1 x Telephone interview with practice director
Informal conversation with relevant, surgical questions.
1 x Face-to-face with practice lead
A fantastic concept as I was able to have an open and honest, two-way conversation with the practice lead. This provided an opportunity for us to get to know each other and understand if there is a mutual fit as well as first-hand insight into the direction of the area you 'may' be working in.
1 x Case study with a director that had completed the interview process within the last 8 months
Again, another great idea. To have someone of a similar level and background, who has recently undergone a similar process is very intuitive.
The case study was simple and straight forward, albeit limited value that can be gained from it. Whilst I received good feedback, I found the case study to be far too generic and as a management consultant you are rarely given 20mins to provide a solid response. Whilst I understand the theory behind the exercise, the reality is often very different and can skew the perception of the candidate.
There are better ways.
1 x HR interview
This is the weakest link in the process and I fear has a significant impact on the outcome of the selection process.
HR interview felt a little rushed. The questions irrelevant because these were assessed during the previous stages.
This process should just be a formality. The competencies, company fit, motivations etc should be (and I believe are) assessed by the other interviewers that work or lead the relevant area.
Feedback
I appreciate relevant, constructive feedback - in fact I believe that any company that does not provide it deprives the candidate the opportunity to grow and improve.
5 stars for UBS offering feedback. 1* for relevance.
My feedback absolutely contradicted all of the responses that I gave. The feedback also contradicted all feedback every received throughout my career history - almost as if my feedback was mixed up with someone else's. More importantly, the feedback seemed to contradict the immediate feedback given (either explicitly or through agreement in conversation) by the interviewers that worked within the practice. This brings me back to the concern over the importance and relevance of the HR feedback.