Unacademy Data Analyst Interview: Rounds, Questions and Preparation

What the job involves

Data Analysts at Indian unicorns and high-growth startups like Unacademy work on product, growth, and business problems by querying large datasets, building dashboards, and running experiments to inform decisions. The role is fast-paced, requiring close collaboration with product managers, engineers, and marketers to track metrics such as user engagement, retention, and revenue. Day to day involves writing SQL, automating reports, and presenting actionable insights to stakeholders.

Role and Technical Knowledge

1. 1

   How would you write a SQL query to find the top 10 users by number of course enrollments on a platform like Unacademy?

   Strong answer uses GROUP BY on user_id, COUNT of enrollments, ORDER BY DESC, and LIMIT 10. Mention handling duplicates and filtering by date if needed.

2. 2

   What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING in SQL? Give an example relevant to analyzing course completion rates.

   Explain that WHERE filters rows before aggregation, HAVING filters after. Example: WHERE enrollment_date > '2023-01-01' and HAVING AVG(completion_rate) > 0.5.

3. 3

   Explain what a cohort analysis is and how you would use it to measure retention for a learning app.

   Define cohorts by signup month, track weekly active users over time, and compute retention curves. Mention using SQL to group by cohort and period.

4. 4

   How would you design an A/B test to measure the impact of a new recommendation algorithm on course watch time?

   Cover random assignment, control vs treatment, primary metric (watch time per user), sample size calculation, and checking for statistical significance.

Practical Scenarios

1. 5

   Daily active users (DAU) on a learning platform dropped by 10% week-over-week. How would you investigate?

   Break down by platform, geography, user segment, and acquisition channel. Check for data pipeline issues, seasonality, or recent product changes. Suggest hypotheses and how to validate.

2. 6

   You need to build a dashboard for the marketing team to track campaign performance. What metrics would you include and how would you structure it?

   Include CAC, conversion rate, ROAS, and cohort retention by campaign. Structure with filters for date range and channel. Mention using a tool like Tableau or Metabase.

3. 7

   A product manager asks you to estimate the revenue impact of increasing the price of a subscription plan by 10%. How would you approach this?

   Consider price elasticity, current conversion rates, churn impact, and segment differences. Suggest running a small pilot or using historical data to model scenarios.

4. 8

   You find that a key metric like 'average time spent per user' has suddenly increased by 50% in one day. What could be the reasons and how would you verify?

   Check for bot traffic, logging errors, or a change in event tracking. Verify by segmenting by user type, device, and comparing with other engagement metrics.

Behavioural and HR

1. 9

   Tell me about a time you used data to solve a problem in a college project or internship. What was the outcome?

   Use STAR format. Highlight the data you analyzed, the method, and the impact. Emphasize learning and collaboration.

2. 10

   Why do you want to work as a Data Analyst at a high-growth startup like Unacademy instead of a larger, more established company?

   Show enthusiasm for fast-paced environments, ownership, and direct impact. Mention eagerness to learn across functions and comfort with ambiguity.

3. 11

   Describe a situation where you had to explain a complex data insight to a non-technical audience. How did you ensure they understood?

   Focus on simplifying jargon, using visuals, and tying insights to business outcomes. Show empathy and adaptability in communication.

4. 12

   How do you prioritize multiple ad-hoc data requests from different stakeholders?

   Discuss assessing urgency and impact, communicating timelines, and possibly automating recurring requests. Show ability to manage expectations.

Product and Business Sense

1. 13

   If you were to define the North Star metric for a learning platform like Unacademy, what would it be and why?

   Choose a metric that captures user value and business growth, such as 'weekly active learners completing at least one lesson'. Justify with reasoning about engagement and retention.

2. 14

   How would you measure the success of a new feature that allows students to take notes within a video lesson?

   Define success metrics like adoption rate, note-taking frequency, and impact on watch time or retention. Suggest A/B testing and tracking over time.

3. 15

   What are the key differences between analyzing data for a B2C education startup versus a traditional e-commerce company?

   Highlight differences in user lifecycle, engagement metrics (e.g., learning outcomes vs purchase frequency), seasonality, and the importance of content quality.

4. 16

   Suppose you notice that users who watch at least 3 videos in their first week are much more likely to stay subscribed. How would you use this insight?

   Suggest triggering onboarding nudges or recommendations to drive early engagement. Propose experiments to test causality and measure impact on retention.