You can process millions of rows of raw data and turn that data into actionable insights for your business. From product to marketing to sales, you can help any department create effective data visualizations in Tableau.
You’re a great Tableau developer. You shouldn’t also have to be great at writing cover letters or resumes.
These Tableau resume examples have helped developers land great jobs at companies like Stripe and PayPal. We’ll also give you a few expert resume-builder tools and tips to help ensure you get that first phone interview in 2024.
Why this resume works
- As great as a degree in computer science is, with modern-day tech schools and boot camps, non-traditional backgrounds are becoming more common. The golden standard to which job seekers are generally held comes through certifications when it comes to Tableau development.
- Your resume will likely have a degree in CS or something similar, but the assurance of success is having multiple certifications that precede top-notch work in title-relevant positions.
- You can round out your Tableau developer resume with lots of metrics.
- For example, listing KPIs showing that you drove down turnover can help flesh out your resume skills by wrapping them in the context of your work experience.
Why this resume works
- When relevant on-the-job experience is limited, you must rely on degrees, certifications, and skills.
- Your resume can build upon Tableau-specific certifications, a BS in computer science, and a lengthy internship. Additionally, a junior to mid-level role, held for several years, including multiple KPIs, will further prove authenticity and ability.
- When developing your career, it’s both inevitable and essential to building your proficiencies. Yet, including too many, too few, or unrelated skills can easily trip the resume reviewer’s defense system.
- You can design your Tableau developer 3 years experience resume with a singular target role in mind. For example, if you sell the target company specifically what you know they want, it’s a win, even if overall years of experience are below the “ideal candidate” minimum.
Why this resume works
- On a senior Tableau developer resume, the need for a comprehensive and impactful career objective/summary dwindles. The main focus of your experienced Tableau developer resume needs to be a proven work history, excellent KPIs, and leadership.
- You can highlight a 6+ year career in Tableau-specific roles, quantifiable data in the form of dollars and hours saved, as well as leadership of employees and contractors.
- It’s common to see a plethora of skills for a developer. However, refrain from inundating the resume reader with proficiencies that have little to no impact on the role for which you’re currently applying. Feel free to use our resume checker to avoid common pitfalls.
- As expected, we see highly relevant skills like Tableau (with certifications, too!), SQL, and C.
- A degree in computer science is an incredibly dynamic tool that can open a myriad of doors. When combined with expertise, you have a dynamo problem-solving machine: a senior Tableau developer.
Why this resume works
- The modern workplace relies heavily on data, and the workforce’s performance depends on optimized systems. To position yourself ahead of every other expert, your Tableau administrator resume must emphasize your competencies in the latest tools.
- Don’t stop with the tools; show how you applied, for instance, SQL Queries and Kafka to streamline processes and make it easy for everyone to function at optimal capacity.
Why this resume works
- Starting by mentioning what you’re bringing to a potential employer in your career objective is one way to ensure that your Tableau analyst resume gets the attention it deserves.
- From there, highlight your quantifiable achievements such as visualizing data to improve the pace of making decisions by executives, reducing the cost of data infrastructure, and so on.
Why this resume works
- A role as diverse as a BI developer requires creativity when writing your resume. Regardless of your experience level, you can find certain necessary foundations by analyzing job requirements in the Bi developer job market, regardless of location.
- Starting with a foundation of a BS in computer science, followed by, say, a summer internship, would help land you a majority of junior to mid-level roles.
- When seeking a specific position, customize your BI developer resume by including current or previous job titles to fit the desired role best. Commonly interchangeable job titles such as BI developer, power BI developer, and ERP developer have virtually identical responsibilities. Still, they’ll be better received by the resume reader if your previously-held titles are similar to the job for which you’ve applied.
- Speak with your manager or HR if you’re anxious about changing your current position titles. Err on the side of caution. Asking for permission instead of forgiveness is universally better.
Why this resume works
- Career objectives exist to support and enhance whatever work experience you list. Instead of opting for a lengthier Power BI developer resume that includes irrelevant skills, use a career objective to instill confidence in the reader that you’ve got a proven, albeit short, history of driving value.
