Last week, I wrote about “How to be a better business analyst” and suggested identifying challenges in your current project work as one way to build new career experiences. When you are stuck and just need to get unstuck, building one new experience after another, trying new techniques and approaches, is a great way to get moving. When getting started, don’t let “the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Just, get started.
But once you get unstuck and are moving forward, you’ll want to do a gut check and make sure you are building true qualifications that are relevant in the marketplace. Otherwise you run the risk of doing lots of interesting things that no one else really cares about!
As a hiring manager I was always looking for evidence of past experience and knowledge of a technique or deliverable. The combination of both meant a candidate was very likely to be able to perform that task successfully within my organization.
Only knowledge? Well, then I wasn’t sure if they’d be able to deliver and I knew for sure they’d experience some definite growing pains. (Given our schedules, I was rarely in the position to recruit new BAs needing mentoring, maybe that’s why I’m so passionate about mentoring now!)
And what about deep experience but little knowledge? To be honest, I would have been content with this, valuing experience the way I (and most managers) do. But no knowledge often meant there was a communication gap. I would bet there were many experienced candidates whose resumes never made it to my desk because they didn’t have the knowledge to frame their past experience as a qualification.
As you think about your career development, it can often be helpful to consider how a potential hiring manager would view your experiences. Even if you have no intention of finding a new job in the next decade, this perspective will help you stay focused in your career development. It will also help you come performance review time to be prepared to position your value to your current manager or if you are seeking a promotion into a new role or a more senior-level role.
I use the concept of “marketable qualifications” to help frame knowledge and career experiences. Building new marketable qualifications increases your value in the marketplace. Marketable qualifications can be your touchstone for achieving new career milestones. Marketable qualifications are the result of knowledge and experience.
Below is part 1 of a 3-part video series on how to build marketable qualifications. Parts 2 addresses “How to accumulate knowledge without a big training budget” and part 3 addresses “How to build business analyst experiences.” Each gives you a new set of steps to apply as you seek to become a better business analyst.
Oh yeah, and I just happened to release a new mentoring package specifically designed to help potential business analysts overcome the experience side of this challenge and find opportunities to build marketable qualifications in their current work situations. 
I’d be honored to help you kick-start your career development plan.
What’s next? Hop on over to Part 2 of this video blog post series where we focus on how to accumulate business analysis knowledge without a big training budget.
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By Laura Brandenburg. Laura Brandenburg is passionate about business analysis. She's found her niche helping aspiring business analysts find transferable skills and position themselves in the BA job market. To stay up-to-date on the latest from Bridging the Gap be sure to sign-up for our free email course and weekly eNewsletter. View more blog posts by Laura Brandenburg |
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Laura
I’m interested in learning more about the mentoring package you mention in this post.
Rick Hengehold
St. Louis, MO
Hi Rick, Thanks! I’ve updated the post now with a link to the mentoring package.
Hi Laura,
Just watched your three videos and found them really informative and helpful, especially as I am looking to move into a business analysis role in the Uk.
Thanks very much for posting them!
Julian, London, UK
Thanks, Julian. I am so glad you found them helpful. If you haven’t already, also be sure to sign up for our free email course on becoming a BA as this should help you further craft your plan for moving into a BA role.
http://www.bridging-the-gap.com/enewsletter-sign-up/become-a-business-analyst-free-course/
Yes it is absolutely true, a hiring manager always looking for evidence of past experience and knowledge of a technique or deliverable. The combination of both meant a candidate was very likely to be able to perform that task successfully.