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Operations Analyst Interview Questions

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Whether you are preparing to interview a candidate or applying for a job, review our list of top Operations Analyst interview questions and answers.

  1. What is your accounting experience? See answer
  2. What business tools have you used? See answer
  3. What do you think are essential points to consider when making a business plan? See answer
  4. Tell me about a time when you were involved with employee engagement for the benefit of the business. See answer
  5. How would you conduct a successful merger between two companies? See answer
  6. What would be your strategy to determine what changes are needed to respond to a growth in demand? See answer
  7. What type of analysis are you most and least comfortable with? See answer
  8. Tell me about a positive change you initiated as a result of analysis. See answer
  9. Explain a time you came into conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it. See answer
  10. What steps do you take to ensure you meet your goals? See answer
  11. Why do you want to work as an operations analyst at this company? See answer
  12. How do you keep up with the most current trends in finance? See answer
  13. How do you stay motivated? See answer
  14. Tell me about a time you failed and the lessons you learned. See answer
  15. What’s the most important quality an operation analyst should have, and why?
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Hire your next Operations Analyst today.

Post a job

Hire your next Operations Analyst today.

Post a job
Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines

15 Operations Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

What is your accounting experience?

Operations analysis uses mathematical equations and data to ensure the company's optimal performance. The candidate's answer allows you to determine their expertise level of business analysis, devising solutions, and using charts and diagrams to communicate analytical information. What to look for in an answer:

  • Accounting experience
  • High level of operations analyst expertise
  • Decision making

Example:

"I have 10 years of experience as an analyst responsible for identifying procedures, technical and structural shortcomings of the company. I was responsible for analyzing data and market needs assisting executive management in their decision-making.”

What business tools have you used?

An operations analyst uses business intelligence software to manipulate a company's data, translate it to be easily read, and make it accessible to individual stakeholders. Your candidate should discuss experience in examining industry trends and predictive analysis. What to look for in an answer:

  • Advanced computer skills
  • Problem-solving
  • Experience with business intelligence tools

Example:

“My experience with business analytical tools includes SAP augmented cloud analytics, which uses natural language query and processing. It was easy since I could search and analyse data by asking questions like a search engine or digital personal assistant. The software produced best practise visualisation."

What do you think are essential points to consider when making a business plan?

Business plans and strategies require an in-depth knowledge of the company's entyre operations. The answer to this question should give you insight into how they manage tasks and collabourate with colleagues. What to look for in an answer:

  • Communication skills
  • Experience creating business plans and strategic planning
  • Collabourative focus

Example:

"As an operations analyst, I collabourate with all the company's stakeholders to develop a business plan, get their input and feedback, discuss how the plan affects t hem and their support level."

Tell me about a time when you were involved with employee engagement for the benefit of the business.

The ideal candidate possesses leadership skills, ability to relate to co-workers and coach them to be brand ambassadors. Their answer will indicate how devoted to your company they will be. What to look for in an answer:

  • Interpersonal skills
  • Leadership
  • Interpersonal skills

Example:

“In my last position, I used employee engagement to determine that members of a certain department were resigning at a worrying rate. I found out that the resigning employees were unhappy about their wages and communicated my findings to executive-level management. I included a recommendation to increase pay and included analytical reports showing the net cost to the company compared to the cost of training new hires.”

How would you conduct a successful merger between two companies?

A merger requires an operations analyst to store, retrieve, and analyse data for both companies and deal with a large number of data files. The candidate should discuss prioritizing and incorporated the merging company files into the central database. You can measure their stress point and organisation skills. What to look for in an answer:

  • IT skills
  • Prioritization, organisation
  • Collabourative skills

Example:

“I would handle all the confidential files but form a team of analysts from each company to retrieve all data, sort and prioritise the files and merge the final database information. I would develop a project management plan and timeline for the tasks.”

What would be your strategy to determine what changes are needed to respond to a growth in demand?

Operation analysts develop plans to scale a business to meet the increasing demand for products. They produce short and long-term business plans to control company growth. The candidate should have a detailed understanding of the company's production capacity and the foresight to prepare for significant changes. What to look for in an answer:

  • Strategic planning
  • Analytical thinking
  • Practical thinking skills

Example:

“By gathering data and market research, I would predict upcoming trends and changes needed, build a timeline for change and conversion in production and determine if outsourcing could be a short-term option. I'd collabourate with stakeholders and develop a resource plan for training staff, expanding distribution, purchasing new equipment and building an internal infrastructure.”

What's the most important quality an operation analyst should have, and why?

In such a specialised position, the operation analyst should agree with your company's philosophy and culture. The candidate should be adaptable to change, understand what the role involves and support the culture of your team. What to look for in an answer:

  • Detailed understanding of their role and duties as an operation analyst
  • Ability to respond, elabourate and offer supporting information
  • Analytical thinker

Example:

“The most important quality is a detail-oriented aptitude. In supporting data management, client reporting and problem resolution, a high degree of accuracy is required. It's essential that an operations analyst keeps departments and procedures in check and ensure that nothing is overlooked."

