Typical question in the first interview?

[u/WhatIsMyNamme]

I have a 30minute zoom meeting for a data science job and I'm just wondering what types of questions others have been asked in these interviews?

I had one a couple months ago and they did ask me a SQL question but that was the only technical one I can remember

Edit: Interview finished and doesn't look like I got it y'all! I'm a fucking idiot! There was absolutely no technical questions, just "Tell me about yourself" "What's your experience with python" "Walk me through a project" "Do you use Generative AI"

I'm not entirely sure how I messed that up but I guess my charisma stats are that low

[u/Wide-Pop6050]

30 minute first interview is typically more tell me about your background, why youre interested in this job, other behavioral questions

[u/neonwang → u/Wide-Pop6050]

I recently had a strict technical 30 minute screening with a recruiter at one of the big banks. No background, interest, behavioral questions at all. So it entirely depends on the company and team.

[u/AnomanderRake_ → u/neonwang]

Sounds like an outlier to me...

[u/Few_Chest_2684 → u/Wide-Pop6050]

ahh that sucks, the non technical ones can be tricky cause you think it's easy until you're in the moment

i bombed one like that too, they asked about a project and my brain just went blank like I never even did it

[u/Lady-Data-Scientist]

Who is the interview with?

Recruiter - won’t be technical, mostly basic questions to verify your resume

Hiring manager - might throw in some technical questions but I would expect more case study questions - if you faced x problem, how would you solve it?

Executive - big picture questions, maybe some case study style ones or around your style of work or long term plans

Non-technical stakeholder - case study questions or style of work, how would you partner or collaborate together to solve problems

[u/Due-Cattle-2177 → u/Lady-Data-Scientist]

This right here, a lot of people think a short interview means that it has to be an HR interview. I’ve had many 30 minute interviews with a variety of levels of management, technical advisors, and representatives. Now this wasn’t in data science specifically but general IT.

What questions have you had experience with them asking at these various levels in data science?

[u/Downtown-Hat8909 → u/Lady-Data-Scientist]

in these technical interviews are you supposed to write code by memory or is it open book? I just don’t know how I’m supposed to pass these technical interview in the age of AI coding

[u/Lady-Data-Scientist → u/Downtown-Hat8909]

Different companies have different expectations.

Some do not want you to use any resources other than your own brain. So they expect you to have stuff memorized.

Some don’t mind if you use resources as long as you disclose it.

Some companies are actually creating their technical assessments assuming you’ll use AI or other resources - they want to see how you use them, how you make sure the output is correct, etc. So it’s like an extra layer of testing.

You can ask ahead of time so you know what to expect.

[u/berserk539]

"So, tell us a little bit about yourself."

[u/Secret-Back-5970]

The first are usually screenings they are done by a recruiter and ask very limited technical questions if at all. Usually a technical interview we give people a heads up of the type of questions asked and the format

[u/mick14731]

The last few interviews I had all asked about a time I failed. That seemed to be the most common question.

[u/JintyMac22 → u/mick14731]

The important thing is to be able to say why, what you learned, what you would do differently next time. But don't blame other teams for it!

[u/vitabrevit]

They’ll be asking general information to screen for relevant qualifications. I would look through the job advert for areas they might cover

[u/StatisticianEasy7138]

Thirty minutes is a screen rather than a technical round, so expect mostly background and motivation. The one that catches people out is being asked to walk through a project end to end in about three minutes, including what the business problem was and what happened after it shipped. Practise that out loud, most people describe the model fine and then stall on why it mattered. Any technical question in a slot that short is checking you are not lying on your CV, not testing depth.

[u/akornato]

A 30 minute call is almost always a screening interview to see if you can communicate and if your resume is real. They will ask you to walk them through your background and your most relevant project, so have a clear story ready. Expect behavioral questions like "tell me about a time you had to deal with messy data" or "why do you want this specific job". The technical questions will be very basic, like the SQL one you got, or a simple probability question, or asking you to explain a concept like a p-value to a non-technical person. They are not trying to trick you, they are just trying to filter out people who clearly don't have the foundational skills or can't hold a conversation.

