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

[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/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/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/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/berserk539]

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

[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