Researched interview questions, process detail, and difficulty signals for Yelp, compiled by the Primly research team.
6 experiencesDifficulty 2.8/5Technology / Local Search
Data Scientist
virtual
· Difficulty 4/5
Candidates report an initial recruiter screen that clarifies the specific Data Science track (for example, experimentation, ads, growth, or search and recommendations) and checks communication ability for cross-functional work. A technical screen often follows, commonly emphasizing SQL and analytical reasoning, sometimes paired with statistics or experiment design questions relevant to product decisions on a marketplace-like platform. Later rounds typically include one or more interviews with data scientists and an applied partner (such as Product or Engineering) to evaluate experiment design, metric selection, causal thinking, and stakeholder management. Some processes include a take-home style case or a structured analytics exercise discussed live, focused on interpreting results and making a business recommendation with tradeoffs. Candidates often describe the overall timeline as roughly two to four weeks depending on interviewer availability, with a final decision after a hiring manager debrief.
Design an A/B test to evaluate a change to Yelp’s search ranking or recommendation feed. What primary metric would you choose, what guardrails would you add, and why?
Write a SQL query to measure week-over-week retention for users who wrote their first review, and segment by acquisition channel.
An experiment increases ad clicks but decreases downstream conversions for local businesses. How would you diagnose what happened and what would you recommend shipping?
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a product partner about the right success metric. How did you align and what was the outcome?
How do you balance consumer experience, business owner outcomes, and revenue when recommending a model or ranking change?
Sales Development Representative (SDR)
virtual
· Difficulty 2/5
Candidates report a fast-moving funnel that starts with a recruiter phone screen focused on interest in Yelp’s local advertising model, schedule expectations, and communication skills. The next step is typically a video interview with an SDR manager, often including a short pitch or discovery role-play centered on a local business scenario and objections about online advertising ROI. Some processes add a brief call shadow, mock call, or structured role-play rubric to evaluate talk track, objection handling, and coachability. A final round commonly includes one or two additional interviews with a senior manager or adjacent partner (for example, an Account Executive manager) to assess consistency, pace, and readiness for high-volume outreach. End-to-end timelines are often described as about one to two weeks, with decisions made quickly when headcount is active.
Walk through how you would open a cold call to a local business owner who has never advertised on Yelp, and what you would ask in the first two minutes.
A restaurant owner says, 'Online ads don’t work for me and Yelp reviews are unpredictable.' How do you respond and what do you do next?
What metrics would you track for yourself weekly as an SDR, and how would you adjust if you were behind pace?
Tell me about a time you received critical feedback on your communication style. What changed afterward?
Yelp’s revenue is tied to helping local businesses attract customers. What about that mission motivates you, and what would be a red flag for you in selling ads to SMBs?
Trust & Safety Specialist
virtual
· Difficulty 3/5
Recruiter screen, hiring manager video, case study on a fake-review pattern, behavioral, and final with manager. T&S at Yelp battles review manipulation at scale.
Walk me through investigating a coordinated fake-review campaign.
Tell me about handling a high-profile business appeal.
Describe building a detection rule for a new abuse pattern.
How do you balance review-integrity with free-speech complaints?