Print this. Run through it before any interview cycle.
1 week before
- Pre-write 5 STAR stories: disagreed-with-stakeholder, made-a-mistake, learned-fast, pushed-back, delivered-with-constraints.
- Memorize the 10 SQL patterns. Solve 1 question of each on StrataScratch or LeetCode.
- Practice 3 case-study questions out loud, timing yourself (~10 min each).
- Get market salary data for the role in your city.
- Confirm your portfolio link (
/u/<your-username>on Topfolio) is up to date.
Day before
- Re-read the company's most recent press / blog / earnings.
- Re-read your own resume — interviewers will quote from it.
- Sleep 8 hours.
- Lay out a clean shirt + working camera setup if remote.
30 minutes before
- Re-read your 5 STAR stories. Don't rehearse out loud — just refresh.
- Open the SQL pattern list on a side monitor (for technical rounds where you'll write queries).
- Open a blank doc to take notes during the interview.
During the interview
- For technical: name the pattern BEFORE you write SQL.
- For case study: use the 4-step framework (clarify → frame → walk through → recommend).
- For behavioral: STAR, but don't say the letters out loud.
- Take notes. Reference them at the end.
- Ask 2–3 thoughtful questions at the end. Recommended: "what does success look like in this role at 6 months?", "what does the data team's stack look like?", "what's the biggest open question your data team is wrestling with?"
After the interview
- Send a 3-sentence thank-you email within 12 hours. Reference one specific thing discussed.
- Note what you'd do differently next time. Specific.
- Update your story bank if you used a new STAR in this interview.
When the offer comes
- Don't accept the same day.
- Don't reveal current salary.
- One specific ask, anchored on market data.
- Be willing to wait 24h.
You're ready.
The work you've done in this track — courses, practice tests, the capstone, the public portfolio — IS the differentiator. Walk in confident. You're not selling that you can learn data analytics. You're showing that you already have.
Good luck.