A Guide to Hiring Power BI Talent

I have heard from numerous BI leaders that they struggle to hire good Power BI talent. I think there are multiple factors contributing to this problem including:

• Vague Job Postings: 'Proficiency with Power BI' is too vague, 'Developed reports in Power' is not specific enough
• Unrealistic Expectations around years of experience does not mean better expertise
• Too many unqualified applicants typically applicants unclear on their capabilities
• Unrealistic remuneration expectations for skill level required

To address these issues, BI leaders need to be able to answer 2 key questions.

• What are the skills they are looking to hire for? And
• What is the budget range that your company can afford?

In my article and in the Free Power BI Job Posting Templates attached. I provide specific guidance on the various types of Power BI skillsets and advise on what budgetary expectations are fair.

Junior Power BI Analyst

Role Title(s): Reporting Analyst, Business Analyst, Analyst, Jr. Data Analyst

Job Duties & Realistic Capabilities:

Business Acumen: Create Power BI reports for business stakeholders, typically for internal team reporting. Currently relies mostly on Excel & Power Point for ad hoc reporting and picked up Power BI. Can elicit report requirements and build basic visualizations. Not as technically experienced but has a depth of knowledge in the business domain they are working in and have an interest in data visualization.

Data Modeling: Uses pre-built Semantic Models (Connected Live to a Power BI Service Semantic Model) to create Power BI reports. Is not responsible for building data models but has a foundational understanding of relational data modeling (i.e. dimension tables are used for grouping, filtering and slicing; fact tables are used for aggregations)

Power BI Functions: Ability to connect disparate basic data sources (CSV extracts, Excel sheets) in Power BI. Uses no/low-code Query Editor environment to perform basic data cleansing activities (ex. formatting data appropriately, using 'create column from example'). Relies mostly on Power BI's auto detection for relationship creation. Builds data models that do not exceed 5-6 tables. Create very basic DAX calculations (SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN etc.) mostly comfortable with calculated columns.

Data Visualization: Is able to identify appropriate chart for the data they wish to visualize. Possesses general knowledge of chart formatting guidelines and can build an accurate data visualizations.

Areas for Growth & Competency Building:

Junior Power BI Analysts should take a course (synchronous or asynchronous) that teaches the foundations of Power BI in order to carry out the Power BI development steps (1) Connect & Transform data (2) Model Data (3) Create DAX measures (4) Create data visualizations (5) Share Content via Power BI Service. For asynchronous (pre-recorded, go at your own pace) style courses, I recommend Maven Analytics - I relied heavily on their courses in the early days of my Power BI learning journey. Helen Wall also has some amazing content here on LinkedIn. As for synchronous (live in person or virtual) options, local colleges or technical institutes are great. I teach 加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚理工学院 an Intro to Power BI course (COMP 2156) for anyone who is interested. Mark W. also teaches a great course at Washington State University.

Read a Power BI book, 'Learn Power BI' by Greg Deckler is a phenomenal book for Power BI beginners. Its not too jargony, and explains Power BI in plain English. It also provides access to a data set for practice as you read along.

Watch Power BI content on YouTube. Curbal by Ruth Pozuelo Martinez & Injae Park 's channels are great resources. They both provide step by step tutorials and sample data to help you learn the foundations of Power BI as well as help you stretch your data visualization & DAX skills.

Practice makes perfect, build your report/dashboard portfolio. Participate in online data challenges (Like the Maven challenges, EnterpriseDNA or the challenges Federico Pastor manages) share your work with others. Challenge yourself to progressively more challenging Power BI problems. Additionally, find reputable open data and make reports.

Salary Range: (Canada specific)

$60,000 - $75,000. On the higher end if the person possesses deep knowledge of the industry/domain.

Intermediate Power BI Analyst

Title(s): Data Analyst, Senior Business Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst

Job Duties & Realistic Capabilities:

Business Acumen: A proven track record of creating Power BI reports for business stakeholders. Ability to build not only for internal ad-hoc reporting but also for operational & executive audiences. Demonstrates experience eliciting report requirements and documenting those as technical specifications to develop reports. Ability to work with advanced developers, articulating the business' needs in technical terms. More technically experienced and possess a depth of knowledge in the business domain they are working in. Has developed strong allies in leadership positions and has credibility.

Data Modeling: Ability to plan and build Semantic Models in Power BI Desktop. Is able to intentionally develop a strong schema that is appropriately fits the business' needs and has adhered to data model performance best practices (ex. normalization, star schema, avoiding snowflaking dimensions, understands filter flow and its implications etc.) Develops semantic models that are used by junior analysts.

Power BI Functions: Ability to connect disparate more complex data sources (Ex. SQL, SQL Endpoints to Fabric Lakehouses, JSON files, OData sources among others) in Power BI. Uses Query Editor to perform data cleansing activities but understands when and how to carry out transformations further upstream such as with SQL Views, Notebooks or Dataflows. Does not rely on Power BI's auto detection for relationship creation, creates data models with intentionality. Builds data models that have can support multiple fact tables and various dimensions (10-30 tables). Creates more sophisticated DAX calculations, understanding how to write clean DAX code that is performant. (Uses Performance Analyzer & DAX query view to test and validate DAX calculations)

Data Visualization: Is able to identify appropriate chart for the data they wish to visualize, with the ability to offer business stakeholders options to choose from and offer recommendations. Possess in depth knowledge of chart formatting guidelines and can build an accurate data visualizations.

