I've just finished walking with an M.S. student. Spotify had two rounds of interviews with Data Scientist, and the whole experience was really good - not only were the questions well-designed, but the interviewer's communication was also very smooth, and it belonged to that kind of "tech-friendly" company interview.
Round 1: Technical Interview
The interviewer was a very nice Chinese guy, used a new question bank, and the whole interview was in Live Coding mode (no code running).
The questions are three SQL, one of which also involves logical thinking about nested loop join, focusing on your understanding of the order in which the SQL is executed, and logical deduction, rather than rote memorization of the syntax.
During the interview, the guy will look at your writing and ask questions at the same time:
- Why this join?
- What happens if the data is duplicated?
- Is there a more efficient way to write this?
You can see that they are more concerned with the clarity of their ideas and their ability to explain each step in a coherent way.
After the code is finally written, he will take you "through the code" with him and is very kind to help check the logic.
Before the end of the session, I was asked a couple of questions about basic Machine Learning concepts, such as common algorithmic differences and when to use regression vs. classification. the overall pace was very smooth and not overwhelming.
Round 2: Behavioral Interview
This round was with a NYU student, and the style was very Spotify -- gentle but insightful.
The process is:
- She starts by briefly introducing her team and the responsibilities of the role;
- The candidate will then be asked to introduce himself;
- Then dig deeper into the project based on resume.
A few high-frequency questions are listed below:
- Data projects in your internship: What exactly did you do? What tools did you use? Where are the results?
- Is there a project you've done independently?
- Describe a stressful experience in group work, how did you handle it?
- Ever worked on a project that you were particularly passionate about?
- Why did you want to come to Spotify and what were you prepared to do for this position?
- What are some of the programming languages you are most familiar with and how far can SQL go?
The key to this round is: answers should be structured, specific, and have a sense of storytelling.Spotify interviewers really like to hear the rhythm of "what you did → how you did → what you learned" and don't like empty buzzwords.
Programhelp Summary
The overall experience was very positive, the technical questions were new, but the logic questions were still centered on SQL + ML fundamentals + communication logic, and the behavioral section was very much based on the candidate's learning mindset and collaboration stories.
If you're also preparing for a data-driven + culture fit strong position like Spotify, TikTok, Meta, it's recommended to practice ahead of time:
- The ability to logically interpret SQL (not just write it correctly, but also speak it);
- A "deep dive answer" for resume items;
- and on-site oral fluency (especially the natural rhythm of English expression).
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