How gamedev teams and junior analysts find each other

Over the past year, the number of candidates applying for junior analyst roles has been higher than ever. Many of these candidates boast impressive skills — knowing Python, writing SQL queries, explaining R1, and calculating ARPDAU.

Having conducted hundreds of interviews, sometimes as many as one per day for weeks, I’ve learned that specialized education or analytics experience doesn’t always translate to suitability for gamedev. In fact, some of the strongest analysts I’ve worked with came in as juniors with no technical skills at all.  

For me, the most important trait in a candidate has always been their ability to think logically and with a product-oriented mindset. To help junior analysts navigate this process, I’ve outlined a few key points employers use to identify the real “diamonds” among the sea of technical graduates.