Data Analyst resume example
By Bhagirath Sheela, founder of JobCatch ·
A data analyst is hired to answer business questions, so a recruiter reads your resume for two things: the tools you answer them with (SQL, Excel, a BI tool, often Python) and the decisions your analysis changed. "Built dashboards" is the start of a bullet, not the end of one.
What recruiters look for
- SQL first, then Excel, Power BI or Tableau, and Python or R
- Business questions answered and what happened as a result
- Data size and sources: tables, rows, systems you pulled from
- Communication: who used your reports and how often
Section order
With experience
- Summary
- Skills
- Experience
- Projects
- Education
- Certifications
As a fresher
- Summary
- Education
- Skills
- Projects
- Internships
- Certifications
Summary examples
Fresher
Data analyst with a statistics degree, an internship building Power BI dashboards for a retail chain, and three portfolio projects in SQL and Python on public Indian datasets.
Experienced
Data analyst with three years in e-commerce analytics. Built the weekly sales dashboard used by 40 managers and found the delivery-slot change that lifted repeat orders by 8%.
Skills, spelled the way postings spell them
An applicant tracking system matches the words in the job posting, and it does not reliably treat two spellings as one skill. The left column is the form most postings use; the right, other spellings people type. Use the posting's own spelling for each application, and list only what you can discuss in an interview.
| Skill | Also written as |
|---|---|
| SQL | Structured Query Language |
| Microsoft Excel | Excel, MS Excel, Advanced Excel |
| Power BI | PowerBI, MS Power BI |
| Tableau | — |
| Python | Python 3 |
| Pandas | — |
| Statistics | Statistical analysis |
| Data analysis | Data analytics |
| Google Analytics | GA4 |
| MySQL | My SQL |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | PowerPoint, MS PowerPoint |
| Stakeholder management | — |
Also worth listing if you have them: A/B testing.
Bullet examples
Each bullet says what you did and what changed because of it. Change the numbers to your own; a recruiter will ask about every one.
- Built the weekly sales dashboard in Power BI used by 40 category and city managers.
- Found, through cohort analysis in SQL, that evening delivery slots doubled repeat orders; the change lifted repeat rate 8%.
- Automated a 6-hour monthly Excel report with SQL and Python, freeing a day of analyst time each month.
- Designed and read out 12 A/B tests on the checkout page with the product team.
- Cleaned and joined order, payment and support data from three systems into one reporting table.
For freshers: projects and internships
- Internship: built three Power BI dashboards for a retail chain's 60 stores, now used in weekly reviews.
- Analysed 5 lakh rows of public crop-price data in SQL and Python and published the findings with charts.
- Completed the Google Data Analytics certificate and a 30-question SQL case study.
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing tools without a single business result. Every bullet should end in what changed or who used it.
- Writing "Excel" when you mean pivot tables, Power Query and lookups. Be specific about what you can do.
- No portfolio as a fresher. Two or three analyses on real public data, written up clearly, beat any certificate.
What an ATS reads from this sample
An applicant tracking system turns the PDF into plain text before anyone reads it. This is that text for the sample above, extracted by the same code as "What the ATS reads" in the app. Everything is in reading order, under the right heading, with the name and email intact — which is what a single-column template is for.
Ritika Bansal Data Analyst [email protected] • +91 98765 43210 • Gurugram, Haryana • linkedin.com/in/ritikabansal Summary Data analyst with three years in e-commerce analytics. Built the weekly sales dashboard used by 40 managers and found the delivery-slot change that lifted repeat orders by 8%. Skills & Tools SQL Microsoft Excel Power BI Tableau Python Pandas Statistics Data analysis Google Analytics MySQL Microsoft PowerPoint Stakeholder management A/B testing Experience Data Analyst, Basketly Retail Jan 2023 – Present Gurugram Built the weekly sales dashboard in Power BI used by 40 category and city managers. Found, through cohort analysis in SQL, that evening delivery slots doubled repeat orders; the change lifted repeat rate 8%. Automated a 6-hour monthly Excel report with SQL and Python, freeing a day of analyst time each month. Junior Analyst, Insightloop Analytics Jul 2021 – Dec 2022 Gurugram Designed and read out 12 A/B tests on the checkout page with the product team. Cleaned and joined order, payment and support data from three systems into one reporting table. Projects Crop prices SQL and Python analysis of 5 lakh rows of public mandi price data, with a written report. Education B.Sc. (Hons), Statistics 2018 – 2021 Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi · 8.6 CGPA Certifications Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, 2022 Languages English · Hindi
Interview questions to prepare
The app's interview prep for this sample and a plain Data Analyst posting. It works from the resume and the posting only, and tells you how to prepare, never what to say.
Questions every interview has
- Tell me about yourself. Two minutes: what you do now (Data Analyst at Basketly Retail), one result you are proud of, and why this role is next.
- Why do you want this job? Read their website and one recent piece of news before the call. Name something specific.
- Why are you leaving your current job? Say what you are moving towards. Do not criticise your employer.
- What is your notice period, and what salary are you expecting? Decide your number before the interview, so you are not deciding it on the call.
About the skills the job asks for
- Tell me about a time you used Python. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used SQL. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Microsoft Excel. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Power BI. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Tableau. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
- Tell me about a time you used Pandas. Pick one real example: what the problem was, what you did, and what changed.
About what the resume claims
- You wrote: "Built the weekly sales dashboard in Power BI used by 40 category and city managers." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Found, through cohort analysis in SQL, that evening delivery slots doubled repeat orders; the change lifted repeat rate 8%." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
- You wrote: "Automated a 6-hour monthly Excel report with SQL and Python, freeing a day of analyst time each month." Expect three follow-ups: how exactly, what was your own part, and how you know it worked.
Questions to ask them
- What would a good first three months in this role look like?
- Who would I work with most closely?
- What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear back?
Templates that suit this role
All of these are single-column and read cleanly by an applicant tracking system. Classic is free, with no watermark.
Questions
Is SQL more important than Python for a data analyst?
For most analyst roles in India, yes: SQL is asked in almost every interview, and Python is often a plus rather than a must. Put SQL first and show it in your bullets.
What projects should a fresher data analyst show?
Analyses of real, messy public data — Indian government open data, Kaggle datasets with a business angle — that answer a clear question, with the charts and the conclusion. Link the notebook or dashboard.
Next: the Data Analyst cover letter the app drafts from this resume, and how to show SQL, Microsoft Excel, Power BI on a resume.
More data & ai resume examples: Business Analyst · Data Scientist · Data Engineer · Machine Learning Engineer · AI Engineer · Power BI Developer · SQL Developer