Yammer Data Scientist Interview Questions
& Process

Started with a 30 min HR screening phone interview. Then had two 30min technical phone interviews with data scientists, each had a probability/stats brain teaser and an open-ended business case. The on-site was 6 interviews total: 1 HR and 5 technical with data scientists. Each technical interview included a probability/stats brain teaser and an open-ended business case, similar to the phone interviews. The process was longer than usual due to visa stuff, normally faster than 3 months.

I met some Data Scientists from Yammer at an event they hosted, and after chatting, I asked about internships and was pointed to an HR person. We exchanged emails, and I got set up for a phone screen. It was kinda technical, with a couple of probability questions, including one on Bayes Rule. They said they'd let me know about a second screen, but I didn't hear back for like 3-4 weeks. Both interviewers were late, one by 10-15 minutes, cutting into our time. Then I was told I'd get an on-site interview. The scheduling was slow, but the on-site itself went okay, despite a couple of hiccups. The room wasn't ready on time, so I waited a bit. While waiting, another employee jokingly told me not to mess up. My first on-site interview was with a product manager who asked about my interests and relevant work. My second interviewer seemed to be pulled in last minute and hadn't seen my resume, so I spent a good chunk of time explaining my background and giving my 'pitch'. She asked a counting/discrete probability question and about how I'd tackle a past problem she faced. The next interviewer, an alum from Berkeley, asked more probability questions and a Causal Inference question about a problem he had. He then passed me off to the director of Analytics for about 10 minutes before the director had to leave. Overall, the whole process felt disorganized and not very committed. It took from mid-January to mid-March.

I found the interview experience with Yammer to be quite disappointing. After applying online, I was contacted via email. The phone interview, scheduled for 4:00 pm PST, actually happened at 2:15 PST. The interviewer seemed to think he was only 15 minutes late, but he called almost two hours early! It was unprofessional that Yammer couldn't handle time zone differences correctly, especially since they asked for my availability in Pacific time. Although I thought the interview itself went okay, I never heard back, not even a rejection. Yammer's lack of communication and the early call were really unprofessional. You'd think a company like Yammer would at least send a standard rejection email.