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Business planning analyst skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Hanna Kim Ph.D.,
Marykate Conroy
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical business planning analyst skills. We ranked the top skills for business planning analysts based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.2% of business planning analyst resumes contained project management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a business planning analyst needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 business planning analyst skills for your resume and career

1. Project Management

Here's how business planning analysts use project management:
  • Delivered requirements, request for proposal and business case for Project Management Information System.
  • Monitored/analyzed cost infrastructure through pricing decisions and key components of project management.

2. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how business planning analysts use hr:
  • Offered daily support to fellow interns and HR professionals in an effort to enhance their Excel skill sets.
  • Coordinated confirmation of controls for functions area including credit, HR, Legal & External Affairs.

3. Financial Analysis

Here's how business planning analysts use financial analysis:
  • Facilitated the process to identify the integration of Laboratory and Imaging services, identifying relevant data and providing a financial analysis.
  • Provide decision support and financial analysis for Boeing Research and Technology international operations and research centers in Brazil and Russia.

4. Process Improvement

Here's how business planning analysts use process improvement:
  • Mastered the Retailer Process Improvement Dollar-Impact Quantification process and coordinated with other analysts to build projections of data impact on projects.
  • Supported the identification of opportunities for process improvement, management control of work or automation.

5. Financial Performance

Here's how business planning analysts use financial performance:
  • Created Standard deck of Financial Performance charts and procedures and implemented monthly reporting process to Executive Management.
  • Tracked financial performance compared to budget and generated reporting packages for presentation to senior managers and executives.

6. Help Support

Here's how business planning analysts use help support:
  • Interfaced with many groups across the organization to help support short and long term goals.
  • Develop the team to work on more complex analytical projects to help support internal business partners.

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7. SQL

Here's how business planning analysts use sql:
  • Write SQL query to retrieve processing volume for each revenue/cost items associated with newly approved merchant accounts.
  • Utilized SQL queries to pull data for testing.

8. Shared Services

Here's how business planning analysts use shared services:
  • Developed and implemented a comprehensive recovery model for IR Shared Services.
  • Partnered with the Regional COO to produce a feasibility study to establish a back office Shared Services Center in Central Europe.

9. Provide Management

Here's how business planning analysts use provide management:
  • Collaborated and communicated with senior management, group chiefs, office chiefs, and other NGA personnel to provide management assessments.
  • Provide Management, Joint Program Office and PMA-275 with appropriate status and analysis of the V-22 Flight Test Program.

10. Supply Chain

A supply chain is a network or a sequence by which finished products of a company are distributed to retailers and then supplied to the end-users. The distribution of products and services from the production line to the final buyers is carried out in a series of steps including; manufacturing, transportation, and their distribution. The whole supply chain consists of different entities including; manufacturers, transportation, warehouses, suppliers, and retailers. The entities ensure that the products retain their originality while also minimizing the cost of delivery.

Here's how business planning analysts use supply chain:
  • Contributed research, analysis, and recommendations to executive committees in support of Supply Chain Transformation Initiative.
  • Led cross-functional team in identifying and resolving supply chain issues related to assorted item management.

11. Visualization

Here's how business planning analysts use visualization:
  • Manage stakeholder communications and coordinate with business leads and technical teams to drive successful delivery of visualization products.
  • Redesigned the architecture and visualization of the internal SharePoint sites.

12. Data Analysis

Here's how business planning analysts use data analysis:
  • Conducted data analysis and participated in sales strategy planning.
  • Created reports and spreadsheets summarizing data analysis.

13. Business Analysis

Here's how business planning analysts use business analysis:
  • Provided business analysis and served as technical liaison between business and IT departments.
  • Provide critical decision making based on business analysis tools and planned for seasonality.

14. Strong Analytical

Here's how business planning analysts use strong analytical:
  • Demonstrate strong analytical and written skills with the ability to communicate with internal and external customers.
  • Used strong analytical and communication skills to ensure productive results.

15. Business Plan

Here's how business planning analysts use business plan:
  • Support business planning group by providing reporting and analysis on performance measures including market share, market demand and competitor evaluations.
  • Prepared comprehensive business plan presentations for strategic initiatives for review by hospital administration, board and system administration.
top-skills

What skills help Business Planning Analysts find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on business planning analyst resumes?

Hanna Kim Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Chair, Adelphi University

Considering the undergraduate anthropology curriculum, many colleges and universities try to cover at least 2-3 of the 4 major subfields of Anthropology in their curriculum.
I say "try to" as the reality is that having faculty in all 4 subfields is not possible for many reasons. (The 4 subfields are cultural anthropology, archeology, biological anthropology (sometimes physical anthropology), and anthropological linguistics. These subfields are mirrored in graduate school where students going for PhDs will be focused on 1 subfield.)

