What do you do if your business reporting skills are not impressing employers during interviews?

1 Identify your gaps

Before you apply for a job that requires business reporting skills, you should assess your own strengths and weaknesses. What types of reports are you comfortable with? What tools and techniques do you use? How do you present your findings and recommendations? How do you handle feedback and revisions? You can use online assessments, self-evaluation, or feedback from peers or mentors to identify your gaps and areas for improvement.

2 Learn from the best

One of the best ways to improve your business reporting skills is to learn from the experts. You can find examples of high-quality reports online, in books, or in journals. You can also follow industry leaders, influencers, or bloggers who share their insights and best practices on business reporting. You can analyze how they structure, format, and write their reports, as well as how they use data, visuals, and storytelling techniques to convey their messages.

3 Practice and refine

Another way to improve your business reporting skills is to practice and refine them regularly. You can use real or simulated data sets to create different types of reports, such as dashboards, infographics, memos, or slide decks. You can also use online platforms, tools, or courses to enhance your skills in data analysis, visualization, or writing. You can ask for feedback from others, or use self-review checklists, to evaluate and improve your reports.

4 Showcase your portfolio

Once you have improved your business reporting skills, you need to showcase them to potential employers. You can create a portfolio of your best reports and include them in your resume, cover letter, or online profile. You can also use social media, blogs, or forums to share your reports and insights with a wider audience. You can highlight how your reports solved problems, provided value, or influenced decisions.

5 Prepare for the interview

Finally, you need to prepare for the interview and demonstrate your business reporting skills in action. You can research the company, industry, and role to anticipate what types of reports they might expect from you. You can also review your portfolio and prepare examples of how you applied your skills in different situations. You can also practice answering common interview questions, such as how you approach a report, how you handle data quality issues, or how you communicate your findings and recommendations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?