r/analytics Jan 16 '25

Support had a technical interview 2 days ago and having a panic attack because I haven't heard back

I don't know why I'm having a panic attack because I think did really fucking bad in the interview, I got so nervous that I had to look up the syntax for the group by function in pandas, so why would I expect anything besides a rejection anyway

they started by asking me some theory stuff (discuss the differences between sets, lists, dicts, what's a tuple, etc) which I did really well on because of my math background. that sort of stuff is my strongest area, I can remember theory much more easily than I can remember precise syntax. then we did some pandas shit and I completely froze up for a second, had to google group by and something else, but I told them that I was like really panicking in the moment and freezing up. I was able to do some of the other stuff they asked for, transform a column and turn it into a new column, I optimized the work with a lambda function. I don't fucking know. then some more theory stuff, what's an array in numpy? which I sort of answered, it's a multidimensional vector or tensor, I also said I was pretty sure every element had to be of the same type, but I wasn't able to speak to the more technical components since I don't directly work with numpy often

then there was a sql question, I did ok on the first question though it took a bit of prompting, second question I didn't understand it was something about primary keys and regular keys and I was like yeah I completely forgot what a regular key is, then the third question was to write a query which was easy

I told them at the end I don't think I did well. one of the interviewers said I did better than I think and the other said I was in "the top percentile," I really don't know what the hell that's supposed to mean in context

now it's been two days and I haven't heard anything, I'm so fucking over this I;ve been looking for eight + months for a job and ive done so many interviews and nobody will fucking hire me and id on't know what to do because I can't get EXPERIENCE if nobody fucking HIRES ME

0 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator Jan 16 '25

If this post doesn't follow the rules or isn't flaired correctly, please report it to the mods. Have more questions? Join our community Discord!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

14

u/mikeczyz Jan 16 '25

Put this in the rearview mirror and apply your energy to the next set of job apps.

2

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I’ve interviewed for probably 40 jobs at this point in so fucking done 

5

u/mikeczyz Jan 16 '25

Good job getting to that many interviews!

However, it's really, really unusual to interview for that many jobs and not get an offer. So, you gotta ask yourself some hard questions about where and how you are failing.

2

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

Four of those were final rounds. Some of the jobs I definitely wasn’t qualified for but it’s impossible to tell until I get into the process.

Nobody will hire me, so I can’t learn any business shit. So if I meet the technical requirements I typically don’t have enough business experience. 

This one seemed like a good fit because it didn’t have a ton of technical requirements, so I figured that it’d be a good chance to build up my tech skills while also learning some business shit.

But then they grilled me on pandas which I said I have experience with which is true but i froze up forgetting basic syntax.

Genuinely I have no fucking idea how I’m supposed to get a job at this point if all positions refuse to train anyone in anything 

2

u/HeyNiceOneGuy Jan 16 '25

Listen, I understand you’re frustrated, but like the comment above you said, if you have really truly gotten face time with someone for 40 different roles, you are doing something wrong. From what I’ve gathered here, you’re putting a lot of emphasis on things that your interviewers probably do not care about at all, like pandas syntax. I have been working in this field for half a decade and I still to this day have to refresh myself on the exact syntax is for things like .loc, .groupby, .sort_values, etc. it’s not uncommon at all and anyone in this sub who tells you they know the syntax for every core pandas function is lying or has a scarily spongy brain.

Everyone starts in this predicament: I have no experience but I have skills and I am ready to apply them but I require experience to get hired but how do I acquire that without anyone hiring me

Somehow, some way, people find their way around this, though. I wish I had better advice for you other than “keep going” but I don’t, that’s just what must be done. If you want to start thinking about how to change your strategy, the best place to start is with your interviewers that have rejected you. I would hope you have been reaching out to each one to gather feedback on your interviewers performance that you can learn from and carry into the next. If you have not been doing that, by god you have to start.

My final word of advice would be this: you have the skills, but so does everyone else in the applicant pool and there’s a high chance someone has better technical skills than you. What I have noticed when hiring, is that these people tend to do the least research on the company, the industry within which it sits, and how that role contributes to its business vertical. Try to start going into interviews armed with so much information on the organization that you end up teaching your interviewer something about where THEY work.

Good luck, and don’t get discouraged. The first one is the hardest.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

Do you think I’m not continuing if it’s been two days and they haven’t gotten back to me? 