For undergraduates with an anthropology degree seeking employment, I can speak only from the faculty side, not the employer side. My students report these factors as relevant to their being hired (and accepted into competitive schools in museum studies, social work, law school, etc.:
Analytical skills; clear writing; ability to synthesize large amounts of reading and data into well-supported arguments and interpretations; open-mindedness toward different identities and ways of being.

A hugely important skill that anthropology graduates have is the ability to be presented with a complex situation or problem, and to be able to chart a plan on how to approach the problem, gather data and other necessary information to solve the problem, and then to come up with a solution or possible strategies. Too often, particularly in situations involving human behavior, what is needed is a stronger grasp of social and cultural factors that could impede the desired outcome. Students of anthropology know that ways of doing things, and even seeing and thinking, are profoundly influenced by categories of thought that are culturally situated. This means that problem solving has to consider a network of variables that have an impact on behavior. Anthropology students, I would argue, would embrace this complexity rather than be hesitant to acknowledge it in favor of a more expedient and, in the long run, less successful solution.

What soft skills should all business planning analysts possess?

Marykate Conroy

Director of Career Development & Employer Relations, The Catholic University of America

I will reiterate communication as a soft skill to lean into as an analyst. Within that space comes excellent listening skills, negotiation skills, and change management exposure. Additionally, integrity and curiosity are two soft skills to develop. These are not as easily demonstrated on a resume, but as an analyst, it is important to hold yourself to high moral standards, respect others, be reliable and trustworthy, hold yourself accountable, and remain curious- approaching work as a life-long learning opportunity. Enthusiasm and interest in studying and analyzing data and financial information to ultimately provide solutions to problems that help companies adapt and change are important for you to feel fulfilled in this role and to do a good job!

What hard/technical skills are most important for business planning analysts?

Marykate Conroy

Director of Career Development & Employer Relations, The Catholic University of America

Technically, there are many hard skills to acquire as a business planning analyst. To name just a few: database querying languages, statistical analysis software, data visualization, data mining, and programming skills will all be helpful to develop if you are interested in being a business analyst. Some of these can be learned on the job, but if you are able to obtain certifications or working knowledge prior to applying, this will help you stand out.

What business planning analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Jarrad Harford Ph.D.Jarrad Harford Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Finance, University of Washington

They should try to enhance the practical skills to complement the foundational knowledge they learned in college. So, this could include spreadsheet modeling, programming in R, expertise with Bloomberg terminals, etc. There are plenty of online courses that can help with these types of practical skills.

What type of skills will young business planning analysts need?

Jill Robinson Ph.D.Jill Robinson Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor, University of Redlands

The entertainment industry employs graduates from various disciplines, such as theatre, music, law, art, and business. The rapidly changing, consumer-driven demand reinforces the idea that students may well hold jobs not even invented yet. Those wishing to pursue more performance-based careers must bring more than talent and big dreams. They need patience and perseverance, as it can take years to make enough money to survive in this field, leaving many to work elsewhere while trying to get their foot in the door. They must have a flexible mindset to deal with inconsistent income and schedules that can change at a moment's notice. That flexibility also extends to openness for continuous learning beyond college and throughout their careers. The ability to network is critical, so current students should look for internships and volunteer activities to access those in the industry. Joining professional associations and working in event planning are other routes to expand networking opportunities.

List of business planning analyst skills to add to your resume

Business planning analyst skills

The most important skills for a business planning analyst resume and required skills for a business planning analyst to have include:

  • Project Management
  • HR
  • Financial Analysis
  • Process Improvement
  • Financial Performance
  • Help Support
  • SQL
  • Shared Services
  • Provide Management
  • Supply Chain
  • Visualization
  • Data Analysis
  • Business Analysis
  • Strong Analytical
  • Business Plan
  • Financial Models
  • Variance Analysis
  • Financial Reports
  • Accruals
  • Hyperion
  • ERP
  • Business Strategies
  • Program Management
  • Insightful Analysis
  • Lean Six Sigma
  • Business Processes
  • Pivot Tables
  • Cost Savings
  • Business Cases
  • Financial Data
  • Financial Statements
  • Performance Reports
  • Management System
  • Business Development
  • VBA
  • Supply Chain Planning
  • Financial Forecasts
  • SME
  • EAC
  • Essbase
  • Resource Forecasts
  • SOX
  • R
  • Enterprise Resource Planning
  • Earned Value Management
  • Cam
  • ROI
  • Cognos

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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