How to Prepare for a Football Data Analysis Interview

In today’s issue of Football Progression Path I’m going to teach you how to prepare for an interview as a data analyst.

Preparing for a football analysis job interview can be daunting, especially for those new to the world of football or applying for their first analysis role.

If you are unsure of what to expect, it can be unsettling. Additionally, if you are not aware of the technical and soft skills you should display during the interview, it can be a challenge.

Most people go wrong with their interviews by not effectively demonstrating the skills the club wants, or by bombarding the interview panel with too much information.

The interview is your time to show you have the technical and soft skills needed for the role and the club.

The typical interview process looks like this:

• Initial stage chat
• Interview task
• Second stage presentation
• Outcome
• Feedback

Understanding the Interview Process

Typically, the interview process for analysis roles at football clubs consists of multiple stages:

• Initial Stage: This often involves a quick chat or informal setting where candidates are screened. Questions are asked about your experience, current role, skills, and general background. This stage assesses your personality, skill set, and communication abilities to determine if you are a good fit for both the role and the club.
• Task Presentation: In some clubs, the first stage may include a task that you must present. However, it generally remains informal and focuses on a conversation about your skills and suitability for the role. Normally the tasks would be for the second stage of the process.

Key Skills to Highlight

During the interview, it is essential to convey your personal skills, ability to communicate effectively, and provide examples of the skills that the club is specifically seeking. In the context of analysis, this means discussing:

• Technical Skills: Coding, using Tableau, and creating data visualisations. Showcase examples of your work.
• Soft Skills: Highlight who you have worked with directly in the past or in your current / past roles, and how those experiences may align with the needs of the club you are applying to.

The Second Stage: Technical Task

If you are successful in the first part, the second stage typically involves a more technical task that you must present to the interview panel.

This task usually consists of either being given a dataset or being tasked with scraping your own data to create a report, dossier, or presentation around a specific question.

Examples of Technical Tasks:

1. Recruitment Analysis: You might receive a large dataset of players and be asked to present a shortlist of striker options for the club for the upcoming window.
2. Performance Analysis: You might be asked to present how the team plays or how they have performed this season in relation to their game model. This could involve being given a dataset and being asked to highlight key trends and performance levels of the team this season.

Presentation Tips

With any task, a significant portion of the interview will be dedicated to your presentation.

This is where you must effectively demonstrate your technical skills and understanding of analysis, and how that aligns with the team's game model and the specifics of the question and task set for you.

• Profile the Player: If you are applying for a recruitment analysis position, it is essential to effectively profile the type of player the club is looking for through the dataset, while also presenting that information using football terminology and showcasing your understanding of how the data translates into a football context.
• Adapt Your Presentation: Remember, you are likely presenting to individuals with a football background, so it is crucial to adapt your presentation to be easily consumable and suitable for the interview panel.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overloading Information: Avoid trying to present too much information on slides. It is not about bombarding the interview panel with information or thinking they need to know everything. Instead, provide the necessary information in a way that helps them make decisions.
• Technical Jargon: Do not be overly technical. Your presentation should be aimed at the knowledge base of the lowest common denominator in the room. Ensure that everyone can fully understand what you are trying to convey, even if you are coming from a technical perspective.
• Staying on Track: People often go off track when answering the specific task at hand. Remember that the tasks within the interview process are designed to draw out certain skills and attributes you possess. Focus on showcasing the skills needed for the role.

Preparing for the Interview

The unique challenges that candidates face when preparing for interviews in the football industry often include a quick turnaround to create a task or presentation for the interview.

Generally, the turnaround time is less than a week, and in many cases, it is around five days. Candidates need to be prepared to turn around work quickly, which can be very challenging, especially when they are also working another job in the industry or are employed full-time.

This situation may require candidates to work evenings or weekends to create these tasks in their own time.

To Conclude

Ultimately, the interview process for football clubs is about showcasing both your technical skills and your ability to communicate effectively.

You need to highlight these aspects during your interview and provide specific examples. Always read the job description carefully to understand what the club is specifically seeking. This will inform you of the technical and soft skills you need to highlight for the role you are applying for.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively prepare for your football analysis job interview and increase your chances of success.

Whenever you’re ready there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. The Online Portfolio Blueprint - My flagship course for helping new, current and aspiring football professionals. We give you the blueprint on how grow your knowledge, network and opportunities in football by writing online through an online portfolio.
2. Pro Scout Edge - Our scouting tool has be created by professionals and tested by experts in football. It’s the ultimate online scouting database you need for your scouting journey. It forms an all-in-one system for player and team scouting, with templates, dashboards and more.
3. Football Connective Community - Bringing together like-minded new, aspiring and current analysts & scouts to share knowledge and learn together to improve and progress our football careers. This is done through the four pillars of analysis, scouting, online portfolio and employment.