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How to Get Domain Knowledge as a Data Analyst — Transcript

by Christine Jiang · 2,462 words · 371 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Most interviewees are trying to prove
0:01that they know how to analyze the data
0:03using the technical tools, but the
0:04analysts who actually get offers today
0:06are those who show that they can analyze
0:08the business. Now, the best way to do
0:09that, especially if you already have a
0:11few years of working experience, is to
0:13be able to speak fluently about the
0:14company business model and the metrics
0:16that they actually care about. So, if
0:18you've ever wondered, what do I actually
0:19need to know about a company or an
0:21industry before I interview? How do I
0:22transition into a new industry? And how
0:25do I show I have domain knowledge
0:26against those other more experienced
0:28[music] candidates? Then this video is
0:29for you. If you're new here, I'm
0:31Christine. I'm a former data director
0:32and a hiring manager who's worked at
0:34companies like Deloitte, Justworks, and
0:36Vimeo, and now I run a mentorship
0:37program and I've helped countless
0:38analysts and working professionals build
0:40the business judgment, analytical
0:42thinking, and communication skills to
0:44stand out in the data job market and
0:45succeed once you're actually there.
0:50So, whether you realize it or not, your
0:52company knowledge is going to be showing
0:53up all throughout the interview process.
0:55It's going to show up in the what do you
0:57know about us questions, take homes, and
0:59live case studies, and the questions
1:00that you also ask. Most importantly, it
1:02shapes the questions that you should
1:04prepare for because knowing the business
1:05model tells you what the interviewer
1:07actually cares about, and it also shapes
1:09which examples you should share. So, for
1:11example, if you're interviewing for a
1:12SaaS company, then you know that anytime
1:14you've worked with recurring revenue or
1:16a subscription retention, then becomes a
1:17relevant story that you should share. In
1:19order to be able to speak fluently and
1:20comfortably about the company, there are
1:22two angles that we need to study: the
1:24business model and the industry and
1:25company metrics. We're going to use one
1:27running example for this entire video.
1:30Say we are interviewing for a product
1:32data analyst at Vimeo, which is a
1:33company that I used to work at. It's a
1:35B2B and B2C video hosting and editing
1:37platform. So, let's research this the
1:40way that we research your own target
1:41company.
1:44Now, the business model captures how the
1:46company actually makes money, and this
1:48is essential to understanding who the
1:50company works with and in what capacity.
1:52So, there are five main questions you
1:53need to be able to answer to speak about
1:55the business model. The first is who are
1:57the customers,
1:57>> [music]
1:57>> the second is what do they sell, the
1:59third is what are the actual price
2:01ranges, the fourth is how do they make
2:03money, and the fifth is who are their
2:05competitors and how do they actually
2:06differentiate themselves. By the way, if
2:08you want the guide I'm going to be
2:09walking through, you can download it in
2:10the description down below. We actually
2:11have a cloud prompt here just to get
2:12some initial research about the company,
2:14and by the end of it you want to be able
2:16to speak cleanly and conversationally
2:18about what the company does. So, for
2:20example, for a company like Vimeo, I
2:22would say something like Vimeo is a
2:24subscription software business that's
2:26built around video, and creators and
2:28businesses basically pay a recurring fee
2:30to edit, host, and share their videos.
2:32And their services range anywhere from a
2:34$12 a month solo plan all the way up to
2:36six-figure enterprise plans. They make
2:39money on subscriptions, not ads, and
2:41their fastest growing piece is actually
2:42Vimeo Enterprise, where they're starting
2:44to have AI features like auto
2:46translation. And some of those features
2:47are what's really bringing in those new
2:48customers. They're different from other
2:50video sharing platforms like YouTube or
2:52TikTok cuz they're really focused on
2:53filmmakers and creative professionals
2:55with ad-free video sharing. This then
2:57tells me that I'm likely going to need
2:58to prepare for questions like what's
3:00your experience working with
3:01subscription data? As a product analyst,
3:03what metrics do you think are important
3:04to track to understand the performance
3:06of the product? And it tells me that
3:08anytime I've worked with subscriptions,
3:10content metrics, B2B, or B2C data, then
3:12those be really relevant stories to
3:14share.
3:17Now, the second angle that we need to
3:18look at is the industry and company
3:20metrics. Knowing the metrics that the
3:21company tracks will help you sound like
3:23an experienced analyst in that field.
