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The Data Point #4: 7 Effective Ways to Prepare for a Data Interview
Preparation is half the battle
Read time: 3.5 minutes
Let’s be honest. Interviews are nerve-wracking.
And there are few experiences more stressful than entering a job interview unprepared.
Over the years I’ve completed MANY interviews. I’ve learned that being as prepared is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of success.
Being prepared also helps you feel more at peace.
Let’s jump into 7 practical ways that you can prepare for your next interview.
1 | Ask the recruiter what you should expect
A good recruiter will tell you exactly what to expect from the interview.
How long will it be? How many people? Who will be interviewing you? what are their names? What types of questions will be asked? Will there be a skills portion?
These are all examples of things you should know going into the interview. Be sure to get clarity on all these if the recruiter doesn’t specify.
2 | Research the company
It is so important to do your research on the company. And it’s important to show off some of that knowledge during the interview.
Why? It shows the hiring manager that you care, that you’re invested, and that you put extra effort into preparing.
Finding ways to share what I know about the company never fails to impress the manager to some extent.
Here is how I usually conduct my research:
View the company website. Read everything on there.
If they’re publicly trading, view the stock price on Yahoo Finance. See how they’ve performed over the last few months and years.
Look up any articles related to the company. Yahoo Finance usually has some, but you can search on Google too.
3 | Write down a few situational examples using the STAR method
STAR is a great framework for answering interviewing questions. The structure is as follows:
S - situation
T - task
A - action
R - result
Once you’ve used it enough, you’ll be able to easily reference it in your mind as a template for answering questions.
I recommend writing out a few work examples you’re proud of using this method. Write it out just like I did above in bullet points. This will help your flow.
4 | Prepare 5-10 questions to ask in the interview
5-10? Yes. 5-10 in total
You want more than a few because some questions always get answered during the interview. You don’t want to be stuck with only 1 question to ask because they already answered some before you had a chance to ask.
Prepare questions related to:
The nature of the role
Company and/or team impacts
The interviewers themselves
You don’t have to ask all the questions at once either. Have a few ready for when they ask if you have any, but you should ask questions throughout the interview too. This shows curiosity and a genuine interest in the role. It also extends the length of the interview which gives you more face time.
5 | Have a 3-5 minute intro statement
A common opening question is “Tell me about yourself.”
This is often very challenging for people as it’s so open-ended and sets the tone of the interview.
The worst thing you can do is ramble and overshare. I’ve heard people ramble on for 20 minutes about themselves when sharing.
Keep it brief, and write it out in advance to help it stick with you.
Simply share:
What you do in your current role
How it led to an interest in this role
Why you’d be a good candidate.
Don’t go too far into the past. Keep it relevant. The person interviewing you can always ask more questions if they’re interested. If you overshare, you ruin that opportunity and you’ll bore them.
6 | If there is a technical portion, practice the related skills
As mentioned in the first point, find out if there’s a skills portion of the interview. If so, practice.
Skills quizzes are most common for Excel and SQL especially.
My good friend Chris French posted this week about some great free resources.
You can use these to prepare, but also review any material from previous courses you’ve taken.
7 | Have notes ready
This one is simple. Prepare some notes. If it’s a virtual interview, have a doc pulled up. If it’s in person, print out a Word doc.
Notes should include:
Your intro statement
Your STAR examples
Questions for the interviewers
Any necessary company info
It’s perfectly acceptable to bring notes to an interview. It’s another measure that shows how much you prepared. It’s also a great safety net to have, even if you don’t end up referencing it much.
At the very least, I usually at least always use it to remember my questions for the interviewer.
BONUS | Breathe
Before the interview, take some deep breaths.
Tell yourself affirmative statements: “You can do this.” “You’re going to nail this interview.”
During the interview, remember to slow down. Avoid rambling out of nervousness.
That’s all for this week. Hope this was helpful ✌️
PS - Another good friend of mine, Jon Hackamack has an incredible resource called, “The Complete Data Job Search Toolkit.” In it, you’ll find the following:
50 action verbs for resumes
Best interview questions to ask
ChatGPT prompts for job searching
Common data job titles to search
Network message templates
Resume checklist
Guide to using STAR for interview questions
Check it out here: https://gumroad.com/a/315476179/zrrcv
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
If you’re looking to create a data portfolio but aren’t sure where to start, I’d recommend the following book:
The Data Portfolio Guidebook: Learn how to think like an analyst, develop a project portfolio and LinkedIn profile, and prepare for the job hunt. Join 350+ learners here.
For help navigating the data job hunt, consider booking a 1:1 call with me. I can help in the following ways:
Resume, LinkedIn profile, or portfolio review
Career guidance
Interview prep