What type of analysis are you most and least comfortable with?

Operations analysis includes every function in the company, such as financial, operations and marketing. The answer to this question should give you insight into the candidate's transferable skills. What to look for in an answer:

  • Specific expertise and analysis experience
  • Knowledge of transferable skills
  • Flexible and willing to be challenged

Example:

“I'm comfortable with my ability to transfer my analytical skills from finance to marketing and operations. I enjoy all types of analytics and dealing with data. I possess excellent soft and hard skills and have enough experience in analysis that a transfer of skills would be no problem.”

Tell me about a positive change you initiated as a result of analysis.

Operations analysts need to be problem-solvers, leaders, and have the foresight to help drive the company into a successful future. The candidate should express the importance of competitiveness, cost-effectiveness and being current on what the competition is doing. What to look for in an answer:

  • Examples of changes made
  • Up-to-date on technology
  • Competitive recommendations

Example:

"In a previous position, I discovered that slow productivity resulted from an outdated operating system. Because of the business environment, the company was less productive, so I recommended technological changes concurrent with operational and strategic changes. The first change in the operating system resulted in a 35% increase in production."

Explain a time you came into conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it.

An operations analyst must be confident, headstrong and assertive. These personality traits are what helps a company stay on course. Sometimes those traits cause conflict. The candidate should show their strengths, qualifications and problem-solving skills. What to look for in an answer:

  • Explanation of a conflict and its resolution
  • Problem-solving
  • Ability to work with various personalities

Example:

"In a previous position, we hired an assistant because her skills and experience met our requirements. Once on the job, we had to rely on others to complete her tasks and explained that her work was unacceptable because it caused us to miss deadlines and distribute incomplete reports. She took it personally, so I stepped back and explained how her performance affected the entyre organisation. We knew she could do the work, but lack of consistency and urgency overshadowed that. She had never been told any of this previously and wasn't aware of its effect on the organisation. We scheduled regular status update meetings and ended on a positive note that resulted in improved performance."

What steps do you take to ensure you meet your goals?

Operations analysts must be disciplined and have strategies to stay on track to achieve company goals. The candidate should reveal their skill for providing the most professional and accurate analysis possible. What to look for in an answer:

  • A clear outline of their steps
  • Explanation of how each step is essential
  • A specific and detailed response

Example:

"I make a plan, prioritise tasks, assign a timeline for each task and milestone and stay focused on the accuracy and completion of each task. This results in an accurate analysis. During the process, I ensure that I include all pieces of information that impact the analysis to produce a professional piece of work that is complete and informative."

Why do you want to work as an operations analyst at this company?

Candidates have motives for applying to your job openings. It must be for other reasons than money, and asking this question gives you insight into their motivation, enthusiasm, and integrity. The candidate's answer should show enthusiasm and an understanding of what they can bring to your company. What to look for in an answer:

  • Passion for the position
  • Confidence
  • Enthusiasm for the company

Example:

“I'm very excited to work at XYZ as an operations analyst because I admire your innovative products and company reputation. I'm confident that my data retrieval and analysis will help me make contributions to the company's success."

How do you keep up with the most current trends in finance?

To provide the company with up-to-date information, an operations analyst must be aware of current trends in finance. The answer to this question should indicate a motivation to learn, examples of how they stay informed about the economy and how they share that information. What to look for in an answer:

  • Passion for learning 
  • Willingness to share knowledge
  • Desire to be current on financial news

Example:

“I attend conferences, webinars, and read financial publications to stay current with the latest financial trends. I spend time networking with my peers and colleagues who are experts in the field. I have a thirst for knowing what is going on around us in business and finance.”

How do you stay motivated?

Dealing with operations and analysis can get stressful because of all the moving parts involved. The candidate should answer with personal motivation tactics, which give you insight into what drives them to succeed and how they fit within the company's culture. What to look for in an answer:

  • Motivation
  • Achievement
  • Desire to fulfil the role

Example:

“I'm driven by a couple of things. One is results because I like meeting goals and determining strategies to accomplish them. Another motivator for me is digging into data. I love trying to figure out what drives the numbers, reading spreadsheets and coming up with questions.”

Tell me about a time you failed and the lessons you learned.

Failures will happen and are disappointing, but they should reap ways to not repeat the same actions. This question tests whether the candidate is a problem-solver and if they can learn. What to look for in an answer:

  • Honesty
  • Attitude
  • Learning experiences

Example:

"Once, I gave a recommended change to my manager, who ignored it. Because of that, the company lost a lot of money and a good customer. Later I felt that I was not aggressive or convincing enough and learned that I needed to act with more confidence. I analyse failure to pinpoint how it happened and what I could change in the future. The best way to move forward is to accept it because I can't change it and be more aware in the future.”

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