BuzzFeed Data Scientist Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 6 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed
Data Scientist
Entry Easy Positive experience No offer 1 round
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Presentation
Interview formats
Technical Presentation Behavioral
I had one video interview where I had to talk about a past project I'd done and some ideas I had for projects to work on during the summer with them. The ideas didn't necessarily have to be things I could do or would do, but were used to see my thought process. I was expected to answer technical questions about my previous project (how the models work, why I chose certain tools, etc).
Confirmed questions1 question
- Can you explain how the Tfidf vectorizer works and detail why you'd choose it for your previous project?
BuzzFeed
Data Scientist
Mid Average Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Phone screen Technical screen
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Coding
So I had a 30 min phone screen which was kinda semi-technical with a data scientist, and then a 1 hr technical video interview with another data scientist. I did email the recruiter twice to follow up but never heard back, which was a bit annoying. Would have been nice to get a response.
Confirmed questions8 questions
- Regarding soft skills, can you tell me about projects you'd like to work on?
- What do you look for in a team?
- What made you interested in BuzzFeed?
BuzzFeed
Data Scientist
Entry Average Negative experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Take home Onsite
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical
I had a phone screening, then an on-site, and also a take-home coding challenge. Got rejected early on. Didn't get any feedback, just told they moved on with someone else. The initial questions weren't too technical, mostly about my past experience and what I wanted to do here.
Confirmed questions5 questions
- Could you tell me about the various models you've employed in your past roles?
- If you were to join us, what specific position or type of role would you be interested in pursuing?
- Tell me about your background.
BuzzFeed Data Scientist Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from BuzzFeed interview reports.
“Write a Python function to calculate Jaccard similarity for article pairs.”
Read reports →“How would you implement the Jaccard similarity score in code?”
Read reports →“Which metric would you use to decide if a 'share' button should be at the top or bottom of a page?”
Read reports →“What about hypothesis testing?”
Read reports →“Design an experiment to address how to maintain high engagement for a feature like Buzzfeed's news flash.”
Read report →“Can you explain how the Tfidf vectorizer works and detail why you'd choose it for your previous project?”
Read report →“Could you write some SQL queries for me?”
Read report →“Can you explain A/B testing?”
Read report →“Using Codepad, can you demonstrate your coding ability?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 6 BuzzFeed interview reports.