At Weber Shandwick, the Business Analyst role sits at the intersection of data-driven strategy and world-class public relations. As a leading global communications network, the agency relies on data to shape public opinion, protect brand reputations, and drive impactful campaigns. In this role, you are responsible for transforming raw market, client, and social media data into actionable insights that creative and account teams use to build compelling narratives.

Your work directly impacts client success by bringing empirical rigor to creative campaigns. Whether you are analyzing audience demographics, monitoring brand health, or tracking campaign performance, your insights ensure that the agency's strategies are grounded in reality. This role is highly dynamic, requiring you to pivot between deep technical data analysis and client-facing strategic consulting across various industries, from consumer brands to healthcare and B2B technology.

This position is critical because modern communications demand real-time agility. You will work with advanced social listening platforms, media monitoring tools, and structured databases to help clients navigate complex public environments. For a professional who enjoys solving ambiguous business problems and telling stories with data, this role offers an unmatched platform to influence some of the world's most recognizable brands.

The questions you will face during the Weber Shandwick interview process are designed to evaluate both your technical execution and your strategic communication. While the exact questions may vary depending on the specific team and office location, they consistently focus on your ability to extract insights from raw data and present them clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Data Analysis & Excel Skills

This category assesses your hands-on analytical capabilities, focusing on your speed, accuracy, and depth of knowledge when working with spreadsheets and structured data.

• How would you clean a large, messy client dataset in Excel before beginning your analysis?
• Explain how you would use VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, and pivot tables to merge disparate media tracking sheets.

Preparing for an interview at Weber Shandwick requires a balanced approach that demonstrates both your analytical rigor and your creative communication style. You should be ready to prove that you can not only run the numbers but also explain why those numbers matter to a client's business.

Data Proficiency & Excel Execution – You must demonstrate a strong command of Excel, as timed data exercises are a common component of the evaluation process. Focus on data cleaning, structuring, and basic visualization techniques that allow you to turn raw sheets into clear insights quickly.

Strategic Communication – As a Business Analyst in an agency, your audience is often non-technical. You will be evaluated on your ability to build clean, logical slide decks and present complex analytical findings in a simple, compelling story.

Agency Acumen & Client Focus – Show that you understand the agency business model, where client satisfaction, billable hours, and rapid turnarounds are paramount. Frame your past experiences around how you helped clients solve business challenges or capture market opportunities.

The interview process for the Business Analyst position at Weber Shandwick typically spans three to four weeks, combining behavioral screens, technical assessments, and team-focused interviews. The agency values collaboration and practical capability, meaning you will be evaluated on real-world scenarios rather than theoretical brainteasers.

The journey begins with a standard recruiter screen to assess your background, interest in the agency space, and salary expectations. Following a successful screen, you will move into virtual interviews with hiring managers and team members, where the focus shifts to your past project experience and behavioral fit.

The core of the evaluation often involves a practical assignment or a timed Excel test. This step is designed to simulate the day-to-day responsibilities of the role, requiring you to clean a dataset, extract key insights, or conduct targeted market research. The final stage typically involves presenting your findings to senior leaders, allowing them to assess your presentation skills and how you handle direct questioning.

The timeline above outlines the standard progression from your initial application to the final decision. Candidates should use this timeline to pace their preparation, ensuring they allocate sufficient time to practice timed Excel challenges before reaching the assessment stage. While the exact order of rounds can vary slightly by office, the emphasis on a practical task remains a consistent element of the process.

To succeed in the Weber Shandwick interview process, you must understand the specific competencies the hiring team is evaluating at each stage. They are looking for a unique blend of technical execution, strategic translation, and agency-ready professionalism.

Data Manipulation & Excel Proficiency

This area assesses your ability to work hands-on with structured data under pressure. Interviewers want to see that you can navigate spreadsheets efficiently without sacrificing accuracy.

Be ready to go over:

• Data Cleaning – Removing duplicates, handling missing values, and formatting text strings to make datasets usable.
• Advanced Formulas – Utilizing logical, lookup, and reference functions to connect and analyze disparate data tables.
• Data Summarization – Building dynamic pivot tables and charts that allow stakeholders to filter and view data from different perspectives.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Basic data modeling, introductory macro automation, or writing complex nested formulas to solve multi-step data challenges.

Example scenarios:

• "You are given a raw Excel export of social media mentions containing 10,000 rows of inconsistent data. Walk us through how you would clean this to analyze sentiment by region."
• "Complete a timed Excel test containing 16 data manipulation tasks within a strict 30-minute limit."

Client Research & Strategic Insights

This competency evaluates your ability to take a research brief, gather external market intelligence, and synthesize it into a strategic recommendation for a client.

Be ready to go over:

• Desk Research Methodologies – Sourcing reliable industry reports, competitor data, and public sentiment to build a comprehensive market view.
• Social Listening Analysis – Understanding how to track brand mentions, share of voice, and consumer sentiment using modern digital tools.
• Slide Deck Storytelling – Structuring a presentation deck logically, starting with the executive summary and flowing into data-backed recommendations.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Designing custom measurement frameworks that align public relations outputs with tangible business outcomes like sales or lead generation.

Example scenarios:

• "A major pharmaceutical client wants to understand the public conversation around personalized medicine. Design a research plan from kickoff to final deliverables."
• "Analyze a provided dataset and build a 5-slide presentation deck outlining three strategic recommendations for a brand relaunch."

Behavioral Fit & Agency Dynamics

Working in an agency requires high emotional intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to collaborate across diverse, fast-paced teams.

Be ready to go over:

• Stakeholder Management – Managing expectations when facing tight client deadlines or shifting project scopes.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Working alongside creative directors, PR specialists, and account managers who may have different priorities.
• Resilience and Ambiguity – Navigating situations where client briefs are vague or project requirements change mid-stream.

Example scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time when you had to deliver an analytical report on a very tight deadline with incomplete data."
• "How would you handle a situation where an account director asks you to adjust your data findings to better align with a creative campaign they have already designed?"