How to hire a business analyst/tester

How to hire a business analyst/tester, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business analyst/tester hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business analyst/tester job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business analyst/tester
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business analyst/tester do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The business analyst/tester hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a business analyst/tester to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a business analyst/tester that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of business analyst/testers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Business Analyst/Tester	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Analyst/Tester	Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more efficiently and effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT) together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.	$30-50
   ETL Tester	An ETL tester is responsible for validating data sources, extracting data applications of transformation logic, and uploading data in target tables. They are responsible for designing, testing, and troubleshooting the company's data storage system before it goes live... Show more	$31-48
   Analyst Lead	The duties of an analyst lead depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, coordinating with different departments to gather leads and data, reviewing findings, and producing reports and presentations for the stakeholders and other higher-ranking officials... Show more	$35-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Test Cases
   • Test Scripts
   • Test Results
   • Regression
   • UAT
   • Java
   • Business Process
   • User Acceptance
   • User Stories
   • Scrum
   • Development Life
   • PowerPoint
   • QA
   • Test Data

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage daily scrum with team members.
   • Report and manage defects in JIRA to ensure that all issues are resolve according to guidelines and expectations.
   • Manage several data consolidation efforts to combine multiple CRM systems into one corporate system.
   • Work with customers and SME's to identify and define business rules, requirement change relate to specific project functions.
   • Create Visio diagram outlining the process.
   • Develop live office functionality, export reports to PowerPoint and PDF documents.

   More business analyst/tester duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business analyst/tester job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A business analyst/tester salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a business analyst/tester in Alaska may be lower than in Delaware, and an entry-level business analyst/tester usually earns less than a senior-level business analyst/tester. Additionally, a business analyst/tester with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average business analyst/tester salary

   $81,705yearly

   $39.28 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business analyst/tester salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average business analyst/tester salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Delaware	$101,615	$49
   2	California	$100,792	$48
   3	Connecticut	$98,508	$47
   4	North Carolina	$95,984	$46
   5	New Jersey	$94,492	$45
   6	Massachusetts	$90,066	$43
   7	Pennsylvania	$89,972	$43
   8	New York	$87,658	$42
   9	Washington	$86,784	$42
   10	District of Columbia	$85,732	$41
   11	Virginia	$84,658	$41
   12	Arizona	$81,813	$39
   13	Ohio	$81,799	$39
   14	Maryland	$80,414	$39
   15	West Virginia	$79,021	$38
   16	Georgia	$77,907	$37
   17	Minnesota	$77,560	$37
   18	Florida	$75,617	$36
   19	Illinois	$73,477	$35
   20	Iowa	$73,030	$35

   Average business analyst/tester salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$120,632	$58.00	242
   2	Barclays	$113,086	$54.37
   3	The Vanguard Group	$107,705	$51.78	20
   4	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$103,770	$49.89
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$103,345	$49.69	334
   6	Randstad North America, Inc.	$98,023	$47.13	21
   7	American Express	$96,862	$46.57	72
   8	Sagarsoft	$94,733	$45.54
   9	Rsr Corporation	$92,537	$44.49
   10	Spectraforce Technologies	$91,985	$44.22
   11	Objectstream	$91,700	$44.09
   12	VIVA USA	$91,443	$43.96
   13	EPAM Systems	$91,387	$43.94	10
   14	Prospect 33	$90,468	$43.49
   15	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$90,310	$43.42	69
   16	Emergis	$89,147	$42.86
   17	Modis	$88,116	$42.36	5
   18	RCG Global Services, Inc.	$86,420	$41.55
   19	Lockheed Martin	$85,702	$41.20	133
   20	Empower Professionals	$84,722	$40.73

4. Writing a business analyst/tester job description

   A good business analyst/tester job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a business analyst/tester job description:

   Business analyst/tester job description example

   + Develop testing processes and approaches according to JPMC Chase, and Six Sigma/CMM standards.
   
   + Assist in designing and ensuring overall integrity of the testing strategy.
   
   + Work with appropriate business and technology leads to determine the acceptable range for test results and performance.
   
   + Help design, develop and implement test plans, scripts, tools using the detailed business requirements document provided by the business analysts.
   
   + Work with business and technology leads to identify the appropriate data for testing, and prepare that data for the test cases.
   
   + Assist Application Developers and technical support staff in identifying and resolving problems.
   
   + Facilitate resolution and communication of cross-application/organization architectural issues and decisions.
   
   + Assess and revise test sequence and scope based upon test results and/or changes in product design.
   
   + Coordinate component, system and documentation testing with the appropriate technical groups and Release Management.
   
   + Document test procedures and findings.
   
   + Reconcile test results from different tests and different groups.
   
   + Assess readiness and deviation of product/project performance based upon test results and product specifications.
   
   + Perform the tests in both the QA and contingency/backup environments
   
   + Minimum 2-3 years of experience with ALM/Quality Center test tool, Connect All and JIRA
   
   + Experience with both Agile and Waterfall methodologies
   
   + Experience with testing Mobile Devices and Online GUI applications
   
   Preferred Skills:
   
   + Experience with manual testing, testing tools, writing test plans, and reviewing test cases required.
   
   + Experience creating detailed test cases/scripts for technical and/or business clients.
   
   + 4 yr related degree strongly preferred.
   
   JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the oldest financial institutions, offers innovative financial solutions to millions of consumers, small businesses and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Our history spans over 200 years and today we are a leader in investment banking, consumer and small business banking, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management.
   
   We recognize that our people are our strength and the diverse talents they bring to our global workforce are directly linked to our success. We are an equal opportunity employer and place a high value on diversity and inclusion at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute, including race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital or veteran status, pregnancy or disability, or any other basis protected under applicable law. In accordance with applicable law, we make reasonable accommodations for applicants' and employees' religious practices and beliefs, as well as any mental health or physical disability needs.
   
   The health and safety of our colleagues, candidates, clients and communities has been a top priority in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. JPMorgan Chase was awarded the "WELL Health-Safety Rating" for all of our 6,200 locations globally based on our operational policies, maintenance protocols, stakeholder engagement and emergency plans to address a post-COVID-19 environment.
   
   As a part of our commitment to health and safety, we have implemented various COVID-related health and safety requirements for our workforce. Employees are expected to follow the Firm's current COVID-19 or other infectious disease health and safety requirements, including local requirements. Requirements include sharing information including your vaccine card in the firm's vaccine record tool, and may include mask wearing. Requirements may change in the future with the evolving public health landscape. JPMorgan Chase will consider accommodation requests as required by applicable law.
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veterans

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right business analyst/tester for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with business analyst/testers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit business analyst/testers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business analyst/tester job on Zippia to find and recruit business analyst/tester candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit business analyst/testers, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview business analyst/tester candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business analyst/tester

   Once you have selected a candidate for the business analyst/tester position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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