ATS Keywords for
Business Analysts
Business analyst is the most ambiguous title on this list — in one company it means requirements documentation, in another process improvement, in a third it is a reporting role. Applicant tracking systems do not resolve that ambiguity; they simply match the posting's terms against your CV. So the practical task is identifying which variant a requisition describes and making sure that variant's vocabulary is present. The terms below are organised around the three common flavours.
14 ATS keywords for Business Analyst CVs
What each term signals to the system reading your CV.
Requirements gathering / elicitation
The core BA deliverable and the most consistently screened term in the discipline.
Business requirements document (BRD)
Both the phrase and the acronym appear in postings, so include both.
Process mapping / BPMN
Process-improvement variants of the role screen on this specifically.
Gap analysis
Names the current-versus-target work that justifies the role existing.
Stakeholder interviews
The concrete method behind requirements work, more specific than "communication".
User stories / acceptance criteria
Required where the BA works inside an agile delivery team.
SQL
Data-facing BA roles screen for it directly, and it separates analysis from documentation.
Data analysis / reporting
The reporting-flavoured variant of the role is matched on these terms.
Jira / Confluence
The documentation and tracking toolset named explicitly in most postings.
UAT (user acceptance testing)
BAs typically own UAT coordination, and the acronym is searched literally.
Process improvement
Operational-excellence phrasing common in finance, insurance and healthcare postings.
Workflow documentation
Names the artefact produced in regulated environments where documentation is mandatory.
Agile / Scrum
Delivery-context keyword that determines how the rest of your CV is read.
ERP / CRM systems
System-specific BA roles (SAP, Salesforce) screen on the platform name above all else.
How to use this list
- Work out which variant the posting describes — requirements, process, or data — and lead with that vocabulary in your summary.
- Name the systems you analysed, not just the methods. SAP, Salesforce and Workday BA roles filter on the platform first.
- Show the outcome of the analysis: hours saved, error rate reduced, a system that shipped against your requirements.
- Spell out acronyms once alongside the short form (BRD, UAT) so both search forms hit.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before you upload.
Business analyst or data analyst — which keywords should I use?
They overlap only in the reporting-flavoured roles. Data analyst postings screen hard on SQL and BI tools; business analyst postings screen on requirements, process and stakeholder work. Pick per posting rather than writing a CV that half-matches both.
Do I need technical skills as a BA?
It depends on the variant. Data-facing and system-specific roles genuinely require SQL or platform knowledge and filter on it. Requirements- and process-focused roles weight documentation and stakeholder methods far more.
How do I show impact from documentation work?
Connect the document to the delivery: requirements that led to a system shipping on time, a process map that removed a handoff, UAT that caught defects before release. That framing carries the keywords in context.
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