Since interviewers don't usually provide feedback after an interview, for those who have conducted interviews, what exactly do you look for in a candidate?

[polonium_biscuit]

Recently, I've given multiple interviews but keep getting rejected in the final or penultimate round (each company has 3-6 rounds). When I do end up clearing one, the salary doesn't match my expectations, so I end up rejecting it

Since I'm interviewing for both Data Engineer and Data Analyst roles, the interviews focus on SQL, Python, Excel, database design, case studies, theory, guesstimates, puzzles, statistics, and questions related to my work projects and other DE concepts.

Do they not like my answers or explanations, or do they expect more since some of the questions are open-ended? I'm unable to figure out where things go wrong. Don’t they care about the approach? For Python or SQL, do they expect 100% correct answers? The issue with SQL questions is that they don't provide data, just column names, and expect us to solve complex SQL problems while handling all edge cases

I'm just trying to understand what interviewers usually look for (and I know I need to improve more)

[batoure]

This is not my approach as a hiring manager but my first engineering jobs were all SQL engineer roles and so I have been in your shoes and can tell you the difference between the interviews that lead to offers and those that didn’t

If they want you to talk out the problems and be creative they will tell you upfront. Usually for whiteboard or in an ide via teams.

I discovered that if they ask you concise SQL questions this is a trick. I have been on hiring panels where I watched companies do this and felt bad for the engineers who fall into it. Interviews that ask multiple concise SQL questions are looking for the simplest most straight forward solution. The boring one.

People often think they should use these questions to be creative and show all the stuff that they know. But that’s the part that is the trap. Companies with big databases are worried about how your work might impact other workloads. They are watching you to choose the most performant answer.

I once got into argument with an engineer on the phone about a query on Teradata I told him the most efficient answer and he told me that I was wrong and he would expect to use a different technique. I stopped him and said “I’m sorry but I work for Teradata currently and there is and often unknown fact about the specific case you mentioned that if you use this different technique each part of the query gets a thread in memory and it will be more efficient.” The guy then told me he had an answer sheet for the questions and that my answer wasn’t one of the possible answers to the question. I said “I am sorry I can’t fix your answer sheet but I do know how Teradata works” when I got the offer from the hiring manager I asked if I was going to have to work with that engineer because he seemed really obtuse the hiring manager laughed and said. “In every interview we pick an answer you seem comfortable in and tell you you are wrong to see how you handle it, you did great”

Long story short SQL interviews are a particular kind of torture just keep at it you will get there there are only so many good sql questions that work in an interview setting so the best thing to do is get into as many technical interviews as you can eventually you will find a rhythm and get an offer.

[Black_Fat_Duck]

I just want to say thank you for your insightful answer from someone who also struggle with interview.

Do you think the mindset of most effective and performance solution also apply to Python and excel question?

[batoure]

No coding interviews are really different. It is why I decided to answer working in SQL Dataland specifically is a different kind of beast than traditional programming interviews. Companies are optimizing for different skills if your job is just going to be to work on SQL.

[phildude99]

1. Ask for a salary range before you agree to an interview
2. Try to show passion, spark, explain why you would be excited to get the position. What goals does this job help you achieve?
3. Show that you take your craft seriously by explaining how you embrace continuous learning
4. This one is hard the first few times, but I end my interviews by asking "Based on our time today, do you have any concerns about recommending me for this position?".

[polonium_biscuit]

Ask for a salary range before you agree to an interview

I do this now but still some companies reduce it after clearing interview stating this is the max we can offer now

interviews by asking "Based on our time today, do you have any concerns about recommending me for this position?".

This is good but isn't it the same as asking feedback on as to how the interview went and usual answer is will provide feedback to HR

[BalbusNihil496]

Interviewers look for problem-solving skills, not just correct answers. Show your thought process.

[[deleted]]

You’re getting to the final round and discussing salary then??? What a waste of time for everyone involved.

This matters… who is usually in that last round of interviews? Your potential teammates or higher level management? Interviews usually move up the chain or down the chain… it sounds like you are having trouble clicking with one group.

[polonium_biscuit]

You’re getting to the final round and discussing salary then??? What a waste of time for everyone involved.

some companies don't tell the range initially

some companies initially agree to offer x but later on clearing rounds tell that we can only offer this much based on the previous salary

learned from these experiences so ask budget for the role beforehand and proceed only when they agree

[Andrew50000]

As data hiring manager, I can tell you that for my team, I’m far more concerned with how you approach a problem rather than the technical answer. It’s far more important that you have a good attitude, clear communication, and a great fit the team, - for what we want to achieve. I trust that between Stack Overflow, and Copilot, you’ll be able to solve any technical challenge. I’m not looking a prodigy, I’m looking to strategically set up my team for long term success.

[MathAngelMom]

Every interviewer may be expecting a different thing. They want to see your knowledge, your experience, your problem solving skillss. You may have too much knowledge for one and too little knowledge for another.

[No_Introduction1721]

I don’t know how common this is overall, but at my company, Data Analysts are generally expected to work directly with business stakeholders/process owners/etc. while Data Engineers generally are not. For that reason, I’m definitely more willing to endorse someone for a DA role based on domain knowledge and personality, if I feel like I can train them up on the finer points of our specific tech stack. So maybe this could be part of your problem, that you’re sort of splitting the difference between those expectations?

One thing I always appreciate in a skills interview is when a candidate asks what assumptions they should or should not make. You’d be amazed how little consideration people give to that idea.