- The best objectives are concise and always mention the target business by name while listing metrics that showcase your achievements.
- For a resume that’s power-packed and easier to read, zoom in on quantifiable metrics in your work experience section.
- Example: Implemented 100+ project plans, reporting tools, information dashboards, data generators, and end-user information portals
- Example: Programmed and maintained 150+ report forms and formats, information dashboards, and data generators
Why this resume works
- Having a sought-after degree in computer science can open a myriad of doors for you. When combined with your list of skills and experience, you have the perfect data-modeling machine: an ERP developer.
- Your ERP developer resume can provide an excellent overview of your career in ERP-specific roles in two significant ways.
- Quantifiable data in the form of lines of code tested and reports developed
- Example: Tested 15,000+ lines of code to ensure quality and requirements fit to hand off to QA
- The perfect mix of hard and soft resume skills reflected in your work experience
- Example: Worked on a 14-person team of experts using new SAP technology for data integration, security, and analytics
- As an experienced developer, it’s extremely common to see many skills. However, refrain from inundating the resume reader with proficiencies that will have little to no impact on the role to which you’re applying.
Why this resume works
- As a Tableau visualization developer, it’s a good idea to show ownership over the projects on which you’ve worked. To that end, fill your resume with action verbs and quantifiable results.
- Words and values like “developed 100+ reports,” “improved 1,000+ data extracts,” “executed 50,000+ database queries,” and “developed 80+ test plans” are powerful, concise descriptions of your impact on a business.
- Consider using a resume outline if you’re feeling lost in these details or just need some organized visual inspiration.
- Also, the title on your Tableau visualization developer resume (right under your name) should match the role to which you’re applying. For instance, your title should read “Tableau Visualization Developer” If you’re applying for a Tableau visualization developer role, regardless of your previous experience.
- Remember to “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” rings true, so list the position you want, not the one you’ve currently got!
Why this resume works
- The first thing administrators check for in people applying for Full-Stack BI developer positions is whether that person has the necessary fundamentals to perform the job adequately.
- You should include any skill licenses or certifications you have in a dedicated “Certifications” section on your Full-Stack BI developer resume.
- Our easy-to-use resume templates let you add a section specifically for certifications and licenses.
- Including your certifications in their own section makes this determination quick and decisive.
- If you have certifiable skills but lack certification, your professional expertise or well-built projects should be enough to display the practical application of your abilities.
- Try to include projects you’ve worked on as a Full-Stack BI developer. Full-Stack’s beauty is so versatile that you can reference and expand upon personal projects, freelance clients, or rely on professional experience. If you have a specific target company in mind, try to build a project similar to their product, or even better, showcase where you could make improvements through optimization and feature creation.
Related resume guides
Writing Your Tableau Developer Resume
Since its founding in 2003, Tableau has achieved explosive growth to warrant a $15.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce in 2019.
The adoption of Tableau as the data visualization platform for companies, both small and large, has been nothing short of incredible.
For this reason, companies are flocking to hire Tableau developers to help make sense of their data. Tableau developers combine skills in data processing, data visualization, and business understanding to enable business leaders to make data-driven decisions.
It’s not easy to demonstrate the wide range of skills needed for this role on a single-page resume. Here are some must-haves for your Tableau resume:
- You need to include the right skills to get past automated filters without making your skills section a big wall of text.
- Your resume needs to be in an easy-to-read format for automated software and humans. Avoid complicated formatting or images.
- The most common mistake that Tableau developers make is that they talk too much about their technical work. Focus your resume on your business impact.
- Tailor your resume to each job for which you’re applying. Read the job description and see if any projects you’ve worked on come to mind.
Tableau developer skills you need on your resume
Here are the typical steps that happen at a company when they receive an application for a Tableau developer role:
- They use their Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter out candidates based on their skills and experience automatically.
- A non-technical HR person from the company reviews your resume.
- The hiring manager (usually technical) will review your candidacy to see if they think you’re a good fit.
