What jobs require analytical skills?

Analytical skills reflect your ability to identify a problem, fact-finding through investigation, and suggest a logical solution to resolve the problem. These skills are often considered essential in many different fields; however, they are especially important in business and finance.

Analytical skills are beneficial to detecting patterns, generate ideas, interpret data, and make situational decisions.

In this article, we explore what jobs require analytical skills, explain why analytical skills are important, discuss how to gain analytical skills, and show you how to add these skills into your cover letter.

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What jobs require analytical skills?

Analytical thinkers spend much of their time thinking about new concepts and solving problems. As such, there are a few great job roles, well suited to analytical thinkers, including an Account, Business Analyst, and Logistics Manager. 

Accountant

An analytical mind often goes hand in hand with number crunching, so accounting is a natural fit for analytical thinkers. Analysing and interpreting data requires good attention to detail, making your analytical mind essential in an accounting role like this.

Courses to help you get started:

• AAT Foundation Certificate, Advanced & Professional Diploma in Accounting Package
• CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting
• CIMA Professional Qualification Package

Business Analyst

As a Business Analyst, you will use your organisational and technical abilities to help identify any issues a company might have and create a suitable strategy to resolve them. You will also be responsible for implementing new processes and amend existing methods to improve them and make them more efficient.

Courses to help you get started:

• BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis
• BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis
• BCS Business Analysis Job Academy Programme

Logistics Manager

Large-scale storage and distribution of goods require a fair volume of data to manage, making this job role ideal for analytical thinkers. Like a Project Manager, you will need to be able to plan projects effectively, and consistently supply up to date strategies, to make sure goods arrive on time and within budget.

Courses to help you get started:

• PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
• Project Management Professional (PMP)

Why are analytical skills important?

Analytical skills are important because they enable you to review a series of problems and provide a solution to resolve them. These skills are essential for many job roles, but they are also beneficial skills for most people to have, irrespective of job title and responsibility.

Analytical skills are made up of four components:

Attention to detail – You notice key details and retain information of essential elements. These skills help you to follow instructions correctly, avoid mistakes, and evaluate difficult problems. Your work will be accurate and precise.

Critical Thinking – Not accepting arguments or assumptions without questioning them is being a critical thinker. This skill requires you to deconstruct the steps of a process or argument and make your evaluations. You must identify facts, patterns, and key details that enable you to make a thought-out decision or find a suitable solution.

Decision-making – This skill requires careful evaluation of the situation to determine which choices will result in the most suitable outcome.

Researching Skills – To plan, define research, and collect data you must be able to consider a problem from all angles. You should also be able to analyse your findings to draw suitable conclusions from them.

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How to develop analytical skills

Some people are naturally analytical, but if you are not, you can work on improving your analytical skills in the following ways:

• Work on being more observant
• Read more often
• Learn something new
• Work on your maths skills
• Play games that challenge your brain
• Exercise
• Keep a journal or diary
• Ask more questions

How to show analytical skills in cover letter

It’s important to show that you have analytical skills rather than just saying you have them. This means you will need to provide examples of when and where you have displayed a high level of analytical skills. This is best achieved by incorporating your problem-solving success stories within the content of your cover letter. Remember that a cover letter is a way for you to pique the interest of your prospective employers, so telling your story as a summary, is a great way to draw your reader in and want to meet you to find out more. This often results in a face-to-face interview.

Would you like to find train towards a new career or work towards a promotion? Our Course Consultants are available to discuss your career goals and advise which courses would be best for your future. Contact us on +44 (0) 20 3198 7700 to get started.