Power BI Service: Understanding of Power BI Service Workspace permissions and App audiences to distribute Power BI Reports to intended audiences without compromising data security.

Areas for Growth & Competency Building:

Take Power BI specialty training that offers hands on in depth experience in a focused area. For example, if you wished to develop stronger skills in report design and UI/UX I recommend Data Pears 's Power BI Report Design bootcamp. Or if you want to specialize in DAX, SQLBI offer in person as well as online resources. There are a lot of options out there, its a matter of identifying what aspects the developer wants to strengthen their skills in as well as understanding what they really enjoy.

Read more advanced Power BI books: Definitive Guide to DAX, Definitive Guide to M Language etc.

Consume Power BI content, Guy in a Cube and SQLBI offer great content. Especially the new series featuring Kurt Buhler on SQLBI.

Build real-world portfolio examples of reports you've built and be able to articulate the business value you brought with your data products.

Salary Range: (Canada specific)

• $80,000 - $105,000 (Median: ~$95,000).

Advanced Power BI Developers

Title(s): Power BI Developer, Power BI Specialist, Business Intelligence Developer, Sr. Data Analyst, Business Intelligence Consultant/Engineer

Job Duties & Realistic Capabilities:

Posses an expert level of experience in each of the below items but typically demonstrates a specialization in 1-2 of the areas below.

Business Acumen: Work with various business domains to understand their reporting and analytics needs. Providing strategic guidance to BI team members, identifying common issues and working on defining standardized end-to-end processes. Provides mentorship and oversight for reports of the highest importance in the organization.

Data Modeling: Functions as a technical liaison between the Data Engineering team and core business domain stakeholders to ensure data structures are set up in a way that supports sustainable development and self-service. Strategically guide and technically support the creation of core Semantic Models to support reporting of the utmost importance.

Power BI Functions: Mastery in end-to-end development in Power BI Desktop. Able to identify areas where the BI process is better handled external to Power BI (i.e. Fabric or other data technologies)

Data Visualization: Ensures reports created by the BI team follow standardized UI/UX guidance. Advises BI team members on improving data visualization practices. Designs performant Power BI visuals.

Power BI Service & Architectural Advisory: Able to advise Power BI/Fabric administrators on best practices administering and governing the platform. Able to provide guidance on structuring of Workspaces, Domain creation, App administration, Capacity monitoring & management, as well as advise on enabling/disabling Admin Portal features in line with the organization's data governance policies

Maturing Power BI Adoption: Has prior experience helping organizations mature their BI capabilities.

Areas for Growth & Competency Building:

• Creating content & training (blogs, speaking engagements) there is a real skill in teaching something complicated to audiences at varying skill levels.
• Participate in a Power BI Community of Practice - check out James Bartlett 's blog about how he established one at his workplace.
• Take Data Leadership courses, surround yourself with data leader peers. Share and learn from others' experiences. Sawyer P. Nyquist , James Serra & lead the 'Technical & Strategic Data Leader' - its a great opportunity to learn and be part of a great community.

Salary/Compensation Range: (Canada specific)

Salaried Employee: $125,000-$150,000 with various alternative remuneration options (much more attractive offers in the private sector)

Contractors: Hourly rates range anywhere from $90 - $220 / hour. At large consulting firms this can go as high as $300-$500/hour. Often Statements of Work will be structured on a project or deliverable basis vs. hourly basis.

Bonus Section: Use cases for hiring Power BI Consultants/Contractors vs. Employees

Though there are numerous advantages for hiring skilled Power BI talent as employees, there are some scenarios in my opinion when it makes more sense to hire consultants/contractors. Here are a few:

• Migrating BI Platform to Power BI: Organizations that are shifting BI vendors to Power BI have a substantial undertaking converting existing reports into Power BI reports. Timelines are usually tight and internal resources are often constrained. Hiring Power BI consultants that can work outside standard business hours as well as have expertise in the tool can migrate far more reports than any internal team can (in my experience)
• Power BI Audits: Having an external consultant who can help organizations realize issues that would hinder their Power BI maturity.
• Power BI Maturity & Architectural Guidance: If your organization is moving from a Centralized BI team to supporting Self-Service, a Power BI expert can provide guidance on how to do so responsibly and securely.
• Deep Technical Experience & Specialization with Power BI: Many teams struggle to retain highly valuable BI talent as the appeal of contracting is alluring. However, having a Power BI Specialist on retainer can help provide the BI team technical guidance and hands on support for the most difficult of challenges (ex. complex DAX coding and integral semantic model builds)
• Power BI Training & Coaching: Investing in your team's development and building competencies internally is hugely beneficial. Though there are numerous training options available online as well as certifications, they all fall short (in my opinion) because they involve passive learning. Bringing in a Power BI consultant to provide live hands-on training is immensely beneficial. Better yet, having that trainer spend time to learn your data models and tailor the training to specific challenges the team faces. I also recommend following the training, the consultant provides 1:1 coaching to team members to ensure they grasped the concepts delivered in the training.
• Optimization & Performance Tuning: Conducting thorough performance testing on core BI reports and rectifying under-performing reports.

Conclusion

If you found this article helpful, be sure to reach out to me for FREE access to my Template Power BI Job Postings.

Additionally I recommend checking out these two resources:

• The Power BI Skill Rubrics by Injae Park
• Book: The Complete Power BI Interview Guide By : Sandielly Ortega Polanco, Gogula Aryalingam, Abu Bakar N. Alvi

Good luck on your Power BI Hiring journey!