That’s a lot of different parties that you have to satisfy with your resume. Let’s go step by step through each phase of this process to see how you can best position your resume to get an initial phone interview.
For step 1, the Applicant Tracking System automated filter, you need to include the right skills for which the job description says the company is looking. Don’t include soft skills in this section.
Why? ATS filters are only used to filter for hard, technical skills, and humans reviewing your resume won’t be impressed if you include “communication” or related soft skills. You need to demonstrate soft skills; they’re not something you can convincingly list.
With that said, here are some common resume skills companies filter for Tableau developer roles. You shouldn’t have all of these skills; this is just a guideline for what you can potentially include:
Sample Tableau developer skills to include on your resume
- Programming languages: C, C++, Python
- SQL: Redshift, Postgres, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server
- ETLs, data warehousing
- Tableau types: Tableau Server, Tableau Desktop
- Tableau skills: parameters, calculated fields, filters, groups, sets, dashboards
- Graphing: heat maps, scatterplots, bar charts, slicers, drill-downs
- Cloud providers: AWS, Azure, GCS
- Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets
Congrats, you got past the automated keyword filters! You need to impress the HR employee and the hiring manager, who will review your candidacy. To do this, you need to avoid having an exhaustive list of skills on your Tableau resume.
Having a long paragraph of skills listed is a big red flag to the hiring manager. It signals one of two things:
- You’re a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none
- You’re lying
It’s much better to demonstrate expertise in a handful of skills than a passing knowledge of 15-20. As a rule of thumb, don’t let your skills section take up more than 25 percent of your resume.
WRONG – a long list of hard and soft skills
- Creative, analytical, and a critical thinker
- Detail-oriented and problem-solving skills
- Effective communicator with excellent presentation skills
- Self-starter
- Results-oriented
- Excellent multi-tasking ability
- Great interpersonal skills
- Natural leader
- Team player Digital Competency
- Knowledge of R Language
- Knowledge of SQL
- Knowledge of SAS
- Knowledge of core programming
- Proficient in the use of EPIC CADENCE
- Proficiency in CRM, CRP, BW in SAP
RIGHT – smaller list of hard skills in which you’re an expert
- Tableau Desktop: Certified Professional (2017)
- Tableau Server: Certified Associate (2016)
- Programming Languages: C, C++
- Databases: SQL Postgres, Redshift, MySQL, PL/SQL
- Database Objects: Triggers, Stored Procedures, Views
- Spreadsheets: MS Excel, Google Sheets
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t lie on your resume. Only include skills on which you’d be comfortable being interviewed. If you can’t answer basic interview questions about SQL Server, for example, don’t list it on your resume.
In summary, here’s what you need to do for your skills section:
- Include the skills you have relevant to the Tableau developer role to get past the ATS filter.
- Make sure your skills section is concise (avoid a laundry list) to satisfy the HR person who will review your resume.
- Don’t lie. The technical hiring manager will see right through the lies if you can’t talk about the skills you list in an interview setting.
Format your resume correctly
Like your skills section, your resume needs to be formatted properly to appease automated software and humans who review your application. Here are quick tips for formatting your Tableau resume properly.
- Keep it to one page.
- Include relevant certifications in your education section.
- In your contact information, include the job title to which you’re applying.
- Don’t list your specific address; city and state will do.
- Include your visa status if you’re on an H1B or OPT visa.
- Quadruple-check that your spelling and grammar are correct.
- Only include a resume objective or resume summary if you can customize it for the role to which you’re applying.
All of these tips are in service of a singular goal: make it as easy as possible for the person reviewing your resume to think you’re a great fit for the role.
If your resume extends to multiple pages, the hiring manager will gloss over what you wrote. In this case, they’ll be looking for a reason to reject your application.
Put yourself in their shoes. You have received 100+ applicants for your Tableau developer role, and you’ve just received a resume that spans five pages. Are you going to give all details on that resume the same care you would a resume that is one page?
Of course not; you’ll spend the same amount of time reviewing each resume. Therefore, you need to quickly and concisely make the case on your resume that you deserve a phone interview.
