PwC is a global professional services network renowned for its excellent consulting, tax, and assurance services. It provides significant impact through industry-leading expertise and innovative solutions, helping clients navigate the evolving business landscape.
As a data analyst candidate at PWC, you are expected to handle diverse tasks including data management, business intelligence, and solving complex analytical problems.
In this guide, we will help you understand the interview process, common PWC data analyst interview questions, and preparation tips.
Can you describe a challenging data analysis project you worked on? Please detail the problem you faced, the approach you took to solve it, the tools and techniques you used, and the outcome of the project. How did this experience prepare you for a Data Analyst role at PwC?
When discussing a challenging data project, focus on a specific example that showcases your analytical skills and problem-solving abilities. Start by clearly defining the challenge, such as a large dataset with missing values or the need for real-time analysis. Explain your approach to identifying the problem, the methodologies you employed (like SQL for data extraction or Python for analysis), and how you collaborated with team members or stakeholders. Conclude with the results, such as insights gained or operational improvements, and reflect on how this project enhanced your skills relevant to the Data Analyst role at PwC.
Tell us about a time when you had to deliver a data analysis project under a tight deadline. What steps did you take to ensure timely delivery, how did you prioritize your tasks, and what was the result? How will this experience help you thrive at PwC?
In responding to a question about managing tight deadlines, emphasize your organizational skills and ability to prioritize effectively. Describe a specific instance where you had limited time, outlining the strategies you used—such as breaking the project into manageable tasks, using project management tools, or seeking help from colleagues. Highlight the successful outcome, whether it was delivering the project on time or exceeding expectations, and relate this to how you can contribute effectively to PwC's fast-paced environment.
How do you keep yourself updated with the latest data analysis and visualization tools? Share an example of a new technology you learned recently and how you applied it in a project. How would this continuous learning benefit your role as a Data Analyst at PwC?
When discussing how you stay updated with technology, highlight your proactive approach to learning. Mention specific resources you use, such as online courses or industry webinars. Share an example of a tool you recently adopted, like Tableau or Python libraries, and detail how you incorporated it into a project to enhance data visualization or analysis. Conclude by connecting this learning mindset to PwC's culture of innovation and how it will enable you to provide cutting-edge solutions for clients.
The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining PwC as a data analyst. Whether you were contacted by a PwC recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.
Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.
If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the PwC Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral interview questions may also be a part of the screening process.
In some cases, the PwC data analyst hiring manager stays present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.
The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.
Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the PwC data analyst role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around PwC’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.
In the case of data analyst roles, take-home assignments regarding product metrics, analytics, and data visualization are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency against hypothesis testing, probability distributions, and machine learning fundamentals may also be assessed during the round.
Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.
Followed by a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at the PwC office. Your technical prowess, including programming and ML modeling capabilities, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.
If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round may also await you during the onsite interview for the data analyst role at PwC.
Typically, interviews at PWC vary by role and team, but data analyst interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.
Your company is running a standard control and variant AB test to increase conversion rates on the landing page. The PM finds a .04 p-value in the results. How would you evaluate the validity of this result?
You have access to tables summarizing user event data for a community forum app. Conduct a user journey analysis using this data to recommend improvements to the user interface.
As a data scientist on Spotify’s marketing team, how would you calculate the appropriate amount Spotify should pay for an advertisement in a third-party app?
You are running a SQL query that is taking a long time. How would you determine if it’s taking too long, and what steps would you take to debug and improve its efficiency?
Note: If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.
Example:
Input:
employees
table
Column | Type |
---|---|
id |
INTEGER |
first_name |
VARCHAR |
last_name |
VARCHAR |
salary |
INTEGER |
department_id |
INTEGER |
departments
table
Column | Type |
---|---|
id |
INTEGER |
name |
VARCHAR |
Output:
Column | Type |
---|---|
salary |
INTEGER |
PG&E needs to forecast the exact amount of electricity to supply a town to avoid outages and waste. What is one way to model the required electricity supply?
PG&E needs to forecast the exact amount of electricity to supply a town each year. The goal is to avoid outages from under-supply and waste from over-supply. What is one way to model this?
To perform sentiment analysis on an Amazon customer feedback dataset, you need to convert raw text data into numerical vectors. Explain how these models work and how they are trained.
You are hired by the LA Lakers to scout potential players and group them based on their strengths and weaknesses. After training a clustering model, how would you evaluate if it successfully grouped similar players without having pre-labeled data?
Here are some quick tips to prepare for your PWC data analyst interview:
Knowledge of programming languages like Python and its libraries, such as NumPy and Pandas, is crucial. Proficiency in SQL is also highly valued, along with hands-on experience in machine learning and data analysis tools. Understanding business intelligence tools like Tableau or Power BI can also be beneficial.
PwC has a culture that emphasizes professional development, teamwork, and a values-driven approach. The firm encourages continuous learning and provides various opportunities for career progression. Employee experiences often highlight the collaborative and supportive environment within the company.
Applying for a data analyst position at PwC involves a multi-faceted, challenging, and thorough interview process designed to uncover the best talent, and we hope this interview guide is a great addition to your interview prep.
If you want more insights about the company, check out our main PwC Interview Guide, where we have covered other interview questions that could be asked as well.
Good luck with your interview!