How to hire credit analysts

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Analyze credit data and financial statements to determine the degree of risk involved in extending credit or lending money.
• Analyze financial data, such as income growth, quality of management, and market share to determine expected profitability of loans.
• Compare liquidity, profitability, and credit histories of establishments being evaluated with those of similar establishments in the same industries and geographic locations.
• Complete loan applications, including credit analyses and summaries of loan requests, and submit to loan committees for approval.
• Consult with customers to resolve complaints and verify financial and credit transactions.
• Generate financial ratios, using computer programs, to evaluate customers' financial status.
• Prepare reports that include the degree of risk involved in extending credit or lending money.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong critical thinking, active learning, reading comprehension, speaking, active listening and mathematics skills
• Working knowledge of economics and accounting, English Language and mathematics
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $40.15 an hour ($83,510 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for credit analysts

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to analyze credit data and financial statements to determine the degree of risk involved in extending credit or lending money. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to analyze financial data, such as income growth, quality of management, and market share to determine expected profitability of loans. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to compare liquidity, profitability, and credit histories of establishments being evaluated with those of similar establishments in the same industries and geographic locations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to complete loan applications, including credit analyses and summaries of loan requests, and submit to loan committees for approval. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. Tell me about something new you had to learn quickly for work. How did you learn it?
7. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What credit analysts do

• Analyze credit data and financial statements to determine the degree of risk involved in extending credit or lending money.
• Analyze financial data, such as income growth, quality of management, and market share to determine expected profitability of loans.
• Compare liquidity, profitability, and credit histories of establishments being evaluated with those of similar establishments in the same industries and geographic locations.
• Complete loan applications, including credit analyses and summaries of loan requests, and submit to loan committees for approval.
• Consult with customers to resolve complaints and verify financial and credit transactions.
• Generate financial ratios, using computer programs, to evaluate customers' financial status.
• Prepare reports that include the degree of risk involved in extending credit or lending money.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingActive LearningReading ComprehensionSpeakingActive ListeningMathematicsEconomics and AccountingEnglish LanguageMathematics

Education, experience and outlook for credit analysts

• Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Job outlook: -4.3% over ten years, declining · about 3,100 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay credit analysts

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See credit analysts pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Accountants and Auditors
• Property Appraisers and Assessors
• Budget Analysts
• Financial and Investment Analysts
• Personal Financial Advisors
• Insurance Underwriters
• Financial Risk Specialists
• Financial Examiners
• Credit Counselors
• Loan Officers

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.