Top 50 Data Analyst Fresher Interview Q&A
Q: Tell me about yourself.
A: I'm a recent Data Analytics trainee with an internship at Rubixe.com where I worked on real-world data
projects. I transitioned from a Sales Executive role and developed strong skills in SQL, Excel, Power BI, and
Python. I'm passionate about using data to support business decisions.
Q: Why do you want to become a Data Analyst?
A: I enjoy working with numbers and uncovering patterns in data. Data Analytics allows me to use both logic
and creativity to solve business problems and help companies make informed decisions.
Q: Why should we hire you?
A: I bring a unique blend of business understanding from my sales background and technical knowledge from
my analytics training and internship. I'm a quick learner and very eager to contribute.
Q: What do you know about our company?
A: You are known for innovative solutions in [industry/domain]. I admire your focus on data-driven strategies
and your investment in analytics.
Q: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A: Strength: Analytical thinking and attention to detail. Weakness: I tend to over-analyze, but I'm working on
being more efficient with decision-making.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: I see myself as a Senior Data Analyst, contributing to strategic decisions, mentoring juniors, and helping
the organization grow.
Q: Why did you switch from sales to data analytics?
A: I realized I was most interested in the data and performance analysis aspects of my sales role, which led
me to explore data analytics.
Q: What did you do during your career gap?
A: I took a planned break for maternity. During this time, I pursued certifications and completed a 6-month
internship to stay industry-relevant.
Q: Describe a time when you solved a problem using data.
A: During my internship, I analyzed customer churn data and identified key indicators, helping the client
improve retention strategies.
Q: How do you stay updated with the latest data trends?
A: I follow blogs like Towards Data Science, watch webinars, and take online courses on platforms like
Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
Top 50 Data Analyst Fresher Interview Q&A
Q: What are VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP?
A: VLOOKUP is used to look up a value vertically in a table; HLOOKUP searches horizontally.
Q: How would you remove duplicates in Excel?
A: By using the 'Remove Duplicates' feature under the Data tab.
Q: What is the difference between absolute and relative cell references?
A: Absolute reference ($A$1) stays fixed when copied, while relative (A1) changes based on position.
Q: What is a Pivot Table? Have you used one?
A: Yes, a Pivot Table summarizes large data sets and helps identify patterns or trends.
Q: How can you visualize data using Excel?
A: Using charts like bar, line, pie, and scatter plots via the 'Insert' tab.
Q: What functions would you use to clean messy data?
A: Functions like TRIM, CLEAN, SUBSTITUTE, and TEXT functions are commonly used.
Q: What is SQL? What is it used for?
A: SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It is used to manage and query data in a relational database.
Q: How do you retrieve data from a table?
A: Using the SELECT statement, e.g., SELECT * FROM table_name;
Q: Difference between WHERE and HAVING?
A: WHERE filters rows before grouping; HAVING filters groups after aggregation.
Q: What is a JOIN? Name different types.
A: JOIN combines rows from two or more tables. Types: INNER, LEFT, RIGHT, FULL OUTER.
Q: Write a query to find duplicate rows.
A: SELECT column_name, COUNT(*) FROM table GROUP BY column_name HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
Q: How would you get the second-highest salary from a table?
A: Using: SELECT MAX(salary) FROM table WHERE salary < (SELECT MAX(salary) FROM table);
Q: What is the difference between INNER JOIN and LEFT JOIN?
A: INNER JOIN returns matching rows from both tables. LEFT JOIN returns all rows from the left table and
matched rows from the right.
Q: What does the GROUP BY clause do?
A: It groups rows with the same values into summary rows.
Top 50 Data Analyst Fresher Interview Q&A
Q: How do you find NULL values in a table?
A: Using IS NULL condition in a WHERE clause.
Q: What is a list vs. a tuple?
A: List is mutable and defined with []. Tuple is immutable and defined with ().
Q: What is Pandas and how have you used it?
A: Pandas is a Python library for data manipulation. I've used it for cleaning, merging, and analyzing data.
Q: How do you handle missing data in Python?
A: Using dropna() to remove or fillna() to replace missing values.
Q: Difference between loc[] and iloc[]?
A: loc[] accesses by label, iloc[] by index.
Q: What is a DataFrame?
A: It is a 2-dimensional labeled data structure, like a table in Pandas.
Q: How do you merge two datasets in Pandas?
A: Using pd.merge() or pd.concat() depending on the requirement.
Q: How do you visualize data using Python?
A: With libraries like Matplotlib, Seaborn, and Plotly.
Q: What libraries have you used for data analysis?
A: Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, Seaborn.
Q: Write a code to find correlation between two variables.
A: df['col1'].corr(df['col2'])
Q: How do you read an Excel or CSV file in Python?
A: Using pd.read_csv('file.csv') or pd.read_excel('file.xlsx')
Q: What is the difference between mean, median, and mode?
A: Mean is average, median is middle value, mode is most frequent value.
Q: What is standard deviation?
A: It measures how spread out the numbers are from the mean.
Q: What is correlation and how is it different from causation?
A: Correlation shows relationship between variables. Causation indicates one causes the other.
Q: Explain a time when you drew insights from data.
Top 50 Data Analyst Fresher Interview Q&A
A: In my internship, I segmented customers by spending behavior and helped tailor marketing strategies.
Q: What is a p-value?
A: P-value measures the strength of evidence against the null hypothesis.
Q: What is the difference between variance and standard deviation?
A: Variance is the average squared deviation; standard deviation is its square root.
Q: What is Power BI used for?
A: For creating interactive dashboards and reports from various data sources.
Q: What is a dashboard?
A: A dashboard is a visual display of key metrics and trends for decision-making.
Q: What kind of charts do you use to represent trends?
A: Line charts, bar charts, and area charts are common for trends.
Q: What is a slicer in Power BI?
A: A slicer is a visual filter that allows users to segment data in reports.
Q: How would you explain your dashboard to a non-technical audience?
A: I focus on what the visual shows, trends or outliers, and the business impact instead of the tech details.
Q: What steps do you take to clean data?
A: Remove duplicates, handle missing values, correct data types, and normalize inconsistent formatting.
Q: How would you analyze sales decline in a product line?
A: Compare time series data, segment by region/product, and look at marketing or external factors.
Q: If you had messy and incomplete data, what would you do?
A: Assess quality, clean the data using tools/libraries, and document assumptions.
Q: How do you prioritize tasks when analyzing multiple datasets?
A: By business impact, deadlines, and data availability. I break down the work into stages.