3:25This is basically your way to shortcut
3:27to domain knowledge about an industry,
3:29and especially when people get passed up
3:30for more experienced candidates, it
3:32usually comes down to them not
3:33understanding the business metrics. Now,
3:35these metrics usually come in two
3:36different flavors. There's the product
3:38and industry metrics, which describe how
3:40the product or service actually gets
3:42used, and then there's the business and
3:44financial metrics that track how the
3:45company is actually performing. There's
3:47often an overlap between these two
3:49different categories, so don't overthink
3:50the split. So, let's look at some
3:51examples of the top business metrics for
3:53Vimeo and how would I actually speak
3:55about them either in an interview or on
3:57the actual job. So, the industry and
3:59product metrics, the top three would be
4:01videos uploaded, active subscribers, or
4:03hours watched. So, in an interview, I
4:05might say something like, "I know we
4:06track video uploads as a proxy for how
4:08popular the platform actually is." Or on
4:10the job, when I'm talking about product
4:12performance, I might say something like,
4:13"I know the active subs in a specific
4:15month is defined by how many distinct
4:17users have logged in at least once." Or
4:19hours watched tells us if people are
4:21actually engaging with the platform, not
4:23just using it to store videos and upload
4:25videos. And then for the business and
4:26financial metrics, those metrics could
4:28be things like bookings, revenue growth,
4:30or ARPU, which is average revenue per
4:32user. So, here you might hear something
4:33like, "Bookings is a leading indicator.
4:35So, enterprise bookings grew by 13% this
4:38quarter, so the recurring revenue should
4:39follow it in a few months." Another
4:41example is average revenue per user in
4:43the enterprise segment is over 23,000
4:45and growing, which means that each new
4:47customer is actually signing a higher
4:49value contract than before. So, this
4:50language ties the numbers back to the
4:52business context and shows that you're
4:54an analyst who not only knows how to
4:55frame problems, but can also isolate
4:57what metrics are most important, which
4:59is the kind of analytical judgment that
5:00they want to be able to see. This is the
5:02difference between an analyst who sounds
5:04like they're already experienced in the
5:05industry versus an analyst who says,
5:08"You know, I'm new to video and SaaS
5:09metrics, but it's something that I'm
5:11excited to learn." Which analyst do you
5:12think is more likely to get hired? This
5:14is actually how my student JB, who was
5:16in my last cohort, landed a job as a
5:18labor analyst at the Palms Casino Resort
5:20a year after being laid off from
5:21Microsoft. During his interview process,
5:23he actually built a forecasting model in
5:25Excel using the exact business metrics
5:27that he'd be using on the job, and he
5:29shared this with the hiring manager, and
5:30they were so impressed that they gave
5:31him an offer just a week later. We also
5:33have a prompt here for you to be able to
5:35build the same metrics table above for
5:36your target company. So, in our example,
5:38let's say I was interviewing at Vimeo,
5:40and they asked me, "What metrics would
5:41you track to understand the performance
5:43of the product?" I'd say something like,
5:45"So, to measure product performance for
5:46a video platform like Vimeo, I'd first
5:48start with product metrics like videos
5:50hosted and unique active customers.
5:52Those tell me how the platform is
5:53actually being used. Then, I'd also look
5:55at the financial side. So, monthly
5:57recurring revenue and new bookings.
5:59Those together tell me whether the base
6:00is growing and whether customers are
6:02upgrading to higher value plans, which
6:04is where the enterprise plan comes in.
6:05Now, that sounds like an analyst who's
6:07ready to hit the ground running. And the
6:08thing is, we never want to just fully
6:10rely on AI to do the work for us. So,
6:12let's go deeper using the company's
6:13actual materials and also sanity check
6:15our results.
6:19So, to understand the company's business
6:20model, you should always look at the
6:21company website and also check out if
6:23they have a pricing or services page.
6:25So, for example, looking at the Vimeo
6:26website, I can see that they have a
6:28feature section, use cases, enterprise
6:30section, and then a pricing page, and
6:32also some features about what's new. So,
6:35I would actually go through and poke
6:36through each of these different elements
6:37so I can understand what the product
6:39actually looks like. So, here I can see
6:41that the Vimeo platform is not only into
6:44play videos and host videos, but you can
6:46also record, edit, and make videos, and
6:48they also have some other features like
6:50analytics and AI. Then I If I go over
6:52here, I can see who they actually sell
6:54to. So, in use cases, they are selling
6:56to small businesses, educators, retail,
6:58tech and SaaS, and financial services.
7:00And this gives me a really clear picture
7:02of who their customers actually are.
