Analytical skills tell a lot about a person. It says a lot of things that attract an employer no matter what job position you withhold. Have you ever encountered a question in an interview like, “Have you ever faced a problem and how you overcame it?” Have you wondered why such questions are asked in an interview? Because of the ability you demonstrate to analyze the situation and make informed decisions, you become an indispensable part of the team. At the least, you become an essential part of the team where strategic decisions are made. Employers value people with good analytical skills as they are the persons who then work as problem solvers within their organizations. Having analytical skills listed in your resume increases your employability and gives your career a high trajectory. The article explains what analytical skills are, why are they critical and how solid analytical skills can help boost your resume and career.

What are Analytical Skills?

People with analytical skills can work with data—the ability to see the data and understand patterns, trends, and conclusions. We can learn this skill. It gets better with time, repetition and practice.

Some of the most critical analytical skills we can use at the workplace are listed below:

Attention to detail: The ability to notice all the specific facts and aspects of a project, pick up on social behaviour and note on subtle patterns that help you gather data to think analytically.

Critical Thinker: Good analytical skills includes a critical thinker who observes a problem and approaches it from multiple perspectives. The ability to perform a task efficiently and creatively helps build your necessary thinking skills.

Research and Collect Data: It is not always easy as it seems to collect data. There can be a lot of data. You are supposed to distinguish the data from what’s relevant and what’s not appropriate. It is the basis of performing an accurate analysis.

Data Analysis: Data analysis is a strong analytical skill that involves using the information you discovered in collecting the data. It is then transformed into tables and visual representations that help decision-makers understand and interpret complex trends.

Problem-Solver: One of the strong analytical skills is finding the root cause of a problem and solving it effectively. Every employer loves people skilled in problem-solving. Analyzing a problem by studying it from multiple perspectives and proposing an optimum solution are good analyst outcomes.

Finder of Opportunities: Good analytical skills help you sift through customer data and uncover opportunities. Good analysts study the data and help the company make strategic decisions to discover opportunities. It needs the company’s understanding, market competition and connecting the dots to be a good analyst.

Communication: You are required to be an excellent communicator to effectively communicate your analysis and recommendations to your team members or shareholders.

Forecaster: Analysts use the data and current market trends to predict the future. The predictive analysis is growing due to the combinations of Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) which provides data of what’s happening at the company. This strong analytical skill is crucial for a manager hired by a company.

Creativity: The ability to provide an “out of the box” solution is a skill that will help you stand out from the crowd. Sometimes highlighting the problem is not enough. Finding a solution can be strenuous but can be learned by observing the situation from a different perspective.

Decision-Making: One of the strong analytical skills lies in deciding on a course of action based on the data’s insights. It shows confidence in your analysis and the ability to take strategic steps in your decisions.

Importance of Having Good Analytical Skills

Analytical skills indicate a mindset and a way of thinking that prioritizes the unique factors of critical situations. Highly developed strong analytical skills are a requirement in different organizations to use them from multiple perspectives. These roles can be management executives, marketing research analysts, financial managers, budget planners, economists, stock market analysts, insurance underwriters and any other career that involves working and analyzing data.

Analytical skills have their critical benefits while navigating the interpersonal aspect of a career. Organizations hire people with strong analytical skills to develop their company culture and decision-making skills. These skills also help learn how to navigate negotiations, training, evaluations and team-building exercises based on their experience. If you have expertise in your analytical skills, you often have better career growth chances than your peers. Strong analytical skills develop the ability to identify professional growth opportunities and a plan for utilizing your potential.

So, we’ve talked a lot about analytical skills, their importance, and how employers value them. But how to learn these skills and discern the relevant data? The answer is by enrolling yourself into IIM MBA programs offered at IIM Udaipur. Management colleges are a great place to start. The IIM MBA programs at IIMU have courses in business administration, global supply chain and digital enterprise management. With these courses’ advent, students receive a thorough grounding in critical management skills and analytical skills and thinking. The courses emphasize what analytical skills are, as well as applying the knowledge ethically and responsibly.