A data analyst resume should show decisions, not dashboards.

These titles can describe overlapping work, but keyword searches treat them as different queries. Put the title used in the vacancy at the top of your resume when it accurately describes your experience.

• Data Analyst
• Business Intelligence Analyst
• BI Analyst
• Reporting Analyst
• Product Analyst
• Marketing Analyst

Show how you extracted, cleaned, modelled, and interpreted data. The level of SQL and statistical reasoning matters more than the number of tools listed.

• SQLEssential

  The most common technical filter. Mention joins, window functions, CTEs, or query optimisation only when used.

  Also write: PostgreSQL · BigQuery · Snowflake SQL

• Data cleaningEssential

  Demonstrates that you worked with real sources rather than analysis-ready exercises.

  Also write: data cleansing · data quality · deduplication

• Data modelling

  Shows that you shaped reusable analytical datasets rather than exporting one-off spreadsheets.

  Also write: dimensional modelling · star schema · semantic layer

• Statistical analysis

  Name the methods you can defend, such as significance testing, regression, cohorts, or forecasting.

  Also write: hypothesis testing · regression · forecasting

• A/B testing

  Valuable in product and marketing analytics when you can explain design, sample size, and decision criteria.

  Also write: experimentation · split testing

• ETL

  Clarify whether you built, monitored, or only consumed the pipeline.

  Also write: ELT · data pipeline · data transformation

Tools should reveal the environment and scale of the analysis. Name the warehouse, BI layer, and language when they are relevant to the vacancy.

• Power BIEssential

  Widely filtered in corporate analytics. Mention DAX, Power Query, governance, or audience size where relevant.

  Also write: DAX · Power Query · Power BI Service

• Tableau

  Useful when paired with dashboard ownership, data-source design, and stakeholder adoption.

  Also write: Tableau Desktop · Tableau Server

• Python

  Name the analytical libraries and the problem they solved rather than listing the language alone.

  Also write: pandas · NumPy · scikit-learn

• Excel

  Still essential in many teams. State the advanced features used and whether you automated a recurring process.

  Also write: pivot tables · XLOOKUP · Power Pivot

• dbt

  A strong modern analytics signal for tested, documented transformations in a warehouse.

  Also write: data build tool · dbt Cloud

• Snowflake

  Specify the warehouse you queried and the approximate data scale when it adds useful context.

  Also write: BigQuery · Redshift · Databricks

Certifications can establish a baseline for a platform, but a hiring manager will still look for analyses that changed a real decision.

• Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate

  An exact-match credential for Power BI roles, especially early in a career.

  Also write: PL-300 · Power BI Data Analyst

• Tableau Certified Data Analyst

  Useful for Tableau-heavy teams when supported by published or described dashboards.

  Also write: Tableau certification

• Google Data Analytics Certificate

  A foundation credential for career changers, not a substitute for a portfolio using real data.

  Also write: Google Career Certificate

• Statistics degree

  State the exact discipline and relevant modules when education is a major part of your evidence.

  Also write: Data Science degree · Econometrics degree · Mathematics degree

Analysis creates value only when people trust it and act on it. These terms show ownership beyond producing a chart.

• Requirements gathering

  Shows that you translated an ambiguous business question into a measurable definition.

  Also write: stakeholder interviews · business requirements

• KPI definition

  Strong evidence that you influenced what the organisation measures, not only how it is displayed.

  Also write: metric definition · performance indicators

• Data storytelling

  Use it only with evidence of presenting a finding and prompting a decision.

  Also write: insight communication · executive presentation

• Dashboard governance

  Ownership of definitions, access, refreshes, and retired reports is valuable in mature BI teams.

  Also write: BI governance · single source of truth

• Stakeholder management

  Name the teams and decisions involved so the phrase does not remain generic.

  Also write: cross-functional collaboration

The figures below are examples. Replace them with your own evidence—the structure is reusable, the content is not.

• Data-driven professional

  The phrase makes no claim that can be tested. Replace it with one decision changed by your analysis.

• A gallery of screenshots

  Images are often unreadable to ATS software and may expose confidential data. Describe the audience, model, and outcome in text.

• Python, R, SQL, Tableau, Power BI with no context

  A tool inventory does not show proficiency. Attach each major tool to one delivered analysis.

• Accuracy improved by 100%

  Use a defined baseline, validation rule, and believable unit such as error rate or reconciliation time.