7:03[music] And as I'm going through this
7:05page, I'm starting to imagine the kind
7:07of business metrics and data that
7:08they're tracking. If I go to the pricing
7:09page, I can also get a really clear look
7:12at what they actually sell and for how
7:13much. So, if I ever get a live business
7:15question asking about the different
7:16tiers that they sell, or ever get a
7:18question asking about the different
7:20customers, I know I'm going to segment
7:21by these different things that I saw on
7:23the website. Now, another thing that I
7:24would do on the company website is
7:26actually sign up for a free trial if
7:28it's a possibility. This is going to
7:30give me the ability to see the product
7:31from the other side as a user, and I
7:33would actually go through each step of
7:35signing up for a trial or signing up for
7:36the product if it has a free demo, and
7:38seeing what it looks like from the the
7:40side. This is called the customer
7:42journey and it helps me understand how
7:44the product actually get someone from
7:45being a stranger to being a paid
7:47customer. In terms of the business
7:48metrics, I can also check out something
7:50like the investors report or the
7:52earnings report if it's a public
7:53company. So, for example, for Vimeo, the
7:55last earnings report they published was
7:57in Q2 [music] of 2025. So, a little
7:59while ago. But, if I look at this, I can
8:02see exactly what metrics the company
8:04actually sends to the public to explain
8:05their performance. And this is giving
8:07you a direct look at the metrics that
8:08they report and metrics that would be
8:10great to bring up in an interview if you
8:12have overlapping experience. You should
8:13also look at the company news, so just
8:15Google searching something like Vimeo or
8:17also checking out the industry metrics.
8:19So, for example, because of the SaaS
8:21company, I might look up something like
8:22key SaaS metrics. And I can also get a
8:24quick list of what are the top metrics
8:27to understand for that industry. So, as
8:29I'm learning about these SaaS metrics,
8:31I'm not only preparing for my interview
8:32at Vimeo, but I'm preparing for any
8:34interview I have with any SaaS company
8:36in the future.
8:40Let's look at some quick examples of
8:41what a standout versus a weak response
8:43sounds like when talking about the
8:44company. So, explaining the business
8:46model, right? Someone might say, "I know
8:47that Vimeo is a SaaS business that sells
8:49video hosting plans." Now, this doesn't
8:51sound like you're someone who really
8:52knows the ins and outs of the company.
8:53Instead, I might say something like, "I
8:55know that Vimeo is a subscription
8:56software business that's built around
8:58video. Creators, businesses pay a
9:00recurring fee to host and share video
9:01and it ranges from $12 a month plans to
9:03six-figure enterprise contracts." If I'm
9:05speaking of the metrics, right? Again,
9:07you might say something like, "I'm not
9:08really familiar with video hosting
9:10metrics, but it's something I'm
9:11interested in learning." Or a more
9:12experienced analyst would say something
9:13like, "The top metrics to understand
9:15Vimeo's performance are financial
9:17metrics like MRR and ARR, as well as
9:19product metrics like active users, video
9:21upload, and retention rate." Now, which
9:23analyst do you think that person is
9:25going to want to hire? And in terms of
9:26connecting it back to your own work,
9:27instead of reaching for a random past
9:29project that has little to do with how
9:31this company makes money, you want to be
9:32able to say something like, "I know
9:34Vimeo is a SaaS company and I've
9:35actually worked with some similar data,
9:37and similar metrics when looking into
9:38monthly transactions for an online
9:40EdTech company that sold membership
9:42subscriptions.
9:45So, when you're thinking of examples
9:46that you'll share in your interview,
9:48think about the questions like, when
9:50have I worked with a similar business
9:51model? Or, are there any metrics I've
9:53worked with that have overlapped with
9:54these companies' metrics? Or, something
9:56like, if I was an analyst working at
9:57this company, what would I track to
9:59understand the performance? Or, if I had
10:01to build a report or dashboard to show
10:03how the product was performing for a
10:04specific stakeholder, what would I
10:06actually build? In my next videos, I'm
10:07going to share how I would actually
10:08respond to these questions live, so make
10:10sure to subscribe if you're interested.
10:12So, if you take nothing else from this
10:13video, remember that interviewers light
10:15up when you can speak comfortably about
10:16the company and its business metrics,
10:18because it shows us that you're able to
10:19connect the numbers back to the real
10:21business context. So, here are your next
10:22steps. Download the guide below so you
10:24can get the entire framework and
10:26worksheet to build your company domain
10:28knowledge, then pick one target company,
10:30research the company business model and
10:32business metrics, and then actually
10:33practice speaking about it so it sounds
10:35natural and conversational. That's it
10:37for this video. Make sure to subscribe
10:38for more job hunting tips and analytical
10:40frameworks, and I'll see you guys in the
10:41next one.

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