Jeff Baratta ⋅ San Francisco , CA Piper Jaffray ⋅ 20 years experience

The basic corp principles apply throughout your work as an analyst, be it for business or Intel. It is tough to remove military jargon from all that we do, but try your best to convey those transferable skills, such as acute attention to detail and the ability to formulate a full picture from a few data points. Interpretation and intuitive skill sets are what typically is missing from young analysts straight out of college. Focus on those skills and explain how you can bring them together while learning the base business concepts of the particular job you are applying for. Most of us veterans learned through "OJT." Remember to emphasize your training and ability to learn at a rapid pace through self study and determination and commitment. Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss. I am certainly willing to review what you have so far. Good luck and thanks for choosing to serve.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Potentially.
Research scip.org and let us know what you learn, think and feel.

Ed Southard ⋅ Bloomfield , CT Cigna ⋅ 23 years experience

Thank you for your service SSgt Dollens.

There are two kinds of analysts in IT. I am not sure if you are looking at IT business analyst or another kind of business analyst. I would recommend CBAP certification. See http://www.iiba.org/.

A business analyst in IT must have a good understanding of technology and be able to relate that to a business person who does not have that understanding. Being able to qualify and quantify software requirements, obtain cross-functional team consensus, and define scope and strategy for project implementation and delivery are the primary skills required.

In addition, there is the option to be a system analyst which is a type of business analyst that has additional skills in technology such as server administration, networking or software development. These people work with business analysts to help them understand the technology from a business perspective and also work with technologists to understand their implementation challenges.

As a former DoD analyst I will say the common skills are great communication skills both oral and written, negotiation, mediation, and facilitation are also common skills to leverage in your new career. Your ability to translate intelligence into meaningful reports is also an excellent skill I would highlight in your resume.

You might also consider a career in Project Management either in IT or another industry that you find exciting. http://www.pmi.org. Your leadership and management skills as a staff sergeant (E6) would come in handy.

As to how to word your resume - I would explain how your skills added value to the projects that you were party to and how that ability to add value translates to the business world. To do that, you must demonstrate what skills you have that makes you effective as a leader, communicator, and translator - which is primarily what a BA will do in IT. It is not so important what you did, but why you did it, the tactics you employed, what your role was as part of the overall strategy, and how you overcame challenges in your role. Your ability to achieve results through the work of others will demonstrate your leadership abilities. Showing you understood the strategy, how you added value and overcame adversity will translate very well to the business world, IT or otherwise.

Good luck in your new mission!