Application as Business Analyst

Business Analyst is a profession in IT / Organization, typically entered via BSc Business Information Technology FH. Anyone applying here should know these requirements and pitfalls - specific to the Swiss job market, not generic.

Technical Requirements

• Requirements gathering through interviews and workshops
• Writing clean user stories and acceptance criteria
• Process capture and as-is/to-be analysis
• Data analysis to support recommendations
• German at negotiation level, plus French in French-speaking Switzerland

Personal Requirements

• Ability to listen and ask questions without judging
• Tolerating and moderating contradictions between stakeholder groups
• Precise written communication

Common Mistakes in the Application

• Phrases like 'interface between business and IT' without a single example of it
• The applicant's own contribution stays unclear because only the project is described
• French language skills are missing or overstated - insurers check this
• No indication of how large the supported stakeholder groups were

Typical Employers in Switzerland

UBS, Zurich Insurance, CSS, Helsana, Swisscom, SBB, Federal Office of Information Technology FOITT, Baloise.

Excerpt from a Cover Letter

Dear Mr. Wyss As an intern in organizational development at CSS, I spent six months gathering requirements for a new document management system - fourteen interviews across three departments, which ultimately resulted in 62 user stories. The hardest part was not the gathering itself, but the prioritization once it became clear that not every wish could fit into the first release.

View the full sample