I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Sheffield United (Sheffield, England) in Feb 2026
Interview
The interview process was transparent and straightforward. After applying through the website (the only downside being that everything had to be filled in manually in an unusual format), I waited until the deadline and was then contacted directly by the person in charge, even before the next steps were formally sent over. This felt very personalised and showed that applicants were treated as individuals rather than just another number in the process.
I was then given a task using real data to analyse and submit, followed by an interview. The interview itself was a pleasant experience, with no unexpected surprises and a very reasonable format.
Although I was ultimately not successful and didn’t get the role, Rowan’s feedback was personalised, detailed, and genuinely very useful. Of course I was disappointed, but the feedback helped me clearly understand where I could improve, and I’m confident it will help me perform better in future interviews. Thank you for that - thoughtful feedback is unfortunately quite rare, yet incredibly valuable and much appreciated.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The questions covered a range of areas: some technical ones (reasonable rather than designed to trip you up), some focused on the data analysis task I had submitted, and others more broadly about working in football.
I applied online. I interviewed at Sheffield United (Sheffield, England) in Mar 2026
Interview
Overall this was one of the most enjoyable interview processes I've been through. The communication was clear and timely throughout, and I found out the outcome within 2 days of the final interview. Everyone I met as part of the process was friendly and created an interview environment that made it as easy as possible for me to show my strengths, experiences and personality. I've outlined the steps below.
The first step was to complete a digital application form and email it to HR. This was a typical form asking for contact details, education & qualifications, employment history and a supporting statement.
The next stage was a technical assessment. The instructions and example data were emailed to me and I was given 1 week to submit the assessment. We were asked a to follow a few simple instructions and answer questions about the data. We were also encouraged to comment on anything else that we found interesting or important within the datasets. For the submission, a python script or notebook was required and a supporting PDF with images and comments was optional.
Within an hour of the deadline passing I received a call inviting me to a video interview the following week. This interview was with the Recruitment Advisor, Data Manager and a Data Scientist. It was largely competency based, focusing on technical data skills, and lasted approximately an hour. It was an enjoyable interview and the conversation felt natural and relaxed. It seemed like they genuinely wanted to understand my experiences and skills instead of testing or putting me under pressure.
A few hours after the interview I received a phone call inviting me to an in person interview the following week. This interview was led by the Data Manager and Senior Marketing Manager, with the Recruitment Advisor and Head of Commercial, Ticketing and Retail both observing. Again this was another enjoyable interview, which felt like a natural conversation with colleagues instead of a daunting interview panel. It lasted approximately 45 minutes and there were a mix of technical questions and ones designed to understand more about my personality and ways of working.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked me to define or explain some SQL functions, coding terms and version control. They also asked fairly standard personal questions, such as what a successful career would look like.
