Preparing for an interview can be a time-consuming task, but it can be a less difficult activity if you are provided with the right resources for the potential topics so that you can focus your time and efforts. Data analysts who look forward to landing the best job roles should be well-prepared for interview questions that not only put their technical skills to the test but also delve into preferred work styles, approaches to problem-solving and collaborative abilities. If you are interviewing for a data analyst position, brush up on these topics to better equip yourself for when the time comes.
Determine the topics you should concentrate on
While some questions asked in the interview can be predictable, there are some that can surprise you. Thorough research of the company will help in getting a basic understanding of the type of data analytics that it does and what exactly your job will entail. The job description and website can give you enough information including the main metrics to track in their industry, the data problems and their customers. In addition, you can also view the company’s LinkedIn page.
Review Your Skills
There are 3 skills in particular that data analysts should be good at and they are:
- Statistical/Mathematical Skills
A good analyst must know how to make sense of numbers. By math, we mean you should know the basics of statistical concepts and probability theory. Many interviews test the interviewee’s understanding of things such as the Central Limit Theorem, Law of Large Numbers, and familiarity with Bayesian probability and calculation. You can take the following courses which are free of cost to learn the fundamentals of statistics and probability:
• MIT OpenCourseWare
• Khan Academy
- Technical Skills
When it comes to technical skills, you should at least master SQL, the database management language. Additionally, you would require to be familiar with either one or both of the scripting languages Python and R. The interviewer’s goal is to know whether you have an understanding of the basics of programming and if you’re capable of debugging a code when it throws an error.
There are platforms that provide several Python and R courses. You can choose a course considering your experience and level of familiarity with the language.
- Business Sense
Yes, data analysis is a technical role. While it’s crucial to have statistical knowledge and meet the technical requirements, you should also be equipped with a good business sense. It takes experience, thinking and a number of trials and errors to develop a good knowledge of the business world. You should know things like what numbers would make best sense in a data report and what kind of KPIs should be a measure of how good the business is doing.
Some of the other skills that you need to brush upon include:
• Communication skills
While technical skills can still be developed at the job as long as you have a basic foundation, it is extremely difficult to teach communication skills to people who are good at the technical front but can’t express their ideas well. Make sure you take time to structure your thoughts and codes and adopt the structured communication style. The best way to master this is to do mock interviews with a friend.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms
Since most companies are relying on some type of cloud platform for data storage, it’d be a plus point to be familiar with Google Cloud Platform, Azure or any other cloud platform.
Attempt Practice Questions
Go over some of the interview questions that you think you’re likely to encounter. Some of the data analyst interview questions include:
• How would you use data to calculate an estimate?
• What would you as a data analyst do with missing or suspected data?
• How would you tackle multi-source problems?
Data analytics is a growing field and offers attractive starting salaries for entry-level jobs. If you’ve decided to take this path, there are several data analytics courses available online that provide certification.
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