What a business analyst does
New Zealand's careers service says business analysts design or recommend solutions to help organisations meet their goals. The UK's National Careers Service analyst profile lists tasks such as:
- speaking to managers to learn what the business needs
- writing down what the business does and how
- analysing findings to suggest changes and improvements
- explaining the costs, benefits and risks of changes
- organising testing and quality checks
- supporting staff to make changes
The UK government's role framework says business analysts help teams analyse and understand a business problem. They explore options, analyse the effects of change and define how success will be measured.
Skills employers look for
The UK framework lists skills for business analysts that an interview can test, including:
- defining and managing business needs, user needs and requirements
- context, problem and option analysis
- business process improvement
- stakeholder relationship management
- business and user acceptance testing
The National Careers Service adds analytical thinking, initiative and working well with others. New Zealand's profile says you need to be logical and methodical, and to communicate well. The US profile for management analysts lists business analyst as one of its job titles.
The interviews you may face
Each employer runs its own process. You may face some of these:
- A screening call about your experience. See our phone screen guide.
- A case study, where you read a short brief and suggest how to fix a problem.
- A requirements task, such as turning a vague request into clear user needs.
- A process exercise, where you sketch how work flows now and how it could flow.
- A presentation. The UK Civil Service, for one, says you may be asked to present and then answer questions.
- A behavioural interview about past projects. Read our guide to behavioural answers.
Questions that test each skill
These are themes, with sample wording. Real questions vary by employer.
- Requirements: "How do you find out what users really need?"
- Stakeholders: "Tell me about a time two stakeholders wanted different things."
- Options: "How would you compare three ways to fix a slow process?"
- Processes: "Walk me through a process you mapped and improved."
- Testing: "How do you check a new system does what the business asked for?"
- Change: "How do you help staff take up a new way of working?"
Answer "tell me about a time" questions with STAR: the situation, your task, the actions you took and the result. Our free STAR answer planner helps you shape each one.
What to prepare
- Note the methods and tools the ad names, such as process maps or user stories.
- Pick two pieces of work: the problem, what you found, the options and the result.
- Practise drawing a simple process map on paper or a whiteboard.
- Prepare STAR stories about requirements, a disagreement, a change and a test that found a problem.
- Practise turning a vague request into three clear needs.
An example answer about stakeholders who disagreed
Here is a made-up answer for a made-up person. Use it to see the shape of a strong answer, then tell your own true story.
Made-up example
Kwame, a business analyst at an insurance company
Question
Situation
Task
Action
- I met each team on its own and listed what they needed and why.
- I checked six months of claims and found 9 of the 30 questions were used in under 5% of claims.
- I proposed a short main form, with extra questions only for complex claims.
- I ran a workshop where both teams tested a paper version with real examples.
- I wrote up the agreed needs and got sign-off from both team leads.
Result
Kwame uses evidence, not opinion, to settle the disagreement. The result has numbers both teams care about.
Questions
Do business analysts need technical skills?
It depends on the role. The UK government's framework lists digital and data systems analysis alongside business and people skills. Check what the ad asks for.
What if I've done analysis without the title?
Describe the work plainly, such as mapping a process or gathering needs for a new system. Claim the work, not the title.
What does a business analyst earn?
In the US, O*NET lists a 2025 median wage of $101,860 a year for management analysts. That profile includes business analysts. Pay varies by country and level.
Sources
Written by Seal the Offer from these pages, last checked on . Rules change, so check the employer's own page and the job ad before you apply.