’t.

Another key point during the interview is about listening which is very relevant to the position which you are there for – business analyst. Wait for the interviewer to complete his question and take some time to frame your answer. Feel free to take notes and do ask for details if the question is unclear or if the data is insufficient. It is very important to understand the question fully, because an irrelevant answer to the question would make it appear that you did not think about the problem in a logical way. It ends up marking you as a candidate poor in communication, which is one of the key factors being looked for in a business analyst role.

One of the main strengths of a business analyst is the clarity of his thoughts and talk and hence, you should have clarity in your answers. Generally the questions could be some case studies or problem situations asking you how you would go about solving it, It is a good idea to let the interviewer know about your thought process, break down the problem into parts and explaining the rationale behind your approach. Then you could address each issue one by one, answering the interviewer’s questions as you go along. Breaking down the problem and analyzing the specifics gives the interviewer the confidence that you can look at different elements of the problem in an organized way and come up with a number of different creative ideas. Also remember that it is fine to take some time to organize your thoughts before you answer the question, so that you end up presenting all the important points and don’t miss out on any. It is also very important not to give redundant answers when the interviewer asks you for additional information. This gives the interviewer a picture that you cannot look at a problem in multiple ways. Also when you ask for additional details, do let the interviewer know why you need them. It shouldn’t appear that you ask for information about your role as a business analyst which is not relevant.

photo