What they’re really asking : What are your strengths and weaknesses?

When an interviewer asks you this type of question, they’re often looking to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a data analyst. How do you overcome challenges and measure the success of a data project?

Being asked about a project you’re proud of is a chance to highlight your skills and strengths. Do this by discussing your role in the project and what made it so successful. As you prepare your answer, look at the original job description to see if you can incorporate some of the skills and requirements listed.

If you get asked the negative version of a question (least successful or most challenging project), be honest as you focus your answer on lessons learned. Identify what went wrong—maybe your data was incomplete, or the sample size was too small—and talk about what you’d do differently in the future to correct the error. We’re human, and mistakes are a part of life. What’s important here is your ability to learn from them.

An interviewer might also ask :

* Walk me through your portfolio.

* What is your greatest strength as a data analyst? How about your greatest weakness?

* Tell me about a data problem that challenged you.