Whether you are a database administrator, programmer, or an SQL specialist, who is looking for employment, your resume will often be the deciding factor whether or not you get hired. According to The Motley Fool, 40% of employment managers spend less than a minute reading through a resume. They look for elements such as an unprofessional email address – disqualifying a good 35% of candidates from the get-go.
Even though the business intelligence (BI for short) industry relies more on hands-on skills and problem-solving rather than document writing, however, it is still important to present yourself as a reliable and professional individual. With that said, let’s dive into several suggestions and benefits of writing a resume for the business intelligence sector, whether you apply for work in a large enterprise or a small local programming firm.
Benefits of Writing a Resume for Business Intelligence
Before we go into the resume writing tips themselves, let’s discuss why a BI-centric approach might be beneficial for you. As we’ve previously mentioned, business intelligence covers a variety of niches from SQL database management to programming and analytics.
Versatile individuals can find a lot of professional opportunities if their resumes are tailored to accommodate industry standards, especially with large international companies looking for business intelligence specialists. With that in mind, the advantages of presenting a BI-centric resume to your potential employers including, but are not limited to:
- Leave a great first impression on BI employers looking for reliable specialists
- Ability to quickly modify your resume for different employers
- Stand out from a crowd of competitive colleagues in the market
- Make it easy for HR interviewers to find relevant data in your resume
- Showcase your writing and organizational skills through your resume
Resume Writing Tools to Rely On
Having the basics out of the way, let’s turn to several platforms and tools that can be useful during your resume writing. Traditional text editors such as Microsoft Office are a good idea in terms of initial outlining and planning of your business intelligence resume. However, when it comes to presenting it to your employers, you should ensure that no mistakes go under the proverbial radar. This means that you have to also be mindful of your grammar. It might be dismissable especially since we, as web developers and programmers, are not big on grammar. It does add to your edge if you are mindful of your grammar. Anyway, you can seek some help with grammar issues on your cover letter and resume.
Evernote is a great alternative to client-side text editors due to its cloud sync and cross-platform features. You can use Evernote to write, edit and format your resume as well as to export it into numerous presentable formats.
If you are not familiar with resume or motivational letter writing but are still an expert in SQL and related languages, you can still get good employment. Platforms such as Trust My Paper will pair you with an editor which will suit your writing needs in order to help you write your resume in the best way.
Canva
Visuals can be a great addition to your resume, especially if you aim to land a job in software or web development. Canva is a professional design platform which will enable you to create representative graphs, charts, and data for your job-hunting needs.
Once your resume starts to take shape, you may want to have a second opinion from a professional writer before submitting it to your potential employers. Grab My Essay features a vast array of editors and writers which will gladly look over your writing and offer tips on how to improve it.
Your resume’s overall legibility is an important element of landing a job, especially in the corporate business intelligence sector. Make sure that your writing is easy to skim through with Hemingway and your chances at landing a job you want will increase exponentially.
If you need last-minute changes to your business intelligence resume in terms of additions, editing or rewrites, Studicus is the place to keep in mind. The platform will quickly pair you with an editor suitable for your needs in order to produce the best possible resume for your next job opportunity.
Tips and Suggestions about Writing a Resume for BI-Centric Positions
1. Adapt to the Employer
The most important thing to keep in mind is that no key will ever fit every keyhole. This means that you should be prepared to modify your resume depending on the job opportunity you aim to apply for. Small development firms will have different expectations from their business analysts or SQL experts than large corporations with multiple departments across the globe.
Make sure that you are prepared to quickly spruce up your resume for different applications and keep several working versions at hand just in case. This will allow for high flexibility and response time in terms of applying for new openings should they appear on your local job listings, LinkedIn or social media.
2. List Skills and Languages
The center of your resume writing will always be the list of professional skills and programming languages you can provide your employer with. It’s important to separate your skillset from the languages in the resume itself in order to accommodate for skimming and quick information access for your interviewer.
Skills such as teamwork, database management, problem solving, and project management are greatly sought after in the business intelligence sector. Languages such as SQL, C, Java, Python, and others will increase your chances at employment with every addition to the list. Keep in mind, however, that you should only highlight the professional capabilities you are certain of to avoid landing a job which may not suit your skills or interest.
3. Highlight Previous Experiences
The next item on your list should be a section which refers to your previous professional experiences. Whether you’ve worked in another company before as a database analyst or practiced SQL as an independent freelancer, previous experiences will add levity to your resume. Interviewers often refer to this section during the interview and ask related questions in order to asses your knowledge of the listed items.
This means that you should only list highly relevant experiences such as formal education, professional certification, previous employment, and other verifiable milestones. Add a reference phone number or email address to each point in order to provide potential employers with a follow-up should they wish to speak to any of your previous employees, coworkers or business intelligence associates.
4. Include Numeric Data
In terms of listing your professional accomplishments, you can always refer to numeric achievements to showcase your skills in business intelligence. This type of data is highly efficient at proving your efficiency as a business analyst or a developer given that your work is centered on long-term gain for a client or an employer.
Items such as “Increased sales revenue by factor of X over Y amount of time” or “Decreased database downtime by a factor of X” will do wonders to objectively showcase your effectiveness. Again, it’s worth noting that you should only list truthful and factual data with outbound links or contacts for further reference should an employer be curious to find out more.
5. Spellcheck, Proofread & Format
While it doesn’t refer to SQL or the duties of a database administrator, professional proofreading and correct grammar will do wonders for your resume. Don’t get caught with simple spelling errors or improper formatting in your resume to avoid coming off as sloppy. Rely on a platform such as Grammarly to quickly assess whether or not there are any mistakes in your writing or formatting in addition to using the tools we’ve listed above.
As we’ve previously stated, you will most likely not be responsible for any form of content writing in your BI-centric position (apart from obligatory reports and correspondence). However, it’s good practice to show that you are willing to double-check your writing before submission – take the extra minute and ensure that everything is in its place before submitting the resume.
6. Offer Several Follow-Up Channels
When it comes to application follow-ups, you should make sure that your contact information is up-to-date and easy to spot on the resume itself. Offer several communication channels to your potential employer, including your email, social media handles and/or phone number to showcase your flexibility.
You should avoid giving away your home address if the employer deems it unnecessary on the application resume (double-check to make sure). Be available on each of the communication channels you’ve provided for your employer and you will undoubtedly leave a positive first impression with your business intelligence resume.
In Conclusion
There is no right or wrong way to write your resume for business intelligence – it all comes down to the specific employer you aim to find common ground with. Research your potential companies and firms properly before you approach resume writing.
This will give you a good idea of their expectations, formatting requirements and whether or not you would fit into their business culture. Before you know it, the right employer will reach out to you with an interview appointment – be sure to make it count.
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