1. What is a Research Analyst at Berkeley Research Group?

As a Research Analyst at Berkeley Research Group (BRG), you are the quantitative and analytical backbone of the firm's strategic advisory and expert testimony practices. Berkeley Research Group is a leading global consulting firm that helps clients navigate complex legal, regulatory, and economic challenges. In this role, your work directly informs the reports, models, and exhibits that expert witnesses and senior consultants use in high-stakes litigation, antitrust investigations, and major corporate disputes.

The impact of this position is immense. You will be tasked with transforming massive, unstructured datasets into clear, defensible insights. Whether you are analyzing labor market trends, calculating economic damages, or investigating healthcare claims, your findings must hold up under the intense scrutiny of opposing counsel, regulatory bodies, and corporate boards. This requires not just technical proficiency, but a deep, critical understanding of how data behaves in the real world.

What makes this role particularly exciting is the scale and variety of the problem spaces you will encounter. You are not just running repetitive reports; you are actively engaging with novel economic and financial questions on a case-by-case basis. You will collaborate closely with world-class academics, industry experts, and legal teams, making this an unparalleled environment for developing rigorous analytical skills and business acumen.

2. Common Interview Questions

3. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Thorough preparation is essential for succeeding in the Berkeley Research Group interview process. The firm looks for candidates who possess a unique blend of technical data skills, economic intuition, and clear communication. You should approach your preparation by focusing on the following key evaluation criteria:

Analytical Rigor and Data Intuition In the context of Berkeley Research Group, this means understanding the "why" and "how" of data before you ever run a model. Interviewers will evaluate your ability to identify appropriate data sources, recognize potential flaws in a dataset, and ask critical questions about distributions and outliers. You can demonstrate strength here by clearly articulating your pre-analysis checklist and showing a healthy skepticism toward raw data.

Problem-Solving and Case Structuring This criterion measures how you break down ambiguous, real-world economic or business problems. Interviewers will look at your ability to structure a logical framework, identify the key variables, and propose a quantitative approach to find a solution. You can excel by practicing traditional consulting case studies, specifically those with a heavy emphasis on data analysis and market sizing.

Communication and Narrative Building Because your work will eventually be consumed by lawyers, judges, or corporate executives, you must be able to explain complex analytical concepts simply. You are evaluated on your clarity, conciseness, and ability to defend your methodological choices. Strong candidates treat the interview as a collaborative discussion, walking the interviewer through their thought process step-by-step.

Culture Fit and Adaptability Berkeley Research Group prides itself on a culture that is intellectually rigorous yet laid-back and extremely team-oriented. Interviewers want to see how you handle being thrown off guard by abstract questions and how you collaborate under pressure. You demonstrate this by remaining calm, thinking on your feet, and showing genuine enthusiasm for continuous learning.

4. Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a Research Analyst at Berkeley Research Group typically blends behavioral discussions, technical data screening, and rigorous case interviews. While contract or part-time roles might involve an expedited, conversational phone screen leading directly to an offer, candidates applying for full-time roles (such as through campus recruiting) should expect a multi-stage, highly structured evaluation.

Your journey will generally begin with a first-round interview focused heavily on your past research experiences. Expect this conversation to dive deeply into your practical knowledge of data sourcing and your hands-on analytical methodology. The interviewer will want to know exactly how you approach a new dataset, step-by-step. If successful, you will be invited to a virtual Superday.

The Superday is an intensive, multi-hour process where you will meet with several team members, ranging from peers to senior consultants. This stage is a combination of case interviews, further deep-dives into your previous projects, and abstract behavioral questions designed to test your adaptability. Throughout the process, the atmosphere is generally described as painless and team-oriented, but the intellectual bar remains high.

This visual timeline outlines the typical progression from the initial resume screen through the final Superday rounds. You should use this to pace your preparation, focusing first on articulating your past research methodologies before shifting your energy to case study practice and abstract behavioral questions for the final rounds. Note that specific stages may vary slightly depending on whether you are applying for a specialized practice area or a generalist pool.

5. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must understand exactly what the interviewers at Berkeley Research Group are trying to uncover during each phase of the conversation. Below is a detailed breakdown of the primary evaluation areas.

Data Sourcing and Pre-Analysis Methodology

Before you build a model, you must prove you know how to handle raw data. This area matters because litigation consulting requires bulletproof data integrity; a single unexamined outlier can ruin a multi-million dollar case. Interviewers want to see that you do not blindly trust datasets. Strong performance looks like having a structured, almost paranoid approach to data cleaning and exploration.

Be ready to go over:

• Public Data Sources – Knowing where to find reliable macroeconomic and demographic data.
• Data Exploration – Explaining how you assess the shape, size, and quality of a new dataset.
• Anomaly Detection – Your specific strategies for identifying and handling outliers and missing values.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Imputation methods, handling heteroskedasticity, and specific statistical tests for data normality.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Where would you go to find reliable data on inflation and employment rates?"
• "Walk me through the exact questions you ask yourself before diving into a new dataset."
• "How do you determine if an outlier should be removed or kept in your analysis?"

Case Interviews and Applied Problem Solving

Case interviews simulate the day-to-day ambiguity of consulting work. This area evaluates your ability to structure a problem, ask the right clarifying questions, and propose a quantitative solution. Strong candidates do not rush to an answer; they build a logical framework, state their assumptions clearly, and walk the interviewer through the math.

Be ready to go over:

• Market Sizing and Estimation – Using logic and basic proxies to estimate unknown figures.
• Economic Damages / Profitability – Structuring an approach to calculate lost profits or market share changes.
• Data-Driven Frameworks – Explaining exactly what data you would request from a client to solve a specific problem.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "A client claims their competitor's actions cost them 10% of their market share. How would you go about proving or disproving this?"
• "Estimate the total annual revenue of a specific regional airline."
• "If you were given a massive dataset of healthcare claims, how would you structure an analysis to find fraudulent billing?"

Past Research Experience and Behavioral Fit

Berkeley Research Group wants to know that you have successfully executed complex projects in the past and that you will thrive in their collaborative environment. This area is evaluated through deep-dives into your resume and abstract behavioral questions. Strong performance involves telling clear, structured stories (using the STAR method) and remaining composed when asked unconventional questions.

Be ready to go over:

• Project Deep-Dives – Explaining the objective, your specific role, the tools used, and the final impact of your past research.
• Overcoming Roadblocks – Discussing times when data was unavailable, messy, or contradictory.
• Abstract Thinking – Navigating unexpected, open-ended questions that test your personality and creativity.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through the most complex research project on your resume from start to finish."
• "Tell me about a time you found a critical error in your own work. How did you handle it?"
• "If you could be anything in the world without worrying about salary or qualifications, what would you do?"