Business Analyst Interview Tomorrow

DezUk

DezUk

DezUk

Associate
Joined
20 Sep 2003
Posts
2,378
Location
Scotland
Hi All,

I have an interview for a permanent BA role tomorrow. It came out of the blue earlier today and I have been reading up on the company. The problem for me is dealing with the competency based questions. I know I need to answer using the STAR technique but I feel I always fails and aI am never properly prepared for the questions that will be asked.

What I am looking for is some advice or suggestions as to what questions I should be expecting tomorrow.

Things like:
  • Tell me your weakness?
  • Tell me a time you had to deal with a difficult stakeholder?
  • What techniques would you use to turn business requirements into technical requirements?
I also have to do a scenario based problem solving scenario at the the end and again I get really nervous with these as you never know what to expect. I have been told to focus on Agile experience etc.

I think its a bit short notice for an interview process that will last 2 to 3hrs and its my first interview since February so I am well nervous.

I am just looking for last minute advice.

Thanks
 
I've interviewed quite a few BAs over the past year or so (perhaps 15-20 or so in person and probably at least double that on the phone) and my general advice would be:

Do:
-Answer the question being asked, a bit of background to give context to an answer is fine but it is frustrating to listen to a candidate waffle for a minute about some irrelevant details. Checkpoint yourself "have I answered the question?". I've rejected people at final stage due to this in the past, because ultimately a waffler who does not focus on the question would alienate my stakeholders
-Give examples of where you have taken initiative whether that be in work or self-improvement etc
-Give specific examples of how you (as in you personally) have approached situations rather than relying on textbook answers. This is important for a BA - be able to talk at ease about how your gathered requirements, how did you prepare for workshops, give examples of where you have found different approaches effective / ineffective (Agile/Waterfall etc)
-Illustrate your knowledge of the company / industry you are interviewing for; not so much reciting stats you've read on the company website / Wikipedia but perhaps asking a question like "how do you see <XYZ> impacting on the organisation?"

Don't:
-Give negative answers to a lot of questions e.g. persistently stating that previous employers didn't have good staff / processes etc
-Try and BS your way through a technical question if you don't know the answer, just admit it
-Over-rely on the same example / reference for too many questions, try to draw on a broader breadth of your career
 
HangTime said:
I've interviewed quite a few BAs over the past year or so (perhaps 15-20 or so in person and probably at least double that on the phone) and my general advice would be:

Do:
-Answer the question being asked, a bit of background to give context to an answer is fine but it is frustrating to listen to a candidate waffle for a minute about some irrelevant details. Checkpoint yourself "have I answered the question?". I've rejected people at final stage due to this in the past, because ultimately a waffler who does not focus on the question would alienate my stakeholders
-Give examples of where you have taken initiative whether that be in work or self-improvement etc
-Give specific examples of how you (as in you personally) have approached situations rather than relying on textbook answers. This is important for a BA - be able to talk at ease about how your gathered requirements, how did you prepare for workshops, give examples of where you have found different approaches effective / ineffective (Agile/Waterfall etc)
-Illustrate your knowledge of the company / industry you are interviewing for; not so much reciting stats you've read on the company website / Wikipedia but perhaps asking a question like "how do you see <XYZ> impacting on the organisation?"

Don't:
-Give negative answers to a lot of questions e.g. persistently stating that previous employers didn't have good staff / processes etc
-Try and BS your way through a technical question if you don't know the answer, just admit it
-Over-rely on the same example / reference for too many questions, try to draw on a broader breadth of your career
Click to expand...

Great advice mate, this invaluable for tomorrow. I have fallen into the trap of some of the things you have stated. I will let you know how I get on. Anyway should be getting to bed as my interview is at 1pm in Edinburgh tomorrow.

Thanks again
 
Still waiting to hear back from that interview last week but have another lined up for Wednesday and have been given a task to do. How would anyone here go about this?

Intro
  • Company x is a payment platform that provides payment services to businesses.
  • Company x’s customers use our platform to make and receive bank transfers, and create bank accounts, enabling them to automate and streamline their operations.
  • Company x’s client base is made up of clients in multiple sectors including financial services, employment and payroll and software, who broadly split in two categories; “Direct Clients” who are using the Company x accounts themselves for their own funds and business purposes, and “Partners” who issue Company x accounts on to their end customers (who may be consumers or businesses) and manage those accounts on behalf of their customers.
  • Most clients utilise the Company x service via an API integration, and access the Company x UI for admin and reporting purposes.

Brief: Customer Need
  • We currently offer accounts in two currencies (GBP and EUR), based on feature demand we would like to offer our customers the capability to exchange currencies between their accounts, and to make international payments in EUR
  • To make this case study interview manageable assume that Company x would partner with TransferWise API to get FX pricing, UK GBP payments would be fulfilled by Company x. EUR payments would be fulfilled by TransferWise.
  • Please note this is a case study only.

Brief: Outputs Expected
  • Prepare Epics and Stories for consumption by development
  • Your presentation should cover:
  • An overview of the product and it’s key features
  • A list of internal and external stakeholders impacted by the feature
  • Epics
  • Stories – detailed as appropriate
  • The presentation material should be no longer than 30mins.
  • The presentation will have a informal setting, i.e. sitting down with questions from the panel throughout.
  • Overall, the case interview will last approx. 45mins (with questions) and will be followed by a panel interview.
  • Please plan to spend 90mins with us followed by any informal interviews.
 
How did the assessment go?

Are you a business analyst? If so, fulfilling that brief should not have been too difficult. I am not a BA but I work with many BAs in an Agile team, and I think I could answer the above. It might not be brilliant but it would definitely be a decent starting point.
 
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