Had a Skype interview today with an Australian tech company for a graduate position (fresh grad) in Statistics/Data. Lasted approximately an hour.

Here are some of the questions I got (this list is not exhaustive as I could not remember every single detail of the interview ):
1. Walk me through your degree. Describe to me what it is, and what you've learned throughout your studies.
1.1 What was the criteria for each scholarship you've received? Is there a bond period involved?
1.2 Why are you pursuing a thesis in something unrelated to statistics?
1.3 What is your thesis about? What makes it interesting? When is it due for submission?

2. What was your most enjoyable subject?
- I mentioned a subject where I did a stats project. She proceeded to ask me details about my project.
2.1. Talk me through your thought process when completing the project.
2.2. What was the project about? What were some of your findings?

3. What subject did you least enjoy out of the rest?

4. Why would you choose a tech company like ours, compared to bigger companies in the finance/commerce industry?

5. What do you have in mind for a typical/first day in the role of a graduate within our company?

6. Describe a scenario where you have been unable to fulfill your tasks by the given dateline.
6.1 How did you feel when you had to speak up to your employer(s) about difficulties in meeting the dateline?

7. Why did you choose to study in Australia? What made you decide on going overseas? Do you miss home?

8. Why mathematics and statistics?

9. Why did you choose to do this (arts/music/irrelevant) subject when it has nothing to do with math/stats?

10. What subjects are you currently taking this semester/session? Please elaborate in detail.

11. Have you ever had to change your personality/the way you work due to employer needs or something similar? If so, why?

12. What programming packages/languages have you picked up over your time in university? Please indicate your level of proficiency in each one.

13. We are looking to fill in this role as soon as possible, will you be able to come over for a couple of days a week while still studying at the university?

14. What are you salary expectations for a graduate role based in Sydney CBD?
- The market rate is currently between AUD50,000-60,000 per annum before tax.

15. Have you applied for any other graduate roles? Do you intend to apply for other companies as well?

16. Please enlighten me on your current visa status and future plans.

17. Any questions for me?
17.1 Would you like me to walk you through the structure of our company and further details with regards to the role you will be given? Hopefully, I will be able to answer any questions you have in mind as I go along.


That's all I can think of for now, the interview was quite challenging and exhausting in my opinion. Fun and enjoyable nonetheless, really grateful to have encountered such a nice and easygoing recruiter. (Tip: tone down your jargon - if the recruiter seems confused with technical terms, try your best to explain in layman terms!!)
Nevertheless, it served as a wonderful experience. Hope this helps

Cheers!

This post has been edited by bunny65: Feb 28 2018, 07:04 PM

I'd say it's definitely okay to mention this as long as you are not trying to badmouth your current employer/company. Bring it up casually, but avoid dwelling on the negatives since it may reflect badly on your personality and/or attitude.

Be prepared to answer follow-up questions like (the following list is not exhaustive):
1. Was there anything you could have done to mitigate the problem?
2. What have you learned from this?
etc.

Be confident. It's nice to have an employee who looks forward and plans ahead (in your case, moving on).

Cheers.

Your best bet? Call them up and ask

Personally, I'd rather have them on me than not just in case your interviewer(s) wants to verify your claims. Having them organized in a nice clear-folder can show that you have attention to detail, and that you make an effort to go the extra mile.

If you have too many certificates such that it is difficult for you to carry both originals and photocopies, bring your originals. If they want to keep photocopies for themselves, you could provide them the photocopies later (in my case they took the originals and photocopied them with their own photocopier).

Then again, being invited to the interview day itself most probably means that you are already academically qualified such that your certifications/transcripts would no longer be relevant at later stages.

Good luck!

This post has been edited by bunny65: Mar 2 2018, 05:00 PM

Following-up from my last interview - I passed the Skype interview (post #1610)!!

Two days after the Skype call, the recruiter scheduled me for an in-person interview with the company founders, CTO and (potential) team leader. Started today at 10AM and lasted approximately an hour and a half.

The first part of the interview involved only the CTO and team leader. Some of the questions they asked were repetitive of what I was asked during the Skype call since they weren't involved in the first interview. Some questions (couldn't remember them all, sorry!):
- We want to look at why some people ignore jobs that are offered to them through our platform. With all the data we have, what would you consider for analysis and how?
- In the US, users tend to indicate that they are willing to travel up to 30 miles for work. What do you think the actual median is? (surprisingly, it was 3.5 miles!!!)
- We do not expect you to have any programming/database background as a maths/stats grad. Would you enlighten us as to whether or not you have any intentions of learning how to program?
- As a statistician, would you prefer to work solely on the analysis of data, or does 50% programming + 50% statistics sound like something you would consider? Which would you prefer? (Interviewer says that it's okay to choose the former, but the 'right' answer is the latter!!!)
- Please describe to us, if any, a situation where you have been unable to meet a dateline. What was your response? How did you feel about it?
- Why did you choose to apply for our company?
- Why have you withdrawn from some of your subjects?
- (Note: I am learning Python on my own) How/Which website do you use for your Python self-study? Did you find it difficult?
- What was your favourite subject?
- This role involves a lot of team work, as well as going off on your own to do even more work. Describe to me how you function in a team setting.
- How was your commute? Do you drive? Did you catch the train or the bus?

I asked the following questions:
1. Since I still have a few months before graduating, are there any external skills I should start working on before jumping into employment? (Note this excludes subjects that I have already/am currently undertaking at university - they gave me a list of programming languages and packages to look up, and encouraged me to prioritize learning SQL)
2. Could you describe to me what a typical work day would be like for an employee in the data team?
3. What makes your company stand out from the rest of your competitors in the same market, and why?


I met with the company founders for a short 15 minutes chat:
- Have you applied for any other companies? If yes, which ones? Westpac banking? The Big 4?
- What made you apply to us in the first place?
- What do you want to be eventually at the top of your career? A teacher? A manager?
- Would you prefer to work solely on the analysis of data, or does 50% programming + 50% statistics sound like something you would consider? Which would you prefer? (Note here that I've been asked this question before! In fact, one of the founders mentioned the importance of self-resilience after my response - a.k.a. not relying on others to do the work for you.)
- I see that you are from Malaysia, has Australian education been more difficult or easier in your opinion?
- Since coming to Australia, what differences have you noticed from our education system compared to Malaysia?
- In Malaysia, would you consider yourself to be in the Top 1%? Top 10%? Top 25%? Where do you think you stand?
- If we give your thesis supervisor a call, how would he/she describe you?



Phew! Honestly, I was extremely nervous before the interview that I could not sleep the night before! The recruiter from my Skype interview met up with me, reassuring me that the people I spoke to were some of the nicest people and that conversation would be casual (NOT!!!). In all honesty, this interview has been extremely eye-opening and thought provoking.

Hopefully, this would help someone looking for a fresh grad position in the field of maths/stats/data.

P.S. They are looking to hire software and/or database developers (valid Australian working rights only)! Hit me up if you're interested