I applied in-person. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at PwC (Londres, Inglaterra) in Jan 2010
Interview
First informal interview in a cafe with a Director in the group I had approached speculatively via email. Officially this should have been followed by two further formal interviews, but based on the fact I was a senior experienced hire with 18 years experience they decided to do this in one session. It was quite straightforward with another Director from the same group, who had a specialist background similar to mine. The offer arrived by phone call the day after the interview.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Why do your repeat business clients come back to you?
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at PwC (Londres, Inglaterra) in Aug 2011
Interview
Round 1 was a phone interview which was pretty straightforward - HR type - to gauge behavioural aspects of the candidate. It is conducted by an outsourced agency and lasts about an hour.
Round 2 was a numerical reasoning and English comprehension test administered online - takes about an hour and results are conveyed to the candidate within a day or two. if you've done GMATs etc, you would be familiar with this type of test. The results are shown where you rank for your profile compared to an average range.
Round 3 was a 1 on 1 interview - "technical" interview which is based around your work experience and CV and whether you have the skills / experience necessary to do the job.
Round 4 was a group and written interview - the written exercise takes about an hour, you're given a set of circumstances / case which you have to analyse and present your findings on 1 page - designed to gauge your ability to analyse information and present it in a coherent, structured manner.
the next part of this round was a group exercise, where you are placed in a room with other candidates and all given the same case with different roles to play within that case. The group has to reach a conclusion within an hour and judged by a panel of Directors. You will be fed additional information in the middle of the case study and they see whether or not you share that information with the rest of the group. It's like sitting in a cage / lab and being watched by scientists on your behaviour - very disconcerting and odd and you can never guess how you did!
normally there is one additional round which is an interview with a Partner.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
NO unexpected questions - usual - the Group session posed no questions, just laminated case material and you were watched on your reaction and discussion.