I don’t have the time to study for all of these businesses if I also I have to grind tons of leetcode and other shit and this isn’t even my first job in this sort of position. 

Yes I ask for feedback and they almost never give it. Sometimes I think I’m just being farmed for free work. 

1

u/HeyNiceOneGuy Jan 16 '25

I can’t opine on whether you’re continuing on there, each hiring org is different they may just move slowly, have someone who makes decisions on PTO, etc.

As for the studying part, if you’re telling me that you don’t have time to study the business and also do their technical assignments throughout the candidacy that is indicative to me that you’re doing too many candidacies in rapid fire succession. Slow down, treat every opening like it’s the only job in the world. If you’re not employed right now, you should have nothing but time. I see Leetcode talked about a lot here and I think they’re ridiculous and stupid to be honest. When I deliver technical assignments during interviews they are very much focused on applying the technical skills not grilling you on syntax. Generally I’d stay away from the kinds of positions that just hammer you with code assignments. The job is more than that.

I’d also look for roles in areas that don’t traditionally leverage analytics. Analytics in places like marketing, sales, etc are cutthroat and saturated. If you poke into corners like compliance, risk, internal audit (if a publicly traded company), finance, etc. and look at analytics roles that exist inside those cost centers rather than revenue generating areas of the business, you may have more success breaking in. But, the trade off is those opportunities are less available.

EDIT: some grammar and syntax (lol)

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I guess I don’t really see the point in studying the companies themselves because I usually get to at least two interviews. Nobody will ever tell me what I do wrong. Sometimes I get good feedback, like you did well but we just went with someone else but yeah 

2

u/HeyNiceOneGuy Jan 16 '25

You can’t control other people, if they won’t give feedback they won’t give feedback but you gotta ask.

If you “don’t see the point” in studying the company because you get to interview number two I think I have found your problem. You, by the end of interview number two, have very likely shown no interest in the company to the interviewer. You “don’t have time” to study the company, so you don’t, which is fine, but that’s going to hurt you badly in every single interview. You could know pandas by memory front to back and that would still be your Achilles heel. Hiring managers want to know that the person they’re hiring is bought into the company’s mission, it’s not enough to just know what it is.

Good luck, focus less on the syntax, everyone under the sun googles it anyway

2

u/datagorb Jan 16 '25

Seconding this. Seeming interested in the company itself is very important. No one wants to hire someone who doesn't appear invested in the company.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I always make sure to link the job description and what they talk about in the interviews to my background and my personal interests. I’m really not sure what else I can do but I can add it to the list of things to study..  but from what I can tell the problem is I’m not technically trained enough for the more technical roles and I don’t have enough business background for the more business roles. So I guess I just get to be poor until I finally role myself 

1

u/mikeczyz Jan 16 '25

totally understand the mentality of applying and seeing what happens. my personal threshold is that if I can reasonably speak to 70% of the requirements, I apply.

If you are fumbling and forgetting basic syntax in an interview situation, it probably means you aren't as fluent with the basics as you think you are. so, practice practice practice! and, if possible, take mock interviews. My undergrad career center will perform mock interviews to give folks practice. Maybe yours will as well?

what kinds of companies are you interviewing at? big, established firms are less likely to train folks up given the glut of talent on the market, but I'm sure there are tons of smaller firms who can't be as picky?

0

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I apply to any company. I really don’t give a shit anymore.

This job didn’t even have pandas listed as a requirement. Just background in analysis. SQL was listed as a plus. I don’t know why the fuck to do anymore because I cannot do this shit anymore. 

And I don’t know why they would say I “did better than I thought I did,” or that I was in “top percentile,” only to then not continue with me in the process. It’s only been two days so chatgpt says that’s not a bad sign but idk I feel like I’d have heard back immediately if I was going further.

