Data Analyst skills for your CV

Data analysts transform raw data into actionable insights that drive business decisions. Employers look for strong SQL skills, visualisation expertise, and the ability to communicate findings clearly.

  • Technology
  • Salary range £28,000 – £60,000
Hard skills10
Soft skills6
Tools6
Certifications3

Hard skills

The technical skills for this role, grouped by how much they matter.

Essential 5 skills

  • SQLThe single most important skill — used daily
  • Excel (Advanced)Pivot tables, VLOOKUP, Power Query
  • Python or RFor statistical analysis and automation
  • Data Visualisation (Tableau/Power BI)Required in 90%+ of DA job ads
  • Data Cleaning/Wrangling80% of the job — show you can do it

Important 2 skills

  • Statistical AnalysisRegression, hypothesis testing, A/B testing
  • ETL ProcessesUnderstanding data pipelines adds value

Valuable 3 skills

  • Google AnalyticsCommon in marketing-adjacent roles
  • dbtGrowing in analytics engineering
  • Machine Learning BasicsSets you apart for senior positions

Soft skills

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Communication
  • Curiosity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Business Acumen
  • Storytelling

Tools

  • Tableau
  • Power BI
  • BigQuery
  • Jupyter Notebooks
  • Excel
  • Looker

Certifications

  • Google Data Analytics Certificate
  • Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst
  • Tableau Desktop Specialist
TipsCV

How to show these on your CV

  • Show impact, not just process: "Identified £200K revenue opportunity through customer segmentation analysis" is powerful.
  • Include your visualisation tools prominently.
  • Link to a portfolio or Tableau Public profile if you have one.

Got the skills? Make them count

Check your CV free to see how well it matches this role, then put these skills to work with the guided editor before you apply.