Charles River Associates Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated Apr 16, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 22 ratings 
“Average” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 22 ratings
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| 11–20 of 22 Charles River Associates Interviews | Sort by |
Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Oct 3, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2011 in Oakland, CA (took 4+ weeks)
First two analysts asked me questions about my resume: explain to me what you did here, what kind of research project did you do, what kind of functions do you know in Stata, etc.
Then they brought me to an associate who began asking me technical questions:
He asked me to find the equilibrium point on a supply and demand graph;
then he asked me a bunch of economics questions:
a labor supply shift;
a change in the elasticity of supply;
finding the deadweight loss;
what does a vertical axis in logarithm mean;
what is a CPI;
if x increases by blah % and prices increase by blah % then how much has the price of x increased;
And there were some others
Overall I thought it was pretty hard by the end, make sure your macro and micro are up to speed.
Interview Questions
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Sep 9, 2011
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2011 (took 4 months)
Applied through website, and 2 weeks later received a phone interview by group hiring. The call included an Associate (2nd year), and a Principal. They were pretty nice, asked me personality questions, then asked me to explain a regression in layman's terms. Then they asked for a writing sample and a copy of my transcript in email. They told they'd get back to me in a few weeks.
Three months later, the Principal contacted me again for an in person interview, which I thought was a bit bizarre. I set up a time to go in. Initially met with HR, and he had no information about me, and he was extremely confused about the position for which I interviewed which he thought was filled already. Interviewed with two economists first, who asked me about my skills and experience with SAS and Stata and why I wanted to work for them. Then interviewed with two VPs who basically talked the entire time. One mentioned they had finished with hiring, but may have needed extra help. Lunch with all the analysts. Then last interview with group I was interviewing for. Again, it was a personality assessment. They told me they'd contact me within a week.
3 weeks later they finally sent me an automated email telling me my application was no longer accepted. I'm guessing they were hiring based on a project or need. A month later, HR contacted me and told me they would not reimburse me for travel even though they had sent me travel reimbursement forms prior to the interview. I was pretty displeased to say the very least. It was a process that stretched out way too long, was extremely unorganized, and I felt there was no respect for the candidate's position. I had been interviewing with other companies in the area, and arranged my travel plans around those interviews too, and had I known they would not reimburse me, I could have had the other companies pay for my plane ticket instead of my train and bus tickets.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Apr 12, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2011 (took 6 weeks)
Phone interview was a behavioral/background type of interview with an Analyst. The in-person interview consisted of 3 case interviews and 1 additional behavioral/background interview with Senior Associates and Principals. I had to call HR myself several times before they informed me that they went ahead with another candidate.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
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Associate at Charles River Associates
Posted Dec 23, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 (took a day)
I only had the phone interview. Standard questions to assess fit with the company. Did not make it to case phase.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Nov 24, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2010 (took 2 weeks)
The first round interview is a telephone interview from the senior staff of the office which I applied to, mostly about my background check and introduce the responsibility of that position. The second round interview consists of a panel interview (5 interviewers: 1 principal, 3 associates, 1 analyst). The questions are about my analytical skills especially how to treat and process data set, some questions concerning my dissertations.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Skills Test.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Nov 23, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Oct 2010 in Washington, DC (took 2 weeks)
CRA recruited on my campus, but only for their NYC and Boston offices. I was interested in working in policy, so I got contact information for their Washington DC recruiter from the career fair representative. Didn't hear re: my application until almost a month after filing.
Received an email and phone call asking me if I was interested in conducting a 1st round phone interview. Phone interview was about 30-45 minutes, mostly behavioral or resume questions, a few that stood out:
1. we often deal with clients who understand very little about economics or statistics. If you needed to, how would you explain the concept of a statistical regression to a layperson
2. What experience do you have with data analysis in Excel/Access (could have been prompted by my work experience in this area.
3. What do you do outside of academics (hobbies, charity, etc)
4. Anything academic, data, or research oriented on your resume WILL be asked about, be prepared to talk about it.
Interviewers were extremely friendly, responded positively.
Was offered a 2nd round interview 48 hours later. Their travel agent was very accommodating of my other plans in booking flights/hotels. They also reimburse you for taxis, and food (up to $60).
Second round interview consisted of five 30 minute interviews, all heavily behavioral/resume based. You will interview simultaneously with about ~10 other recruits. We all met and waited in the conference room for about 10 minutes, food and drink was available there, great selection ;)
First interview is with HR people, basically they give you a rundown of what the company is about and answer questions. For my interview I was brought in simultaneously with another candidate for this portion.
Two of the next four interviews are with pairs of new/newer employees, anywhere from 2 months with CRA to 3 years. All resume questions and behavioral, be prepared to talk about EVERYTHING on your resume at length
The other two interviews will be with Principals at CRA. A principal is like a lead consultant, as far as I know they are one step below vice president. Same type of questions. They try to pair you with someone who is in your field of interest, but no guarantees.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Offered me a fantastic salary to do academic work that I am genuinely interested in doing, no negotiation was necessary. Offer comes about ~2 weeks after 2nd round, they will give you 2 weeks to decide.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Oct 20, 2010
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2010 in Chicago, IL (took a day)
The interview was extremely basic. All the interviewer did was go through my resume and ask about those experiences. Maybe one basic behavioral question. All in all I thought I answered well, but was not asked back. No idea how they differentiated candidates since the process was so simple. The interviewer seemed good-natured and welcoming, and even showed what I thought was genuine satisfaction and positive impression after most of my answers, so really no idea how the interviews went for those who were asked back. They may put a heavy weight on the pre-night meet and greet which I was not able to attend.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Jul 30, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2008 in Chicago, IL (took 2 months)
The initial interview was an on campus interview. This interview consisted of 2 30-minute interviews with Principals or VPs from Charles River Associates. There was also a happy hour where we got to meet current Analysts. I initially heard about the company at the Miami University Career Fair where they had a table set up.
The in-office interview lasted all day and included several personal interviews, a case study, and a writing sample.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, an IQ/Intelligence Test and a Background Check.
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Associate at Charles River Associates
Posted May 9, 2010 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Feb 2010 in Boston, MA (took 7 weeks)
After applying on the company's website, I waited for about 4 weeks before hearing anything back. The first step was the phone interview with the future boss, which consisted of walk me through your resume type questions and only lasted 30 minutes. The second step was the in person interview, which was only 45 minutes. The interview consisted of me asking questions the whole time.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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Analyst at Charles River Associates
Posted Nov 17, 2009
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2009 in Boston, MA (took 2 days)
Campus recruiting led to a phone interview. Final round consisted of four case-style interviews with some behavioral questions thrown in. Academic and collegial culture, everyone had a really upbeat disposition and seemed very excited to be with CRA.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
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