Analytical Skills: What Are They and How Can They Help Me Get a Job?

You may be analytical if you value evidence over suggestions, question first and answer later, enjoy challenges and experiments, and prefer logical methods. Analytical skills are important in everyday life, but employers also value them. Almost every industry in which you can work values these skills, including communication, research, data analysis, and critical thinking.

Sometimes, honing your analytical skills and presenting them on your resume or during a job interview can be enough to give you a competitive edge over other candidates. In this article, you'll find tips on how to do just that and more.

What are analytical skills? 

Analytical skills are the skills you use to collect and analyze information, solve any problems that information presents, and make decisions based on your findings. Analytical skills force you to think critically and creatively and to test and experiment with potential answers to the questions that you seek.

When presented with a situation that requires analytical skills, you may take some or all of the following steps:

• Identify the problem

• Brainstorm ideas 

• Gather information 

• Test and experiment 

• Find solutions and understanding 

• Apply new ideas to what you've already learned 

• Use your solutions to solve the problem 

• Communicate your findings to others

Fortunately, you can become one if you aren’t already an analytical thinker. While it may come more naturally to some people than others, you can learn how to improve your analytical skills and apply them to your career with practice. 

What industries use analytical skills? 

Almost every single industry will need an employee with analytical skills at some point, especially in data-oriented fields. If you enjoy putting your analytical skills to good use, you might consider looking for jobs in:

• Logistics

• Finance

• Accounting

• Engineering

• Data science

• Information technology

• Insurance 

But even if you don't want to work in one of these industries, employers will still seek out employees with good analytical skills because it can help them solve complex problems and make important decisions. The Pew Research Center reports that over half of all employees are in a job where analytical skills are the most important skills they can possess or are more important than most other types of skills [1].

What are some examples of analytical skills? 

Many skills fall under analytical skills, but some are sought almost universally by employers. Five of the most common are communication, critical thinking, research, data analysis, and creativity.  

Communication 

No matter the career type you choose, written and verbal communication will likely be necessary analytical skills. You can analyze data, run experiments, and test your theories all day, but if you're unable to share your findings with your colleagues and your boss, they won't be very effective. You may need to write reports, give presentations, or relay information to colleagues while working as a team. 

Critical thinking 

Critical thinking means having the ability to analyze, evaluate, and think about a situation objectively. Rather than relying on the way things have always been done, you'll attempt to figure out a way to do it better. You'll challenge the status quo and use logic to find relationships between data and information and potential solutions to problems. 

Research

You may not realize it, but research is a major analytical skill. Anytime you solve a problem, you must research to gather data or information. This can range from interviewing people, reading reference materials, and collecting data from a website. As you conduct your research, you'll analyze it to determine how it might impact your outcomes.  

Data analysis 

Once you've conducted your research, you'll likely have a large volume of data. You'll need to analyze it to look for patterns and trends. This can be especially important to companies that sell products and goods. Finding patterns and trends among customer transactions allows you to make changes that potentially lead to more transactions.  

Creativity 

Creativity is another analytical skill that may not seem obvious at first. Remember, analytical thinking means objectively rejecting the norm and looking for new and improved ways to do things. This often requires you to use your creativity to think outside the box and try something no one has ever done before. 

How can I improve my analytical skills? 

Simply improving your analytical skills can mean being chosen for a job over another applicant. Employers want to hire people who are good communicators, who look for creative solutions to problems, and who think critically. There are tasks you can do every day to enhance your analytical skills. These might include:  

• Asking questions about topics you aren't familiar with 

• Reading regularly 

• Writing or keeping a journal 

• Playing games and puzzles

• Taking time to observe the people and world around you  

• Seeking leadership roles at work, at school, or in volunteer situations

• Having discussions with others, like study groups or professional workshops

• Keeping your math skills sharp

• Shadowing other professionals or seeking a mentor

• Experimenting with mock data sets

• Taking analytics courses  

How can I showcase my analytical skills to potential employers?

Once you've worked on your analytical skills, you'll want to show them off to potential employers through your resume, cover letter, and even during job interviews. However, many hesitate to do this because analytical skills are considered workplace or human skills. These skills can be difficult to prove compared to technical skills or technical skills like degrees, certifications, or mastering a specific computer program. 

You can showcase your skills using keywords, starting with your cover letter. Employers typically list the type of analytical skills they're looking for when creating a job listing, and you'll want to mirror that language in your cover letter if those are your strengths. This puts your qualifications front and center and allows you to create a narrative that fits the employer's needs. 

On your resume, don't hesitate to create a section specifically for listing your human skills. Include your strongest analytical skills on the list. You can also apply these skills to describe your work experience. For example, if you previously worked as a server in a restaurant, you can demonstrate how you used communication skills to improve customer service.  

Working your analytical skills into a job interview may be the easiest option. When the hiring manager asks you a question, you can find ways to work your analytical strengths into the conversation. For example, if the interviewer gives you a choice and asks what you would choose and why, you can incorporate analytical skills to explain your decision. Another option is to talk about past experiences that required you to use analytical skills. For example, maybe you worked as a cashier in a store and noticed a particular product wasn't selling, so you devised a way to make it more appealing to customers. 

Next steps 

Human skills can be difficult to work into a resume, but by taking courses on Coursera that build analytical skills, you can have concrete information to present to your employer. Consider courses like Human Resources Analytics offered by the University of California, Irvine; Analytical Solutions to Common Healthcare Problems offered by the University of California, Davis; and Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere offered by Google.