Applying for a job can be a stressful business, but much of the stress can be alleviated by making sure that the preparation for the application is as thorough as possible. The information given here is aimed at helping those looking for data analyst jobs to prepare a high-quality CV, the first port of call for any recruiter.
One tip worth remembering is how helpful a specialist IT recruitment company such as Randstad Technologies can be when looking for jobs. The company has more than 35 years experience in the IT jobs field and has links to numerous leading recruiters in the country, many of whom will often be looking for a data analyst.
The introduction
Recruiters look at hundreds of CVs over the years so it needs a sharp, snappy introduction in order to make an application immediately stand out. A personal summary should focus briefly on what the applicant has achieved, and not on the fact that they have a bright and breezy personality. That may be true, but a recruiter wants to understand quickly what core competencies will be brought into the organisation.
Work experience
This is where an applicant can layout the key roles and responsibilities undertaken in both their current and previous jobs. For a data analyst there is a number of specific areas that could be referenced. These could include:
- Experience and knowledge of building Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and maintaining them.
- Planning and analysis of survey data and inputting it into spreadsheets.
- Good knowledge of Microsoft Access and Excel, and of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
- The ability to work well in a multidisciplinary group.
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
- The ability to produce monthly reports covering key areas.
Candidates may have plenty more to add to this according to their background and experience, although they should beware of making the list too long as a CV should not stretch to more than two pages of A4. Bullet points with short sentences are better in terms of layout than chunky paragraphs.
Skills and competencies
This section gives the opportunity to detail specific areas of skills and competencies, such as experience of running complex ETL processes, the ability to work under pressure, and knowledge of a range of types of database. These will also look better if written in bullet point format.
Qualifications
Before beginning an application, candidates ought to read through the job description again to be sure that they have the appropriate qualifications, otherwise the application may be a waste of everyone’s time.
Academic qualifications should start with the most recent, giving details of the qualification (e.g. BSc), the subject, the educational establishment where it was obtained, and the dates of study.
Using a sidebar
A sidebar is a useful way of flagging up a quick précis of information that is given in more detail elsewhere in the CV. A short list of areas of expertise, contained in a column on the left hand side of the main part of the CV, can catch a recruiter’s eye. Similarly, any professional qualifications achieved, key personal skills, together with personal details such as name, address, phone and email could also appear here.