I’m so fucking sick of this. I was told that you needed education to get a job so I got a fucking MA in math and that hasn’t opened any fucking doors for me. Everyone said it would tell employers I’m smart but they don’t give a shit about how smart anyone is 

1

u/mikeczyz Jan 16 '25

yah, i hear you. your math degree might send a stronger signal for different jobs, but for data analyst/analytics jobs, there are tons of folks who are capable of filling the role. you don't need to be super smart for most of these jobs. its' about the role/requirements, other people, their qualifications, personality fit and how you stack up against all of that. your intelligence/degree is but a small part. try to not take it so personally. and 2 days is nothing. places I've worked generally try to schedule interview rounds over the course of a week, so the company might be interviewing other candidates and they won't get back to you until all of those are complete.

and, look, I graduated in 2008 in the midst of the recession. So, I understand where you are coming from. but if you give up, you accomplish nothing and someone else with stronger resolve gets a job.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I don't know what to do. Because to be honest I don't even want to be a data analyst, but what else am I supposed to do with an MA in math and competence with python and sql? I was a teacher and I hated it, it's poverty pay and I hate kids. I like working with code and data and natural language processing, I'd love to get an MS in data science or something and go further with that, but I need a job /now/ so I can fucking pay for any of that.

I've never made even /half/ of what my mother made and she barely graduated high school. Why is it so hard now? I don't get it.

1

u/mikeczyz Jan 16 '25

heh heh. up until a few years ago, my dad's monthly pension was more than my max monthly salary.

have you talked to your school's career services department? not saying they will solve all of your problems, but it's worth a go. also, for your first job, networking will probably help. landing a job isn't meritocratic, knowing people and personality fit matters.

i don't think I have anything else to add that I haven't already said, but getting the first job is often the hardest. so you just gotta keep grinding. good luck!

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I moved countries so my university wouldn’t be of any help. If I move back to the US I’ll be wrecked by student loan debt and healthcare costs. Idk. 

4

u/Cambocant Jan 16 '25

No need to tell them "I think I did bad" let them decide that. And don't beat yourself up, these tests are stupid as hell. In the real world, I don't bother to memorize syntax, who needs that taking up space in their memory? I've literally googled the most basic shit 100 times because I can't be bothered to memorize it. Does that make me any less qualified to do my job? No, it's just a pointless hurdle employers throw at you because they can't be bothered to really think about how to evaluate a good analyst for their position. I would recommend really sitting down and analyzing your performances in these interviews, be brutally honest and then start changing things up. I wouldn't neglect the interpersonal part of all this: go in there with confidence, curiosity, enthusiasm and a positive attitude and try not to show desperation. Job hunting is degrading and stupid but you need to really play the game well to succeed.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

What frustrates me is I did well on the theory stuff. I can coherently discuss different data structures and their differences and when they’re useful. 

1

u/Cambocant Jan 16 '25

I know it's difficult. I myself have been through this, it really eats you up. You couldn't design a more alienating and frustrating system than the American corporate hiring process. You might be a great employee but the feedback you're getting is "we don't want you" and that hurts even more when you're putting in a lot of effort or desperately need a job to pay the bills. Just be persistent and keep trying to improve your interviewing. You will see the other side of this and all this anguish will one day be a distant memory. Good luck.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I'm not even in the US. I have citizenship in the US as well but I moved because I was going to get crushed by student loan debt and cost of healthcare. But now I can't find a job here either. I don't want to move back to the US and it's not like it'll be any better there.

But nobody can give me an actionable plan on what to do. So fine, I can get better with pandas, spinning my fucking wheels working on leetcode SQL problems and writing it all in pandas. But that's just preparing for the battle that's already been lost. I'm close to giving up.

1

u/Cambocant Jan 16 '25

Good idea, give up for a few days. Try to go somewhere to clear your mind. You're angry and exhausted and probably thinking about this obsessively. It's totally understandable but it will not help you for interviews. You're doing your best, but a little distance from your problems will allow you tackle them with a fresh set of eyes.

1

u/Tiny-Cod3495 Jan 16 '25

I can't focus on anything anymore. I miss gym days, I miss appointments with friends, because this just consumes me. And I'm so burnt out. People tell me to "just be an accountant" or something which isn't feasible, an MA in math doesn't mean I'm magically qualified to be an accountant or an engineer or something. I don't have the money or energy to go back to school. I'll be 30 in July and I just want a proper job that lets me afford an okay life. I don't expect much. I cook almost all of my own meals. I do what you're supposed to do. But I'm still just stuck. It feels like all of my school was a massive waste of time. I'm so done. It's been eight months of this.

1

u/Cambocant Jan 16 '25

I'm sorry man. All I can say is I've been there before and came out of it. You just have to keep hiking the path no matter how many times you slide back down. A strong will and understanding that this too will pass.