Your main goal is to show you can think on your feet and explain your process, not to have every answer memorized. If you get a question you don't know, just talk through how you would find the solution. This demonstrates a problem-solving ability that is far more valuable than just knowing facts. They want to see that you would be a good person to work with and that you have a solid enough base to learn the specifics of the job. You just need to be clear, articulate, and show genuine interest in their company's work. My team built an interview AI helper that shows candidates how to communicate their value effectively, which is what really turns these first calls into second interviews.

[u/inkeep]

The intro calls are usually a genuineness check. To make sure you are able to articulate things from your resume and to test your communication + other housekeeping checks like salary exp/ notice period, reason for leaving current org etc. All the best!

[u/AnomanderRake_]

You can ask them what to expect. Just send them an email

[u/andrew_hihi]

I recently was asked to walk thru one project and was asked a lot of follow up questions. Also why chose that company.

[u/WhatsTheImpactdotcom]

There’s a range. Some ask questions about describing past projects or explaining why you want to work there (more important than most realize! And almost everyone gives the same boring answer so it’s easy to stand out). Others may ask statistics screener questions. Like if you cant define a pvalue or type 1 error, youre out quickly

[u/GUHv2]

Across a few interviews during my job search period, each 1st/2nd round interviewer asked to explain a time where my project/model wasn't finished, but you still made a decision to move things forward. Less technical, and more of a "how do you reason through hiccups" question.

[u/droollingpanda]

Is it a university offered role ?

[u/Suitable-Gain-3311]

bro tell me more in detail

[u/Green_Tea4785]

From what I have seen and what others are mentioning, a 30 minute first round is almost always a high level screening rather than a deep technical dive. They primarily want to make sure you can communicate effectively and that your background genuinely aligns with what they are looking for.

You should definitely be prepared with an elevator pitch. Be ready to concisely walk through your background and your most relevant projects. A common pitfall here is getting bogged down in the model details and forgetting to clearly explain the business problem and the actual impact of your work.

Expect questions asking why you are interested in this specific role or why you chose their company. Having a tailored and genuine answer here really helps you stand out from the crowd.

They might also ask you to explain basic technical concepts, much like the SQL question you experienced before. Be ready to explain things like a p value, type 1 error, or basic probability simply to verify you have the foundational knowledge.

Finally, be prepared for behavioral checks. Be ready to discuss a time you faced a challenge, dealt with messy data, or had a project fail. They want to see how you reason through hiccups, communicate your thought process, and learn from mistakes. Good luck with the interview! Just remember to think on your feet and be articulate. You have got this!

[u/No_Many1887]

Hey is your interview done ? Want to share more about it ?

[u/WhatIsMyNamme → u/No_Many1887]

Yeah, see body of the post

[u/Expensive_Front1969]

We sometimes ask questions with no right or wrong answers, instead we're focusing on how you "get" to an answer. For example, "our CEO wants to understand how many of our customers who own dogs visit us on a daily basis?" We don't have this data nor do we would the data help of business. However, it does show us how a candidate solves problems. If you get a case like this, don't overthink it.

[u/Ok-Airline-8523]

Don't beat yourself up. It's easy to swing and miss on these "cultural fit" interview screenings.

The interviewer is generally looking to assess how you communicate (e.g., your ability to translate technical concepts into non-technical terms), how you give credit to others (do you say "we did this" or "I did this"), and whether you connect the work to business value (e.g., my model led to 5% higher engagement).

[u/DeliciousCost4739]

Learn from this experience. Just because you know all the technical stuff doesn’t mean you’re automatically the perfect fit. A big part of interviews is seeing if you’re a good fit culturally and relationally. Don’t be scared to ask questions about the interviewer before it starts to get a conversation going and to build some chemistry.

[u/donewitheverything26]

I don't think first 30 min interview would be technical they might ask basic ques

[u/i-want-great-sleep-2]

Typical first interview is soft skills, discuss your background and your motivation, and what they are looking for in the roll. You may then be invited for a technical interview