got a take-home assignment as part of the Reddit data analyst process and i'm kind of spiraling. it's apparently 3-4 hours of SQL + analysis + a short write-up on findings. i'm fine with the SQL part but i'm not sure what "quality of insights" means to them vs. just answering the question.
is Reddit looking for someone who goes deep on one thread or do they want breadth? do they care about presentation / the write-up format? any recent data people who went through this loop, please send help.
not reddit specifically but take-homes at ad-supported companies almost always have a "here's our metric, is it healthy" angle. look for cohort effects, not just aggregate numbers. if the prompt gives you time-series data, segment it before you describe it.
reddit's data team uses a mix of Redshift and their internal tools. the take-home SQL is reportedly pretty standard, nothing weird. the write-up part: concise > comprehensive. 3 sharp observations with evidence beats a 10-slide deck.
ok that's actually calming, thank you. i was planning 8 slides which is probably too many
make sure you address "so what" for every finding. don't just describe the data, say what you'd do about it. that's usually the difference between an analyst who passed and one who didn't.