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Posting Again: Did I mess this up or do I still have a shot? (Data Analyst Interview Experience)
Interview Experience
Hey everyone, I had an interview for a Data Analyst role with senior capabilities, with a UK-based company that’s going to be working on NHS projects soon. It was scheduled for 90 minutes but lasted about 75. There were two interviewers: John, who was very business-focused and asked most of the questions, and Emily, who was more technical and pretty reserved. John started with questions about business metrics. He asked me why CAC (customer acquisition cost) went from 43 to 143. I explained that marketing spend had gone up significantly, but conversions didn’t scale, and revenue stayed flat. That means we were spending more without seeing proportional returns. I then added that I’d use A/B testing to see if reducing or optimizing spend could bring CAC down and improve ROI. He also asked me how I would explain to a non-technical stakeholder that their business isn’t performing well. I said I wouldn’t use technical jargon or percentages like “down 20%.” Instead, I’d frame it in terms of impact, for example, “We lost £500K last week and here’s how we can fix it,” so it feels real and actionable. Emily asked how I would handle NHS data compliance when building dashboards. I said I’d avoid using personal data, stick to customer IDs since they’re unique and linked to all other details, and generalize locations (like referencing Manchester instead of a specific street). I also mentioned that most compliance rules come in handouts, so I’d follow those strictly. When they asked about dashboards, I said my philosophy is that dashboards should tell a story. I explained how I make them easy to use by adding tooltips, slicers, and navigation guides in PDF format. I even walk stakeholders through dashboards so they feel confident using them. On the technical side, they asked about my tools. I said I primarily use Power BI because stakeholders find it more user-friendly, but I’ve also used Tableau when a project needed advanced visuals. I told them I’ve worked with Power BI Desktop extensively and have used Dataflows before. For data pipelines, I use Python (with pandas) and Snowflake, and I mentioned I’ve automated cleaning tasks using SQL and Python, including removing unwanted characters and validating columns. My gut feeling was mixed. John seemed engaged and happy with my answers, while Emily stayed neutral and looked at her screen a lot. At the end, they said, “We’ll pass your details to Talent Acquisition for next steps.” If I had to rate myself: technical knowledge was around 7.5/10 (I’m solid on Snowflake, Python, and Power BI design, but I’m weaker on Power BI Service workflows), business understanding was 9/10 (I nailed CAC, A/B testing, and strategy), and communication maybe 6.5–7/10 because I sometimes rambled instead of staying super concise. It’s been 24 hours without an update, and I’m starting to overthink. Does this sound like a good sign or a likely rejection? Do you think gaps like mine are dealbreakers? And if you have any tips for improving communication in future interviews, I’d really appreciate them. Thanks for reading!