Certifications on your Tableau resume
In most cases, online certifications are utterly useless on your resume. However, when you’re applying for Tableau developer roles, they’re incredibly effective.
Tableau certifications are offered directly from Tableau, so if you’ve passed their Tableau Server or Tableau Desktop certification exams (either at the associate or professional level), you need to include them.
What better signal to a hiring professional that you know how to use Tableau than a certificate directly from Tableau?!
RIGHT – include your Tableau certifications
Tableau Desktop – Certified Professional
February 2017
Tableau Server – Certified Associate
September 2017
Suppose your current company offers an education stipend to employees (as many tech companies do). In that case, you should think about using that to pay for one of these certification exams before applying to your next role.
When talking about these certifications on your resume, either include them in your education section if they won’t extend the length of your resume or give them their own mini-section.
The hiring manager and the HR professional reviewing your resume will be more inclined to interview you if you have a Tableau certification.
Resume objective for Tableau developers
One of the biggest mistakes you can make on your Tableau developer resume is to include a generic resume objective.
Not only is a generic resume objective useless, it actively hurts your candidacy. If you’re not customizing your resume objective for each role you’re applying to, it’s better to exclude this section altogether.
You know you should keep your resume to one page. A generic resume objective doesn’t give new information to the hiring manager that you’re a good fit for the Tableau developer role to which you’re applying.
If you will include one, we compiled over 50 resume objective examples to help you get started.
Here’s a typical Tableau resume objective:
WRONG – generic resume objective
Tableau and SQL expert with 5+ years of experience transforming raw data into actionable insights. Skilled in collecting business requirements and translating those into data dashboards.
RIGHT – specific resume objective
Experienced Tableau developer who is an expert with MySQL databases seeking to leverage my skill set to contribute to the Stripe mission of making payments easy and accessible for small businesses across the world.
This is a great resume objective. It specifically lists a skill mentioned in the job description (MySQL) and talks about the company’s mission. This kind of resume objective will help you get an interview.
Tableau projects
If you can include a link to a data project you’ve worked on, including a link to a Tableau visualization, you will jump to the top two percent of all applicants for the given Tableau developer role.
Unlike software engineers who openly and proudly display their Github profiles, Tableau developers rarely link their work in their resumes.
This makes sense because you can’t link to Tableau dashboards containing proprietary data from a private company for which you’ve worked.
However, if you can include a link to a personal project, you will demonstrate the two qualities that hiring managers are most looking for: curiosity and Tableau competency.
You can use Tableau Public for free. So now you just need to come up with project ideas. Here are a few examples.
Sample Tableau resume project ideas
- Are you interested in a particular sport or activity? Pull public data on it and draw a conclusion.
- Example: Examining the year-over-year increase in pitching performance in the MLB.
- Like the stock market? Plenty of published data on that!
- Example: Looking at the correlation between presidential statements and Fortune 500 stock performance in the US.
- Interested in cooking? There are plenty of recipes posted on the web.
- Example: How often are salt and pepper used as ingredients in vegetarian food recipes?
- Look at Amazon reviews of books that became movies if you’re a reader.
- Example: Do Hollywood movie producers favor highly reviewed books, or are they just interested in popularity?
- Rotten Tomatoes has a treasure trove of data.
- Example: Using NLP to estimate whether a given review is “fresh” or “rotten.”
Quantify the impact of your work
The biggest mistake that Tableau developers make on their resumes is that they don’t talk about their business impact.
When you talk about your work experience, remember that you have to appeal to both a non-technical HR employee and the hiring manager at the company to which you’re applying.
Far too often, I see Tableau experts focus on their technical skills without talking about the impact that they’ve had on the business.
The HR person who reviews your resume is the gatekeeper. They decide whether the hiring manager will even get to review your candidacy. If you’re not appealing to them, you won’t get an interview.
How can you impress a recruiter? Make it clear that you’ve had a measurable business impact in your past roles.
Consider these two work experiences. Which do you think is more convincing for a non-technical audience?
