About the job
Full details, eligibility and the selection process are available on the company's careers page.
American Express
Business Analyst-Data Analytics
Posted 6 days ago
- Experience
- 1-3 years
- Location
- Gurugram, HR, India
- Job type
- Full-time
- Work mode
- Hybrid
Interview prep · Data / Business Analyst
How to prepare for this interview
Analyst interviews check whether you can turn messy data into a clear answer for the business. Expect SQL on the spot, Excel or a BI tool, basic statistics and a case question where you explain how you would measure something.
Typical selection process
-
1
Online assessment
SQL queries, Excel formulas, aptitude and basic statistics.
-
2
Technical round
Live SQL, Excel or Python (pandas), and dashboard questions in Power BI or Tableau.
-
3
Case study
A business problem such as "sales dropped 10% last month, why?". Sometimes a take-home assignment.
-
4
Managerial / HR
Stakeholder communication, past projects, then HR.
Rounds vary between companies. American Express may combine or skip some of them.
Skills to brush up on
- SQL (joins, GROUP BY, window functions)
- Advanced Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, charts)
- Power BI or Tableau
- Python with pandas
- Descriptive statistics
- Data cleaning
- Business communication and storytelling
Likely interview questions
Open a question to see what the interviewer is looking for.
01 Explain the different SQL joins with an example.
How to answer:
INNER returns only matches, LEFT keeps every row from the left table, FULL keeps both sides. Know when LEFT JOIN with WHERE IS NULL finds missing records.
02 What is the difference between WHERE and HAVING?
How to answer:
WHERE filters rows before grouping; HAVING filters groups after aggregation.
03 Write a query for the top three customers by revenue in each city.
How to answer:
Aggregate revenue per customer, then use ROW_NUMBER() or DENSE_RANK() partitioned by city and filter to rank 3 or lower.
04 VLOOKUP versus XLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH: which do you use?
How to answer:
VLOOKUP only looks to the right and breaks when columns move. XLOOKUP or INDEX-MATCH are more flexible and robust.
05 Mean, median or mode: when is the mean misleading?
How to answer:
With skewed data or outliers, such as salaries, the median represents the typical value better.
06 How do you handle missing values and duplicates?
How to answer:
First find out why they are missing. Then drop, fill (mean, median, forward fill) or flag them depending on the impact. Deduplicate on a business key.
07 What makes a good dashboard?
How to answer:
It answers specific questions for a specific audience, puts the key metrics on top, uses the right chart for each comparison and avoids clutter.
08 What is the difference between correlation and causation?
How to answer:
Two metrics moving together does not mean one causes the other. Give an example and mention A/B tests as a way to establish causation.
01 Sales dropped 15% last month. How would you investigate?
How to answer:
First check that the data is correct, then break it down by region, product, channel and customer segment, compare with seasonality, and check for external events.
02 A manager wants a daily report that currently takes two hours to build by hand. What do you do?
How to answer:
Automate it with SQL, Power Query or Python, publish it to a scheduled dashboard and validate it against the manual version for a few days.
03 How would you explain a finding to a non-technical stakeholder?
How to answer:
Lead with the answer and its business impact, support it with one clear chart, and keep the methodology for follow-up questions.
01 Tell me about yourself.
How to answer:
Keep it under two minutes: who you are, what you have built or studied that fits this role, and why you applied here. Skip personal details unless asked.
02 Why do you want to join our company?
How to answer:
Mention something specific: a product they ship, the tech they use, or the kind of customers they serve. Generic praise ("good brand, good growth") sounds rehearsed.
03 What are your strengths and weaknesses?
How to answer:
Back each strength with a short example. For the weakness, pick a real one that does not block the role and say what you are doing about it.
04 Are you comfortable with the location, shift timings and work mode?
How to answer:
Answer honestly. If you have a constraint, say it now rather than after the offer, and mention any flexibility you do have.
05 Do you have any questions for us?
How to answer:
Always ask one or two: what the first 90 days look like, how the team is structured, or how performance is reviewed. Avoid asking only about leave and salary.
06 Walk me through your final year project.
How to answer:
Explain the problem, your exact contribution, the tech you chose and why, and one thing that went wrong and how you fixed it. Interviewers dig into this, so know every line you claim.
07 You have no work experience. Why should we hire you?
How to answer:
Point to proof of effort: projects, internships, certifications, open source or competitive coding. Show that you learn fast and can take feedback.
08 Are you willing to sign a service agreement or relocate?
How to answer:
Many campus and fresher roles include a bond or training period. Read the terms before the interview so you can answer clearly.
09 Where do you see yourself in three to five years?
How to answer:
Show ambition within the field: owning features, mentoring juniors, going deeper in a technology. Avoid saying you plan to leave for higher studies soon.
Resume tips for this role
- Show business impact: "identified a ₹12L revenue leak" or "cut reporting time by 80%".
- Link a portfolio of dashboards (Tableau Public, Power BI) or Kaggle notebooks.
- List your SQL dialect and BI tools explicitly. Recruiters filter on them.
- Mention the domains you understand, such as retail, finance or healthcare.
Free resources to study
This guide is written by the JOB_SPOT_360 team from common interview patterns for this kind of role. It is not provided by American Express, and the actual questions may differ.
Frequently asked questions
Can freshers apply for the Business Analyst-Data Analytics role at American Express?
This role asks for 1-3 years of experience, so freshers are unlikely to be shortlisted.
What is the salary for this job?
American Express has not disclosed the salary. You can ask about it during the HR round.
Where is the job located? Is it remote?
This is a hybrid role based in Gurugram, HR, India, mixing office and work-from-home days.
What skills are required for this job?
The listing mentions Python, SQL, Hive and PySpark. Expect interview questions on each of them.
What is the last date to apply?
No deadline is listed. Openings like this can close once enough applications come in, so apply early.
How do I apply?
Select "Apply on company site" on this page. It opens American Express's official careers page, where you submit your application. JOB_SPOT_360 does not collect applications and never charges a fee.