If you have decided to embark on the journey to work as a performance analyst in football, chances are, you are already aware that securing a full-time role is not without its challenges, making it anything but a smooth ride. Drawing from my personal experience, I can fully attest that navigating this highly competitive field was far from easy!
If I were to give an overview and break down of my journey to securing a full-time position, it would look like this:
Having networked with analysts from diverse backgrounds over the past few years, I’ve learnt that although there are numerous individual paths to achieving a full-time position, many analysts tend to follow a similar journey towards securing a full-time role.
I took a leap of faith and left my 9-to-5 job at Amazon, realising that my engineering degree and a corporate career wasn’t the path I wanted to take for the rest of my life. Football had always been a huge part of my life – I played, coached, and loved watching the game like any ordinary football fan. So, with the support of my loved ones and to get a foot in the door, I took the leap and pursued a degree in football coaching and performance at the University of South Wales. This move opened doors to incredible opportunities with professional clubs where I got a chance to learn, deliver & impress. I jumped at the chance to take on multiple part-time and voluntary coaching and analysis roles with clubs like Cardiff City, Newport County, and the Welsh FA whilst managing my studies. It wasn’t always easy – some weeks I was working 7 days straight with no days off, thinking I ditched a 9-5 job for a 9-9 job! But I knew that if I wanted to give myself the best chance to have a career in this industry, I had to be fully invested. The persistence paid off when I successfully navigated the interview process to land my first full time role as an academy performance analyst with Middlesbrough Football Club!
Now back to the topic!
If you haven’t been living under a rock and are active on X or LinkedIn, chances are you have come across numerous online resources that’ll help you navigate step 1 to step 3 (referring to my flowchart)-Blogs on “How to get started in football analytics”, Big data companies publishing free data sources to analyse, online data viz tutorials on YouTube and football recruitment companies that’ll help you design a CV & Cover Letter. For those still looking for something more, I highly recommend the “Jobs in Analysis” online conference by APFA which I recently attended. Delivered by leading industry experts with wide ranging experiences, it covered all things related employment as an analyst in football. For those who missed and want to attend, you can buy the “Jobs in Analysis” event for 20$ using the link <insert link>.
However, with all this readily available information, there still seems to be a dearth of resources & information available around step 4 i.e.- the interview process. As the 2023/2024 football season draws to a close, many job opportunities for performance analyst roles have arisen, leading to stiff competition among applicants. It is crucial for first-time job seekers to be well-informed about the interview process and adequately prepared to maximise their chances of success. In this three-part series, we will delve into the secrets of football performance analyst interviews, providing insights and reflections on what it takes to succeed in this competitive field. From preparation and presentation techniques to common interview questions and pitfalls to avoid, we will explore it all. In this first instalment, we’ll set the stage by providing an overview of the performance analysis interview process & the types of interview tasks you can expect to face.
Now let’s get straight into it!
Once an application gets shortlisted, the next stage of the process is usually in the form of an interview combined with a candidate task. Considering the high number of applications clubs receive for any given role, getting shortlisted for the next stage is no less than an achievement, in my humble opinion!
In most cases, candidates are required to complete & submit the task prior to the interview, while in some cases they may be given tasks which are to be completed during the interview. Candidate tasks to be completed prior to the interview are typically sent to the applicant by the HR of the club or a member of the interview panel via email. Based on my experiences, these tasks can be broadly classified into 3 categories:
Club Specific Analysis Task: Delivering insights utilising video and/or data for the team/teams you will be working with at the club you are applying for.
Elite Team Analysis Task: Delivering insights utilising video and/or data for an elite team (for e.g.: a top 5 European league club)
General Analysis Task: Delivering an insights utilising video and/or data on a topic related to the role you are interviewing for.
Typically, candidates are required to submit the task electronically usually via online file-sharing websites such as WeTransfer. The deadlines to submit are usually within 3-5 days of receiving the task email, even if the interview itself is scheduled at a later date. This tight timeframe is designed to mirror the fast-paced environment of a performance analyst, where you could be preparing for a 3-game week (Sat, Tue, Sat), juggling opposition reports, post-match analysis, data insights whilst serving as the IT technician for the club (if you know, you know!).
In some cases, the task submission acts as a filter where only further shortlisted candidates are invited for the interview stage. Depending upon the structure of the recruitment process, the interview & delivery format of these tasks can be:
Online Interview– A Zoom/Microsoft teams meeting where you share your screen and deliver your task accompanied by general interview questions.
In-Person Interview: Candidate gets invited to the club’s facility to present their task and answer general interview questions
With a typical 7-day turnaround between the interview invitation email and the actual interview, it’s crucial to prioritize your work during the preceding week, plan your travel and accommodations, and make any necessary arrangements. End of season summer break is a prime time for job openings, with staff turnover typically reaching its peak at the end of the season. To avoid last-minute surprises, be prepared for unexpected opportunities and plan ahead, else you’ll end up like me and find yourself juggling a task presentation with your beach vacation plans!
And that’s a wrap on part 1 of our series, giving you a first look into the interview process. I’ll be back with more insights in the next instalment, where we’ll explore a successful task submission example including tips on how to prepare and structure your presentation, and effectively incorporate video and data insights into your presentation, ensuring you stand out from the competition to make a lasting impression!
Written by APFA Member, Vedant Malik. I’m originally from New Delhi, India but currently working as the Lead Academy Analyst at Middlesbrough Football Club. My passion and strengths lie in combining video and data insights with on-pitch coaching to support individual player development. My immediate focus is on helping build a top-notch academy analysis department, where we can leverage industry best practices to unlock the full potential of our players. Long-term, I envision myself as an individual development coach-analyst at a first-team level, working with elite players to help them take their game to the next level.
