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How to Write a Data Analyst CV That Gets Interviews (UK)

A data analyst CV lives or dies on listing tools without showing the business decision the analysis changed. Most data analyst applications never reach a human: the ATS filters them on missing keywords, and recruiters bin the rest in seconds. Here's how to tailor a Data Analyst CV to the specific job ad in front of you.

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What a Data Analyst CV needs to pass the ATS

Applicant Tracking Systems screen data analyst CVs on exact-match keywords. Stuffing backfires (the recruiter still has to read it), but missing the obvious terms gets you binned before anyone sees the document. The keywords most data analyst job ads scan for in SaaS, e-commerce, fintech, consultancy and in-house analytics teams:

  • SQL
  • Python
  • dashboarding
  • Tableau
  • Power BI
  • Looker
  • A/B testing
  • ETL
  • statistical analysis
  • stakeholder reporting

Hand-curated for this role, not auto-generated. Use the exact words from the specific job ad you're applying to, that's what the ATS is scanning for.

What recruiters look for in a Data Analyst CV

Past the ATS, a recruiter gets seven seconds with your CV before deciding whether to read further. The top third (the title, professional summary and key competencies) has to answer their screening questions instantly. For a Data Analyst, that means:

  • Your stack named the way the JD names it (SQL, dbt, Python/Pandas, Tableau, Power BI, Looker)
  • The size of the data you've worked with (10m+ rows, real-time streams, named warehouses)
  • One project that changed a business decision, with the named outcome

Before and after: one Data Analyst bullet

Weak

Analysed data and produced reports for stakeholders.

Strong

Built and maintained the customer-cohort retention dashboard for a £20m-revenue UK subscription business in Looker, surfacing a 12% drop in 30-day retention for one cohort that informed a £180k product investment decision.

The weak version is generic. The strong version names the tool (Looker), the dataset (cohort retention), the company stage (£20m revenue), the specific insight (12% drop) and the downstream business decision (£180k investment). Data CVs that don't show 'analysis caused decision' are bin material in 2026.

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Tailor your Data Analyst CV in 30 seconds

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Data Analyst CV FAQ

Do I need a portfolio or GitHub for a Data Analyst CV?

It helps but isn't mandatory. If you have one with real projects (not toy datasets), link it from the contact block. If you don't, lean harder on named projects with outcomes in your experience section. Those carry the work just as well.

Should I list SQL dialects (Postgres, BigQuery, Snowflake) separately?

Yes. Name the warehouses you've worked with, especially in the cloud-data era. 'SQL (BigQuery, Snowflake, Postgres)' is more specific and ATS-friendly than just 'SQL'.

How do I show non-trivial statistical work without a stats degree?

Name the technique, the question and the outcome. 'Ran a logistic regression on 18 months of trial-to-paid conversion data to identify the 3 onboarding steps with the strongest pull-through, informing a 22% lift in week-1 activation.' Technique + question + result beats credentials.

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