WRONG – too focused on technical details
- AT&T
May 2018 – Present, New York NY
Tableau Developer - Automated the processing of transactional data from Redshift and Postgres
- Used stored procedures, triggers, and views to provide structured data to business units
- Using C++ cleaned data from disparate sources and created a workbook used in Tableau Server dashboard to display time series analysis of customer performance
RIGHT – focused on business impact
- Mike’s Tech Shop
May 2018 – Present, New York NY
Tableau Developer - Automated the processing of billions of rows of transactional data from Redshift and Postgres to improve real-time reporting of product metrics, saving the company $273,000 annually in reduced downtime
- Used stored procedures, triggers, and views to provide structured data to business units by combining millions of rows of data from 19 disparate data sources
- Created interactive cohort analysis report in Tableau Server for the product team with global filters and parameters that helped improve monthly retention by 17% for a specific customer segment
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to make your company more revenue directly. Here are some ways you can quantify the impact of your Tableau development work:
How to quantify your work experience as a Tableau developer
- Reduced manual work
- Example: Automated reporting of business KPIs reducing manual reporting by 27 hours each week.
- Enabled faster decision-making
- Example: Create real-time dashboards for the pricing team, allowing them to increase the speed of their price changes by 18%.
- Reduced product downtime
- Example: Ingested streaming data into Tableau Server and created notifications for the product team, reducing product downtime by 21%.
- Improved retention
- Example: Created a customer cohort analysis report using Redshift and Tableau Desktop, which helped marketing improve monthly retention by 11%.
- Reduced costs
- Example: Enabled automation of previously manually intensive dashboards, allowing our company to reduce vendor costs by $145,000 annually.
- Increased revenue
- Example: Created ROI Tableau dashboard for marketing, allowing them to double down on more profitable customer acquisition channels resulting in a revenue increase of $314,00 annually.
Tailor your resume for each job
Tailoring your Tableau resume for each job you apply to will put you in the top five percent of applicants. When you’re applying for jobs online, this is the kind of advantage you can’t afford to give up.
How can you customize your resume?
- Read the job description. As you do so, do any projects you’ve worked on come to mind?
- Read about the company. Does any of your experience relate to what the company does?
- Read the requirements of the job. Do you have any skills they’re looking for that you haven’t included on your resume?
What does this look like in practice? Let’s say, for example, that I was a Tableau developer who had this work experience on my resume.
ALTRU LABS, INC.
April 2015 – January 2018, New York NY
Tableau Developer
- Automated a Tableau Server report for the sales team using filters, parameters, and calculated sets that automatically qualified sales leads resulting in a lift in conversion rate of 27%
- Implemented security guidelines by using user filters and row-level security, reducing private data exposure by 72%
- Built robust forecasting using parameters, trend lines, and reference lines that were reported directly to Wall Street for quarterly earnings reports, saving 42 hours of manual work each quarter
Suppose I was applying for a role working directly with a marketing team to help measure and report on the ROI of different customer acquisition channels. In that case, I might alter that work experience to the following:
AMPLIFY
April 2015 – January 2018, New York NY
Tableau Developer
- Automated a Tableau Server report for the sales team using filters, parameters, and calculated sets that automatically qualified sales leads, resulting in a lift in conversion rate of 27%
- Implemented a real-time marketing dashboard to analyze the source of all qualified leads, leading to an increase in spend toward the most profitable marketing channels of 130% year over year
- Built robust forecasting using parameters, trend lines, and reference lines for the marketing team to help identify the top 5% of organic search terms that drove new customer acquisition
Tableau developer resume—expert tips
Follow these tips, and you’ll increase your chances of getting an interview. Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve shared:
- Include the skills mentioned in the job description on which you’d be comfortable being interviewed. Focus on Tableau, SQL, and database management skills. No soft skills!
- Keep your resume to one page. Include any Tableau certifications you have. If you have any personal projects, include them, as they’ll put you in the top 3 percent of applicants.
- Focus your work experience on your business impact. Don’t get lost in the technical details of your projects. Hiring managers want to know you’ll have a meaningful impact on the bottom line.
- Customize your resume for each job application. Read each job description, and be sure to mention any projects that come to mind.
