First Derivatives Data Scientist Interview Questions
& Process

After submitting an online application with basic info and CV, I had a phone interview where they asked about my CV, the company, recent news, CMTP, and the Kx system. Then there was an interview day which included a logic test, two interviews, and a group exercise. The group exercise was about prioritizing items for survival on the moon, which wasn't my strong suit as I prefer tasks where I can structure a plan and work with facts.

This was probably the worst recruiting experience I have had. It started off fine: I was contacted for a phone screening by HR within a week of applying (I applied beginning of March). The phone screening was arranged for late March, and that went by fine, though it felt super rushed and lasted 5-10 minutes, mostly asking about my background and what I knew about their training program. In early April, I received an email asking for a Skype interview, scheduled for the following week. There were technical difficulties so right before the scheduled time, we switched to phone interview again. Really basic, similar questions, maybe 20 minutes. Nothing stands out to me. More about their program and what I'm applying for. I was told at the end of it that I should expect to hear back about moving on within the next few days, maybe a week. Nothing, so I assumed it was a no. In early May (A MONTH LATER), I receive email saying she is following up on the skype invite sent shortly after our call. But I checked my Spam, Junk, Trash folders, and I had received no such thing. So after a couple back and forths about this confusion, I let her know my availability for the week she indicated. Nothing. Very irritating. Finally, in early June, I received another email saying my response got lost and can we schedule a Skype call for the next day? I was really frustrated but why not...one more chance, more interview practice anyway, maybe I'll get to talk and learn more about the position and talk about my qualifications instead of about their training program again. Details were exchanged, everything was fine... except not really. No call came. I usually allow 10-15 min in case something happened or a meeting ran long, but after that, it's probably some organization/communication problem (or daresay, someone forgot?), so I emailed the recruiter 20 minutes in. She said someone else was supposed to call me, and she will go chase that person down and find out what is up, and she will get back to me asap. Well that never happened. Not that I was going to continue even if she did get back to me. Honestly, the whole process was such a mess and unprofessional, I didn't really want to work there anymore.

After applying online I was put through and they scheduled an interview for me. This was to be put through to the training process based in Newry. A HR employee interviewed me and, while she was perfectly nice and professional, did not seem to have an understanding of the job I was applying for or indeed any of the technicalities surrounding computing/programming. There seems to be a checklist that you are marked against and if you just say what is on this list you are put through. Your knowledge of the actual company seems to be more valued at the phone interview stage of the interview, which I was not adequately prepared for. I was focused too much on trying to tailor my skills towards the job requirements which was not necessary at this point. It was weird to be asked to specifically tell her about all the awards her company has won. There were a few skin deep questions of my CV and then a few questions about the languages I have worked in.